Quick Reflection
I am bad at enforcing my own deadlines.
I am most motivated right before a deadline.
Independent study is HARD.
I have learned a lot, but I have not been a diligent or consistent student.
All of this is okay. I’m slowing working on getting better, and this (never-ending) course has shown me many of my weaknesses, as well as some strengths.
I’m good at learning SOMETHING when I do almost ANYTHING.
I am good at finding ways to put ideas and abstract concepts into musical ideas.
Independent study is REWARDING when I actually buckle down and pursue something interesting.
I have an interesting mix of knowledge that can mingle with electronic music and lead me to career opportunities I never would have considered without this course.
Another Sequencing bit on SoundCloud
Messing around with a sequencer like the BeatStep is a really fun way to brainstorm and play around to get ideas. The way the interface differs from what I’m accustomed to (a piano) for brainstorming is more freeing: I don’t know the exact pitches I choose, and I view the rhythm differently, because I can get easy feedback on complex rhythms at the push of a button. In addition to the freedom of a non-traditional instrument, this exercise provided me with an opportunity to further explore colouristic possibilities with filters, which opened my ears to the possibilities of expressive nuances in electronic music.
How’s that big composition project going?
I have now notated and written some performance notes for parts 1 and 2 out of 4, and I’ve put some of the sounds together. I will not be able to make it work with the Arduino node for now, but some day I will, when I have time to learn everything involved.
I still need to make the rest of the sounds and plan how to perform them with vocals well enough to workshop it. I need to notate parts 3 and 4. I might need to expand on my performance notes a bit. I need to organize a time to workshop parts 1 and 2.
In order to plan out the sounds for the piece, I think I just need to map them out on paper in some colour-coded way to indicate when to trigger various things.
I just need to get this done so I can reflect and move on!!
Loose ends
I need to cover some bit of Arduino learning and MIDI structures, but I just messaged my prof this morning to see how best to wrap that up, and I’m waiting on a decision.
Lots of learning done, and lots of work left to do, but I’m getting there! It’s like trying to sprint up a hill after jogging for a while on a bumpy surface and constantly losing traction.
Electroacoustic Playground 