In-Depth #4, Going Swell

Well, this sure has been a time hasn’t it. With everything going on, Spring Break and then the whole COVID-19 debacle things have gone in a direction that I never would have guessed they would. To top it all off, school has mostly started again with a few exceptions for example it’s all online. This isn’t a problem for some things like my work on this In-Depth project but some other things are definitely changing.

Now, onto the progress report. Things, as the title suggests, have been going swell. I am continuing to create my first of possibly many pieces of Lo-Fi music and I’m having a blast doing so. For this first piece, I am using a part of Horace Silver’s Lonely Woman and trying to make it into a Lo-Fi piece. I am trying to model this new arrangement after a song by Joji called teardrops.

Link to the original piece here: Horace Silver: Lonely Woman

Link to my inspiration piece here: Joji: Teardrops

 

The audio of the VERY rough starting draft of my piece:

P.S. after 35 sec. it’s just rain sounds and I haven’t been able to fix it yet.

Since this draft is still very much in the works it looks like it’s more videos, tutorials, and meetings on the agenda.

 

My mentor is doing well and so am I. One good thing about school being cancelled is lots more time to do whatever you want like to meet with your mentor who also doesn’t have school. He and I are both working well together and since we have video chatted in the past and done a few of our meetings that way already, what’s happening in the world doesn’t really make a difference.

 

1. What has been my most difficult mentoring challenge so far? Why?

Up to this point, the two most difficult challenges has been challenges with Cakewalk. As many of you know, or will be learning now, Cakewalk is a free online service that lets me create music. Since it is free, however, it has its share of problems. First of all, my mentor isn’t the most trained in it. Jack, my amazing mentor, uses a slightly different program when he creates music so there are a few little bits and pieces of Cakewalk that we both don’t understand. However, Youtube videos come in very handy. I have learned both from Jack and online many new things, but new things always manage to show themselves.

2. What is working well? Why?

Many things are going well for me and my mentor. One of these is how well we are getting along. Even if I am having challenges or just am very inexperienced in a specific area, Jack is always there to help. Yes because he’s my mentor but also just there as a friend. All of his comments are either helpful, uplifting, or both. He is a spring of information and always has the right thing to tell me. However, the best thing about it is that any question I have is immediately answered.

3. What could be working better? How can you make sure this happens?

The biggest thing that could be going better is entirely on me. In-Depth, as important as it is, is a prime example of a long-term project and such can easily be put aside for other more immediate work. One thing that this time allows me to do is get everything done as well as have more time to prioritize. I am, as a person, quite bad in terms of procrastination. However, now that I’m enjoying this project more and more all the time, I think it will get easier to say that I want to this instead of having to.

2 thoughts on “In-Depth #4, Going Swell

  1. Sounds like you are making progress and have been able to find a way around not being able to meet in person anymore. Your sound clip does not work for me. I agree this project has been a great way to use your time well and work on something that you are passionate about.
    Mulder

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