In-Depth Final Post, The End Result

Good evening to all of those reading this! This is my In-Depth 2020 final presentation. To introduce myself, my name is Nathan Nishimura and I am a grade 9 student this year in the Talons program. I decided to do my In-Depth project on digital music composition, specifically the Lo-Fi Hip-hop genre. I chose to do this topic because I know quite a bit about piano and music theory but wanted to use that knowledge in an entirely different way. The end result may not have been exactly to my liking but the number of things I learned along the way was astounding. My choice of Lo-Fi in particular was because I both love the style of the music and envy those who make it. It seems so amazing to me how a simple song can be both interesting yet entirely in the background.

To anyone who doesn’t already know what Lo-Fi or Low Fidelity Hip-hop is, as the name suggests it’s a sub-genre of Hip-hop. It is widely known as study music and is normally used by those who want music to have in the background while doing other tasks. One reason this genre stood out as something I was interested in, was who knows; if I make something good I may use it myself to help make my homework less difficult.

Below is a song called Teardrops by a composer named Joji. This is one of my favourite pieces from the genre and you can use it as a basis of what the style sounds like and how much farther my talent needs to go in the future.

 

The program I used for my compositions during this project was Cakewalk by Bandlab. To give you a quick preview, this is what my finished project looks like in the software.

And now to hear what it’s like.

Warning, the audio may be a little loud to some. As well, the fuzziness in the background is a part of the song which somewhat replicates the sound of a vinyl record.

I still need to add and improve on this one, but I’m learning and getting closer every day I work at it.

 

Before you go, I need to give a ginormous thanks to my mentor Jackson Adrian. He was extremely knowledgeable in many, many areas of this topic and if there was something we both didn’t know, he did his best. His kind, easygoing attitude made researching and doing this entire project better. He was one of the sole reasons I had so much fun during the entire course of this endeavour. Thank you so much once more for helping me out.

That was a brief overview of my project, thank you for reading and I hope the rest of your night is amazing. If you have any questions or comments be sure to add them below this post.

42 thoughts on “In-Depth Final Post, The End Result

  1. Nathan, this was very interesting and informative. I enjoyed listening to your Lo-Fi composition and I might use it to help me go to sleep. Please don’t take that the wrong way.

  2. Nathan your music is amazing! Please make more, I would honestly would listen to it and add it to work playlists ๐Ÿ˜€

  3. Thanks for sharing your talents with us. You had a very talented mentor, too. What did you enjoy most about this project and why?

    1. The two best things in my opinion about the project were all of the experimentation I was able to do and the amazing support of my mentor, once again thanks to him!

  4. Your music is amazing – definitely sounds like something I’d find in a lofi playlist! Did you have any inspirations for this particular track? And what do you think is the most significant inspiration/learning/growth you gained over the course of 6 months?

    1. For that particular track besides the sample of Lonely Woman by Horace Silver I used, not especially. The most significant of those however must have been able to hear the complexities in the music I now listen to. This now allows me to better appreciate and be amazed by so many wonderful artists. Thanks so much for the compliments!

  5. Hi,

    I am wondering how you dealt with frustrations along the way, like if the music didn’t sound the way you wanted it to?

    1. My music not sounding how I wanted it to was a big thing when creating. However, many attempts and trials later, I get the sound I want. I’m only most of the way done on this one though!

    1. Thanks you’re really to kind. I hope to continue this more in the future! I’m glad I got the right vibe though!

    1. If I was talented enough to make you listen to hours of this that would be something! But seriously, I’m very grateful.

  6. Wow! Your work is amazing! You have a natural ability to understand the depths of music! Would you ever consider trying different genres?

    1. I might sometime in the future. Who knows, I may find one I really like! I very flattered being told I’m musical by someone like you!

  7. I really enjoyed listening to your music Nathan! I hope you consider making more Lo-Fi in the future!

  8. This is really cool! I’ve always personally wanted to compose some music of my own, but never found the time to learn to do so! I’m really glad that you learned this skill!

    1. Much appreciated but it’s really not that hard. You just need to be a little creative. Maybe next time?

  9. Wow this is amazing! I love the music you made! If you were to choose another genre to create music in, what would it be and why? Great work!

    1. You are so kind, thank you for liking it so much. If I was to branch out into a different genre, I’m not sure exactly where I would go. Probably something jazzy though, Jazz is my other favourite. When you get a chord progression just right, it’s magical.

    1. I’m impressed myself that I did so well! And, absolutely I’ll make more. When exactly, who knows?

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