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Week 2: Production Tools and Techniques

  • Lecture and Tutorial Notes: This week's content was about Sound Fundamentals, Recording Tech, and MP3's Impact on the Music Industry.
  • DAW Choice: I chose to use Waveform 12 because it is free and has a simple interface that is easy to navigate for a beginner.
  • Concept Outline of Assessment Piece: I like listening to lo-fi music while I study, and would therefore like to produce a short piece of nostalgic lofi music that is inspired by the Adventure Time series.
  • What I'd like to Achieve in my Track: My goal is to learn music production techniques to create lofi music, enhancing the ambiance of study and work sessions with a touch of nostalgia from the Adventure Time series.

Week 3: Music and Technology

  • Lecture and Tutorial Notes: This week's content was about Exploring the Influence of Technology on Musical Style and Interface.

    • As my Bachelors is in Computing and Software Systems, it was interesting this week to learn about the intersection between technology and music and how they drive one another to evolve.

  • Assessment Piece Progress This week, I compiled a few of songs and artists (MUSI20174 Inspiration Playlist) to use as inspiration for my lofi piece. I've also decided to sample the Adventure Time theme song (Come Along with Me) and use it as the basis for my piece.

    • Come Along with Me - Adventure Time Theme Song
    • One of the songs that I've chosen to use as inspiration is Steven Universe | L.Dre which has a similar vibe to the Adventure Time theme song.
    • I also like the sound of music boxes and covers of songs by erinmusicbox and would like to incorporate that into my piece.

  • Vocal Recording Plan I don't have many options for spaces to do my recording in but I plan to make up for it by trying different microphones and varying distances from the microphone to the source. I plan to also try to record in the morning when there is less ambient noise.

Week 4: A Recording Primer

  • Lecture and Tutorial Notes: This week's content was about the Key differences between microphones, and how their unique characteristics affect your recordings.
  • Practical Studio Assignment, Submission 1: I spent most of this week working on the Practical Studio Assignment, Submission 1 that was due.
  • Assessment Piece Progress: Not much progress was done this week as I was working on the Practical Studio Assignment. I did, however, find a few more songs to add to my inspiration playlist.

Week 5: Drums and Percussion

  • Lecture and Tutorial Notes: This week's content was about the Exploring the Evolution of Rhythmic Styles: Backbeat, Downbeat, and Four-on-the-Floor.
  • Backbeat Analysis I analysed one of the backbeat patterns' MIDI files from the lectures using Waveform and annotated the track with the following observations:
    • Annotations: Some notes were on the 2nd and 4th beats, signifying that this follows the backbeat style. There were also a few notes on upbeats (eg. one is between the third and fourth beat of the first bar.)
  • Assessment Piece Drums and Percussion Analysis From my inspiration playlist, I chose two tracks (The Peace Within - Simon Groß (Air) | Steven Universe | L.Dre) that is similar in sound and style to the one that I'd like to create for my coursework and analysed the drum and percussion parts. I identified a few percussive components such as soft and mellow elements like subtle hi-hats, gentle kicks, and snappy snares. I also examined that the rhythm track tends to be laid back, providing a relaxed and soothing vibe.

Week 6: Bassline Basics

  • Lecture and Tutorial Notes: This week's content was about Understanding the Role and Recording of Basslines in Music Production.

    • Having played Tuba in the past, I found it interesting to learn about the role of basslines in music production and how they interact with other instruments to create a cohesive sound.
    • I also re-learnt and identified multiple patterns such as octave jumping, using the fifth, and playing the root note that I used to play a lot of the time when I played Tuba.

  • Assessment Piece Bassline Analysis: I analysed and recreated a few bars of the bassline from one of the inspiration pieces, Steven Universe | L.Dre, using Waveform 12.

    • This is the part of the song that I analysed and recreated:
    • Here is my recreation of the bassline:
    • Here are some notes that I made while analysing the bassline:
      • Bassline Analysis
      • I found that the bassline for this song was not overly complex or simplistic. They used the root of chords on the first beats of each bar and created lead-ins with quaver notes into the next bar each time. There was some space between notes, giving it a relaxed and laid back feel that I liked. I also found that the bassline wasn't overly repetitive throughout the piece and varied slightly each time.

  • Thoughts on Bassline Recording for the Assessment Piece: Due to the lack of a physical bass instrument, I will probably be using software presets for my final piece's bassline; possibly in combination with a recorded instrument like my ukulele or trumpet shifted down a few octaves.

Week 7: Vocal and Lead Lines

  • Assessment Piece Progress - Bassline: I found the chords for the Adventure Time theme song and tried to start creating a bassline for it. I started out with recording the chords with my ukulele so that I could use it as a reference for the bassline. I tried varying the notes of the bassline but couldn't find a combination that I liked as the chords mix between major and minor chords and I am not too familiar with music theory. As such, I've just used the root of the chord and varied the rhythm of the bassline using triplet-like rhythms to make it more interesting.
  • Assessment Piece Progress - Vocal/Lead: I also tried to record a vocal line for the piece but I'm not too happy with the result as I'm not a great singer and I don't have a great microphone to record with. Since lofi music typically don't include vocalists, I think I will just leave it out of my final piece and have an instrumental lead line instead.

Week 8: Reverb and Acoustic Space

  • I struggled to find Waveform's equivalent features that were shown in the tutorial videos so I unfortunately didn't get to try out the reverb and acoustic space features this week and might add them in after Submission 2.

  • Assessment Piece Progress - Lead: I managed to transcribe the lead line from the Adventure Time theme song and tried to record it with my ukulele. I also tried to record it with my trumpet but I found that the ukulele sounded better. I also tried to record it with my phone's microphone and my laptop's built-in microphone and found that the phone's microphone sounded better.

    • I was not very satisfied with the sound of the lead line so I tried to add an octave to the recording and found that it sounded better.
    • And this is with the ukulele layered in:
    • Since the melody is going to be repeated again and again in the piece, I think I will give variation to each repetition by adding layers to the climax of the piece.

Week 9: EQ and Dynamic Range Compression

  • Assessment Piece Progress: Practical Studio Assignment, Submission 2: I finally started to put everything together into a single project and have been experimenting with different combinations of instruments and effects. I re-recorded the chords with my ukulele and decided to record the chords individually and then layering them in Waveform rather than recording all the chords in one go to preserve the original reverb of the chords and not have odd-sounding transitions between each one. I also added some vinyl crackle at the start, as well as some ambient sound to give it a more nostalgic feeling.
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  • Reflection Summary: I found it particularly difficult to find or create good sounding instruments that would blend well together and will continue to experiment further. I am also not satisfied with the rhythm and timing of the instruments and will experiment with time warping and possibly changing the rhythms to improve the flow of the piece. The piece is also currently a bit bland and boring and I will try to add more layers and variation to make it more interesting.

Week 10: Arranging your Mix

  • Assessment Piece Progress: I worked on coming up with something to play on the trumpet and have just been experimenting with different counter-melodies and rhythms. I also cleaned up the rhythm and timing of the mix a bit and tried experimenting with other instrument sounds.
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Week 12: The Final Touches

  • Practical Studio Assignment, Submission 2 Feedback: I have summarised the feedback into a checklist of things to improve on for the final mix and will be working on them over the next week:
    • [ ] Vinyl Crackle
      • [ ] Beginning: address looping and panning and consider automating or maintaining a more consistent volume.
      • [ ] Main: add more crackle to the main section to add texture
    • [ ] Balance the overpowering bassline.
    • [ ] Instrument Choices: refine the selection to improve cohesion in the lo-fi texture.
      • [ ] Use a less electronic drum kit
      • [ ] Test reverb and density and humanise the MIDI
    • [ ] Vary drum patterns and add fills to add interest and variation.

Executive Summary

Over the semester, I learnt various skills and aspects of music production in the lectures and tutorials and applied them to my final assessment piece. Through the lectures, it was very interesting to learn about the history of different musical elements that evolved into the music that we listen to today. With this being the first time I've ever delved into the world of music production, using a DAW, especially one that wasn't used in the tutorial videos proved a little difficult. However, over time, I have built more confidence in using Waveform, from making simple recordings to time warping, pitch bending and using plugins and effects. Watching my final assessment piece grow over time has proved to be both enjoyable and rewarding and I will continue to work on the feedback that I received to improve the piece further.