12/12/2023 – Finding a Mentor
On the 12th of December 2023 I asked a musician via Instagram, from Melbourne, Michael Mills to mentor me on my project. I asked Michael Mills because he is a multi-instrumentalist who has played live with some of the greats in the music genre that I enjoy. He composes music that I enjoy which is progressive rock/metal. I chose him because he lives in Melbourne and I don’t think it will be hard to drive to wherever his studio is.
13/12/2023 – Finding a Mentor
The day after asking Michael Mills to be my mentor, Michael responded asking what mentoring is. At the time I was on a holiday in Inverloch so I contacted my friend who finished year 12 in 2023 and did his project this year, Edyn. I asked Edyn what mentors really do since he had more knowledge than I did and Edyn gave me all the knowledge I needed, so I drafted a paragraph explaining what a mentor does and what I will be doing on the project and what the mentor will need to do.
13/12/2023 – Finding a Mentor & First Orchestral piece
On the 13th of December 2023, I explained the situation I was in, and that I was new to this kind of thing and I explained the hardware I used and sent a few recordings. I explained that the situation I was in was that I am very new to using DAWs and that I will probably need to learn that from him if he agrees to take me on as a mentor.
I also started learning to create orchestral music. I did my first orchestral piece. What I like about it is the beginning, it sounds to me quite happy/uplifting. I ended up improvising and hitting a few wrong notes on the midi keyboard for the Oboe that plays. I was using a plugin called BBC Symphony Orchestra. I don’t like how repetitive the piece is and I feel like the supporting instruments could have changed more.
4/1/2024 Piano Song Demo 1 & 2
After a break over Christmas and heaps of part-time work I created my first demo. I started learning piano and was just messing around with a midi keyboard and created a chord progression I liked and added a melody over it and put 3 riffs together creating the first demo which some say sounds nostalgic, but I found it sad at the beginning and it built into an uplifting sound. The beginning sounds very dark, I really like the middle section though and the build-up. I don’t like the guitar so much, the chord progression is really nice though.
Piano Song Test 1: Piano Song Demo
At 7PM the same day I listened back to it after a shift at work, I decided I did not like the guitar and the intro to the song so I removed both ending up with piano only which I found had a soothing sound.
Piano Song Test 2:
Thoughts 10/5/2024 about Piano Test 2: I really like this piece still and enjoy it without the guitar or drums, I think the piece works well on its own. I am thinking of turning it into a metal piece.
9/1/2024 – Piano Song Demo 3
A few days after not testing too much and just finding VST plugins I thought the song was missing something, so I found a reverb plugin and delay plugin and attached it to the master EQ and added a simple drum beat to practice programming drums and put EQ over the drums to make a soft sound, which turned into a lofi sounding piece, I do like the variation but prefer the second test. Maybe I will add the reverb and delay to the second piece and remove the drums. I think the delay and reverb add a little bit of atmosphere to the song.
Piano Song Demo 3:
22/1/2024 – Metal Drum & Breakdown 1
Today I was learning how to write metal drums, the metal drums I have written is basically drums alone but they build up into a breakdown with a bunch of fills in it. I like some of the patterns but I do not like the constant hi-hat in the beginning and I especially do not like the drum sound.
Metal Drum and Breakdown Test 1:
24/1/2024 – Metal Drum & Breakdown 2
Today I edited the first metal drum and breakdown test. In these tests I am learning how to create metal drums and what patterns they use. I was using the “How To Program Metal Drums” link in my research page to create these.
Metal Drum and Breakdown Test 2:
A few hours after that test, I went ahead and made some new drums and added guitar over the top and bass. Both plugged into the computer. I do not like any of this piece because it just sounds dead, and I dislike the chord progression heaps.
2/2/2024
Mills stated he had tour and could no longer mentor.
Michael Mills told me after weeks of messaging back and forth that he can only mentor me only if I provide payment, since he is extremely busy the entire year touring with Toehider. He said he would love to do it for free but he has many other projects this year and won’t have any time available unless there was remuneration involved. This made me feel a mix of emotions, I was disappointed and anxious on how I will find a new mentor since I hadn’t talked to anyone else. I was also a slight bit angry that 2 months were wasted. After a few days I realised that I had the experience of asking for a mentor and gathered the courage to ask locals.
6/2/2024 – Happy Groovy Song
I have created a new song, I feel happy from it. I am not a huge fan of the drum fill in the middle. The drum fill in the middle is only there because I am unsure of what to put in that spot. I also don’t like one of the lower notes to the synth however, I really like the guitar and piano riffs. I think they work really well together:
12/2/2024
I asked my old guitar teacher Michael if he knew anyone in the area that I could ask to mentor me, he gave me a list and until the 15th of February I was researching the mentors.
15/2/2024
Ever since the 2nd of February and Michael Mills stated he could no longer mentor me, I went searching for new mentors. I asked people in the Valley and got recommendations to ask a man who lives in Launching Place, “Stephen McCulloch” to be my mentor. I contacted him through email and he replied that day within a few hours.
I sent a message replying what a mentor does and his role and since learning from the Michael Mills mentor, I explained clearer that the mentorship is voluntary after a guardian class saying to be “clear” that it is not paid work. I explained clearly what the mentor does.
16/2/2024
Stephen agreed to mentor me, and I felt accomplished and happy because I was scared I wasn’t going to have a mentor in time after the last few months with Michael Mills.
18/2/2024
Asked Stephen if google drive works well for him, and he says that he uses it regularly so it works well.
19/2/2024 – Analysis of some music
Filling out paperwork for mentor proposal and asking Stephen what he thinks about my workplan and what should be changed.
Emotion Research:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/science-choice/201807/why-are-we-moved-music
https://www.newscientist.com/lastword/mg25433812-900-why-does-music-evoke-certain-emotions-even-if-it-doesnt-have-lyrics/
Music Analysis of Happy Instrumental music:
Primarily guitar, in major key with a Lofi feel to it. Catchy clean riffs with their mids boosted and treble and bass lowered however the bass is coming from the kick drums. Loads of guitar layering.
Plini is a good example.
Music Analysis of Angry instrumental music:
Down tuned guitar, simple drum pattern with some blast beats and occasional breakdown.
Example: Go To War – No sons of mine (Instrumental)
Music Analysis of Sad Music:
20/2/2024 – “Epic” Orchestral Piece
Note: write down what I know about music Analysis right now then do research and write more down about it later.
Planned my project talk at assembly.
Today I also attempted another orchestral piece. I like the beginning but then I think it gets too insane, I also don’t like the mix, I think some of the instruments are too loud and just copy other instruments with no variation. I feel like the song can turn into an insane electronic piece though.
Orchestral Piece:
1/3/2024 – 4:3 Polyrhythm drum section 1
Today I was learning how to make “progressive metal drums” from a tutorial that one of my favourite bands’ drummers (Jay Postones from TesseracT) posted, I learned from his tutorial how to make progressive metal drums.
I once again don’t really like the drum sound. 4 over 3 polyrhythm drum section test 1:
2/3/2024 – 4:3 Polyrhythm With Guitar 2
Today I attempted a new rhythm with the drums, I also wrote a new chord progression for it that I think goes well. I think the mix is muddy, however I do like the chord progression and the kick drum pattern. I am learning how to connect drums to guitar in metal songs by having the kick drum follow the guitar pattern mainly. I have taken it away and used it as a backing track to solo over, the piece is really good to just jam over with a lead tone. I did not record it because I couldn’t get my timing right.
4 over 3 polyrhythm drum section with Guitar test 2:
10/3/2024 – Metal Song Test
I made a new introduction to a new song with a guitar riff, and drums that build up, right now into nothing. I like the slides, and I also like how the drums build up the piece.
Metal Song Test:
16/3/2024 – Trap Metal Tests
I have been listening to a lot of Chris Turner lately who is an English drummer, and I really like his style of music. He begins with a trap/phonk styled beat and then on the build up enters with insanely quick metal drums. On my song, it is not extremely similar or inspired but it is definitely where I got entering with an electronic beat with. I do not like my one, I don’t like the guitar, but I do like the synth.
Trap Metal Test 1:
A few hours later I decided to try and make an edit, I made it slightly deeper and added a new guitar riff idea at the end of it that I may use in a different piece.
Trap Metal Test 2:
A few more hours later I edited the same song but re-arranged it. I didn’t like the riff on guitar anymore and I transposed it to midi keyboard at the end of this piece.
Trap Metal Test 3:
18/3/2024
Today I tried starting fresh but I didn’t enjoy the redo.
Here is Trap Metal Test 4:
A few hours later I decided to just create an electronic piece that I actually really like and enjoy. It has no guitar, it is just synth and drums.
Electronic Test:
30/3/2024 – Meeting With Stephen
notes: check in and clarify goals and steps for those goals on a daily basis in a journal format
scoop spots in the bass so guitar can have more beef
boost the kick drum
cut the low end on everything eg kick drum at 20-30hz
make EQ signal fine/small if you don’t like a sound then make it tall and sweep it across the EQ board to find that sound and then scoop it, but not all the way down.
compressor attack and release are important. attack is how fast it hits the signal and release is how much it holds the signal like sustain.
drums – slow attack and a faster release – check tutorials
Holiday Troubles 28/3/2024 – 15/4/2024
I talked to my mentor on the first weekend of the holidays. We talked about a realistic plan for me working out 4 songs “skeletons” of each song. The entirety of the holiday until the final week I was going through, I think, “Writers Block”. I was playing and playing and learning how the tools in Logic works but sort of using both Logic and Reaper, I came to the conclusion that I prefer Reaper for metal music writing, I am not sure why. Maybe it is because I learned on reaper originally? However I like using Logic because in general I feel like it is just better overall with the other genres like electronic. The reason I felt like I was going through “Writers Block” is that whatever I came up with in my head was just not coming out and was very similar to the last thought. It was the same notes but arranged differently or with a different rhythm and I could not come up with something I liked. Until one of the final days on a Friday I down tuned a guitar and played a little and found something I liked and it has ended up being a djenty sort of riff, I added drums, and I showed some of my overly critical friends that I know will judge it whether it is good or not. They enjoyed it heaps, I showed more people and they all enjoyed it. I enjoyed it was one of the main things. It is a metal song with kick drums following the guitar pattern and bass following the kick drum pattern. The bass is a midi bass app that I used for the first time for this song and it worked flawlessly.
Another song that I wrote just a little bit earlier than the metal one which is what I think snapped me out of what I think was “writers block” I was thinking back to when I was a kid and I remembered a feeling that I had when I found out that my mum was in a terrible car accident. Chills were sent down my back and the anxiety filled car trip to the hospital to see my brother who was also in the car at the time. I thought back to that feeling when my dad did not tell me in the car trip but I knew something was up since the vibe was off, I tried to replicate a song that sort of describes the way I felt in that car trip knowing something was not right. The song is a short 1 minute and a half piece that is filled with classical instruments including an extremely low double bass, a cello, and a violin. The song seems to evoke anxiety and some say it sounds like the beginning to a horror movie. That horror movie was what my mum was going through for four months in hospitals & rehab.
6/4/2024 – Happy Song
I wrote this new piece, I do not like it at all, this is what I feel like was the middle of my “writers block” I felt like everything I played was literally just the same but rearranged.
Another piece I wrote today was a weird sounding song that ends up feeling really quick. I really really like the piano riff in it though.
7/4/2024 – Happy Groove to Blast Beat Song
I showed one of my drummer friends a song I thought was insanely technical and he said it was just blast beats, so I wanted to test it and it makes sense, it turns a chill happy song into an extreme song.
8/4/2024 – Sad Orchestral Piece
This song I have nothing to say negative about, I enjoy the entire piece. I used BBC Symphony Orchestra plugin for it first but then changed it over to a different plugin called Philharmonik 2. The piece is very ominous because I wrote it about what I feel like is a dark time in my life expressing feelings I felt in that period, I would say it is basically a complete song that only requires mixing.
12/4/2024 – Filthy Riff with Bass
I made this metal piece, and I think it is one of the best riffs I have created with this project so far. I love the kick pattern but not so much the kick drum sound, maybe because it is programmed drum sounds or poorly mixed.
Filthy Riff With Bass:
13/4/2024
I talked to Stephen and showed Stephen 9 different song starters / songs that I will finish in term 2.
The songs I will finish in term 2 before term 3:
Electronic Piece:
Happy Song
Happy Groovy Song
Lofi Beat – Need to Add Guitar
Metal Riff With Bass
Piano Nostalgic Build up Piece
Weird Jazzy Piece
Extremely Out of time piece requiring re-recording into a progressive metal piece
Sad Orchestral
After talking to my mentor today, he said I can probably combine some of the pieces, like the piano nostalgic piece with the extreme metal piece.
14/4/2024 – Djent
I transformed my heavy metal with bass riff into a djenty full song. A lot of it still needs to be updated but I like where it is headed.
Djent Song:
20/4/2024
I came across an old piece probably written at the end of December last year, I just need to re-record it with different tones and add drums and it will be a full piece, it is already structured.
Prog Song:
30/4/2024
Today I tested adding some guitar to the Piano Nostalgic piece to see what it would do, I think it brings in more atmosphere. I will probably end up maybe it a solo section for another piece. – It is slightly out of time, but it is just an idea.
Piano Test 4:
5/5/2024
I was listening to a lot of Linkin Park and wanted to create something similar to Linkin Park so I have made a synth start but I need to find some turntable effects for it to sound really good, then I added in guitar and drums.
Linkin Park Test Song:
Linkin Park DAW:
Weird Drum Test:
31/05/2024 – Metalcore song
I am writing all my riffs out for a metalcore song and rhythmically and melodically writing the parts out in midi
1/06/2024 – New Way of Composing/Recording
Over the last few weeks I have been testing a new way of recording music. I have just been writing out all my melodies and rhythms in midi keyboard/synth and the reason is because I find that recording them in midi and tracking out each thing allows me to get most of the song quicker, instead of sitting there for 20 minutes to an hour trying to perfect one section of a song writing it all out in midi allows me to get multiple sections of the song complete much faster and then I can return later and record guitar over it.
3/06/2024
came across challenge of trying to mix, talked to trish about talking more of the “how” isntead of the “what” how did i learn this and how did i do it