Personal Project
D9 - Personal Project
For my personal project i have a rough idea about the fact i want to compose some songs as a part of it, however choosing the genre may be one of the harder parts for me. For example, i could compose great lyrics for a heavier, more emotional song and lack creativity in the other aspects or even compose a swanky bass line for a funk song and struggle to make a melody line to accompany.
Potential ideas for personal project:
- compose and produce original song with music video
- EP with album cover
- creating merchandise?
Personal project plan:
For my personal project, i have decided to compose an song (heavily inspired by sludge metal bands like Acid Bath). If i've finished that and still have time I will create a music video to accompany. The reason why i have chosen to do this is to mainly focus on the improvement and display of my songwriting skills, but also to show my progress using a software like premier to edit footage to match the conventionality to my song.
The aim of my personal project is to showcase my songwriting skills, and develop my production and mastering skills.
In order to accomplish this i will need these resources: a studio (preferably C17a), a camera borrowed from the college to record my music video, an editing software (most likely premier), a hard drive, a session drummer and potentially a lead guitarist.
I want to play guitar, bass and record vocals myself and find a session drummer to play on my track.
Possible constraints
Time is going to be the hardest challenge for me to overcome, as i struggle to push myself creatively when i need to have music produced in a certain time frame.
First Timeline:
Updated Timeline:
Week 1: Create initial chord progression on guitar alining with my chosen genre
Week 2: Create bass line
Week 3: Create lyrics
Week 4: Polish off song and find a session drummer to play for me
Week 5: Record demo for song and analyze what works and what doesn't
Week 6: Final recording of song
Week 7: Mix and master the recording
Week 8: Evaluation of song in blog
Week 1
Inspiration and research:
For my first week, i just want to start by brainstorming ideas and inspiration for my project. At first i was mostly interested in the sludge genre and wanted to incorporate the guitar driven sound into my song.
Sludge by definition - a metal sub-genre based around playing slowly. Sludge is an onomatopoeia for the sound of very distorted, down-tuned guitars. * Sludge often incorporates faster, more chaotic sections in songs.
Other Inspiration:
Following how i have started my song, i have realised i am much more comfortable creatively with music that sounds more grungey and upbeat. However, i am still keeping the sludge conventional drop tuning as it still aligns with the sound i am going for. Here is some new inspiration for the track:
Week 2 and 3
Creating the foundation of the song:
Guitar
In order to achieve a sludgy, heavy sound i down-tuned my guitar to C standard (C F Bb Eb G C). The main riff for the verse mostly consists of simple string bends on the F string and the C string ringing out to add thickness to the sound.
TAB:
I've made a placeholder for the chorus, as it may be subject to some change. At the moment, it just follows the same root notes as the verse just as a power chord.
TAB:
Drums
As i am wanting a heavy sound, I've asked Aiden to be my session drummer for this project. His beat was sloppy to emphasise the guitar, leading with lots of fills.
Week 4
Lyrics and Sructure
Intro
Verse
Chorus
Verse
Chorus
The intro is going to be at a slower tempo than the rest of the song, playing the main riff which will be sort of like a motif throughout the whole song, repeating in the second verse but at a much faster and tight pace.
I'm keeping the track shorter than average (around 2 minutes), both due to time and to slip out of sludge conventionality. I feel it will pack more of a punch if kept short and sweet.
Lyrics for chorus:
In my mind i have you stuck in my teeth
I'll pick you out
From the back
Don't churn and leave
The lyrics are gong to be simple and up for the listeners interpretation.
Bass
The bass line is going to pretty much follow the root of the guitar, providing weight and stability to contrast the messiness of the guitar and drums. I play octaves throughout the whole song and slap during the chorus to and a twangy sound.
This is the TAB for the chorus:
The bass during the choruses follows the guitar but slapping the octaves.
Final chorus TAB for guitar and bass:
Week 5
The Recording Process
I chose the C18 studio to record my song as i preferred the equipment and amps in there. The inputs had been mixed up so with help from Dan we managed to set up the studio together.
I decided to record the guitar and drums simultaneously without a click to give a more raw and loose sound to the track. However, it ended up being extremely hard to keep tight and took a while to get a decent-ish take. I recorded the tom drums using only overhead mics to make the mixing and mastering process easier and recorded the guitar using an M-95 mic on a VOX amp.
The Demo
Week 6
Final recording
I decided to keep the drum and guitar track from the demo and record the bass and vocals myself over the top.
Adding the bass
I had to record the bass in chopped up sections as we didn't originally record to a click so it was hard to stay in time. I decided not use a DI as i quite liked the sound of the bass, however the signal was coming through way to high during the majority of the recording so i had to find the middle point with the gain and signal volume.
Recording Voclals
I recorded vocals only over the first chorus, using my original lyrics.
Mixing, Mastering, EQ, ect....
For the vocals, i started by adding a pitch corrector to clean up my voice a little bit and make it more appealing to listen to. I then used the guitar pedal board option to add a fuzzy affect to my voice, this made the vocals blend in to the guitar a little, stopping it from sticking out too much.
For the drums, i took the high ends out of the kick drum and turned it up slightly higher than the other instruments to create a deeper sound. I put a preset from the logic EQ section to both the overheads to clear them up slightly. Similarly for the snare i put a punchy preset on and also took out a few of the low ends.
For the guitar, i wasn't keen on the setting that i had the amp on when i originally recorded the song so i used the logic pedal to add a treble setting to the recording.
For the bass, yet again I added a preset for slap bass to emphasise the technique that i used.
finished product - seeing sublimal signals:
Evaluation
At the end of this project, i have managed to successfully produce a song that i could potentially showcase at a gig. Unfortunately, i did not have enough time to record a music video to go with my track due to time constraints.
WWW
- I managed to use a slap bass technique in my song, which i have been interested in integrating into my work for a while now.
- I was able to use EQ effectively to improve the sound of my track.
- I was independent in my production and managed to figure out a way for me to record guitar, bass and vocals by myself.
- The different sections and tempo changes in my song are obvious and easy for the listener to identify.
EBI
- I should have recorded to a click to avoid excessive slips in tempo, or better yet asked a drummer thats more tight to dep for me.
- I could have definitely been more disciplined with time management as the last couple weeks of the project were a rush to get done, resulting in a project that doesn't represent my full potential. This also meant that upsettingly, i never got around to recording a music video to accompany my song.
- Created more lyrics for a verse in my song.
- Created a guitar or bass solo.
Audience
This song is targeted towards people who enjoy heavy, sloppy music such as Alice in Chains or Acid Bath. I could promote myself and this song by possibly playing it at a gig, or releasing it on a streaming platform.
From completing this project, i could advertise myself to people as a session musician as i played most of the key components myself. Additionally, as i spent a lot of my time setting up and learning my way around the studio i have improved skills around being a sound or studio technician.
D10 - Marketing
Press release
Event:
Date:
Venue:
CONTACT NAME AND EMAIL/Number:
C.C.:
Embargo until?(only if early)
BEGINS
Paragraph 1: Who, What, Where, When ?
Paragraph 2: STORY ANGLE, where people are from
Paragraph 3: Ask people for some Quotes
Paragraph 4: Where to get tickets etc.
ENDS
List of attached images (300dpi JPEG):
Names of people in Photographs L- to R.
Where people are from
Marketing plan outline
4-5 week marketing plan
WEEK ONE EPK and Press Release to Press (DEADLINE DATES FOR PRINTING 1 Month
Minimum)
WEEK TWO POSTERS – printed and put up with teams (with permission) approx. two weeks before event
WEEK THREE FLYERS – in public places/barbers/fastfood with permission up to three weeks before
WEEK FOUR LAST ONLINE PUSH – drip in previous weeks, daily releases in the last week
WEEK FIVE DAY OF UNPLUGGED EVENT – talk to people about the release live, Have QR codes and flyers on programme and seats, merch on table
Marketing routes:
Physical
1:1 conversations
Press – Local Mags, Western Daily Press Group
UCS Marketing Dept.
Pre- appearances GWS
Posters
Flyers
Broadcast
Ross at Radio 9 Springs (Yeovil)
BBC introducing
BBC Somerset
Online
YOUTUBE
FACEBOOK
What’s On Somerset/Glastonbury Etc. NUB.
Posters and flyers
Physical marketing
Today I am sticking up posters and flyers in the college canteen to promote the Unplugged gig. Other people form the group volunteered to stick posters in various places such as the local pubs, supermarket community boards, barbers and the venue itself.
Audience
This will mean we are reaching a younger like-minded audience, who may be interested in supporting the college community.
Using a promotional video to market a gig.
Marketing plan until Friday night:
In order to effectively promote the gig on social media, I will need to post some sort of promotional material everyday. The boys have already recorded a few videos were they talk about the gig in detail, so i will be posting them throughout the week. I also want to get a recording of their rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday and post sneak peaks on the bands Instagram story. I want to make a compilation video to post on Instagram to promote the gig.
Making a promotional video on premier:
Today I decided to make a promotional video to post on Instagram. I did this on Premier as it is the app I am most familiar with and find easy to navigate. I imported footage from previous gigs, recorded on an old camcorder to give a retro, grainy effect. I then cut the clips up into tiny segments and arranged them in time with the background music - Vega's recent release. At the end of the compilation video I put the gig details such as location and date. I don't have a lot of experience on Premier so this was a great learning experience to improve my video editing skills.
Publishing the video on Social media:
In order to reach as many people as possible, I decided to post the video on three platforms: Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
On Instagram, I tried to use as many relevant hashtags as possible to increase engagement. I also reposted the video on the band Instagram story to promote even further. By doing all of this i managed to get the post on all four of the Instagram algorithms, allowing the video to get pretty decent engagement! 1.2K views, 40 likes, 4 comments and 7 shares.
I did exactly the same process on TikTok as I did on Instagram - post and repost on story. However, the video did a lot worse on TikTok, only getting around 500 views and 15 likes.
The post on Facebook only got around 70 views, and for some reason I cant see how many likes we got.
Audience
By publishing the video on Instagram and TikTok i will be reaching a younger, more curious viewership. Meaning this specific audience may be more open to seeing a newer, niche band performing music they haven't heard before. However, by posting the video on Facebook i will be reaching an older demographic
Personal promotion
Marketing plan
I have decided that the best way for me to market myself would be through a website as i can display my variety of skills. It would be easier for me to showcase both my artist management and performance skills across material that is simple for the viewer to navigate and filter through, depending on what they are interested in.
Logo
WIX
The main goal of my website is to appeal to my audience; whether thats relating with emotion, interests or experience. I will do this by writing an affective hook for the homepage of my website, which will convince the reader to spend time reading my work.
My hook:
I began my musical journey performing my songs on stage with bandmates, a year later I'm entering the music business industry and managing them.
Citations
* - https://razorcake.org/one-punks-guide-to-sludge-metal-by-angus-wonder-of-it-all/
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