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School of Rock – Day 15 – Celebration and Reflection
SUMMARY
- I took a School of Rock class where I learned how to write lyrics, alongside other music-making process. I’ve always had an issue with not being able to release my emotion, and lyric-writing could help me with these while also being a creative outlet.
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY
I have multiple song ideas. None are in active pursuit, but it’s a good way to generate and understand new thoughts.
Composition Elements
How interested were you in learning the leadership project?
Your score: 5
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
- I learned the foundation of songwriting through music theory. I learned chord structures and what pairs sound best together, and how to analyze music in depth rather than just hearing it.
How interested were you in learning about music theory and song analysis?
Your score: 4
LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)
- DAWs weren’t really my thing. It was more helpful for me to work with someone who knew their way around it. Despite this, it’s a powerful and convenient tool that allows a single person to create music by themselves.
How interested were you in learning about HookLab and HookTab?
Your score: 2
PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)
- Guitars hurt my fingers… I like it, I also used to like it all the way back in 4th grade. but at the same time, it’s not an instrument for me.
How interested were you in learning to play the guitar?
Your score: 3
OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)
- There are ways that modify my brain to work better. There are a lot of methods, but the commonality is realizing that the brain is affected by many things.
How interested were you in learning about topics related to the brain, creativity, and productivity?
Your score: 5
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
- Songwriting, especially lyric writing, is not as hard as I expected. Of course, I’m still a beginner, but it’s also something that takes multiple tries to get better.
How interested were you in learning about songwriting, song structure, and music production?
Your score: 4
CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)
- I didn’t focus much on this room, since I tried it out and it was evident it wasn’t my thing. I don’t remember much other than the mic test recording.
How interested were you in learning about recording, engineering (sound effects, EQ), and mixing?
Your score: 1
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- Tell your class story here!
- Highlight what you learned and enjoyed most for the past three weeks
- Highlight what at least one thing you overcame that was hard for you, at first. An achievement you are proud of.
THE COURSE’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION (OVERALL)
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: ?
What interested you most about the material in this class?
What was the most surprising, satisfying thing you learned that you didn’t know before?
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: ?
What did you like most about the class structure, ya’know the day-to-day work? Why?
What didn’t you like most about the class structure?
If you took the class again, what would you change?
School of Rock – Day 14 – Voice, Preparation, and Presentation
SUMMARY
I spent my time outside of the house, and that helped with idea creation.
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY
- I went to the Nisqually Estuary and I’m inspired to write some lyrics about the experience.
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
- SongExploder.net episodes
- Holistic Songwriting’s Artist Series
- Genius’ Songs Deconstructed Series
- Rick Beato’s What Makes This Song Great Series
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- I did not get to do much, since I focused more on my leadership project.
TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 3
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 3
School of Rock – Day 13 – Collaboration and Growth – Part 3
SUMMARY
Despite not being in class, I still completed my daily activities! Check out what I did underneath.
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY
- Yesterday night I spent some time of my own writing lyrics, to vent out frustration and anger towards someone I’ve never met. Today I worked on refining the words and making them more lyrically fitting. This is available on my Goals page.
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
- SongExploder.net episodes
- Holistic Songwriting’s Artist Series
- Genius’ Songs Deconstructed Series
- What Makes This Song Great Series
- “Deep End – Fousheé“
- Unrelated to the artist, Splice is a website for free music samples.
- she tried out various samples for the tone of the vocal, one being low and grounded, versus one being high and airy (her voice is naturally airy)
- her music was sampled by someone else, so she made a TikTok explaining it was her as there was a lot of misinformation spreading around.
- she was stressed from things in her life, and she turned it into a song. (demanding your worth)
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
- Top 5 Chord Progression
- 5. i – I
- 4. vi – IV, simple and pretty, has a lot of colors but lacks direction. relaxed
- 3. vi – I – ii – V
- 2. I – V – vi – IV, Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’. happy with a pinch of sadness (perfect blend of major and minor)
- 1. vi – IV – I – V,
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- I couldn’t participate in class in person today, because I was sick. I spent today contemplating about my life and how I can turn the various emotions into music.
School of Rock – Day 12 – Collaboration and Growth- Part 2
SUMMARY
I learned how to choose song names, and how to learn something in-depth in a short amount of time.
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY
I reorganized the poem arrangement, cutting out words and making it fit a 4/4 rhythm. I started working with Jared to write notes to the lyrics.
OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)
- Freakonomics – How to Become Great at Just About Anything
- “What if the thing we call “talent” is grotesquely overrated? And what if deliberate practice is the secret to excellence? Those are the claims of the research psychologist Anders Ericsson, who has been studying the science of expertise for decades. He tells us everything he’s learned.”
- purposeful practice is the method to improving at anything. Finding an area that needs to be worked on, then set a goal, and practice that area specifically.
- deliberate practice is constantly reaching outside the comfort zone of the student, so it requires maximum effort in order for it to be pulled off. the deliberate practice connects the weak/vulnerable neurons in the brains and strengthens them. the scientist/researcher that decided to explore her lifelong dream of being a singer was able to grow tremendously in a short span with a professional guide, and she ended up selling millions of copies of her remake.
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
- Holistic Songwriting’s Playlists
- 1M Song Title: consider the two listening situations, where the listener doesn’t know the song title(parties, radio) and wants to discover it, and where the listener does know the title (youtube recommendation, social media post with autoplay) and don’t know if it’s worthwhile to click on it.
- 1. ‘been a while’ factor, songs that have phrases that are said in daily life. whenever the phrase is said it brings you back to the song (Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson)
- 2. ‘duh’ factor, song titles that are obvious to the listener after they learn the name. it’s a clear title.
- 3. ‘wtf’ factor, for those looking for new songs. it’s eye-catching. use power words.
- 4. don’t use passive descriptions, like ‘love song’ or ‘drum song’. not eye-catching enough. In the same vein, don’t use numbers either (unless it has emotional values, like 1989) or acronyms.
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- Sometimes things are so obvious once you learn the process behind it, much like choosing song titles.
TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 4
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 3
School of Rock – Day 11 – Collaboration and Growth – Part 1
SUMMARY
I taught the class about three frames of motivation through Ayurveda. I also lyricized a poem my friend created.
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY
- My friend, an aspiring writer, made a poem about his own experience with pushing content on the interwebs. I asked if it was okay if I turn it into a lyric for a song, and he accepted my offer.
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
- Jake Lizzio’s The Music Theory of POWER CHORDS
-
Screenshot from Jake Lizzio’s The Music Theory of POWER CHORDS video at YouTube - SongExploder.net episodes
- Holistic Songwriting’s Artist Series
- Genius’ Songs Deconstructed Series
- Rick Beato’s What Makes This Song Great Series
- I watched SongExploder episode for the Sparks and Arlo Parks. Sparks discusses writing an unconventional song through storytelling. They had a story (a guy has a thing for a flight attendant and that made him fantasize about being a WW2 bomber) and worked from there, pulling out lyrics that elicit an emotional response. For Arlo Parks, she discusses the suicidal thought and depression of her friend and specifically elaborates on how she used her words sparsely (much like the lack of emotion for people suffering from depression) and how much she’d like to help her. I personally relate to that, as I’ve had friends talk about their depression or experiences with other mental illnesses. Every time I wished that I could just hug them and make their problems disappear.
OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)
- 3 Motivation Styles determined by Personality by HealthyGamerGG
- Thanks, Jessica!
- Go for a walk and think about what this video meant to you.
- I’m probably a wind-fire type, so having a workflow that blends both would be best for me.
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
- Jake Lizzio’s The Music Theory of POWER CHORDS
-
Screenshot from Jake Lizzio’s The Music Theory of POWER CHORDS video at YouTube - Holistic Songwriting’s Playlists
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- I realized that you can make songs about heavy topics, and it lessened the embarrassment I’ve been feeling with my creative process.
TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 4
I was happy to contribute something to the class. I think it was very worthwhile for my classmates, and I hope it left a great impression as the video did on me.
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 5
I really like turning poems into songs!
School of Rock – Day 10 – Community
SUMMARY
I started my leadership activity.
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY
I plan to make a piece of self-written music.
OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)
- Kevin Kelly Interview: Part 1 (Full Episode) from The Tim Ferriss Show (Podcast)
- “He is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine, which he co-founded in 1993. He also co-founded the All Species Foundation, a non-profit aimed at cataloging and identifying every living species on earth. In his spare time, he writes bestselling books, co-founded the Rosetta Project, which is building an archive of ALL documented human languages and serves on the board of the Long Now Foundation. As part of the last, he’s investigating how to revive and restore endangered or extinct species, including the Wooly Mammoth.” – from YouTube video description
- “Kevin Kelly is the founding executive editor of Wired magazine and a former editor/publisher of the Whole Earth Review. He has also been a writer, photographer, conservationist, and student of Asian and digital culture.” – Wikipedia
- he “packages ideas into books, magazines, and websites”, Kelly says.
- it’s good to explore ‘slack’. This is discovering your options and interests, not choosing to go into the workforce due to the fear most people have (paying bills, putting food on the table, people expecting you to be working)
- living a thrifty life is useful. even without it saving money, knowing how to survive poor helps with the anxiety that comes from thinking you’re gonna end up on the street one day. it helps with risk-taking.
- he worked odd jobs in the US and traveled in Asia, a cycle of making money and then exploring the world.
- voluntary poverty? voluntary simplicity? relation to stoicism?
- focus on direct communication, direct and concrete (concrete vs convention) “write to think”
- ^ relates to the concept of songwriting- write a descriptive paragraph and take pieces of that
- passionate writing triumphs conventional writing
- do work you enjoy – or rather, do work you don’t think you’ll hate (Kelly didn’t like the idea of teaching English. He just didn’t think it was worth his time)
- “what needs you, you specifically to work?”
- write down ideas. if you have a vision for something, you have to be the one to work on it
- give out ideas to other people, and have yourself work on things you can’t give away (generosity as a vetting process)
- you have to start unsuccessful to be successful (money doesn’t buy solutions)
- ‘accumulating enough money for other things is not a requirement’
- things that bring you a lot of enjoyment are worth more than money (friends>money). technology/idea is devaluing money
- write down how many days you have left in life, it’s very motivating.
- (interview 2) (not to condone drugs, but) it may be useful to use drugs to open yourself outside of worldly things if individuals can be trusted to use them wisely (psychedelic experience is transformative)
- to be human, we have to have a future to look for
- focus on goals, family, and your priority, not money or external values
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
- Holistic Songwriting: Songwriting Corner
- Holistic Songwriting: Songwriting Exercises
- Holistic Songwriting: 5 Minute Lessons
- “9 Great Ways to Start a Song”
- There are ways to build up songs, whether from the bottom up or top-down. My choice (since I’m only going for lyrics and some chords) would be paper and story-based, as it seems to be helpful with building top-down.
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- I spent the whole day listening to the interview, and it was pretty worth it. I think I have a new way of looking at life.
TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 5
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 3
School of Rock – Day 9 – Workflow
SUMMARY
I improved my workflow, and you can do it too.
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
Rick Beato explored TOOL‘s work, specifically Schism. The music starts off with a bass beat, then it separates into two different beats that work together, then evolves into individual riffs that are subdivided. Throughout the music, the drum and guitar are stronger than the vocal. The drum is rather elaborate and provides more than the bottom layer in the music.
LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)
-
- Hooktheory.com/videos
- Songwriting Series. (4 videos)
- Lyrics to music videos (2 videos)
- “Going from Lyrics to Music”
- say the lyrics out loud to the beat, it has a natural form
- make a general ‘shape’ of the melody
- after the ‘curve’ of the melody is made, put in the half notes to create tension
OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)
- Kevin Kelly Interview: Part 1 (Full Episode) from The Tim Ferriss Show (Podcast)
- “He is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine, which he co-founded in 1993. He also co-founded the All Species Foundation, a non-profit aimed at cataloging and identifying every living species on earth. In his spare time, he writes bestselling books, co-founded the Rosetta Project, which is building an archive of ALL documented human languages and serves on the board of the Long Now Foundation. As part of the last, he’s investigating how to revive and restore endangered or extinct species, including the Wooly Mammoth.” – From YouTube video description
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
- Holistic Songwriting: Songwriting Corner
- Holistic Songwriting: Songwriting Exercises
- Holistic Songwriting: 5 Minute Lessons
CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)
- Clark Eagling: Soundtrap tutorial 5 – Arranging the song, Mixing and adding effects
- all five videos in the playlist
- Soundtrap Support (Effects and Mixing)
- Swick’s Classroom Recreating Chainsmokers
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- It’s good to analyze other music and try to see why they’re so good (by having someone else do it for you), and apply it to your own music.
TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3– 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 3
The lyric writing and the musical analysis were engaging, but the rest of the videos were not new and bored me. I might spend some time looking for new videos in the specific rooms.
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 2
I didn’t exactly have time to do school-related content during the weekend. Thus today’s process wasn’t too amazing, due to my own situation.
School of Rock – Day 8 – Leadership
SUMMARY
I deepened my understanding of songwriting and the lyric writing process.
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
- Holistic Songwriting’s Artist Series
- Genius’ Songs Deconstructed Series
- Rick Beato’s What Makes This Song Great Series
I watched the Deconstructed video on Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”. In the video, there’s a scene that goes through how he created the beats and the heavy thump sound and shows how he randomly placed one drum part at a time. I think the hi-hat trill(?) placement was remarkable, and it gives the song the light energy that works as both a trap and country music.
LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)
-
- Hooktheory.com/videos
- Songwriting Series. (4 videos)
- Lyrics to music videos (2 videos)
- I watched the four videos on HookTheory’s songwriting series (sultry sax song). It takes me through the steps of building a song, from bottom-up to the melody which is the final piece of the music. Thinking on this, I realized how music is developed from the ground layer yet the listeners perceive the melody as the most important.
OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)
- Adriel Wallick’s creative process (even though it’s about game design, it’s still a great process for any creative person)
- Time limitation is a good thing. Setting goals for yourself is doubly good. Unlimited free time is freeing in terms of workload, but terrible with how it unmotivates us.
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
- Holistic Songwriting: Songwriting Corner
- Holistic Songwriting: Songwriting Exercises
- Holistic Songwriting: 5 Minute Lessons
- I watched the Songwriting Corner.
- Leaving gaps open may be an interesting choice for songwriters, as it leaves room for the listeners to fill in the gaps themselves.
- Play around the piano and see if you can identify the notes in your head. find a scale around the melody you just created that portrays the mood you want.
CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)
- Clark Eagling: Soundtrap tutorial 5 – Arranging the song, Mixing and adding effects
- all five videos in the playlist, if you are interested.
- Soundtrap Support (Effects and Mixing)
- Swick’s Classroom Recreating Chainsmokers
- Moving through different DAWs and completing the arrangement is fascinating. There are a lot of differences and problems that arise from exporting from another program, which seem to be very specific issues.
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- I really like watching the processes of how professionals compile music, but I’m also shy about trying it out myself. That might be one of my interests, it would be a cool part of music production to explore in the future.
TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 4
The videos were substantial today, I really enjoyed them.
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 3
I wasn’t in the mindset to be productive for the majority of the morning. I felt better after I took a break, but the process would’ve been better if I were in a better mood.
School of Rock – Day 7 – Planning and Pathways
SUMMARY
I watched professional people demonstrate and rated my interest in the fields they showed me.
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
Holistic Songwriting by Friedemann Findeisen
An Example: The Swift Formula – One Note Melodies
There are only three parts to a pop song. These are repeated throughout the song to create the emotion the listeners get. Limiting yourself to smaller options is also a good choice since restrictions mean more rigidity to work with. Chords aren’t a consideration when the song is being written, but when the music is transcribed for instruments.
How interested in learning more about music theory and song analysis?
Your score: 3
LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)
-
- Songwriting Series. (4 videos)
- Lyrics to music videos (2 videos)
Generate the base chords first, and then modify some starting there. Write the chords first before you create the melody since chords are the melodies but ‘together’. Try to read the speed of the chords you’ve already made, and make the melody based off of that.
How interested in learning more about HookLab and HookTab?
Your score: 3
PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)
Watch Mary Spender: Powerful advice from 10 Professional Musicians you need to hear (14:15)
117 Free Lessons YouTube Playlist
Be curious about Justin.
- Mr. Le Duc considers him the best beginning guitar teacher online. He’s not the only one that thinks this. Check out some of the celebrity endorsements at justinguitar.com.
How interested in learning more about playing the guitar?
Your score: 4
OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)
Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life. (20 minutes)
up to 10 years of your life can be gained through strengthening 4 different areas of yourself. This is social, physical, mental, and emotional resilience.
How interested in these topics about the brain, creativity, and productivity?
Your score: 5
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
Holistic Songwriting: Do THIS with every song you write | Hit Song Architect S1E3
Write what was most interesting to you learned.
How interested in songwriting, song structure, and music production?
Your score: 4
CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)
Clark Eagling: Soundtrap tutorial 5 – Arranging the song, Mixing and adding effects
How interested in recording, engineering (sound effects, EQ), and mixing?
Your score: 2
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
The rating system was interesting. I wrote a goal for myself, which can be viewed through the top right corner of my blog that says “Goal”. I provided feedback to Jared’s music composition, which is developing very nicely. I really like the Holistic Songwriting YouTube Channel, since he breaks down composition concepts into smaller pieces to help me conquer them one at a time.
TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 4
I think I found a new YouTuber to binge while I play games, Holistic Songwriting’s content is phenomenal so far.
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 4
Watching the HookTheory composer go through the composition process was very demystifying.