For my STEP project, I took a one month long online course on learning the basics of the music production/DAW program Ableton Live through 343-Labs. Every week the class would meet on Mondays and Wednesdays and be introduced to new tools or concepts, ask questions, show off what work we had done so far, etc. In between these sessions, I would take a few hours to test out things I had learned, all while working towards finishing my own track as the final product of this project.

There are a few things that I think I can see that has changed because of this project. First, I began emphasizing my consideration of the reasons I want to work on creative projects more heavily. I don’t quite have my answer yet, but that will be a good step towards fixing one of the problems I tend to have with creative projects: motivation. I discovered different methods of ensuring that personal projects are finished, as well as more specific processes to help figure out what method of producing music works best for me. Most of all, though, I think I’ve begun to realize exactly how I can push myself to improve in more than just this field. Particularly, I think I’ve begun to realize just how little importance the tools that you use have on your ability to get better and create greater things. Tools can make the process go much quicker, but something amazing can still emerge with the most barebones of toolsets.

One of the topics that I think had the most profound effect on me was a discussion about the whole process of creating music. Some of the realizations weren’t all that grand, like there being several different styles of producing music that one may use, like starting in the session view then moving to arrangement view, versus working entirely in arrangement view. More important I think was when the instructor decided to discuss the topic of completing projects. Basically, what was said was that even he struggles to complete projects from time to time, which at one point led to him having about forty different tracks that were all in-progress works. This was eye-opening because I figured that others maybe struggled to finish projects too, but not quite to that extent. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t let myself have more than three projects concurrently without feeling like I had too many unfinished things lying around. His solution then was also interesting, imagining that he had a farm of sorts with a limited number of plots of land, and that he would need to “harvest” one of those plots before he got to “replant” or start another project.

What I think may have had the largest effect on me from that discussion of music creation though, was the consideration of why one makes music. In this class discussion he talked about the two primary aspects of music creation that writers/producers deal with – the artistic value versus the commercial value. The impact from this perhaps also had a compounded effect because of a class that I’m taking covering a similar topic of “authenticity,” as well as one of the artists I follow returning to music writing like they had done a while ago. This artist specifically cited these two different factors in their process of creating music, how he weighed them before, and how he feels about them now, and I was able to bring that up in this class and have a good discussion with my instructor about how artists try to find the balance between those two that best fits them. I’m still unsure as to where I land between those two, but it’s a topic that I only remember hearing artists talking about before, and never really considered myself before now.

One of the last things that we did in this course was look over one of the tracks that our instructor had been recently working on, to see some of the concepts and tools we’d been introduced to in a “real” professional setting. This session showed me how effectively some of the tools we had been learning about could be used, but we were also introduced to other tools that were not included with the software required for the course. In this session, my instructor mentioned that the basic tools that we have work fine, and can be used to great effect still, but it may take longer to fine-tune them to get the sound just right. Basically, the extra tools he was showing us are great time-savers, but do not enable him to do anything more than we can without them. This discussion along with some prior experiences has at least begun breaking down my ideas about being incapable because I don’t have access to the tools. It may take more time to accept that fully, but I think it is a good first step.

These three changes/developments are very important to me because they relate to problems that I’ve either had before or have been dealing with recently. I have wanted to do some large creative project for a very long time, but I tend to lose motivation on those projects quickly. I’ve heard that having multiple projects to jump between can help, but that never sat well with me, and hearing that it does work from someone who I’ve directly interacted with I think may help change my view of it. The topic of advanced tools not being required to make something good was such an important thing for me to hear as well. I often think that expensive tools are a large part of the disparity between my ability and other people who I look up to, but I know now that I can do all that with the basic tools that I now have access to within the Ableton Suite. Not only that, I think that may also provide me some motivation towards trying to stick with it and develop my abilities and skills further.
The most important of the three changes listed above was the discussion of the “why.” I’m getting near the end of my education now, and I have been thinking what I am going to do afterwards. I enjoy computer science but am unsure if I’m still pursuing it because I want to, or just because it is the best option for my situation and has decent pay. Similarly, I’m also considering my aspirations for writing and music, wondering if I want to write the stories I am working on or make the music I want to hear, or if I just want to get in on that ever-slim chance of hitting it big. Right now, I don’t really have an answer to either of those questions, but I think those are both valuable things to think about. Both sides of both questions I think hold true to some extent, but inching closer to where I lie exactly in either case can only help me clear up and solidify my motivations moving forward.

My STEP Signature Project was a five-month journey of learning to play the piano and build on my singing skills. During the project, I had 19 weeks of singing and piano lessons with my instructor, Nick Taylor.

Before the start of my project, I thought that I couldn’t sing any song I wanted to and sound good/effortless like I had seen other singers do. Now that my project has ended, I learned that staying true to my voice, keeping in mind technique, and modifying the song to fit my voice (changing notes to be in a more comfortable range) disproves my original assumption.

I also feel like I better understand the mindset I need to have while singing and playing the piano. For singing specifically I need to think about breathing from the diaphragm. For both singing and piano, I need to stay relaxed and believe in myself.

In the initial lesson, my instructor adjusted my breathing technique. He told me to sing from my diaphragm and not lift my shoulders when taking a breath. This new technique has become very natural for me. It has allowed me to not let air escape and it creates a fuller sound. I think that this is what created the biggest difference in my voice.

Each lesson I would warm up my voice. There was one warmup that stood out to me, though. It’s descending and goes “ya, ya, ya.” The goal of this warmup is to relieve any tension I may have; the instructor said that I should sing it as if my mouth was injected with Novocaine, a numbing agent. This gave me a visual of how I needed to sing and prepared me for more singing.

Also at the initial lesson, my instructor talked about imitation, which is singing like the actual singer. I sang “The 1” by Taylor Swift at my initial lesson. After I was done, he asked if I could sing it in full voice/not breathy. At first, I thought that it wasn’t going to match the song stylistically, but the result was much better as it was more supported and suited my voice better. He then picked songs that were from Broadway/movies. One song that I worked on, “On My Own” from Le Misérables, was probably my favorite song that I sang during lessons. It allowed me to work on supporting low notes just as I do high notes. It allowed me to belt and develop a character all while keeping everything supported. I think the contrast of the two songs made me realize that I can sing whatever song I want, I just need to sing with my voice.

Throughout the project, I always felt that my playing and singing were better if I was relaxed, and I thought about what I needed to do without overanalyzing it. I had never played the piano before, so I was learning a brand-new skill. About halfway through the lessons, I got a supplemental piano book that had more challenging pop songs in it. Sometimes keeping the rhythm was a challenge for me. In addition to staying relaxed, I just had to believe that I could play those songs and keep practicing.

This project is significant to my life as it allowed me to become more confident in my voice and add to my musical skills by learning piano. Music is something I value, I listen to music, sing, and now play piano to relieve stress. I like that I can resonate with music, and I can adjust the genre I want to perform/listen to based on my mood. This transformation carries over into my personal, academic, and professional plans as it has helped me feel more confident in my musical abilities, thus adding more happiness to my life.

I am in the practice room where I had all my lessons!

This is my keyboard and piano books that I practice with at home!