Critical evaluation



The process of searching for ideas and seeking inspiration towards the creation of my original composition came to mind when I first began narrowing down ideas that were drawn from my basic knowledge from prior musical writing. As I generally stick to a specific genre in terms of writing lyrics, which is my standard starting point when creating a song, I find that the melody of a piece comes easier to me once I have discovered a theme and created a mood which I can further develop into an original melody. There were several methods that came to mind when exploring ways to experiment with creating a musical instrumental background, such as online programs, which although initially complex in its use, was the only tool to aid me in writing music, as I have very little practice with playing musical instruments, however enough theoretical knowledge to create music with the support of musical programs.

My first idea came about whilst listening to a deep house mix I found on YouTube with a Jazz overtone (Peggy Lee - Fever (Stavros Remix). I liked the originality of the concept which was something I was inspired to further look into. My initial idea was to use existing deep house tracks and change certain elements such as the tempo rhythm and overall sound design of the piece. Furthermore I was planning to create a lyrical jazz melody to sing over the edited tracks with the use of the program ‘ableton live’, which was recommended to me. As this idea turned out to be more complex than expected with more experienced knowledge of track mixing techniques required, I decided to focus on something else.

My next source of inspiration snuck up on me while listening to evanescence. It allowed me to imagine a distinct foundation of what I wanted to base my work on. Due to her general repetition of piano melodies, drawn mainly from violin drones and simplistic drum beats as well as sustained vocal melodies for example one of her known songs ‘Hello’. I envisioned creating something similar, keeping in mind her dark and ominous overtone which is a genre of music I have previously practiced vocally on. I drew a liking to her quote, “I think that our lyrics are definitely dark, but I know for a fact that we pull our inspiration from a million different influences. We listened to everything growing up. Our music isn't just 'opera metal' or 'gothic pop' it's just Evanescence.” This rang true to me as one’s inspirations for songwriting tend to be the product of their environments and experiences rather than words that they thought of at the moment and matched to a melody.

After writing lyrics drawn from this concept, I seeked out the help of a friend in using the program ‘Cubase’ to create the melody as it proved to be the most comprehensive and complete professional toolset, especially if you have a windows computer as it is one of the most known programs for professional musical use by producers. With the use of a midi controller keyboard, I was able to compose a melody that matched the lyrics I had written, allowing me to create the song I had envisioned. I was then shown how to attach a new library plugin, where I included more instrument’s for every sound I wanted to construct on top of my created melody, giving my piece a richer sound as well as sticking to the original foundation drawn from evanescence’s musical tones.






BIBLIOGRAPHY





unknown. (2015). Evanescence > Quotes. Available: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/719723.Evanescence. Last accessed 14/01/15.

TooStepMusic. (Published on Feb 16, 2013). Peggy Lee - Fever (Stavroz Remix). Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvNlXpC4MlA. Last accessed 14/01/15.




TinaRR. (Uploaded on Feb 12, 2007). Evanescence - Hello. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih61MJ72v1Y. Last accessed 14/01/15.

Here are some screenshots I took of my process when creating my original song on 

the program Cubase

Overall workflow of song

Exporting as a wav file

Fixing overall volume by applying a hard limiter filter to raise everything

Mastering with izotope ozone 5 plugin

Piano notes corrected by hand, by dragging them on the right note and place

Song writing

I believe that lyrical writing doesn't have a specific method that's needed to be followed. It's something that depends on each person. As some may discover inspiration from a memory or a mood, others may need a melody in order to write something depending on the feeling that melody offers. Any how, in my case, I personally prefer to write lyrics first and then develop a melody from those lyrics. Then I'll have a clear idea of what mood i want to create depending on the meaning of my lyrics. As I had a concept in mind for the creation of my original song, which was slow and sustained vocals, I decided on making short lyrical lines. Therefore my lyrics would be minimal and the mood quite sad.

Verse 1

If I walk away

Would you even care?

Would you ask how I feel?

Chorus

Tonight that the sky is falling down

Tonight that everything falls down

Verse 2

If I walk away

If I step outside but there is nothing there

There is cold darkness and despair

And you're just a shadow made out from thin air

Bridge

My feet are falling through the ground

My world is breaking when you are not around

There are times that dreams are more real

Because everything is just filled with fear

Chorus

Tonight that the sky is falling down

Tonight that everything falls down

Tonight

Due to the fact that I decided to keep short lyrical lines, I was then able to experiment with tones and dynamics I would use in my voice at different parts of the song.

Inspired ideas for final original song

My initial plan for the Individual original song was to create an arrangement of deep house mixes with alterations and to create a jazz lyrical melody to sing over. As I enjoy fusion, I thought it would be an interesting concept, however it was more complicated than expected as I have no experience in terms of looping and DJ methods and techniques, My next idea was inspired after accidentally listening to one of evanescence's songs. I liked the simplicity of a repeated piano melody with the gradual addition of violin drones in the background as well as sustained vocals. It's not a style I generally sing as I prefer singing shorter vocal lines, however it gave me some workable ideas and I liked the concept of challenging myself to attempt writing a song that is out of my usual comfort zone. This song was the foundation that led to the creation of my song "Walk Away."

The importance of vocal warm-ups

In the past, I didn't dedicate much time in warming up my voice before singing. I felt that gradually through practicing a song, I would warm up my voice anyway, however it would sometimes lead to a strained voice and discomfort to my throat, especially when I would sing songs which required singing in a big range. Proper vocal warm up's aren't necessarily aimed at just the muscles in your voice, rather than your whole body including lip rolling, posture, torso and lip exercises in order to release and awaken tension build up in the muscles enabling more of a smoother sound. By learning to wake up the proper torso muscles, neck/throat tension can be greatly reduced and I've personally noticed more control in my voice after doing these sessions before practicing. I came across a 4 part warm up session from You tube which has been greatly beneficial to me. The clear instructions followed by demonstrations have proven to work for me and after the warm up exercises an improvement in my vocal range was noticed. As well as this, i am able to sing for much longer without feeling a strain on my voice. Here are the exercises i have been doing for a couple of weeks now.

This is an old Christmas song i performed at a school concert. I've noticed an improvement in my control over the microphone since then.

If i aint got you - Alicia keys (cover)

This is one of my latest songs I've covered.