29) References.

References.

AnIrishMansJukeBox, 2008: ‘The Chieftains – Women Of Ireland (Mná na h-Éireann)’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmANPPIi168 accessed 11/10/10

Babalooy, 2007: ‘Blue Man Group – Baba O’Riley’,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN-MUx6dg6w&feature=related accessed 5/10/10

Bushroot, 2007: ‘Paris, Oct. 61 (chanson de La Tordue)’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWXH_JWkT4k accessed 14/10/10

Cerridwen, 2006: ‘Sinead O’Connor &the Chieftains – The Foggy Dew’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13MQFCfCYdQ accessed 15/10/10

Charlie, 2008: 'Demystifying the Creative Process',  http://www.productiveflourishing.com/demystifying-the-creative-process/ accesed 18/10/10

Chieftains, The 2008: http://www.last.fm/music/The+Chieftains, accessed 14/10/10

Corrs, The, 2008: http://www.last.fm/music/The+Corrs accessed 16/10/10

Danielgondimcorr, 2007: ‘The Corrs – Breathless’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eBkXXSbwlE accessed 18/10/10

DansingSteps, 2008: 'Riverdance – Eurovision Song Contest 1994 Dublin', http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaDzCySXhqQ accessed 17/10/10

Deanodubb, 2007: 'Blue Man Group – Drumbone (Last Call Vegas)' accessed10/11/10.

Haveerf, 2007: 'Michael Flatley Lord of the dance', http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-pGzCre7Po&feature=related accessed 11/10/10

Heile, Bjorn, 2009:Weltmusik and the Globalization of New Music (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing)

Nimue9, 2007: ‘ Gaelic Storm – “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” ’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXSeWJOHVSQ accessed 25/10/10

O'Brien, Jamie, 2010: The Chieftains"http://www.rambles.net/chieftains_box.html

Paula GH, 2009: ‘The Corrs – Runaway (Official video HQ)’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5eP5OZiPME accessed 19/10/10

Sampler1988, 2009: 'Steve Reich – Different Trains (Part 1)', http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYnAQ-lK74A accessed 12/10/10

Sinead O'Connor, 2010: http://www.biography.com/articles/Sinead-O'Connor-9542316 accessed 14/10/10

Stomponline, 2008: ‘Brooms’, http://www.youtube.com/user/stomponline#p/a/u/1/sXx_wtF7_68 accessed 10/11/10

Stomponline, 2008: ‘Suspension’, http://www.youtube.com/user/stomponline#p/u/3/xIgSqtjzeyE accessed 10/11/10

Thenet579, 2009: ‘Under the bridges of Paris’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imnYHSUwVB8 accessed 12/10/10

The Show 2010: http://www.riverdance.com/htm/theshow/index.htm, accessed 26/10/10

Totof1964, 2007: ‘Rue de Panam – Ogres de Barback’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E3H03gytM4 accessed 13/10/10

Ursakki, 2008: ‘Titanic Dance Music’,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U50hqJS2ock&NR=1 accessed 27/10/10

What is Blue Man Group?, 2008: http://www.blueman.com/about/whatis, accessed 7/11/10

28) The Final products

So finally, here are my compositions.

There isn't really much to say about these- I've explained everything about them in the last 27 posts.  I hope you enjoy them and I hope by reading my blog, it makes each of my ideas and thoughts slightly clearer...

Irish Jig.
This piece starts with a person flicking through holiday brochures deciding where to go.  They then decide which country they would like to travel to (Ireland).  The aeroplane can be heard on the runway, followed by the announcement over the speakers from the Captain.  This is when the Irish jig starts.  

Irish Jig final by fionastannard

"The Sounds of Golf"
A composition using recorded sounds from the golf course.

Final Golf Composition by fionastannard

27) What would I do differently in my golf composition?

Making Changes - Golf Composition. 

Obviously, I would like to spend more time on these compositions and finish them to a higher standard, but unfortunately, due to time restraints, I am unable to do so.  However, if I could and if this coursework was purely marked on the composition, I would like to make it more interesting by including more "tuned instruments". 


For example, often when I am down at the driving range, people use their drivers and hit the big metal pillars behind them.  This creates a "ping" sound, which could either be used as a cymbal or as a triangle.  Although I wanted to record this sound, I wasn't prepared to use my own clubs to hit the pillar.  I tried using several other tools, like broom handles, spanners and hedge cutters, but none of these created the sound I was looking for.  


I would also liked to have used EXS24 to manipulate sounds like laughter, talking, whistling and the various machinery used on a golf course.  However, again, unfortunately although I have captured the laughter, talking and whistling, the machines were not on the golf course when I was there.    



Although there are many things I would like to change, I am also very pleased with the result of this composition.  I usually find it difficult to "lose control" with my music, so I found this an enormous challenge.  


When starting to compose this composition, I didn't feel at all comfortable.  I felt very unprepared and felt like I needed to have things written down so I knew what I was doing.


Looking back now, I realise I don't always need to be in control.  Part of the fun of music is letting yourself go and creating pieces you didn't know you could.  I discovered, throughout this process, that because I wasn't being controlled, my music was able to reflect my moods and not become another piece containing the usual arranged and conventional notation.


After completing this piece of music, I now feel more at ease stepping outside my comfort zone, taking a step into the unknown and composing as ideas come to mind.  

26) What would I do differently in my Irish Jig?

I was amazed at how drastically my ideas changed.  Originally I had started by considering composing a minimalist piece, based on Steve Reich.  I ended up composing an Irish Jig.  There isn't much more of a contrast than those two genres.

When I saw my tutor, he mentioned that the accordion part is "unplayable".  Never having played the accordion, I didn't realise this.  Although it is in error, I haven't changed it, because that was part of my journey.  If my composition was the key area for this project, then obviously I would have changed it.  

I thought I knew a lot of Irish music, but by doing this project, I have introduced myself to many more bands I'd never even heard about.  Some of these (like Gaelic Storm) even turned into my biggest influences.  

Obviously, it depends on how your mind works and what your individual process is when starting to compose a piece of music.  However, I never realised how similar it was to booking a holiday.  There are so many areas involved in composing, which I hadn't thought about, before.  

Along my own personal journey, I have discovered how important other people are in the planning.  Without talking to others, I wouldn't have discovered many of the bands and artists I did.  I have always found it difficult to take other peoples suggestions into account but looking back on this, I've become aware of the importance of this.  

Overall, I am pleased with this piece of work but as Dr Sansom pointed out, I have stayed in my comfort zone.  Although at first, I was horrified by the thought of composing a piece that was "unconventional" I am glad he persuaded me to try.  

  

25) Snippets from the Audio recordings.

Audio Recordings.

I have included some little snippets of the recordings I collected whilst undertaking this piece of coursework.  I haven't included the full length of some of the tracks, because many of the recordings lasted over an hour.  To record the sounds, I used an Olympus WS-100 digital voice recorder. 

Practice swing on the course. 

Practice Swing on the course. by fionastannard

Putting on the green when an ambulance was driving past.

Ambulance and Putting on green by fionastannard

Driver Hit (Used for the bass drum of my track)

Driver hit by fionastannard

Birds tweeting (Used to create the atmosphere at the beginning of my track)

Birds tweeting by fionastannard

A practice swing on the driving range.  (Whipping Sound)

Club Whipping by fionastannard

Footsteps (Can be heard at the beginning of my piece and also used to create a Snare Drum sound.

Footsteps by fionastannard

Ball rolling into the hole (heard at the end of my piece)

Ball in hole by fionastannard

Hitting Balls from the grass

Hitting balls from the grass by fionastannard

Driving Range atmosphere

Driving Range atmosphere by fionastannard

24) Golf Courses - The beauty of them.

23) Hindhead Golf Club.

Playing Golf at Hindhead.

On Sunday 7th November, I played a golf match at Hindhead Golf Club.  I arrived an hour an a half early (I misjudged the traffic, slightly!!) so thought I would make the most of this spare time and roughly plan the direction of my composition.  Unfortunately, the only material I could find to write on, was a disposable bath mat.  However, that was better than nothing!


I sat in the Clubhouse and wrote down all of the sounds which I heard.  These included people talking, Tea  Cups and plates, dishwashers, laughter, whistling, Bells, the television, footsteps, the till opening and closing and the rattling of Golf Clubs.


When I moved outside, I heard people hitting golf balls on the range, tractors, the range ball machine cleaning balls, a person shouting "fore", people talking, more footsteps, people putting on the green, the pro-shop door opening and closing, birds, trees and someone sneezing.


Moving back inside, I tried to work out which of these sounds I could use.  I ended up ruling out the indoors sounds, because nothing stood out which would make it sound specifically like a golf club.  Hearing plates and laughter, could have been in a coffee shop, a restaurant, a nursing home or a house.


I tried to imagine a story, which I could try and compose.  I thought about starting with birds singing, to create the general ambience of a golf club.  Then I could hear footsteps, crunching leaves followed by the rattling of clubs, as the golfer was carrying his clubs.
There would then be a  pause (other than the birds), a deep breath and then a sigh. This would be to represent what I love most about the golf course - fresh air!


I was thinking of then fading the driving range sounds in, which I recorded before, then gradually cutting this up, so there was only one club (which was the driver) to create a beat.


I recorded the sound of a "whipping" club (the sound of someone taking a practice swing, without hitting the ball). I thought this could also be put into the sampler and could be used as a snare drum with a "reverse gate" on it.


For any extra tuned sounds, I thought about using "sculpture" in Logic and setting it to a wooden sound, to reflect the trees and also the "wood" clubs.


Between each section, I considered playing the clip of the tractor, which would drive from one speaker to the other.

22) Manipulating the recorded sounds.

Manipulating The Recorded Sounds and Beginning the Composition.

After seeing the quote I have mentioned on the previous page, I decided I would reflect the power of rhythm, by creating the strongest part of my rhythm section (the bass drum), using the most powerful golf club. This was the driver. 

Driver by fionastannard

For the snare drum, I used a recording of someone topping the ball.

For both the “Bass Drum” and the “snare drum”, I changed the EQ. 

For the Bass Drum (Driver), I boosted the bass and took out any high frequencies.

Bass Drum by fionastannard

For the snare drum, I took out all the frequencies below 1000 Hz and increased the frequencies between 4550Hz and 6000 Hz.

I didn't want to manipulate the sounds too much, because I wanted to try and use the raw recorded sounds and not take away from the fact that it was a composition about golf.  

I also didn't actually plan what each “instrument” was going to play.  I laid down the most powerful track first, which was the bass drum.  I played this on every beat to create a “four-on-the-floor” feel. I then changed this and decided to play the Bass Drum on the first and third beat of the bar.  


When I was down on the driving range recording sounds, I was lucky enough to catch a girl laughing.  The driving range is made of corrugated iron and because of this, it is very reverberant.  After the girl laughed, it echoed and sounded like it was pitched note.  I have cut this out of the recording and put it into EXS24.  I changed the pitch bend to "12", which meant the pitch bend has a range of 2 octaves (1 octave above the note and 1 octave below the note.) I then created a very simple 70's synth.  Again, I didn't want to create anything too complicated, because I didn't want to detract from the rhythms.  

70s synth bass by fionastannard



The only Logic midi instrument I used was the "Poly Fat Bass"  I have kept this simple so it doesn't overcrowd the rhythm section.  

After this, I pressed the record button before I had a chance to work out what I was going to play.  I felt uncomfortable doing this, because I'm used to planning everything and knowing exactly what I'm doing, before I start. 

As difficult as it was, I have tried to avoid changing anything I have recorded.  This meant I couldn't think about what I had just written and alter it, which was what I was trying to get away from doing.

21) Blue Man Group

 Blue Man Group.

Although Blue Man Group is not based purely on rhythms, I was still influenced by this group, when I was composing my piece. 

“Blue Man Group” is known for the theatrical shows and concerts which combine music, comedy and multimedia to produce a totally unique form of entertainment.”

One of Blue Man Group's original music, “Audio”, was nominated for a Grammy.

They have performed on many American television shows such as “The Tonight Show”, “Ellen”, “Regis & Kelly”, “Scrubs” and “Arrested Development”.

As well as performing, they have many family-focused educational projects, including a touring Children's Museum exhibit, “Making Waves”

However, although the company is rapidly expanding, they still “remain true to its vision of providing exciting experiences in a variety of media, appealing to a broad range of age groups and cultural backgrounds.”  Again, I thought this emphasised the importance of music in people’s lives, which is also why this was a big influence in my composition.

The Blue Man Group use every-day objects/ general household objects, to create their music.  This was the main reason I watched this group.  As I have been so classically trained, trying to create music with something other than instruments, was unimaginable.  I had real difficulty coming up with any ideas for this.  However, I then realised, after watching both Stomp and Blue Man Group, that it wasn't actually that difficult

20) Stomp

Stomp.

Stomp is all about rhythm, which is common to all cultures.  Therefore, it doesn't matter whether, the listener prefers Jazz, Classical, Dance or Pop, Stomp should still appeal to all ages and people.

Whilst researching Stomp, I saw a quote “Everyone knows rhythm, if only from the beating of their own heart – it is the basis of all music.”  After seeing this, I decided I was going to make my piece very simple, melodically, but try and create quite complex rhythms. 

“Stomp is a group of people, with a very strong personalities, who work together using simple building blocks to create something complex, something everyone can identify with: everyone has, at some time, to engage in group activity, whether they like or know the people they are working with or not.  It's the little idiosyncrasies, the differences between people, and the games of upmanship, that ensue, which define the group dynamic” (Stomp: 2010)

19) A Change of Direction

A Change of Direction.

Thinking I was finished this project, I saw my lecturer for a tutorial.  He talked to me for a while about “loosing control” and taking myself out of my comfort zone.

We talked for a while about my interests and finally came to the conclusion I should try and compose a piece of music about golf. 

Always having been classically trained, I found the thought of this quite daunting.  My thoughts were to do a piece of ambient music, but then decided that was too obvious.  I wanted this piece of coursework to help me overcome some issues I have with certain pieces of software, so I decided I would experiment with using the sampler, EXS24.

I still didn't know what direction I was going to take this piece, so I headed down to the local golf club and recorded all the sounds I heard.  These included: The general ambience, outside (for example, trees rustling, birds and the general chatter of people)

I then moved onto the driving range and recorded the sounds around me.  Unfortunately, whilst recording, a girls school arrived for a group lesson.  Unfortunately, this can obviously be heard throughout the recording.

I came back home and listened back through what I had just recorded and realised I could create a rhythm section, using the different sounds I had found, down at the club.

My main inspirations were the “Blue Man Group” and “Stomp”

Although I have never actually seen the “Blue Man Group”, live, a friend went to Las Vegas a couple of months ago and came back raving about them. 

I have seen “Stomp” three times, each time, discovering new elements that I had missed in the previous viewings.  

18) Quotations.

Quotations.

Whilst researching for this composition, I came across several quotes, which made me think about the influence and importance of music in people's lives.

Below, I have included some of the quotations I found.

“Music is the art of thinking with sounds” - Jules Combarieu

“Music is the Universal language of mankind.” - Henry Wadworth Longfellow

“When I don't like a piece of music, I make a point of listening to it more closely”- Florent Schmitt

“Music does bring people together.  It allows us to experience the same emotions.  People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit.” - Unknown

“Where words fail, music speaks” - Hans Christi Andersen quotes.

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul” - Plato. 

17) Samples

Samples.

One of my favourite activities is taking a microphone with me and recording sounds.  However, I had difficulty with this piece, because there wasn't, really, an opportunity to include any recorded sounds. 

I recorded the page turns at the beginning of the piece, however, other than this, there wasn't a huge amount I could do.

Originally, I planned to change the EQ on the “plane” sound so it would reflect the fact that it was taking off.  However, after listening to it, I found it really uncomfortable to listen to.  I asked other people what they thought  about it and they also came to the same conclusion.   At first, the changes of EQ were quite extreme but after the comments from peers and family, I changed it so it wasn't quite as harsh.  Although this sounded slightly better, I still wasn't happy with the sound so thought it would be best to take it out completely. 

Before I changed the EQ, I did wonder whether I would be complicating my composition and whether people would understand what I was trying to do.  However, I like to experiment when I compose and, unfortunately in this case, what I tried, didn't work. 

A couple of days later, I had another look at changing the EQ and realised it was just as effective if I changed the EQ, as I did before, but slower and gradually, over a longer period of time. 

16) Daily Journal

Daily Journal

Friday 10th	Original thoughts and deciding on a genre
Saturday 11th	Listened to different artists.  Although I have mentioned my main influences already, I listened to Mumford and Sons..............
Sunday 12th	Today I left my compositions.  I thought this would give me some space and would allow me to relax which may even results in coming up with some new ideas when least expecting.  If I stay infront of the computer for too long, I begin to lose any creativity.
Monday 13th	Today, I decided I would go towards the route of Irish music, however, I still listened to a whole range of artists incase I had any more thoughts.
Tuesday 14th	After deciding I would definitely compose an Irish piece of music, I spent today listening to different styles of Irish music.  Today was when I decided to compose an Irish Jig.
Wednesday 15th	When composing a piece, it always seems so much easier before you start actually writing it.  I found today difficult, as I always do. Writer's block is always annoying!
Thursday 16th	Yesterday, I composed a piece of music, to get something “on paper” but didn't like it.  The rhythms were a little awkward and sounded more like a hop rather than a jig. I then listened to several pieces and tried to create a similar drum/rhythm sound as those pieces.
Friday 17th	I didn't spend much time on the composition- I was getting frustrated with it, yesterday, so thought it would be best to leave it and have a break again.  I went with a girl in her final year to watch the Queen's horses (and carriage) process down Godalming high street.  During this time, I thought about composing a fanfare.   I also thought I might find this slightly easier, being a trumpet player myself.
Saturday 18th	Today, I went back to the Irish jig.  Although I thought about the fanfare, I decided I would like the challenge so continued battling with the jig.
Sunday 19th	I was going out for lunch with my uncle, so I didn't have time to compose.  Before I left the house, I played through it a couple of times, incase  anything really stood out or any ideas came to me.
Monday 20th	Today, things seemed to come together.  I worked out which instruments I was using and roughly which rhythms fit.  I started by laying the drums and tambourines down first.  I realised that the melody is very often, just a sequence which is repeated and transposed.  I wrote down a couple of sequences which I thought would work.  However, after listening to other pieces which all were roughly at 180, some of the sequences I had written, sounded clumsy at this speed.  I realised that the more simple I made them, the more effective they were.
Tuesday 21st	Today, unfortunately, was a busy day at Uni, so the free time I had, I used to write up some of the process thus far.
Wednesday 22nd	Today, was much the same as yesterday.  I spent my time writing up the process, listening to some Irish music in the background.  I'm starting to enjoy listening to my piece.  It's always satisfying when it starts to come together!
Thursday 23rd	Unfortunately, today I didn't do a huge amount on my composition as I was at Uni for the whole day, which makes composing difficult as I don't usually take my laptop etc in with me.
Monday 25th October.	Today was spent updating my journal and reflecting on the composition so far.
Tuesday 24th October	I was tidying up my actual documentary today.  Little things, like making sure the links were to the correct pages.  I also downloaded all the video clips today, so I can try and figure out how to include them in the actual document, rather than going through the internet.
Wednesday 27th October.	Unfortunately yesterday, the programme to “rip” DVDs didn't work, so today I was trying to fix this.  It worked.... so now I have the clips to include in my documentation.... I've just got to work out how.
Tuesday 2nd November	This was used to finish off the final little pieces of my composition.  Things like mixing and checking I didn't want to add anything else in.  Originally, I wanted to write my own pieces of music at the beginning of my composition.  However, I wanted to reflect the research process within my piece.  I used other people's music to drew inspiration from doing so.
Friday 5th November	Today, I had a meeting with my personal tutor.  I thought I had finished my piece, but after talking to him, I realised there was a lot more I could look at doing.  I changed direction after this meeting and decided I should try and take myself out of my comfort zone.  I have only ever written notated music, so for me, this was going to be a challenge.
Saturday 6th November	Most of today, was spent collecting sounds.  I went down to the golf club and listened to the surroundings.  I tried to pick out the sounds which were heard most frequently and record them.  It was difficult recording today, because it was so windy.  However, I tried to make my own “wind shield” by cutting up a pair of tights and wrapping my voice recorder up in it.  Although it didn’t keep all of the wind off the microphone, it certainly helped keep some of it off.
Sunday 7th November	I played a golf match at Hindhead today.  Again, I took my voice recorder with me and left it recording for the whole of the round.  There are a lot more trees at this golf course, so it was a lot less windy and there were a lot more birds around.  I arrived an hour and a half early for this match, so thought I would take advantage of the time I had spare and plan the next stage of my composition.  Unfortunately, the other thing I could find to write on, was a disposable bath mat.  However, I have kept it and will include it in my portfolio.
Monday 8th November	I took Monday off my composition.  I had work the whole day. During this time, I considered composing a piece about a coffee shop, however, I quickly dismissed this idea as I don’t find working here relaxing.  I didn’t want composing, which I find relaxing, to suddenly turn into a stressful experience.
Tuesday 9th November	I was trying to overcome my fear of ESX24 today.  I asked around several friends who frequently use this piece of software and they came up with some really good suggestions.  One of them, was to let the synth cut the piece of audio up, for you.  By doing this, again, I lost all sense of control and ended up with some totally random samples.  The sampler cuts the audio file where there is a sharp attack.  I loved the result of this, so I saved this setting and continued with my composition.
Thursday 11th November	In my tutorial, last Friday, I was told that my portfolio was a bit too “essay-like”  Originally, my plan was to present it as a brochure – like a holiday magazine, but then I considered presenting it as an “e-book”.  I then re-thought this whole piece and realised I could present it as a “blog”.  I started creating this: (www.gaelicgolfer.blogspot.com). At first, it was working perfectly.  I could include links, which would take you straight to the videos I had. I could copy pictures straight into the each post and because I could design the template myself, I could still keep the theme of travel and music, just by changing the background.  However, after spending much time on this blog, the pictures then stopped loading.  I was pretty annoyed about this, because I thought this was the perfect way to present my project.  So today, I’m going to try and figure out how to get around this.  The other thing which didn’t occur to me, when I started writing this blog, was the fact that the first “post” is then put at the bottom.  This could make it difficult for the reader to follow, however, I could get around this by putting a cover note in with my coursework, explaining the blog.