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.