This morning, I recorded myself presenting my PowerPoint. Then I had to change the format to an MP4 so that it was like one big video. It took some time to get the timing of the slides right with my narration, but I did end up getting it finished. That was the last thing I had to do for my Senior Project! I am also going to be handing in my binder so no more stress or worry about assignments! Even though doing a Senior Project is a lot of work, I ended up learning more skills and personal characteristics about myself than I ever expected. I was glad that I got this opportunity, but I am happy it is finally finished!
0 Comments
Today I began working on my Senior Project presentation in PowerPoint. Every so often throughout the day I had to stop and take a break, but I managed to get a lot of it done. I've been busy making slides, deciding on a design and format, and figuring out what I wanted to say about each one. In my PowerPoint, I am going to include a video of myself performing the song I wrote as my Senior Project final product. There will also be pictures of the steps I took to create the song and other information about various things, such as my research paper and the link between my research paper and final product. Since COVID-19 is preventing our class from presenting our projects to the public, we are using PowerPoint and recording our voices into a video to count for our final presentation. These are due on Friday so I have to keep working! Making the presentation has not been as dreadful or difficult as I expected. It's somewhat enjoyable to be able to write about and show all the work that I completed on my Senior Project. The next step is to record myself presenting the PowerPoint.
Now that my Senior Project product is finished, I have to work on filling out the rest of the papers needed to finish my Senior Project experience, which includes the Senior Experience Reflection. Soon, we will put all of our papers and things into our Senior Project binders to show what we accomplished and then we present our project. Presenting makes me a little nervous, but it will be fine.
I have learned a lot from doing my Senior Project. There is a different level of responsibility that goes into this assignment. All the different parts and things that go along with it have to be turned in on time. These parts also have to be done well because they will contribute to the overall excellence of the project. I keep these things in mind as I am finishing up the final stages. It's going to be over soon! I'm back! It has taken me a while to write this post. About two weeks ago, I finally finished by Senior Project product. My song is finished and printed out. I wrote lyrics, which did not take me as long as I thought. However, I did write, and then rewrite them because I did not like the first ones very much. I decided to write my song about this time of social distancing and online schooling. We are kept from our friends, classmates, and teachers. As seniors, we also don't get to have the graduation like we imagined.
After my song was written and printed out, I recorded myself singing and playing it. It took me about ten times to get a recording that I liked. It was scarier playing it out loud than I imagined. It felt very personal and I was nervous that no one would like it, but I am happy with how it turned out. I played my song for my mom and she cried, which was sad for me too. I also sent the recording to my siblings so that they could hear it. I guess this means that my Senior Project journey is almost over! This morning, I sat down with a cup of coffee and finally wrote my song out on the computer. I used an online music composing website called Noteflight. This website was super easy to use and to write out my song. It also had the ability for the computer to play the music, which was really cool to hear. It was an amazing feeling actually seeing my song start to look like a real piece of music, instead of my scratches on paper. I made a few changes to my song too after seeing it on the computer. I took out one chorus and am now having the bridge follow directly after the second verse, instead of having the bridge between two choruses. There is still more to do on my song before it is finished. The next steps are to add dynamics, articulation, lyrics, and a title. I can't wait!
Throughout the creation of my senior project product, I realized something. I noticed that I am becoming more creative. When I first started writing my song, I had no ideas about what I wanted or what I was going to create. Now, I find myself with an unlimited number of possibilities. My song started out very boring with only a single-line melody. I feel that I made some interesting parts and decisions about my song that others might not have. These decisions show my creative side. Now I would not call myself a creative person, but it's nice being able to see a different side of myself and being able to show that to others too.
With that being said, I have also had to trust myself more. At the start, I second-guessed every single decision I made about the song. I eventually came to realize that any choice I made would be acceptable, as long as I accepted it myself, because music is supposed to express something. The advantage of writing my own song is that I get to express whatever I want. Having to express myself, however, has required me to build up my confidence so that I will eventually be able to show my song to other people. Hopefully both my creativity and confidence continue to grow! Today, I worked on my senior project for over an hour. I sat at my piano and worked on writing out the specifics of the verse, chorus, and bridge. I wrote out the specific notes and the rhythms for each, like how I started with Mr. Reed. It was nice to finally see my project coming together. However, I am having trouble finding a harmony for the second verse of my song. I started it, but hopefully tomorrow I can work on the verse more to finish it. I also still have to finish writing out the final chorus and the ending for the song. After that, I plan on adding words to it. When I have everything done, I am going to try and find a music publishing website so that I can print out the notes and make the music neater. I planned on doing that with the software Mr. Reed has, but now that school is closed, I am optimistic that I will find a way to do it myself. Try to stay hopeful, right?
Yesterday, I met with Mr. Reed and we worked on my song some more. I started writing out my music with the exact rhythm and notes this time. Mr. Reed had to help me make sure that I was writing it the right way and that my rhythms were written the way that correctly represented how I wanted them to sound. We tried using his computer music writing software, but it ended up not working. That was okay, though, because I just wrote it out by hand.
Another cool thing we did was come up with a good bass rhythm for the final chorus of my song. Also, the different parts of my song, like the verse, chorus, and bridge, are starting to blend together better. I almost have the transitions between those parts figured out. One thing that is going to be hard, though, is trying to play it all. At first, Mr. Reed was playing the left-hand while I played the right-hand. However, with a few adjustments, I'm sure I will get it to work. This was one of the first times that I was really, really excited about my song because it sounded so good. Before, I wasn't really sure that I even wanted people to hear it, but after this meeting I just want to show as many people as possible. One of the most interesting parts about writing a song is the fact that anything can happen. There is so much freedom in writing music that it can sound like anything I want it to. However, this is the difficult part for me because there is no structure or specific way that it can be done, but I am liking the challenge. The state that my song is in right now is making me nervous because I do not know if I will be able to write something that I really like, and I might end up just making an average song. My goal to write a song that people want to listen to and one that people can relate to. I love listening to music that can completely change my mood and I want my song to at least touch on that kind of influence. With Mr. Reed's help, I am sure that I will be able to reach that. Wish me luck!
Right now, with my senior project, I am having trouble finding time to meet with my mentor. It has been a very busy month for me with band and vocal contests, basketball, and my other activities. It has been hard to find a time that works to meet with Mr. Reed. Even though I am having trouble finding time, I still feel like my song and senior project are at a good point. There is still stuff that needs to get done, but I feel that I have come a long way on my product. Now, I should have more time that I can use to meet with my mentor and work more on my song so that my senior project will be a success.
|
AuthorThis is my journal about my experience with my Senior Project 2019-2020. Archives
May 2020
Categories |