Today was my last day of Audio Engineering at Syracuse Summer College...and I am speechless. The course ended being three weeks, rather than two, because of COVID-19. Over these three weeks, I got so much done. I wrote two songs that I will be using for my album. The two songs are titled "Heaven" and "Run Away." I am very excited about how they turned out.
I absolutely LOVED the other students. We had so much in common. They were all so talented in their own individual ways. Most of them were songwriters like me. We created a group chat so that we can all stay in touch and continue to collaborate with each other after the class ends. I really wish that I could've stayed on campus and met them in person. They seem like such a fun and passionate group to work with. Over the course, I learned several new skills that will come in use for my fellows project. I learned new methods to recording, mastering, producing, and manipulating tracks and projects. There were several big projects that we had to complete for the class. Many of them were very open-ended, allowing us to take the project to new lengths. There were no restrictions on our creativity. I was pushed to go above and beyond. For each project, I presented different ideas for possible songs for my album. My professor was also a great resource. I will continue to reach out to him about my fellows project. He said he would be more than happy to listen to my ideas and give me insight about the ways of the music industry. He has a lot of experience in the music world and has worked with huge artists such as Drake and Future. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity to participate in such a fantastic course and meet all of these new people. Not only will these connections benefit my fellows project, these connections are opening new doors for me in the music industry.
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Today was my third day of my Audio Engineering class at Syracuse University. I specifically applied their audio engineering summer college program because I thought it help me with my Fellows project. Originally, the course was suppose to be held on campus. Students were expected to live in the dorms and spend time working in the recording studio at Syracuse. However, due to COVID-19, the class is now online. I am pretty bummed that I won't be able to live on campus for two weeks with other students from around the world.
So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed my first three days at (online) Syracuse summer college. My classmates are all very talented, and I am excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with them. Within my first three days, I have already created a first draft to an original called "Run Away." I plan on incorporating this song in my album. A majority of class has been informative lectures on how we can improve on recording, mastering, and producing sound waves. My goal is to use what I learn in this class and apply it to my fellows project. I also managed to build my own small recording studio at home. My studio includes my DAW (digital audio workstation) that I chose to use for producing. It also includes a Focusrite Scarlett Solo Studio 3rd Generation Recording Bundle and microphone stand, an Akai MPK Mini MIDI keyboard, and a Modern Recording Techniques 9th Edition handbook. I plan on using this to record my songs for the time being. The application process for Syracuse Summer College is definitely worth mentioning. It was very similar to applying for college. I had to write an essay and gather teacher recommendation forms. Mr. Donn wrote them a very nice letter of recommendation, which I was very thankful for. I also had send a music portfolio. Fortunately, I had one already set up from my years of taking Music Technology courses at Severn with Mr. Donn. I feel that Severn had well prepared me for the summer college application process. Though I am only three days in, I can already tell that this course is going to do big things for me. I am meeting so many people that I can use as resources in my future. I am very excited for what is yet to come! On June 17th, Mr. Donn and I met sharp at 8AM! Previously, I had asked him to be my fellows mentor. He kindly agreed to do so. This was our first time meeting about the project.
This was my first time setting up a zoom call. I had never hosted a zoom before, so it took me a little while to set the room up. The two of us talked for almost an hour. We discussed a summer plan for the project. I also told him about my admission to Syracuse summer college. This summer, I will be enrolling in audio engineering courses at Syracuse, in which I will have the opportunity to expand my knowledge on music technology and recording techniques. I had informed him that my goal was to have twelve songs written and ready to go by the time we were back in school. He told me that even though that is a good goal, I should not be discouraged if I do not reach that high of a number. He said that even producing an album that consists of only five songs would still be impressive. I thought about how long it took me to write and produce my single, "Murky Eyes." It took me months to perfect; it seems unrealistic to do that with eleven more songs. When it comes to my music, I want it to be the best it can be. Additionally, he offered to get me in touch with some Severn Alumni who work in the music production industry. What an exciting opportunity! Our first Fellows meeting was held on June 2nd, 2020. It was a leadership lab that contained helpful exercises and group work. From 1pm-4pm, my classmates and I developed pitches for our own projects, discussed summer goals, and built our websites.
Initially, I was feeling a bit nervous about this leadership lab. Even though Ms. Carsley sent out a schedule, I still felt like I was taking a dive into the unknown. It was a new experience for me. However, many of the topics we discussed were familiar to me. In elementary school, I participated in my school's Destination Imagination team. Destination Imagination, otherwise known as D.I., is an educational, non-profit organization that teaches team building skills and S.T.E.M. principles to kindergarten through university level students by collaborative problem solving challenges. During my third year of D.I., I was required to study and practice elevator pitches. My team and I had to design an elevator pitch to present to adult leaders. Our Fellows leadership lab allowed me to apply the skills that I had previously developed many years ago. Nevertheless, I will not deny that presenting an elevator pitch is scary. It was scary to do in elementary school, and it was just as scary to do in high school. When Ms. Carsley started picking people to present their pitch, my heart dropped. The idea of conveying your ideas to an audience is quite terrifying. What if they don't like it? What if they don't like you? However, I am glad that Ms. Carsley had us all present our pitch. It helped me overcome my fear of judgement. I learned a lot from it. On the same token, judgement is one of my biggest concerns of doing this project. I often take what people say to heart. I am scared what people will think of me. I am scared what people will think of my music. All of my music comes from the heart. I write about personal experiences...and sometimes it is hard to share them with the world. Be that as it may, it is essential that I learn to not stress over the opinions of others. Rather than taking criticisms to heart, I need to learn from it and improve. So far, I have already written four songs for my album. My goal over the summer is to write drafts of all of my songs that will be included on the album. By the time I get back to school, the songs will be ready to record. I plan on having twelve different songs by the end of the summer. Additionally, I am attending Syracuse's 2020 Summer college. For three weeks, I will be participating in their audio engineering and music technology course. Hopefully, I will learn a lot of skills that I can apply to producing my album. |
AuthorAbby Hayden Categories |