CAS project reflection
Our CAS project began with the objective of making an EP with around 5 songs that fuse a range of genres such as pop and rap with flavours of Sri Lankan and other cultural music. Ultimately, producing sorts of fushion songs which incorporate these wide ranges of genres. The group consists of me, who will mostly be involved in producing, and Filip and Andrean who are experts on the guitar.
This CAS project required us to collaborate, communicate effectively, and be persistent in our efforts as none of us have really published any tracks before. After much thought, we decided to use the software Logic Pro X to produce our tracks and spent a considerable amount of time learning how to operate it through youtube tutorials and exploration.
Approaching the end of DP2, we have completed and uploaded 3 tracks to SoundCloud which can be found at: https://on.soundcloud.com/XnFVu
It has taken us longer than expected as we severely underestimated how hard it is to create tracks as beginners on Logic pro X. Throughout the weekends, we have learned new ways of mixing tracks, using the equalizer to manipulate sounds, learning how to sample, overall it has given us a newfound appreciation for all artists out there who create music professionally. In the end we decided that we would rather release 3 meaningful ones rather than 5 which may not carry any special significance
If we had the freedom of time, I would’ve loved to explore producing music with AI which has picked up popularity recently globally.
A unique instrument I liked were the Asian plucked strings that give a unique bass line in the track “Wing”.
Over the weeks of working on the project, one thing we have learned is that oftentimes, simple is best. We found this out as we kept on adding instruments to the track, hence making it sound cluttered, disjointed and overall really messy. Keeping it simple allows the audience to take the song in better by being able to hear the finer details better. Additionally, the project has really allowed us to flex our creative muscles as we had to experiment with different sounds, rhythms, and melodies to create something unique. In the end, it has allowed us to express ourselves in ways we have never done before. Lastly, the technical side of producing required us to learn about different types of instruments, sound effects, and mixing techniques. Especially in paying attention to minute details to ensure everything complements each other well and is in sync.
Reflecting back, the CAS project has really taught me the importance of collaboration, communication, persistence, creativity, and attention to detail which can be applied in other areas of my life, whether it is academic, professional, or personal. All in all, it has given me a sense of accomplishment and confidence in my abilities.
Learning Objectives:
LO1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
Coming into the project, none of us had much experience in using Logic pro X, however we all collaborated and learned the process of sampling and mixing, to an extent… We could certainly work on areas of our production such as mixing to make unique sounding instruments through the software.
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
The biggest challenge we faced was implementing our creative ideas through the software. We had to work through problems such as finding quality equipment(MIDI keyboard and Microphone) to record our audio and notes into the track, however through some mixing and technical magic, we were able to reduce background noise and produce a satisfactory audio recording through the equipment we had.
LO3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
Initiating the project required us to come together and discuss our plan and what we would be getting out of it.
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
We worked on the project consistently during lunch times as our creative time and weekends as recording sessions with whatever proper audio equipment we had.
LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
The project required all three of us to bring our skills together, talk with each other and proceed with the best choices creatively. We often required each other’s help and shared our thoughts when producing each of the tracks, which all in all resulted in unique, special tracks with a flavour of each of us in them.
LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Our CAS project aimed to expose rather hidden genres of music to the public which was done through several instruments used such as the Asian Plucked Strings. It was hard trying to make everything flow together as sometimes, our creative ideas were far-fetched. In the end, we did as much as we could to integrate these instruments into our tracks.