Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I am most proud of my hook activity because the class seemed to really enjoy it. I showed the class animations with scores that I had I composed, and I had them compare the mood they released with and without sound.

2 a) What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       P -

  b) Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

Because I was the very last student to present and my presentation was postponed due to technical difficulties from other students, I felt very rushed. Students had been released from school while I was doing my activity, and I noticed that students were staring at the clock and out the windows, as well as leaving, during my presentation. As a result, I became distracted and started to conclude abruptly, making me seconds short of meeting the time requirement. I understand that the presentation was ultimately in my control, but if I had presented at an earlier time, I feel my presentation would have gone as anticipated and I would not have lost my audience. Seeing how I met all the other "P" requirements, I feel a "P-" is a fair grade.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

I noticed my second activity, which was having the audience draw what they feel when they listen to their favorite song, went well because several students wanted to share out loud.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

Like previously mentioned, my presentation time was too late. I didnt realize that the presentation time would factor in the overall presentation. If I had a time machine, I would request to present at an earlier time.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

Just brainstorming, I think "Constantly recording and releasing original music" would be a solid second answer because factors such as money and economics play a large role in it. Many other students with completely unrelated topics could relate to this answer because money and economics tie into several of their topics.

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 hours check

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?
I'm not doing mentorship at a place per se. When I do mentorship, my mentor and I meet somewhere and he gives me assignments and lectures me. We also meet at music venues and I help set up his equipment before he performs.

2. Who is your contact?
Runson Willis
13232704390

3. How many hours have you done during the school year?
Twenty.

4. Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
Before my mentor performs, I will make sure that his guitar is in tune, his effects pedals are set up correctly, his amplifier is not faulty, and that there's nothing odd about the set up. When he gives me assignments, we go to record stores and he tells me to listen to certain albums to study the texture , lyrics and composition of the song and how they compare or contrast with another album. For instance, he tells me to study the "call and respond" technique, that is used heavily with blues artists, and tells me to write a paragraph on what I think of it.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1. It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school. What did you do over break with your senior project?

Over the break I worked on my component one project, which is to create this reel of my work. The reel is going to be audio tracks playing in the background of visual clips to enhance the mood. I finished all the audio tracks and now just need to create the visuals.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why? What was the source from what you learned?

I learned that when you create a reel as a resume, employers will often only watch the first thirty seconds to see if they are interested, so video reels are ideally very short and detailed. I was planing to make mine around 6 minutes ,though, since I am not using it as a resume, but I will create a thirty second version as a demonstration. I learned this at mediacollege.com here's the link http://www.mediacollege.com/employment/demo-reel.html

3. If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to, and why?

I would talk to my dad's musician friend, Runson, because he plays his music for a living and seems to be getting by. I don't know if he has any experience with reels, but I know he has much experience performing live and releasing new recorded music.

November Extra Blog

Last time I saw my new mentor, he gave me an assignment to learn how to play the harmonica. During the month of November, I practiced playing very much. I would create tracks on my computer with me playing guitar, and I would add harmonica recordings and layer it over the guitar. I did this very many times. I created a little video of my own animation and accompanied it with harmonica playing in the background. I thought this would be a neat little project to try because I figured it is very similar to composing scores for movies, which is something I would very much like to do for a living. I created several videos of my animations/music, but only one video had harmonica in it. There are five videos like this total.

 Since my independent component idea is to create my own little reel of my work, I gave myself a deadline for compositions, which is December 18. I have five compositions at the moment so I'm pacing myself pretty well. I had one of my mentors critique two of the songs and he gave me some pointers on making them more "hooky." Next time I see him, which is probably sometime next week, I'll have him critique the other songs and show him the videos.


here are the videos
http://instagram.com/p/vwcVgODJWD/?modal=true
http://instagram.com/p/vVJggQjJY2/?modal=true
http://instagram.com/p/vkXr-vDJZi/?modal=true
http://instagram.com/p/vM4N3HDJVq/?modal=true

EQ

Research

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an eq.

2. Review the following eq's and determine if they follow the rule of three. Say why the do or don't.
A) What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
Yes. It is not a yes/no question, it allows for an argument, and the wording is clear
B) What is most important in securing a conviction in a criminal investigation.
No. The wording is a little unclear.
C) What is most important in creating a hairstyle that satisfies a customer?
No. Very broad and the wording needs adjustments.
D) How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
Yes. Very specific, wording is clear, allows for arguments.

3. Write another draft of your eq for your senior project.
How can a musician best manage their own career.

Lesson 1 Reflection

Presentation

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

I'm very proud of the content I shared because it was not vague. I feel that someone with no prior knowledge on my topic would feel very informed. It also went smoother than anticipated, which I liked because I did not have to suddenly stop the presentation to mention something I might have forgotten.

2. Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation?

P

b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the component one contract.

I feel a "P" is an appropriate grade because I addressed everything the worksheet asked, engaged the audience, and did not lack much time.

3. What worked for you in Lesson 1?

My hook worked because it was creative and applied to everyone in the classroom.

4. (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your lesson one?

I would have organized my presentation in a different way in order to add more information and to give the audience a better understanding. I felt they order in which I stated some information was a bit rough.

October Extra Blog

So, I have not seen my main mentor in a while, but I met a new one very unexpectedly. It was my dad's birthday the other day and we went to this cafe. He mistook this one guy for his friend. This one guy happened to be an independent musician playing in several bands for a living (much to my interest). We got to talking and he told me several stories of how he started playing guitar, and I told him my situation.  We exchanged information and he gave me a brand new harmonica and assigned me to learn how to play it by the next time we met up in order to build multi-instrumental skills. He then said,"If you don't learn how to play it, I'm taking it back."