Presentation and Closing Thoughts

Final Song: https://soundcloud.com/zackragozzino/google-project-song-version-2

I was quite excited to present our project to the class. So many of the students wanted to go as well, so there was a bit of a wait getting there. But when we did, it was great. The class loved our song! People were even asking later if they could download it. In the link above, it is available for download.

Doing this project actually helped me realize what making music can be like- at least a very small idea of it. Making music isn't easy, and when using the instruments in the songs, I realized that adding in notes was difficult without knowledge of chords! Also, Zack played the melody on piano and then put that same thing on FL Studios. I have no experience playing piano, so I was totally lost while that was happening. Knowing how to play piano would really have helped me assist in making tunes or continuing the song. But this project has really let me test what my musical capabilities are, as I've always wanted to make a song. Having this project as an opportunity to do so was essential. I can't wait for the next project!

Cameron

Final Version of the Song

https://soundcloud.com/zackragozzino/google-project-song-version-2

Here's the final product after hours of work. This was the first real tune that Cam or I had made on FL Studio, so this was a big learning experience for both of us. The simplistic nature of chiptune music allowed for one to really piece together what is needed in a song. I had originally thought that we could just come up with 5 or 6 patterns and somehow put them together in a tune, but this project helped me realize that good music requires more preparation than that. Before really putting all of the parts together we already had the opening, chorus, and drum rhythms thought out. This project really increased my interest in creating chiptune music and other genres of music on FL Studio and I'm inspired to keep on exploring the program.

Fifth and Final Day

This was the last day of the Google project. We had the beginning of our song ready like last time, but nothing to go off of. Most of class time was spent attempting to come up with a middle part of our song, but like usual in the last few minutes of class we came up with something. Frantically we tried to put it in FL Studios and find its place in the music, but we only had time to compose it. Unfortunately, this means the song still needs to be worked on, so Zack and I might have find time to work on the song outside of class. Either way, I'm very excited for the outcome!

Cameron

Day 5: Final Day

While I can't say we're exactly close to finishing our tune, I feel like today went very well. We went through probably three or four different ideas for the melody of the song, and at the very end we were able to develop what I believe to be the best sounding melody to place in the tune. This search took most of the class time, and there were definitely moments today when I felt like I had no idea how to add to the piece. What I ended up doing was playing the song that we had done so far on the keyboard, and seeing how to continue from there. Visualizing the piece on the piano made generating ideas much easier. The piece isn't finished yet, but Cam and I worked out different patterns that will be used for the end of the song, so most of my work will just be putting it all together. I'm very excited to see the final version of our hard work.

Day four: One day to go!

This meeting we had some good material to work on. We had a good intro and we were ready to make major progress on the song! Or so we thought. Zack and I spent most of our project time trying to continue our song from the intro, but that proved to still be a challenge. Trying to make just one song has proven to be difficult. We only added a few seconds to the song as a transition to the main part, but it's not much. I really do wish we had more Google days. If we did, I wouldn't feel so rushed to make a song. But because it was the second to last day, Zack said he might have to work on the song at home. It disappointed me because I was enjoying the partner song thing, but with time crunched we don't have many other options. But on another note, I really do enjoy what we've come up with so far. I am quite excited for what the finished product may be.

Day 4: More progress

Today was notable because Cameron and I finally started chipping away at what will be our melody. I feel that now that we have the chord progression, drum rhythms, and basic structure created, making the tune is much easier. Seeing the song come together is really cool, and I'm feeling pretty proud of what our group has done so far. Once again, the use of the keyboard helped out a ton, and it made the development process much easier. Cam and I were also able to hook up my laptop to the sound system in the practice room, and it made it much easier to hear the more bass-ey notes. I think I'll start working more on the song this weekend too, and if I do then I'll definitely post the updated version of the piece.

Updated version of our song

Sure, we're a little bit behind on how much we should have done, but I'm still really proud of what we have so far.
http://soundcloud.com/zackragozzino/song-idea-3-2-0-edition-woot