Day 15

School of Rock – Day 15 – Celebration and Reflection

SUMMARY

  • Write your class summary last, at the end of the course here… Only one to two sentences. How would you explain this class to a friend in one to two sentences?

taking this call was very fun because not only the way the class was structured, but because of the atmosphere of the class. This class teaches not only music, but how to form and maintain healthy habits for staying productive.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

  • Write a couple sentences reflecting on your ‘Big Project’
  • Include a reflection on what you learned by doing this project. 

This project showed me just how powerful consistent practice can be. Through recording a bunch of small intervals of practice I was able to see growth in my abilities of playing the electric guitar.

  • 1 (NOT MY THING!)
  • 2 (not really)
  • 3 (sorta interested)
  • 4 (interested)
  • 5 (YES! – I LOVE THIS STUFF!)

Your score: 5

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

  • Write a reflection on what you learned. How interested were you in learning about music theory and song analysis?

I liked this portion of the class, and thought the material for it was nice.

  • 1 (NOT MY THING!)
  • 2 (not really)
  • 3 (sorta interested)
  • 4 (interested)
  • 5 (YES! – I LOVE THIS STUFF!)

Your score: 4

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

  • Write a reflection on what you learned. How interested were you in learning about HookLab and HookTab?

Learning HookLab and HookTab was ok, and I enjoyed being able to get to know this content, however not my favorite part of the class.

  • 1 (NOT MY THING!)
  • 2 (not really)
  • 3 (sorta interested)
  • 4 (interested)
  • 5 (YES! – I LOVE THIS STUFF!)

Your score: 3

PRACTICE ROOM (LESSONS)

  • Write a reflection on what you learned. How interested were you in learning to play the guitar, bass, piano, etc.?

This was most definitely my favorite part of the class. Being able to learn how to play the electric guitar was super fun, and I’m glad I was able to do this.

  • 1 (NOT MY THING!)
  • 2 (not really)
  • 3 (sorta interested)
  • 4 (interested)
  • 5 (YES! – I LOVE THIS STUFF!)

Your score: 5

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

  • Write a reflection on what you learned. How interested were you in learning about songwriting, music composition structure, and music production?

this part of class was really fun, I definitely enjoyed it.

  • 1 (NOT MY THING!)
  • 2 (not really)
  • 3 (sorta interested)
  • 4 (interested)
  • 5 (YES! – I LOVE THIS STUFF!)

Your score: 4

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

  • Write a reflection on what you learned. How interested were you in learning about recording, engineering (sound effects, EQ), and mixing?

DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS DETAILED ABOVE AFTER COMPLETING THEM\

  • 1 (NOT MY THING!)
  • 2 (not really)
  • 3 (sorta interested)
  • 4 (interested)
  • 5 (YES! – I LOVE THIS STUFF!)

Your score: ?

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

  • Write a reflection on what you learned. How interested were you in learning about topics related to the brain, creativity, emotional health, and productivity?

I loved being able to learn about the mind, and how you can use it to your advantage. Very informative, very useful, and very fun.

  • 1 (NOT MY THING!)
  • 2 (not really)
  • 3 (sorta interested)
  • 4 (interested)
  • 5 (YES! – I LOVE THIS STUFF!)

Your score: 5

STAGE

  • Write a reflection on what you learned. How interested were you in what we watched and did?

This part of class was used the least, and predominately utilized for the Leadership Project. Not a lot of time for this part of class, but still fun.

  • 1 (NOT MY THING!)
  • 2 (not really)
  • 3 (sorta interested)
  • 4 (interested)
  • 5 (YES! – I LOVE THIS STUFF!)

Your score: 3

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

  • Tell your overview class story narrative here!
  • Highlight what you learned and enjoyed THE MOST for the past three weeks
  • Highlight at least one thing you overcame that was hard for you, at first, an achievement you are proud of. 

One thing I have learned and enjoyed the most was the privilege of using the Electric Guitar provided for the class, and being able to rock out to some of my favorite songs.

THE COURSE’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION (OVERALL)

Content (The WHAT)

Rating: OK  – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5  – HIGHLY ENGAGED

Rating: ?

What interested you most about the CONTENT material in this class?

What was the most surprising, satisfying thing you learned that you didn’t know before?

Process (The HOW)

Rating: OK  – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5  – HIGHLY ENGAGED

Rating: ?

What did you like most about the CLASS STRUCTURE, ya’know the day-to-day work process? Why?

What didn’t you like most about the class structure?

If you took the class again, what would you change?

BONUS MATERIAL

Dr. Gebrian’s Brain-Friendly Practice Ideas

Dr. Gebrian’s YouTube Playlists on Practice Techniques and Brain Research

Annie Dang’s Songwriting YouTube Channel

Annie Dang’s YouTube Resources for Songwriting and Publishing

How Years Of Gaming Affect Your Brain

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xaICKlp9kQc%3Fstart%3D634%26feature%3Doembed

Link to How Years Of Gaming Affect Your Brain by HealthyGamerGG on YouTube

Day 13

School of Rock – Day 13 – Collaboration and Growth – Part 3

SUMMARY

Write your daily summary last, at the end of the day here… Only one to two sentences.

DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS DETAILED ABOVE AFTER COMPLETING THEM\

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

By writing your thoughts onto a page, you can use it to solve problems rather than store them, letting you take more time to think about the good thoughts rather than the noisy ones.

I like this alot because as a person with a lot of ideas going through my head constantly, this might be a good way to filter those and then use them properly.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

It was nice seeing someone use an actual song as a reference and then use the soundtrap tools to make said song. It really showed me the cool things that app can do.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

Today I watched:

The Art of Stress-Free Productivity: David Allen at TEDxClaremontColleges

it was a very nice video to watch, I enjoyed the way he presented his talk.

TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation

Day 14

School of Rock – Day 14 – Voice, Preparation, and Presentation

SUMMARY

Today I finished my final project, published it, presented it along with hearing others’ presentations, and deconstructed the classroom.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

https://www.soundtrap.com/studio/N2QGgvxDS_6Y7uG9z8yqZw/

PRACTICE ROOM

Today I went into soundtrap after practicing on my guitar and finalized my final project. I made sure all of the audio clips were cut properly, spaced well, and described my journey of learning guitar through this class as well as possible.

STAGE

I presented my Final Project, and got to listen and give constructive feedback to others as they shared their Final Project as well.

My Project Feedback from Fellow Students:
-While playing chords watch out for evil notes. they go with enough practice but notice them.

After the presentations were finished, I, along with the other classmates, helped teardown the classroom’s supplies, leaving it to where it was on Day 0.

the rest of today was spent watching a documentary on Indian music, as well as me finishing some missing work from a few days I was not able to come into class.

TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation

Day 12

School of Rock – Day 12 – Collaboration and Growth- Part 2

SUMMARY

Today I spent my time working on my Final Project, getting ready for it to be presented on Day 14.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

I hope to continue the process of working on my Final Project, and get it to a place I am happy with.

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

today I practiced on my Final, starting super slow, and getting the notes as perfect as possible.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

  • Today I read Chapter 3: How to Build Better Habit in 4 Simple Steps from James Clear’s Atomic Habits

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

its good to have fun while playing music to gain inspiration by doing different and silly things, and to also keep the motivation of working on your projects.

Develop a system for making music. Good workflow= more productive and efficient.

Music is like sculpting- you don’t carve the sculpture from the stone, you discover the sculpture in the stone. Go with your first instinct, because its often the best one.

Its better to make a bad song than to wait for a great one.

its easier to finish songs than to make a new one. don’t let failure consume your workflow. If it doesn’t sound good, strip it down to three core components and work from there.

The last thing you need is new gear. Just new ideas.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

Today i spent this time working on my final, reviewing what I had practiced previously, and making sure to try to remember everything, as I would be gone on day 13, and have no time to practice until the morning of Day 14. and even then, there would not be very much of said time.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

  • WatchShawn Anchor’s TED talk about happiness
    • “We believe we should work hard in order to be happy, but could we be thinking about things backward? In this fast-moving and very funny talk, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that, actually, happiness inspires us to be more productive.”  – TED.com

I loved this video, because I not only know some of the stuff he was talking about, but because I agreed with almost all of it. He brought a fun atmosphere to the science behind the fun itself, and it was great to listen to him talk about the science of Happiness.

TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation

Day 11

School of Rock – Day 11 – Collaboration and Growth – Part 1

SUMMARY

Today I watched a lot of content provided for the class, filling my noggin with music information. I also worked on my Final Project and practiced playing guitar as well,

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

Worked on my Final, Practiced Guitar.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

Proffesionals dont need to tell you theyre succesful.

82% of people face imposter syndrome

we often only compare ourself to the top scored of that job

fake it til you make it

Life’s a B*tch and then you die.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

What makes a song great: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ ‘Rosanna'(Toto) and ‘More than a Feeling.’

I Watched Jake Lizzio’s The Music Theory of POWER CHORDS

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

Rhyming words properly is some of the most important parts of songwriting.

Rhyme happens at the vowel- Slant/Imperfect Rhyme

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ynFNt4tgBJ0%3Ffeature%3Doembed

What Makes This Song Great? Ep.71 BOSTON (#2)

I liked this video a lot. It is fun seeing some of the greatest song broken up into their smaller parts and to still be equally blown away by the raw talent behind the music. Truly mind opening.

Worked on Final Project.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

The Marshmallow Experiment and Delayed Gratification

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TZYIJDtt3mU%3Fstart%3D1%26feature%3Doembed

“…a seemingly simple experiment devised by Walter Mischel to test will power: put a kid in a room with a marshmallow, and tell her if she can resist eating it for 15 minutes, she can have 2 marshmallows. It turns out the kids who could wait were much more likely to be successful as adults. “- RadioLab.org – Your Future in a Marshmallow

The Marshmallow Experiment is so silly yet so crazy how in just ten minutes and a marshmallow you can predict a child’s future in success.

TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation

Day 5

School of Rock – Day 5 – Rhythm Basics

SUMMARY

Today I practiced my guitar along with watching the content given for the class.

PRACTICE ROOM

Found songs I like on Ultimate-Guitar and played to them, at first at full speed but then at 30bpm to see if I could do it right.

CLASSROOM

I Watched How Rhythm Works (47 minutes)

I found this video quite interesting. It is always fun watching these, especially because not only his accent but the way he goes into detail on the history of music is very calming.

LAB

I Watched Drum Arrangements Made Simple.

Drum arrangements can be important for a song because

Standard Groove- a sequence of higher and lower notes.

You can do this on the piano, actual drums, or even your body.

you use the kick drum for low notes and snare for the high ones.

Snare is played on 2 and 4 in standard pop

add a small pattern to give consistency and drive.

DAILY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation

Day 10

SUMMARY

Today i worked on my Final Project, along with watching the videos provided whilst playing guitar.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

Today i worked on my project by practicing parts of my chosen song for small intervals of time, trying to play them perfectly and consistently. i then went back and practiced playing them at my own pace without a metronome, fixing the mistakes I was making either with the note I’m playing or with the positioning of my hand.

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=kfhTruV_7aM%3Ffeature%3Doembed

One thing I learned from the in-class video was this: Even though learning guitar, or anything in general, can be very boring, it is important to keep the end goal in mind.

Today I practiced guitar to Smells Like Teen Spirit and Thunderstruck.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

  • Read Habit Stacking and fill in the Template with your own habit stack from James Clear’s Atomic Habits

The Habit Stacking method is very interesting. The concept of making habits off of other habits seems very clever, because it forces you to partake in your older habits in order to do your new habits, cementing them in your mind.

Mike’s Trello board is fun to look at. It is formatted in a very nice way that makes a lot of sense. I’ll have to keep that format in mind for any future projects.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

I used soundtrap as I played guitar, recording, listening and analyzing what I sound like and what I could change.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

Songwriting Corner- writing chords follow these three rules: using 1 or 2 chords per part, using 4 chords total, and using voice leading. just listen: if your ears are crap, you will write crap songs. if you feel that something sounds interesting, then go with it. Ask yourself if you want to write melody or chords first.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

Watched videos provided in class, played around in Soundtrap.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3wSbCdQMC6I%3Ffeature%3Doembed

DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS DETAILED ABOVE AFTER COMPLETING THEM

TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation

Day 9

School of Rock – Day 9 – Workflow

SUMMARY

I practiced my Final Project along with watching the content provided from the class.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

Today I worked on my final project by continuing to practice my chosen song about four measures at a time. On parts where I got stuck or had other difficulties I focused only on the measure that was causing me trouble until I understood the basic composition of it.

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

I watched more of Justin’s 117 Free lessons and played along with him. i also spent some time working on Smells Like Teen Spirit.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

I watched these four videos whilst playing around in HookTheory.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

Technology plays a large part in why finding purpose is so hard. it gives you the dramatic and exaggerated versions of what people think happiness should look like, making you think of that thing rather than what you actually want.

instant gratification from media

the end of thought- when you have nothing more to think of because you have run your brain out of ideas. This requires you to get over your boredom, no matter how bad it may be.

Sitting in one place to meditate is one way to reach the end of thought.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

Holistic Songwriter

Making A Song Title-

should make you want to click on it, or if you’re listening to it and don’t know the song, its gotta have a nice pop

Been a While factor- using phrases that people use often to make them remember that song

the WTF Factor- a title that you see that makes you go “wtf?” which prompts you to click on it.

don’t call it like you see it- ‘love song,’ ‘drum song,’ etc.

don’t use numbers

don’t use acronyms

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

Song should have a sense of development.

exciting qualities where the song feels full of life are good.

changing the tempo can also effect the way the song feels.

Panning, treble and bass changes can be good to give a more involving feel to the music.

TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation

Day 8

School of Rock – Day 8 – Leadership Planning and Preparation

SUMMARY

Started working on my Final, along with standard guitar practice.

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

I continued Justin’s Guitar Lessons, practiced playing Smells Like Teen Spirit, and watched Paul David’s “8 Things I regret Not Doing When Learning Guitar.”

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

I watched ‘What makes Smells Like Teen Spirit Great’ and found it fun seeing the song broken up into small parts.

I also watched ‘How 21 Pilots Writes a Melody.’ he uses a lot of dark humor and oddly placed notes to make his songs more memorable.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

I spent today’s Lab time to work on guitar practice. I continues watching Justin’s Guitar Lessons videos.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

I found the Masterclass Article very interesting. Some of the catchiest songs are due to their Rhythmic Motifs. Riffs are a key part of a song. Often the most memorable or favorite part of it. Write Music to sound good Live as well as digitally listened.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

I spent most of my time working on my final, along with watching the Soundtrap videos provided.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

She made a game every single week for a whole year, impressive.

when she started, it was mostly a way to gain her motivation back.

Deadlines can be a big motivator

when she first went solo, she thought she had so many great ideas, and wanted to make them all. but once she did the game a week and found out the ideas were all terrible, and figured out she only had like 5 or 6 ideas. She would have to go outside and look at things around her. all of a sudden looking at a tree or other small/ everyday things would give her the weirdest ideas and inspiration. she did the same with her music she was listening to.

It becomes easier to see when you are having an idea. and then what you can do with that idea.

it all cam down to not saying no, no matter how dumb the idea may be. Its about getting things out there and playing with what you’ve got.

write down small individual lists of things you want to focus on and them make connections between them to try to find ideas or inspiration in them.

Rubber Duck Debugging- when you are stuck on a problem with a bug, you grab the rubber duck on your desk and you just talk it through with them. it lets you get it out of your brain in a slower controlled manner which helps you see it more clearly.

it taught her how to identify an idea that could actually be something or that is trash, because it gave her little time with a lot of ideas and forced her to play with ideas that sound good and then see the problems in the idea.

TODAY’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation

Day 7

School of Rock – Day 7 – Planning and Pathways

SUMMARY

Write your daily summary last, at the end of the day here… Only one to two sentences.

Today I Learned quite a few things today from the videos provided, and had my guitar with me for some of them to learn some basics as to how to use it properly. Overall a fun and informational day!

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

Screenshot from Mary Spender’s YouTube Channel

Watch Mary Spender: Powerful advice from 10 Professional Musicians you need to hear (14:15)

Screenshot from JustinGuitar.com

Start his 117 Free Lessons YouTube Playlist

Start the series of videos, follow his directions, and check out his web site, justinguitar.com.

I wathced the first five videos today, and had my guitar on hand while watching them to practice what I learned.

I learned how to tune my guitar, and how to hold the pick in my hand, which was very helpful. holding the guitar properly felt a little odd at first but it became more natural after a bit.

  • Screenshot from JustinGuitar.comBe curious about Justin.
  • Mr. Le Duc considers him the best beginning guitar teacher online. He’s not the only one that thinks this.  Check out some of the celebrity endorsements at justinguitar.com.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

Holistic Songwriting by Friedemann Findeisen

Screenshot from Holistic Songwriting’s Channel at YouTube

An Example: The Swift Formula – One Note Melodies

From Holistic Songwriting’s How Taylor Swift Writes Melodies at YouTube
From Holistic Songwriting’s How Taylor Swift Writes Melodies at YouTub
From Holistic Songwriting’s How Taylor Swift Writes Melodies at YouTube

The Weekend’s melodies shares a lot of similarities to Michael Jackson’s

Note Choice- his songs are set in minor keys. Minor pentatonic scale

the 5 is considered the coldest interval, and the 4 is similar but slightly sadder.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

Screenshot of Lyrics Melody and Chord Progressions from HookTab at YouTube

Explore the tutorials (but you do not need to watch all of them – just pick what looks interesting to you) from the:

I watched both of the lyrics to music videos and found it quite fascinating how simple it can be to turn a simple set of lyrics into a decent sounding song in just a few steps!

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

Screenshot from Holistic Songwriting at YouTube
Screenshot from Holistic Songwriting at YouTube

Watch Holistic Songwriting: Do THIS with every song you write | Hit Song Architect S1E3

Explore Song Writing “Systems”

Limitations are good!!!

Start with a rock band setup- Guitar/Keyboard, Bass, Drums and Vocals. This gives you good limitation.

The instrument placement formula was very interesting. I’ve never seen it before, but it makes a lot of sense, especially after listening to a few songs and hearing that similar progression throughout them.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

Soundtrap mixing and publishing at Clark Eagling’s YouTube Channel

Watch Clark Eagling: Soundtrap tutorial 5 – Arranging the song, Mixing and adding effects

song should have a sence of development to it.

build it layer by layer.

bringing multiple parts into the song at once can make it more exciting before the chorus hits, grabbing the listener’s attention.

Panning can move the sound to the left or right ear in your headphones.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

Screenshot from Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter TED Talk on YouTube

Watch Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life.  (20 minutes)

(Video was unable to play due to NMSC Admin Settings)

DAILY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on the class Content and Process
    • Participation will be part of your leadership project due at the end of the course
  • Fill in the Daily Activity Evaluation