School of Rock – Day 15 – Celebration and Reflection

SUMMARY

Over-all it’s really enjoyable! I’d say that if you’re really into music it’s definitely worth it however this course focuses a lot on the creative mindset. So if you’re not into that I would not advise joining.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

I really liked doing the final project! In all honesty I had no problems with it, we got a lot of work done and had plenty of time to both brainstorm it and finish it. I would say that the ease into doing the project was a little rough but still fun nonetheless.

Your score: 4

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

Being able to dig in and learn about the specific parts of a song was very engaging. This time during the day gave space to learn more about what we specifically love about music as a student.

Your score: 4

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

All of hook-theory and hook-lab was interesting. I’d say it’s the most accessible site we’ve used for making and learning about music. It feels like anybody can use it and it’s very easy to grasp and understand.

Your score: 5

PRACTICE ROOM (LESSONS)

Over-all this was an okay room in the day. I would say for a musical learning based class I think we should’ve expanded the practice room time a bit more so we could learn more in depth on our specific interest.

Your score: 3

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

This was easily my favorite room in the day. It gave the most time to really experiment with what we learned. Using sound-trap was fun and especially towards the end of the course on our final project.

Your score: 5

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

It was alright, I do feel like this room blended into the studio and they felt practically the same. Though I did enjoy the studio so this felt like more time added onto that.

Your score: 3

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

This wasn’t my favorite part of the day. I do feel like the outside room and a lot of the emotional videos while helpful took up a lot of the class. It felt like it even overtook the practice room which was a primary focus of the rock class.

Your score: 2

STAGE

This was a room that felt kind of overshadowed. I do feel like the way we ended up doing the course did not leave room for it but we did end up doing some fun activities at the end of the days.

Your score: 3

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

At the end of the day this class was really a fun experience. My goal was a learn a bit more about music and to leave feeling fulfilled in that area. I’d say that it exceeded that and I do want to learn more. I didn’t really have any bumpy moments besides planning the final project. It started off a bit rough but it quickly got back on track and finished really well.

THE COURSE’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION (OVERALL)

Content (The WHAT)

Rating: 4

Getting to learn more about a subject I didn’t know was really fun. I’d say the most interesting and satisfying thing I learned was how a guitar actually works, seeing the different ways people play them.

Process (The HOW)

Rating: 4

I’d say the class allowed for a lot of testing and playing with how music works and the specific parts of songs. The class structure took a bit of time to form but it was able to get some ground after a few days. As I mentioned earlier I do feel like a lot of the class was taken up by the creative mental state but it was still fun.

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

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

SUMMARY

Today was over-all a really good day. I was able to finish everything I wanted to and it was a really nice conclusion to the class although not being the final day.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

Voila!

We received very positive feedback. Such comments as “exceeding Frank Sinatra” or “perfection”. We did get one specific comment on the low vocals.

Leadership Project (SMART Goal Evidence)

Over the past week me, David, and Phoenix have been working on a final project. We were unsure of what we wanted to do for the first couple of days and eventually landed on singing a cover of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to The Moon. We finished it just in time and we’re ready to present.

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

Today in the practice room I watched more of JustinGuitar’s lessons. The specific lessons I watched were the ones on the C and G chord. I don’t have much to say about the C chord but by far the G chord has put the most strain of my wrist and fingers.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

The unfair advantages video was really insightful. Throughout the video I was able to relate to telling people ideas and having that feel like it’s tainted whatever I was initially intending to do. I will try to implement these ideas as I move forward.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

I spent this time using sound-trap and mixing in hook-theory. Since it is the last full day and I am finished with the final collaborative project I decided to have fun and see what I could come up with.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

We spent this time listening to all of everyones final projects. Over-all it was all extremely impressive, A lot of people’s work felt full and complete and once everyone presented there’s. It shows the progress we’ve all made in class.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

Since practically everything has been completed I spent this time socializing. Specifically talking about our final projects.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

Not many problems were presented so I can’t say any were solved. Today I was able to learn that as a class we’ve developed our skills a lot.

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

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

SUMMARY

Over-all today was productive. It was kind of a final working day and I finished most of my work.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

We have finished the project!

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

During this time I went into the sound booth with David and Phoenix. We are almost finished with the cover doing a few more takes.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

There is a firm difference between the science of business and action of business. Incentives are often executed incorrectly. This has created a negative space in business. One idea for a solution is autonomy. Over half of googles new products are developed in the 20% work free time.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

During this time I experimented in Sound-Trap with different sounds and audios.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

I spent my time in the sound-booth this period. We are at the very end of our project and is is almost finished.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

Most of today was spent communicating with my team and finishing out final project.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

This video was interesting. I’d say the ideas are set in stone however I find it easier to constantly remind myself to do something.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

I got some more insight on how I want to move forward with the ladder half of my year.

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

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

SUMMARY

Today was very productive, I did however spend a lot of my time on the leadership project.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

Most of my time today was spent practicing and working on my leadership project. We made a lot of progress and we’re almost finished.

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

Today in the practice room I watched more JustinGuitar lessons. He discussed going from a D chord to an A chord faster this time.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

We spent most of this time in the sound booth recording Phoenix’s part for our cover.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

Me, Phoenix, and David went into the hall during this period and practiced singing together for the cover of Fly Me To The Moon.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

I’m bunching studio, outside, and a couple other rooms as 90 percent of that time was spent practicing and i n the sound-booth with my team.

STAGE

Fun kahoot! And fun music!!

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

Over-all the videos today were very insightful, I feel actively inclined to meditate more.

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

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

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\

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

  • EVERYONE: Write a couple sentence update about what you completed on your ‘afternoon’ project in this section of this blog post.
  • Remember to also add an entry to your SMART Goal Page underneath your goal statement.
  • Create a heading titled, ‘July 15th Work’.
  • Write one descriptive paragraph detailing WHAT YOU DID and LEARNED today

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

Goal Page: Progress For Today

  1. Welcome to show and tell, well sorta!
  2. Embed media as evidence of today’s progress (SHOW)
  3. Write an update about your leadership project progress (TELL)
  4. Delete Mr. Le Duc’s instructions – yes, these instructions – yes the instructions you are reading right now!

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

The habits video was extremely engaging and interesting. I also watched more of JustinGuitar’s lesson videos. Today he went over the A chord and how to play chords faster.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

  • Read Chapter 2: How Habit Shape your Identity from James Clear’s Atomic Habits
https://youtube.com/watch?v=s_ryupLmKCU%3Ffeature%3Doembed

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

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

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

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

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

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

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

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

  • Two sources for more information on your success and delayed gratification
  • Radio Lab
  • This American Life
    • This American Life podcast Back to School
    • Listen to act 1 from minute 3:45 to 37:00.  Then skipped to Act 2 from 43:00 until the end.
    • Take notes
  • Take notes on important steps to help you succeed
  • Go for a walk and think about what this video meant to you.
  • Journal here about that. The more detail the better.

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

STAGE

  • Finish watching from 1:20:00 minutes of Hitsville: The Making Of Motown
  • We will work on MusicWill.org materials when ‘on stage’.
  • This is the performance room.
  • Reflect on which instrument you picked to work on first.
  • ALSO: We will share student work that people are working on and give them feedback

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

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

  • Tell your daily story here!  Highlight what you learned and enjoyed most and at least one problem you solved. Problem-solving is one of the most important skills you need in life. Employers want to know HOW you get stuff done as much as WHAT you got done.

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

School of Rock – Day 10 – Community

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\

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

  • EVERYONE: Write a couple sentence update about what you completed on your ‘afternoon’ project in this section of this blog post.
  • Write one descriptive paragraph detailing WHAT YOU DID and LEARNED today

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

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

During my practice time I practiced learning guitar and watched more of JustinGuitar’s free classes. In the videos I watched today, I practiced the D chord and learned the A chord.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

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

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

  • Watch Holistic Songwriting: Songwriting Corner
  • Watch Holistic Songwriting: Songwriting Exercises (you do not need the cards)
  • Watch Holistic Songwriting: 5 Minute Lessons (you do not need the cards)
  • Embed a YouTube video link or links you watched
  • Write what was most interesting to you learned – AND THEN DELETE THESE WORDS!

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

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

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

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\

STAGE

  • Watch the from 46:00 to 1:15:00 minutes of Hitsville: The Making Of Motown
  • We will work on MusicWill.org materials when ‘on stage’.
  • This is the performance room.
  • Reflect on which instrument you picked to work on first.
  • ALSO: We will share student work that people are working on and give them feedback

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

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

  • Tell your daily story here!  Highlight what you learned and enjoyed most and at least one problem you solved. Problem-solving is one of the most important skills you need in life. Employers want to know HOW you get stuff done as much as WHAT you got done – AND THEN DELETE THESE WORDS!

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

School of Rock – Day 9 – Workflow

SUMMARY

Over-all one of the best days so far.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

Today me David and Phoenix made good progress on our project getting most of the vocals done for our intro.

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

Today I watched more of JustinGuitar’s guitar lesson videos. Today I learned correct hand placement and how to play a D chord.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

During the lab today I watched a video by Music Kingdom in which they went in depth on the 1981 album “The Rainbow Goblins” by Masayoshi Takanaka. Over-all the review talked about the many different genres the album delved into and I learned what concept albums were.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

In hook-theory I attempted to mimic the fusion jazz style of Masayoshi Takanaka.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

I took the time to socialize with David and Phoenix on what our project is going to be.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

During this room I worked with David and Phoenix in the sound booth. During that time we brainstormed our song and experimented with the sound system. We made a lot of progress on the intro of the song.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

Spent more of this time brainstorming with team.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

Today was a good day for progress on the final. Over-all I had a good time deconstructing some music during the lab period.

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

School of Rock – Day 8 – Leadership Planning and Preparation

SUMMARY

I had fun today looking at what producers do.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

  1. Pick one of the following: Leading by being part of a team or Leading by example
  2. Place your project idea, the description, and the outcome here: bit.ly/2ZxekGt
  3. Write the same thing above these instructions under the LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY heading

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

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

Today i began JustinGuitar’s free online class. I learned how to correctly hold a guitar and what kind of picks I should use as a beginner.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

In the classroom we zoned in and separated different parts of Killing in The Name of by Rage Against the Machine.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

I watched the “What Makes this Song Great?” on LED ZEPPELIN. I found the separated vocals saying “wanna whole lot of love” most interesting when it was removed from the song. Whenever parts of the song are removed it makes it feel slightly off and proves just how important each of the moving parts are.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

I spent the studio time brainstorming with my team on the song we’re going to make. So far we’ve only discussed the ideas and how we’re going to execute it.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

Mixing the song some more helped me realize once again how important some moving parts really are, the analogy Mr. Le Duc made earlier about how alone, flour tastes terrible. However once added with other ingredients it creates a really good cookie. However you cant make a good cookie with rotten eggs.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

The idea of keeping your brain active in a certain creative space by making a game each week is extremely compelling.

STAGE

So far the mow-town documentary is extremely interesting.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

Today I learned a bit about deconstructing music and I had a deeper look into the moving parts of different popular songs.

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

School of Rock – Day 7 – Planning and Pathways

SUMMARY

Over-all a good day and I’m excited for next week.

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

In the advice video the final man giving the advice of looking on the past and not wanting to change a thing is really insightful. the mistakes we make shape who we are and that guy was happy with the mistakes he made therefore happy with who he is.

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 swift video was extremely intriguing. It perfectly describes how even a simple melody and rhythm can be expanded upon to making a more than good song.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

Screenshot of Lyrics Melody and Chord Progressions from HookTab at YouTube

I learned how to implement lyrics into Hook-pad and how to sync them to the rhythm and notes.

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

Screenshot from Holistic Songwriting at YouTube

if you’re trying to make a longer chorus shorten the verse.

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

Soundtrap mixing and publishing at Clark Eagling’s YouTube Channel

I spent my time fiddling with sound-trap.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

Screenshot from Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter TED Talk on YouTube

The part i found most interesting was whenever you’re at your lowest it can be difficult to reach out so to help you think of it like a game.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

Today I learned a few new ways to deal with problems like treating them like games. I also spent my practice room time practicing a chord from a song I like.

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

School of Rock – Day 6 – Bass Basics

SUMMARY

Today I practiced playing a guitar like drums.

PRACTICE ROOM

Log your daily practice with your Paper Practice Log

Use the MusicWill.org JamZone, books, or ultimate-guitar.com. Remember to use a metronome to record the BPM rate you can play perfectly.

Bass Practice Extras

Step 1: Watch How To Add Bass Notes Guitar Strumming Lessons by Tomas Michaud

Screenshot from Tomas Michaud video

Step 2: Download the guitar TABS for his exercise (PDF)

Step 3: Practice one of the exercises

Bonus Bass Resource!

CLASSROOM

The bass is essential in practically all kinds of music. The organ was the staple bass instrument for a long time. At the time it was big it was the only way to have your body moved by music physically. When the synthesizer was invented in 1968 it topped the organ on how low it’s bass could go.

LAB

I practiced trying to implement chromatic keys into sound-trap from hook-pad and I feel like I was able to better edit it there. I also feel like I better learned about chromatic keys from the Goodall video.

STUDIO

I fiddled around with it but I did not really compose anything, it was enjoyable practicing baselines with it.

CONTROL ROOM

Record the bass line you developed in the studio.

How did the recording go? Write a short reflection.

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

OUTSIDE / IDEAS

I thought about different music I listen to and the baselines in each of them. This also helped me realize how important base is in music.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

Once again I feel like the Goodall video was the most engaging. learning about the history and origin of bass was absolutely the highlight of the day.

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