School of Rock – Day 15 – Celebration and Reflection

SUMMARY

I took a School of Rock class where I got to explore songwriting and production. I learned how to connect audio interfaces, how to use soundtrap to record and mix music, and how to practice correctly and as efficiently as possible.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

For my project I used songsterr to learn Sweating Bullets by Megadeath on the guitar. It was a pretty easy song but fun to play. I made it through the intro, 1st verse and chorus. This helped my ability to keep time while playing and be able to cut in new takes to fit into and older one.

How interested were you in learning the leadership project?

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

Your score: 4

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

The main subject I covered in Classroom was song structures and how they create better songs. I looked at a lot of Tool due to the complexity and my interest in their music. I learned how to create and use a motif to add dynamics and tension building in my own music.

How interested were you in learning about music theory and song analysis?

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

Your score: 5

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

I learned a handful of songs including Sweating Bullets, Nutshell, Them Bones, Man in the Box, 1979. I also got to try out the bass and I learned Rotten Apple, Schism, The Pot, Another One Bites the Dust. Overall I got lots of time to practice what I wanted to.

How interested were you in learning to play the guitar?

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

Your score: 5

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

I looked at lyrics on some of the days to decipher them and find out what they could mean. I also thought about the ted talks about separating yourself from your art. This showed how people can get overwhelmed by their own minds and it can have negative affects on them.

How interested were you in learning about topics related to the brain, creativity, and productivity?

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

Your score: 3

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

I looked at the odd tempos and structures of Tool songs. This showed how their music is complexly built on its self to build the sound with a reassuring tension release.

How interested were you in learning about songwriting, song structure, and music production?

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

Your score: 4

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

  • Soundtrap had a lot of monitoring issues but restarting the studio always fixed it
  • I got to explore more of the bass which I hadn’t had the opportunity

THE COURSE’s ACTIVITY EVALUATION (OVERALL)

Content (The WHAT)

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

Rating: 4

Song structures and progressions.

Most pop songs follow the same chord progression making them sound catchy.

Process (The HOW)

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

Rating: 4

Being able to pick what I want to focus on.

Having to keep up with the blog rooms.

Nothing I enjoyed the class.

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