NEWSLETTER
Maxwell Bullen
Henderson, Nevada
Theatre Arts Major
Creative Track
Electronic Music Production and DJing
For my project I learned how to create music using a digital audio workstation, normally called a DAW, in order to increase my portfolio in my chosen degree. I worked with a few different DAW’s and from there settled on using Garage band for the majority of my production. Doing this allowed for me to standout among those in my field as it showed that I am able to not only find sound, but also create it. The production aspect of my project also allowed for me to highlight the musicality in different sounds and effects. While the vast majority of my project was driven by producing music, I also wanted to challenge myself by DJ mixing the tracks that I produced as well.
The reason behind the DJ mixing is that I have been very interested in DJing for a while at this point in time and I found that this would be another item to showcase in my portfolio. The DJ mixing I did was through a computer application called Virtual DJ and it allowed for me to highlight my ability to compliment different sounds and transition between them smoothly. While trying to figure out what was the best way to do this, I found that using a DDJ, a mixer that allows for volume control as well as fading between songs, was the best as I was able to manually move the sliders that affected to songs. It is possible to do this without one, but it is much more difficult than it needs to be. By doing this, I feel as if I was also able to dabble in something that has always interested me in an environment that was comfortable to explore this talent in. Below is a photo of my DJ setup that I would see on my computer screen.
The inspiration for my project came from both my field of study as well as the music that I listen to often. In my field of study, theatre arts, I focused on sound design and through this I realized that my portfolio should have not only files that I have found and used in my designs, but also self produced ones as well. I jumped to music production, as making a few sound effects is easier than most people would believe as it pretty much is just recoding the sound of what you want to use. The jump to music was also influenced by my love of electronic dance music and the interest in learning how it is made. This interest of mine also lead to the discovery of my love of music production and I will be continuing to develop my skills in this field to further my marketability in the field of sound designers.
The challenges of this project include keeping count in tempo as well as taking what was available and making the tracks out of that. Keeping time was surprisingly difficult as each song that I made was in a different tempo and thus when mixing them together each song had to be pitched to different tempos so that they were able to flow together as seamless as possible. While producing the tracks, the wide range of sound files that are available was good for variety, but not everything goes together. Being able to find the exact instrument that is needed becomes challenging when there are different types of the same instrument. It also is challenging to keep in mind each and every sound that is layered on top of each other has to compliment the layers above and below them as well. This can and often did lead to changes in the song style as well as the overall sound of the track.
The project benefits others by showing them that anyone is able to find something and create it. I was able to use software and create different tracks that sound interesting to me and thus shows others that they are able to create something for themselves that others can enjoy. I feel as if this also allows for creative people to see that nothing is impossible to create and that even if some do not like what was made, someone else will. This project hopefully serves as inspiration in creating different sounds and songs as well as inspiring others to make something that they are comfortable with seeing or hearing, but not with making. I also feel as if this project benefits those that are interested in sound designing and production by showing them that anyone is able to get into this field as long as they are devoted to it.
This project benefits me personally by improving my marketability to be hired in this field. While it is not something that I want to be hired in immediately, I feel as if this understanding of how songs are made as well as how DJing is done allows for me to understand how and why different sounds are chosen. I feel as if learning how to pick sounds for songs improved my ability to deign sound for the theatrical world by showing what works and what doesn’t when layered together. DJing improved my ability to transition between sounds by learning how to change tempo and make transitions as seamless as possible. I also feel as if by doing this project, I am able to show people hiring that I am versatile in what I can bring to the table by not only being able to create my own sound effects, but also that I am able to use ones that have been found.
“Learning the structure of sound is critical to understand how to layer it together in a song.”