Nolan & Kevin Innovator Website

Trap

This song started off as a simple piano melody that came about through experimentation. We realized that this melody had quite a bit of potential so we adapted the piano melody into four measures and began to build a drum pattern around it. The adapted melody was a bit odd so we decided against using a 4x4 drum pattern and instead went for a hip hop style beat. However we wanted to keep the melodic feel of the song and due to the fact that hip hop is not usually very melodic when it comes to the synths, we decided to make electronic trap. We heavily emphasized the guitar and cellos during the build up to show the two different melodies that were playing and allow the listener to differentiate the two while also emphasizing the bells during the climax to continue the melodic feeling of the song and take away some of the emphasis on the lead. We wanted to use a lighter saw type lead because of this and even filtered out some of the low end so that the bass and kick could shine through while also sidechaining the kick to every synth, bass, and effect in the song.

Swing Jazz

Something that we had always wanted to try producing is the genre of Swing Jazz, and Parov Stelar was a great inspiration to us during the creation of this song. Swing Jazz is an offspring of regular jazz. Whereas normal jazz isn’t known to have a very formal tempo of any sort, swing jazz puts jazz to a beat and a tempo that is easy to follow. We started with a piano that had a “1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16-and” sort of beat, where the “and” is an extra note that creates the swing sort of feeling in the song. Eventually, we added in the chorus of the song which included a bunch of 1/32 notes with reverb that created a harmonious rhythm that constantly changes. After adding in some sound effects and synthesizers, we finally came out with our final product. Our biggest motivation for the making of this song was Parov Stelar as he is ultimately the creator of this genre of music.

Downtempo

I took inspiration from a producer named Imagined Herbal Flows when creating this track. I really enjoy listening to him and appreciate his unique style and attempted to reinvent my own version of his music. This genre of music is called downtempo so as you can probably infer, it is generally pretty relaxing and slow. I set the song to 100 beats per minute and began to work on a drum pattern. I found a very light click sound kick and an 808 kick. I put a low pass on the 808 kick and layered it with the click sounding kick. I also found a very unique sounding clap and put a lot of reverb on it so that it would sound like a lot of people were clapping simultaneously. I made some very simple chords for the build up and a tropical like melody for the climax but slowed it down heavily. I spent a lot of time working on the hats and implementing the shakers because this track really focuses on the drums due to the fact that it is very slow and doesn’t really have an overarching melody. Finally, I’ve always found the sound of ocean waves calming and decided to put in that kind of sound effect and I think it worked out pretty well.

Classical

Producing this classical song was definitely my favorite part of the whole project. I just love the way a piano sounds when accompanied by an orchestra. For this song, I began with some mellow strings that set up on a 1, 2, 3 sort of count, where the 3rd note would be carried onto the fourth, where it would then reset with a different chord. Soon enough, I implemented a piano in that replicated just about the same chords as the mellow strings, differentiating itself at times when needed. Shortly after, I added in violin plucks that sounded beautifully in the lead up towards the chorus. This idea was inspired by the piece, Pachelbel's Canon. Fourth, I put in some strong strings that would ultimately aid the piano in the chorus, creating an inspiring yet depressing sort of feel to the song. Everything after that was added in off the top of my head because I simply imagined how well it would work with the melody I had already created, such as the low tom and cymbals. I was very happy with how the song turned out, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

Hip Hop

For our hip hop track, we decided to keep it simple. We wanted to keep all of our tracks instrumental so we didn’t decide to put any raps over the track. The melody has some variation but remains constant throughout the track. As the song progresses, the hats change during the climaxes and different synths come in. We used a pluck that had the same general melody pattern and reduced the attack on it so that it wouldn’t be too strong. We also layered an organ with a slightly different melody underneath the main synth to give it that hip hop vibe. Tuning the 808 sub bass was probably the most difficult part because we wanted it to sound strong but also let the kick shine through while also not making the bass kick combination too overwhelming.

Research Paper

Click on the image to see my Innovator Research Paper

Reflection

The Innovator Project has been the most fun and exciting project that I have worked on throughout my high school career. I think what made this project so great was that we were able to choose what we wanted to research and create but also set our own goals for the project. Music has been a huge part of my life but especially over the last four to five years when I began to really learn and analyze music instead of just listening to it. I began music production at the start of high school so when I learned about this project and how we would be able to choose our own ideas, my mind was set on producing a music album. I really wanted to do this to show my friends and family but especially myself how I have progressed as a music producer over the last four years. When I started, I could only make 30 second drum patterns and after a year I was making 60 second drum patterns with synthesizers layered on top. Now, after four years and countless music production projects, the song I am most proud of utilizes over 60 track layers and 30 mixer channels. Needless to say, I have come a long way in terms of production.

The research process taught me a lot about how music really affects people on a deeper level and the effects that it can have on people without them even realizing. Music is both a healthy and effective way to deal with stress and anxiety. The research I did made me realize how much music production actually affects me in that it makes me happier and can make any problems that I am having in my life begin to fade. I think it gave the project more meaning because not only was I improving my own life through the process of creating music but the music that I was making could improve the lives of others as well. My research topic is related to the product of my innovator project because in my paper I talked about how playing and listening to music can improve a person’s mental and physical health and for my product, I actually created the music that would help said person improve their health.

The learning experience that I gained through this project that I think will be the most useful is being able to collaborate. Throughout the last four years, I have collaborated on music production once or twice and they haven’t really worked out because we would struggle with organization on the project as well as artistic differences. Through collaborating on this project, I learned how to communicate with Nolan and compromise so that we would both be happy with the product. It was also nice to split the workload and have someone else’s opinions on a project you’re working on because when you are working alone, you can start to lose quality and not realize it. Overall, I thought the collaboration process was successful because we were able to work together to create genres of music that were new to us and personally, I think we’ve created our best work to date.

I feel that I have innovated my education during this semester by doing something that I would not be able or allowed to do anywhere else, especially not in a school environment. A project like this would never be possible at Mountain View High School or any other traditional high school around the world. Through this project, I have pushed my limits in terms of music production, by creating some of my best work and learning a lot about music, production, and myself in the process. Nolan and I were talking a few days ago after we had finished the last song for our project and we agreed that we had both created our best songs we have ever made for this project. His being the classical track and mine being the downtempo track. This project really allowed me to experiment and go outside of my comfort zone and what I found was that I could create something unique and amazing.

If I could do this project all over again, I would make the range of products that I would create wider, and cut back on the number of tracks made. Instead of creating 5 three minute tracks, I would create maybe 1 or 2 full tracks and make 2 to 3 mini tracks and try to create a music video or animation for the full tracks.

As I said before, this project is by the far the most fun and exciting project that I have worked on throughout high school and will definitely remember for the years to come. I value this project so highly due to the fact that it couldn’t have been accomplished anywhere else except for Freestyle Academy and I respect what all the teachers had to do in order to make this possible. Overall, I am really proud of what I was able to do for this project and what came out of it.