MUS150 Portfolio Project: Musicking through DAWs

For this project, I created a DAW that was based on a graphic score. I created a bass rhythm and arranged melody that was inspired from the image. Included in the audio file is also audio from a news report from the Women's March on Washington in 2017. 

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I chose this image because I found it to be meaningful to me. What inspired me the most about this event is that women from all backgrounds came together to stand up for women's rights. In the video I found, it also discusses that there was not only diversity in background but also diversity in motivation. Many women were also fighting for civil rights based on their ethnicity and sexual orientation. There were many motivators behind an expansive cause. 

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womens_march_-_mus_150__1_.mp3
File Size:	5335 kb
File Type:	mp3

Download File

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For this project, I wanted the music to help covey the event and the emotions that motivated it. I imported a MIDI file of "Do You Hear The People Sing" that is an arrangement of the melody from the broadway musical "Les Miserable". I thought that the tone and message from that melody appropriately captured the event. I created a bass rhythm that sounded like a march to compliment the melody and also help to convey the graphic and the event of the women's march. The main challenge I faced as using Soundtrap and figuring out how to import the MIDI and use all of the editing tools. Most of the information I needed was provided in tutorials on Soundtrap. 

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For this next part of the project I worked more with the effects that are offered on Soundtrap. I tried to make some of the lines and motives from the song sound completely different from the original. To make the B section contrasting I changed the order of the back beat and used a loop from Soundtrap for the bass that was contrasting from the one in the beginning. In the A section of the song, I wanted to capture the determination of the people who voiced their values. In the second section I wanted to capture the purpose of the event through the audio from interviews and speakers. I found a video of a compilation of famous celebrities and speakers at the event. I initially had some difficulty getting used to using the effects and figuring out how to make it sound appealing. I was able to figure it out by taking time to explore the different sound effects offered and how to adjust the settings for each effect. I also had to make sure each line was in the appropriate octave and range.

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In creating the final draft of this song I tried to consider how I could expand on my ideas to help reinforce the purpose of the work which is the women's march. I played around with loops to try to find out what different kinds of sounds would fit in and enhance the song. Then I experimented with adding the effects on different lines to make the loops I added be more cohesive with the other parts. By using the fading effect I used it on the "Do You Hear the People Sing" melody to finish and fade out at the end of the song. I liked a lot of the features sound trap has to offer such as their collection of loops, and I liked that it was fairly straightforward to use. However, Soundtrap does have limitations for the free version and in retrospect I think it could have been helpful to also use other DAW programs such as GarageBand. I think Soundtrap was a good program to use to help me learn how to use a DAW. Youtube was a helpful resource in learning how to implement the different effects and loops. Overall, I think I have learned a lot about the basics of using a DAW through this experience and now I can expand and develop the skills I've learned.