Final Project: Dude's Theme composition

     on this post I will be writing about the main compositions for final project: Dude's Theme. Firstly, I will describe the musical choices and the scales I used to convey the mood of the song. It first starts on key of F Lydian with a Fmaj7 chord. On the first four chords the melodic line inside the chord's changes emphasize the Lydian note, the augmented 4th, on this case the B. The first 4 chords I used were Fmaj7, Fmaj7 #4, G, Gsus4, so that those changes create a interesting melodic line on the top  of the chord were the highest notes goes to A B C. The chord progression resolves in Fmaj7 before going to C/G. After that the song modulates, on this part I opted to use to use first inversion major chords, so that the lowest note of the chord in the 3rd not the root. The chord I used in this section are C#/A, D#/B, G#/E and A#/ F#.  The next section I used a common cliche on Japanese's songs where I progress in full steps to G until B so that the chord progression on this part is G A B. The next part  I used a I V IV chord progression in the key of G major before staring a chromatic descending line that resolves in G major. My inspiration for that descending section was Black Bird from the Beatles but instead of C, C minor and B/G I made the same chromatic descending using C, C minor and D sus4. After that part I used a F7 add 11 to build tension and prepare to the last chord of the song which is B. This is mid tempo song, and the bpm  is around 88. I also used the fingering pattern from dust in the wind.

When it comes to recording and mixing, I used Focusrite 2i2 interface, and Pro Tools. I recorded using my Squier Stratocaster and I plugged it in line. For simulating the guitar amplifier I used the Plugin Guitar Rig and I used the same preset that I used in The Adventure Theme, which is bright delay I also used Wave Reverb. On the outro of the song I created some effects using reverse audio, which played what I recorded backwards and I added Tremolo and Phaser on this guitar part.

I used reverse audio to create some embellishments and interesting effects. Those embellishments give movement to the song and create a bittersweet and awkward feeling of instability that contrast with the chord progression that is being used.

Final Project: The Adventure Theme

     On this post I will  be analyzing and describing the technical and compositional process of  The Adventure Theme, one  of the songs of final project Dude's Theme. My song is divided into two different sections, the verse and chorus, and both of then repeat twice.  The song starts on the key of E major, using a E add 9 chord. The chord progression I came up is really conventional and for that section of the  song I used many borrowed chords such as Dmaj7, Cmaj7 and Cmaj9. After 10 bars the song modulates, I opted to use a cliche that  is commonly used in Bossa Nova and Samba, and I learned it with Tom Jobim, who I previously made a research about: Final project research: Wave Tom Jobim. It consist in going to Am7 to A7 dominant chord that is resolved in C6 add 9. The next to chords I used A/G and A/F prepare the song to it's chorus in which it modulates to C major. The chorus starts on E minor, the III chord of C major scale, and then it goes to A and A add 9. The chorus section is based in a common classical music convention of Answering and Responding lines, so That the E minor and A have their respond on the C add 9 and E minor phrases. The rhythm fingering pattern I used to this song is the same one Kansas used in Dust in the wind and Eddie Vedder used on Guaranteed 

    When it comes to technical aspects of recording, I used Focusrite 2i2 and Pro Tools to record and mixing this song, unless the other songs on this project, this song is much more organic, it's not edited and compressed. The only plugins I used on the main guitar were Wave reverb and Guitar Rig. The preset I used to record that song was Bright delay.

    

I also created some effects using reverse audio to use it as embellishments

 

The final mix is really simple and organic I ended up with 5 different tracks and one click track which I used to keep tempo while I recorded, to be sure I was not speeding up

Website Feedback and UX Testing

     To test my website I created a google form n which I wrote questions about the user experience using my website. I linked it in my website in the navigation bar, so that people could access it and give their feedback. 

    In todays classes I will reflect about peoples feedback on my website.

My first question was about my homepage and the results were satisfactory.

 

The second question was about the design of the about page, again the results were satisfactory, but I still think I have margin of improvement 

 

The third question was about my page biography and I am satisfied with the feedback I received

 

when it comes to the feedback about my portfolio page it was not bad but there is a couple things that I have to change such as portfolio cover

The feedback I received about the my portfolio work was the same I received about my portfolio page

The feed back I received over my Contact page was really satisfactory 

Based on the feedback I received over my mobile view, I will change the design and make the menu bar clearer 

I am really satisfied with the feedback I received about my website navigation

On the comments section, I received feedback about specific things that are not working well or could be better such as my mobile view, SoundCloud icon and overall design. So that I will focus on those things to make sure the future users have a enjoyable experience on my website.