Goodnight

Composer’s Reflection

My intention was to make a deep and mellow piece that was set to represent a lonely evening before sleep. My plan was to have melodic development throughout the piece, which represents the emotional journey around a single thought.

Process:

●  I started by establishing a key and chord progression in the key of Gm on the piano

●  From there I created a single melody line on the bells with a high cut on the EQ (to avoid

muddiness)

●  Then, I experimented with question and answer melodies on the piano and synth pads, which acted as responses to the original theme on the bells and also as countermelodies.

●  To create a sense of space, I added reverb and for dialogue, I panned the melodies left and right as the texture was polyphonic.

●  The rhythmic ostinato was programmed from scratch, using a kick, rimshot-snare, hi-hats, shakers and an 808, which acts as the backbone and ornaments the song. The rhythms are developed through textural variation and provide a constant for the listener, behind the developing melodic themes.

●  There are various contrasting sections defined by different melodies, changes in chord progressions, including one that offers surprise in the key of G major, to interject hope.

●  I tried different endings and settled with one where everything fades away, as if falling asleep.

Learning Outcome:

As a music student, I learn and discover new techniques and skills every week towards composing digitally. Since it has been roughly 1 month since this piece was created, I have learned many skills, especially the mixing and leveling process, which consists of leveling out the sounds to ensure a balanced sound overall. If possible, I would further adjust the levels to balance the sound and explore more techniques for reharmonisation.