FINAL DAY :(

I cannot believe everything is almost over. The past two weeks have been difficult but amazing. I have learned so much about music and myself. Today I woke up early because I had a full day planned of hard work. I first went to Shirley's room and worked more on my Self Evaluation. Then, I met up with Bill at 9:30am to record for two hours. We were able to finish all the recording and start mixing. We mixed three out of my five songs, then we had our final assembly and lunch. Following lunch I came back and worked with Bill in the studio, we were able to bounce those three songs we had mixed. I took a break for a while and returned to the studio around 7:00pm for another hour. We have mixed all of my songs except one and so tomorrow morning we will finish that and then burn!!! I am hoping to burn as many CDs as I can depending on time. I have to finish my Self Evaluation tonight and will hand in my papers tomorrow! Thanks for reading my blog!!

Week Three: Day 11

WOW! The progress I made today was amazing. I woke up and went straight to the studio around 8:30am. Bill and I got right to work with a short warm up and then recording. We recorded "Amazing Grace," "Only Hope," and "You Raise Me Up." All three of these songs went very well. After a couple hours of recording, I took a break and headed over to the tech lab. Seth was there ready for me to print my CD case inserts. I would like to thank him for all the work he did for me today. We spent about an hour sizing and formatting the inserts. It got very complicated and we printed off a lot of paper. Fortunately, everything turned out great! I went to lunch and later returned to cut the 200 little squares. 100 front cover inserts and 100 back inserts. It took a lot of work but I am very happy with the results. Following dinner I met up with Bill again in the studio. We diligently worked on mixing "Amazing Grace" and finished it!!!! We also recorded "Here's Where I Stand" and began tuning/editing/mixing. Tomorrow we will finish "Here's Where I Stand" and start mixing the last three. This project is really coming together and I cannot wait to show everyone my final product!! Hours today = 6.

Week Two Reflection

The second week of senior project was very self driven. I spent a majority of my time practicing and working on my CD case. Although I did spend a lot of time on my own, I was able to record a satisfied amount. I found that I cannot stress my voice, so taking a break for a couple days has been a benefit. My goal for this week was to basically record enough to place me in a good position for the final week of senior project. Since recording a lot this week was hard to accomplish, I decided to shift my goals around. I worked on my CD case and self evaluation that I was supposed to start next week. This way, I am able to confidently complete the rest of the recording at the beginning of next week. I am very pleased with my work this week even though it did not turn out how I had originally planned.

I really enjoyed this week, recording and creating my CD case. It was nice to switch up my activities and work on the presentation of my CD. Through the help of Brenda Godwin and Andrew Landers I have successfully created a CD cover. The cover grasps everything I had envisioned. I am truly confident in my senior project now that I have completed more than half of my recordings and album cover.

In the first three days of this week, I worked diligently on recording. Bill and I recorded as much as we could until he had to depart on Thursday. In the last two days of this week that I did not spend in the studio, I still found myself diligently working on my CD case. Although this was not my original plan, it seemed to work. I was actually surprised as to how this did work out because I was doubting myself at the beginning of the week. The benefit from my work this week would be that I was able to switch the pieces of my project around so that I would complete my goals without losing time. I spent a total of 16 hours working this week, averaging 3.2 hours a day.

Week Two: Day 10

Progress!! Today I woke up and finished my weekly reflection with Shirley. Then, I went to the recording studio and got Seth Richardson to put all of the background music from the songs onto my computer. This way, I can practice the songs this weekend and be ready to record on Monday. Brenda and I designed the cover of my album, to the right is the picture I have chosen. Seth Currier also helped me copy the papers for the album. I decided that I would not print off the couple hundred pages I have to until I made sure that my citing was correct. I spent a total of 3 hours working on my project today. I completely spaced on getting my time sheet in, hopefully I can turn it in this weekend. Only 3 days left....yikes!

Week Two: Day 9

This morning I woke up and it was nearly 60 degrees around 8:00 am. With such a beautiful day ahead of me, I could not wait to take pictures for my album cover. I met up with Brenda around 8:15 am and we talked about the layout for my cover. She was happy to help me, which is great because presentation is key. I then walked upstairs to meet up with my mentor, Shirley. We went over what information I would need for my CD and all the details behind that. Then I began my self-evaluation. The self-evaluation for senior project is a 3 to 5 page paper that includes my goals, benefits, and what I have learned. I have fortunately already finished my first paragraph and created an outline. After assembly, Andrew Landers took some photos of me for my album cover. I wanted to make sure that when looking at the album, you would be able to recognize Proctor in the background. Most of the pictures that Andrew shot of me were in front of the Proctor pond. We were able to narrow down the shots and I am happy with the results. Tomorrow I will work with Brenda again and hopefully finalize the CD case itself. I am also hoping to get into the studio tomorrow to practice the songs. Week two is almost over...hours today: 3

Week two: Day 8

Today I woke up to a dull sky and pouring rain. I got to the recording studio around 9:00am and did a quick warm up with Bill. For the next two and a half hours we worked on "Here's Where I Stand." This song is very fun to sing, though it is very difficult. The words repeat many times, but the notes are different. The score is nine pages long and very overwhelming, though we managed to get quite a few tracks down. I am starting to realize the time that this project needs cannot be crunched if you want perfection. You pay attention to every single note sung. I was able to take some pictures today, I wanted to show my readers a visual of what I have been up to. In the top left is myself with headphones on, a music stand, a big microphone, and to my right (the stand that says: "AVIOM") is where I can control the volume of myself singing and the volume of the background music. If Bill wants to talk to me, but he is in the other room, he can see me through a window (below), and talk through an intercom that will speak into my headphones. The building is a building within itself, meaning you cannot hear the noises outside. Below I have another picture of the control room, where all the engineering is done. As I sit next to Bill in the control room, I am amazed as to how this system works. It takes a lot of skill and patience with the programs and technology Proctor has invested in. I am so thrilled to be working in such a magnificent place. Tomorrow I will not be singing, I will be working on my CD case cover...hopefully getting that finished before the weekend. Only 4 more days of senior project:(

Total hours today: 3

Week Two: Day 7

Today was successful..I got right to work at 8:15am with Bill by warming up my voice with a couple onsets. Then I sang through "You Raise Me Up" as a warm up and then went right to recording. Although it was still early, I managed to pull through two recordings today: "Hero" and "Only Hope." We are going to edit them and hopefully they will work out. I left the studio after that block and went to my dorm to take a nap. I fortunately found someone to help me with my CD case cover, Brenda Godwin. I will meet with her on Thursday and hopefully we will design a layout. I was inspired to embrace my talent of singing at Proctor; therefore, I have decided to name my album "Embrace." This collection of Christian/World songs is finally coming together, and I am very excited to show everyone what I have done. I did not come back to the recording studio until 12:00pm this afternoon and only stayed for a bit to hear Matt Lohan record his amazing multi-instrumental piece. Tomorrow will be a day of great but tough work as I will not be recording again until Monday. I think I am going to take some pictures tomorrow to put up so that everyone can see the process of what I am doing....hours today: 2