CR #1

Dominic DiGesu 

4/14/20

Critical Reflection #1: What I Know vs What I Don’t Know (CR1)

 

My senior project is about making music. My essential question is how can I tell a compelling narrative/tell a story through music in a time of quarantine. I know I am not the first to record and produce music apart from other musicians and production people. I have heard stories of famous musicians recording in different locations and having the record mixed in yet another location. In these situations, the people involved are generally very seasoned professionals. I am still a music making novice; as a result, there is a lot about music making I don’t know, which is exacerbated by the challenge of distance composing.

 

I know that good music tells good stories. For the story to work, rythums, beats and sounds that resonate across a wide audience lay a foundation for lyrics that tell a story. I am confident in my ability to set the instrumental base. What I don’t know and am exploring is how to write compelling lyrics to sit on top of the base, and how to seamlessly layer the music and lyrics in the production process. I also know that good music is generally as a result of collaboration. Gus and I spend hours face timing, playing each other music, experimenting in different keys and with different instruments. So far it is working, even though sometimes our internet cuts out and there are disconnects in our process. The reality is that we have started with the aspects of music making we both know best and are most comfortable with. What I don’t know is how this collaboration will work when we get to the more challenging parts of the process, where we both have limited experience or less confidence in our skills. Distance collaboration may be more challenging when are in learning mode. On the same note, I know that Gus and I get along well and we generally agree. What I don’t know is what will happen when there is a difference of opinion or when we want to take things in different directions. It is harder to resolve differences over a computer screen.