Stay Curious And Happy

For this elective term, I took a class called Mixtapes. In this class we studied the historical context behind some genres of music like Blues and Jazz. We also learned the "language" that music holds, and learned about some key words that would help us better connect to what we're listening to. For the action project we were assigned to create a mix tape of music that we think really identifies us, as well as how we perceive the world. I listen to a lot of different music so I thought it would be super easy to pick my songs, but I was wrong. It took awhile, but I eventually figured out which songs fit best. It was super cool to go into depth with these songs because for each one I learned something new. I hope you enjoy exploring below!

Script:

I describe myself as an introverted person. Although I’m quiet most of the time, I really like to look out for adventures, laughs, and overall fun. I LOVE to laugh and have some sense of freedom. I also take pride in the sense of humor that I have. It has allowed me to not take so many things seriously. I’m a super curious person, and sometimes that gets me into trouble but I don’t mind sometimes. Depends on the consequence. I would for sure say that I sound pretty soft and mellow. They would be beats that you can dance to or just listen to while you relax. The world we live in sucks. Most rulers of this world are evil, greedy, and just plain out ignorant. I still see some good in this world though thanks to some people. Those people are the ones that still look out for fun. They’re the ones that let their creativity and curiosity drive them. In a way, these people could be considered brave for still showcasing those qualities. These kind of hopeful, happy people are the ones that drive me. Very uplifting, fun lyrics. I found that some of the songs that I picked have a slow to medium tempo, but the lyrics are pretty positive.

Song #1- Pocketful Of Sunshine.

Is this track conservative or progressive?

Progressive

Is this track sacred or profane?

Profane- There isn't any religious connection to this song. It's also pretty obvious as to what this song is talking about.

What genre of music is represented?

Pop & R&B

Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine talks about finding a happy place. This happy place allows her to escape the trials that she encounters in her life. She’s able to send this message by her very moody and melancholy lyrics. The lighter and happier mood of this song is brought out by her cheerful and energized vocals. This is a dance-pop song. The repetition of the chorus allows a beat to be carried and makes it pretty predictable. This song came out in the summer of 2008, so not much was happening politically that would have affected this song. I would say that it’s a timeless song. There are many people who are trying to escape the tragedies of their lives today, which would make this song pretty relatable. The transmission hits when the chorus comes. It sounds intimate at first, but then it bursts to some energy. To me, this song doesn't hold any virtuosity because it sounds pretty basic. Like I've heard it before somewhere. This is for sure written in a major tone because it sounds upbeat.   This song is good for people who are looking for a happy, danceable tune. It’s also for people who don’t mind listening to mainstream music, because this song would be considered a radio favorite. This song is about escaping certain problems in your life by going to a certain place. In the song, she’s talking about a real literal place, but a happy place can also be considered a form of a mindset. These lyrics are what pushed me to include this song on my playlist.

And there's no more lies.

In the darkness,there's light. And nobody cries.

There's only butterflies.”

It really adds to the theme of yea life is going to suck, but it’s up to you to change that perception. It all starts with your happiness.

Song #2- Human Nature-Micheal Jackson

Is this track conservative or progressive?

Conservative- I would say it's conservative because it holds some truth about human nature, which could be considered traditional.

Is this track sacred or profane?

Profane- There isn't any religious connection to this song, but it's a super honest song.

What genre of music is represented?

Pop 

Michael Jackson is considered to be the king of pop. This song specifically though, doesn’t embody that. This is a slower song, with some honest lyrics. The message that I got from this song is that there’s this freedom that we have to live life the way we want to. We can make connections with anyone we want, whenever we want. The title of this song also can give a hint as to what the writer was thinking about when he was writing this. It’s talking about human nature. It explains the idea of people taking the chance of exploring love and life freely. I really like the intimacy that's caused by his soothing voice. The speed also has a lot to do with the feeling of closeness. All this was able to prove that his work is handled with a lot of virtuosity.It never really changed which makes it pretty stubborn, but it's still enjoyable.  The lyrics below really capture the purpose as to why I included this song.

If they say,

Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature

Why, why, does he do me that way

If they say,

Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature

Why, why does he do me that way

I like livin' this way

I like lovin' this way.

This song could really be for everyone. It’s talking about human nature, which is geared towards everyone. But if someone likes danceable tunes or prefers that over deep, honest lyrics, then I wouldn’t recommend this song to those people.

This song came out in 1982, which was a prime time for MJ. This song was on his album Thriller, which is still considered to be one the best selling albums ever. Since it was the early 80’s, I would say that this song really set the tone as to how to people were perceiving each other. The 70’s was fun, and a super interesting year for psychedelic drugs, but the 80’s was the time to be honest, and a bit more mature. I admire this song for the deep and soothing lyrics. I enjoy the freedom we have to make connections with whoever we want. Anyone can be curious about anything, and we have the freedom to explore anything we want. I believe that’s what drives people in this world.

Song #3-Summer Breeze 

Is this track conservative or progressive?

Progressive- I would say it's progressive because it really doesn't talk about any traditions or religious events. It actually talks about feeling free.

Is this track sacred or profane?

Profane- There isn't any religious connection to this song, but it's a super soothing one.

What genre of music is represented?

Soft-Rock 

Summer Breeze is a very soft-rock tune. The guitar elements add the rockish feel, but the soft, smooth and peaceful lyrics add to the prettiness of this song. It also adds to the intimacy of it. I would say the lyrics add to the closeness of the singer and the audience, because summer is usually something that most people enjoy. The loudness is very low, and I think that's good because of the soothing, sweet lyrics. The beginning guitar part is pretty exclusive because once I hear that, I know it's the specific song. There are specific things that the singer sings about, but the chorus cuts down to what this whole song is really about. The lyrics are below:

"Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind."

He’s basically saying that the breeze during the summer calms his mind down. The breeze also allows him to live a very peaceful life. This was written in 1972, and it’s pretty obvious. These were the very hippy days. The Vietnam War was also going on, and although there was no reference to that in the song, I still feel like the war impacted it. With all the chaos going on in the world, it would be really easy to forget that even the simplest things like nature can bring some sort of happiness. I would recommend this song to anyone who enjoys to sit back and listen to music. To those who actually find the time to let music relax them. I wouldn't share this song with anyone who enjoys dark lyrics, because this is far from that.I’m a very easy going person who is happiest with the simplest things, so this song makes me super happy knowing that it was written about the summertime and the benefits that come with it. It shows that it is possible to be happiest with very simple things, people just choose not to be.

Song #4- Happy House

Is this track conservative or progressive?

Progressive- There is a reference to Hell, but I don't think it makes much of an impact for this song to be considered religious or anything.

Is this track sacred or profane?

Profane- There isn't any religious connection to this song, but the lyrics are super fun.

What genre of music is represented?

Post-Punk 

This is a very chilling song by a post-punk band. I think the instrumental to this song is what makes this song super interesting, exclusive and just plain out cool. It’s very different, and almost haunting. That haunting feeling adds to the intimacy that it holds. I think the loudness goes well with the energy filled lyrics. This song is pretty stubborn too, but I like it. The lyrics to this song are pretty awesome as well. It’s telling a story about a house that’s called the “happy house”. This house allows people to have fun to the fullest without worrying about anything going on. It’s like an escape. The lyrics below really capture that idea.

"This is the happy house-we're happy here in the happy house. To forget ourselves-and pretend all's well There is no hell."

“Happy House” was released in the 80s as a punk song. Punk is going against the norms, and although the lyrics are very happy and uplifting, I know it’s all sarcasm. The point of this song was to highlight the way the media, and television portrays families. They always showcase very happy people, whose life must be nice.

People who enjoy lighter, happier songs wouldn’t find much enjoyment from this because this is almost mocking those kinds of songs. At the same time though, someone can ignore the sarcasm and just listen to the song as it is. People who like to break apart songs and find hidden meanings with music, would have a lot of fun with this song.

I was a person who ignored the sarcasm in this song, and just enjoyed the lyrics the way I wanted to hear them. I took it as a happy song. Like I said before, I really enjoy the thought of everyone being happy because I really believe that that’s what’s going to push people to do the things they want.

Song #5- Ride. Lana Del Rey

Is this track conservative or progressive?

Conservative- I would say it's conservative because it holds some truth about sadness and emotions that people face.

Is this track sacred or profane?

Profane- There isn't any religious connection to this song, but it's a super honest song about emotions.

What genre of music is represented?

Pop 

This song was written in the blue-eyed souled genre, which is blues and soul music written and performed by white people. The piano melody and nostalgic lyrics add to that feeling that categorizes this song under that genre.This has a pretty deep meaning, which again makes it intimate. The quietness brings a sense of closeness. It’s talking about a person who’s tired of being sunk into the problems that come with alcoholism, which includes loneliness and unpleasant thoughts. She just wants to live her life freely and just ride along with what makes her happy. It was written in 2012, and I don’t think anything politically was going on that was enough to impact this song. Anyone who enjoys moody music would love this, but those who prefer “happier” music, wouldn’t really appreciate this song as much. This connects to me because I don't think there's a problem with going crazy sometimes. If you're always holding things in, you're going to go even crazier.

Discipline.

Systems and Models is the 2nd STEAM course of my senior year. This class focuses on understanding the different ways of thinking with ourselves, within groups, and within organizations. We watched and learned about certain social experiments that would help us get a better understanding about what this class is about. The last unit is called Organization. It focused on people, groups and organizations. For the last action project, we were assigned to think like a organizational consultant and perform a SWOT on GCE. I really enjoy being a student here, so it was sort of difficult looking for flaws. Overall though, I really enjoyed completing this, and I hope you enjoy reading through it.

                                                                                                                      

 

We're Friends With Mexico!

The last unit of my Equality class was called HerStory. This unit focused on possible equality with gender, class, and race. We read articles, watched short videos, and had discussions about feminism, inequality with race and class. For the last action project,we were assigned to predict the future of equality by creating a time capsule 100 years into the future. I decided to focus my project on the issue between the United States and Mexico. Right now, the relationship isn't all that great. Donald Trump is our president, so that explains a lot. In the beginning, it was difficult to pick which civil rights event I would pick. I sat and thought about which event was the most important, but there's no such thing. Every civil rights event is important. But I did choose the topic I know most about, and that's about the relationship between Trump and Mexicans. I hope you enjoy reading below!
 

Are You Lost?

The second STEAM course of my senior year, I'm taking a class called Systems and Models. This class teaches us how to study people from the outside, inside and between. The second unit is called Group. This unit focuses on how people's behavior changes while around other people. For the action project, we had to conduct a social experiment. I worked with a partner and wanted to see how different stores reacted when it came to us wanting help. I hope you enjoy our project!

                                                                                                                    

Remembering 9/11

This is the second Humanities course of my senior year. This course is called Equality, and we discuss issues about inequality. The first unit is named History and during it we discussed the historical background of gender, race, and class. For the action project we were assigned to recount a historical event with some research and a voice. It was really cool to look back at certain events, but it was also hard to choose because they're all super interesting. I eventually chose researching 9/11. I hope you enjoy reading below!

Out With The Old, In With The New.

The second course of my senior STEAM class is called Systems and Models. This class teaches us how to study ourselves, as well as other people and groups.The first unit of this class is called Individual. This unit focused on studying ourselves through psychology. To do this, we looked at a lot of different personality tests, which I talk about a lot in my project. For the action project, we were assigned to take all the information we learned about ourselves, and present it in a artistic way. The art could be whatever we consider art to be. I liked that a lot because many people have different views on what could be considered art, and it's good to have an open mind and see the differences. I enjoyed learning a lot about myself through these different tests, and it was fun to make that into art. I hope you enjoy reading below!

During this class, we were assigned to take a few personality tests to see if they would help us identify ourselves, as well as to see how we handle certain situations. The one that I think best connected with me was the Myers Briggs test. The point of this test was to figure out how I perceive the world and how I make decisions. At the end, my results were INFP. Those letters stand for introversion, intuition, feeling, and perception. Introversion means that I am energized by having some time to myself. Intuition means that I can recognize patterns and possibilities. Feeling means that I take other people’s feelings seriously. Perceiving means that I enjoy freedom and flexibility. All this can also be described as the “mediator”. This made sense to me because people describe me as being reserved, gentle, and understanding. Once I knew all this information, I thought my result for the TKI test, which describes how we handle a conflict, was pretty accurate. The number one word I got was avoider. This means that I shy away from a conflict or that I’d rather not face it at all.

Out with the old, in with the new. (RD). 2017.

The name of my art piece is called "Out with the old, in with the new". I traced out both of my hands with pencil and marker and added details into them with colored pencils and markers. All this was done on regular printer paper. The size is 8.5x11in. The little details included aren’t actually little in my life, but since there’s a lot going on, they had to be a certain size. One hand represents all the things in life that I want and want to pull in. On the other is stuff that I avoid or push away, and don’t want to include in my life. The hand that wants to push things away is colored in darker, while the hand that wants to bring in things is lighter. The things I want to bring in includes peace, kindness, friendships, and adventure. I represented that through hearts, flowers, peace signs, and a lot of green to represent adventure and nature. I also drew tiny stars to represent the very dreamy personality that I have. When it comes to things that I want to push away I include stress, conflict, criticism ,and decisions. I represented that with a lot of question marks because all those things leave me feeling very unsure. I also drew clouds and a thunderstorm that represent all the stress that clumps together and eventually destroys all my inspiration.

Apart from the 2 tests that I talked about earlier, I also took the Enneagram personality test. The result I got for this one was type 4. This is also known as the "Individualist". Some of the words that are used to describe this type include, expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental. It's also known as the sensitive, introspective type. Most of this is pretty accurate. I've always been quiet, and I find myself sometimes stuck in my own head, and constantly daydreaming. Although this happens, I still like to branch out and connect with others. I represented that in my drawing by the leaves that are outside of the fingers. With this result in mind, I also thought that the result that I got from the DISC personality test was accurate. I got C for compliance. Again, this describes people who are a bit more reserved, people who would rather stay behind the scenes of anything, and those who hate pressure. I think it's cool how I can see a connection with all these different tests.

Throughout this class, we watched a few videos that studied certain behaviors. I thought the "Slap her" experiment was super interesting. The young boys knew it was wrong to slap a girl, so they didn't do it. I also really loved it because I also take other people's feelings seriously, and I could never imagine myself hurting someone else.

In order to fully understand the whole process of creating an artist statement, I talked to Hiu, who is an art teacher. I was curious about which elements she considered as the most important. I liked when she talked about how important it is to explain the story behind the art piece. “I also really love when an artist statement gives instructions on how the audience should interact with or view the piece of artwork. This really gives the artist the chance to immerse the audience into their work and not only view the piece, but also to experience it”. That’s what I hope for when people view my artwork.


Work cited:

"Type Four." The Enneagram Institute. The Enneagram Institute., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2017

"C for Compliance." Discus Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.

"Free Personality Test." 16Personalities. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.

"The Use and Misuse of an Avoiding Style in Conflict Management." Mediate.com - Find Mediators - World's Leading Mediation Information Site. Mediate.com, Sept. 2006. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.

To, Hiu. Email interview. 18. Jan. 2017

Ocean Beats

I'm taking a class called Radio-Rithmetic. In this class we studied the relationship between math, science, and music. In the second unit, the class went over topics like pitch, frequency, notation,waves, intervals, scales, and many other effects in of music. The FE's for this unit were super fun. We were able to take a tour of a radio station and a recording studio. Both were very helpful to this unit. For the action project, the class was assigned to make a musical collage with existing samples, and see how we could change them with some of the effects we learned about.  I hope you enjoy listening!

This project took some time, especially when it came to picking the right sample songs. I looked at my own playlist to find some inspiration, and it worked. I really like the vocals to Ocean Eyes by Billie Ellish. Her voice is very dreamy, and I knew I wanted to include her voice in my project. I also really like the melody. I did some searching and found a piano cover of it. Even though both samples are from the same song, they sound really different, and I had a lot of fun mixing and playing around with them.



 In the beginning of this piece, I added a little drum beat. The notation is below.

Drum beat notation (RD)

For the interval, I decided to pick the piano piece at the end. It's a long G and B.

Interval (RD)

To make this track a bit more interesting, I added some cool effects. I included a reverse tape sound effect to highlight the differences in the quality of sound. I added a delay on that reverse tape, which means that the same sound is repeated quietly after it’s done playing. And as I stated before, I added my own little drum beat to the beginning, fading into the the first piano solo. I added the wah-wah effect to the first vocals that are featured. The wah-wah effect is when the resonance of musical notes are altered, to extend expressiveness, which makes it sound like a voice saying “wah”. I think the vocals are dreamy, so I added a solo with vocals. I really enjoyed the reverse tape sound effect, so I added that again to fade into the vocal and piano solo towards the end. 

Labeled Piece. (RD)

In this class we discussed consonance and dissonance, which means what does or doesn't sound good together. In the beginning, there was probably a hint of consonance with the drums and piano, but it doesn't sound horrible. The form of this piece is ABCD. It's sort of choppy but it starts off with an instrumental break, and then goes into the first verse. After that verse it cuts off to another verse and then ends with an instrumental. 

Although this project was kind of difficult and time consuming, I had a lot of fun completing it. I enjoyed exploring and learning about the cool effects that can be done to music and sounds. I also had fun mashing some sounds together, and trying to figure out which sounds sounded good with which.

Citations:
"Billie Eilish - Ocean Eyes (Official Music Video)." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Mar. 2016. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.

"Ocean Eyes" by Billie Eilish-easy Piano Arrangement." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.