Hey, it’s been a couple weeks. Welcome back or welcome for the first time. Last week was my university’s Spring Break, so I took the week to refresh my mind so I can come back with a different perspective to my project. I discovered something interesting about how I feel about the project now, but we’ll get to it.

For those not in the know of what that project is, I am currently working on an arrangement/transcription of five tracks from the Halo Original Soundtrack for a flute choir. Last week was when I started moving from the first to the second of the five tracks. The project is in medley form, which means it will contain certain themes from each track and then switch over to the next track, maybe with modulation, maybe directly, or maybe there’s a break. Let’s get to this week’s events.

Because last week was Spring Break, I was hoping to dive right in to get caught up on this project. Something hasn’t been clicking with me about this project, and I finally figured out what. I’m not an arranger or transcriber, and I have determined that this project is too large in scale for something I’ve never done before. However, because I picked and stuck with it, I’ve been doing this project despite my feelings on it not being entirely well-known. Take a look at this video for a project idea I like more.

So what do I do about it? I believe I need to swap projects, even if this is the direct middle of the project timeline. Everything is already picked out, something that can be completable within the given four weeks. This new project will be a MIDI file, but not just any MIDI. It will be an orchestral accompaniment MIDI file for a flute orchestral excerpt. My pick of which excerpt is Bach’s Badinerie, a very well-known piece, even for non-musicians. This process will consist of taking the orchestral score, moving it over to Finale, downloading the MIDI file of the accompaniment, and recording myself playing over the excerpt. MIDI accompaniment practice is one of my favorite ways to practice a piece I have all technique down for because you have other things you can listen to and familiarize yourself with. Here’s an example of one I have finished before!

What did I learn doing this project? There are a few standout things I would say I learned. For one, I can say with experience that enjoyment of an activity or class directly translates to motivation/frustration with a project. If you feel that way with a self-picked project, don’t try to force it to work. It’ll end up backfiring in the future. The other primary thing I learned was to start slow on something when you don’t have experience. I had no transcribing/arranging skills aside from two years of aural skills. Jumping into this project without experience was kind of a mistake. They didn’t teach filling in middle voices for harmonic analyses. That being said, I don’t believe this was a failure. It was the biggest learning opportunity I’ve received all semester. I’m excited to continue the posts with a new project to share for you all! See you next week.

Arrangement Update Switch Up - Update 4

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