Cal Tyner

2/29/2012

Senior Project Speech

These days, things are changing. Our world is changing around us; technology, culture, politics,

and even music is changing, (insert music clip). My name is Cal Tyner and I chose to create and produce

a demo cd for my senior project. The genre I chose, as you just heard, is a mix of electronic, techno, and

rap called dubstep. Why did I choose such a topic? The main reason I chose to create this kind of music is

because I have played instruments my entire life, from things like bass guitar all the way to drums and

even a little piano, as well. Recently, this type of music has progressed into something far greater than

ever imagined, and it has caught my interest. I’ve watched this type of music grow from the beginning,

now I can’t believe we hear dubstepon a majority of all the commercials seen on TV. So to be precise,

after becoming too interested to look away, I began creating my own music.

First off, the research required for this genre of music was quite more complex than one would

originally think. Although dubstep itself has only been around for about ten to fifteen years, composing

music has been around since man could produce sound. This might be a far fetch for some people to

consider dj’s to be modern day Mozart’s, but in the future this statement may be true. Basically, my

research was centered around how exactly to create this music, using several different programs, and

about how this music scene was started and has progressed.

Now, my final product for my senior project is a demo cd. Unfortunately I couldn’t play the

whole cd, which is approximately 28 minutes in length. I can assure you, though, it did not only take a

mere 30 minutes to create. Mixing and producing this type of music requires patience, a sense for the

music, and some talent, also. The most important asset to have to create this type of music, I think,

isknowing what people want to hear, as well as being able to produce something that you, yourself,

would listen to. This is precisely why I chose this genre over so many, because I enjoy the process of

making it, and the final product is even better. After deciding that I would create this music for my

senior project, I needed a few things to get started. At the time, I was lacking a laptop to work on, which

was a major issue. Fortunately, I my brother was purchasing one at the same time I needed one, and I

got an HP laptop for a mere 150 dollars. This would be the backbone for my entire process of creation.

Once obtaining my instrument, I was to download a program called Ableton, which is the program I used

to create, mix, and produce my music. Now, this is where creating dubstep becomes tricky.

As said before, Ableton is the base used when creating music. This program is extremely

complex, and those who have mastered it are among the top artists of the day that you might’ve heard

of, such as Excision and Deadmau5. Although I am not nearly on their level of understanding, I became

quite familiar with this program throughout the course of my senior project. When I started, I could

barely create a bass line or even mix tracks. Now, I can create full tracks and even a full 60 minute

album, given the time. The process it took to create this demo cd was quite extensive, but I will go

ahead and break it down.

First of all, there are over 20,000 different sounds and instruments in Ableton, and over 5,000

different effects. Although everyone that uses this program uses it differently, I always start with a drum

and bass track. I like to use heavy sub bass, as well as a great deal of high hat and crash cymbals and a

rolling snare drum. Also, I add some sound effects during this part of the process. The drum and bass

track, though, creates structure in the song, which eventually will be chopped up, or dubbed. I’ll recap

on that in a moment, but after creating the drum and bass line, I find several different sound tracks to

mix with my own created music, as well. Creating the drum and bass is easy; once multiple tracks are

added to the same song, it becomes a game of inches. This is because in order for the final product to

sound legitimate, it is vital to synchronize and transition tracks together properly. While syncing tracks

together, this is where dubbing the tracks comes in. This part of the procedure is a bit harder to explain,

and takes the most time in the overall process. To start, it is important to choose which sounds will be

chopped up, and which will be given further effects. The tracks that will be dubbed basically get chopped

up and rearranged in intricate ways to produce this type of distinguished sound. After completing that

process, the final touches can be added to the mix; which includes adding final effects and determining

decibel output, or loudness. Once making sure your music doesn’t blow faces off when played, the

process is essentially finished. The only thing left is the process of exporting the music files created onto

a flash drive and formatting them onto a compact disk. After this was finished, my process was

complete.

There were quite a few issues I came about along the way that weren’t mentioned earlier. As

you may have guessed, producing any kind of music isn’t a stroll in the park. Fortunately, I personally

enjoy what it takes to make this music, even including all the set-backs. The first major problem I had

during this process came about when I decided which program I would use to create music, Ableton. It

took quite a while to choose this program over so many, but acquiring the program itself is where the

real trouble came about. Unfortunately, Ableton is an expensive program and is also difficult to find

available to the public. Luckily though, my brother creates and produces his own music, as well as my

project facilitator, Connor. Needless to say, they are both very familiar with the program, and were able

to help me download it onto my laptop. After I was able to obtain this program, most of my troubles

were over. Other than a few issues that came along when creating the music itself, which were solved

quite easily with the help of my facilitator, the process was enjoyable and fun.

Senior project, although it is a stressful topic, helped me learn something about myself. As said

before, I’ve played instruments my whole life. Once I discovered this type of music, my instrument itself

has changed. What I discovered about myself is that, of all the instruments in the world, creating music

of this style is the most interesting to me. It takes a great deal of patience, but once my final product

was complete I felt proud and accomplished. In other words, I enjoy making dubstep, and I will continue

to do so as a hobby for years to come. Now I would like to thank you all for your time. Are there any

questions concerning my project at this time?