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    Rachel Harmon's Webpage    
Mus 384 - Electronic Music Projects
                                       Garage Band                 
                       Audacity
                             Digital Performer 
                              Notation Software
                              Evaluation Page 		  asdfj

Garageband Projects
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musical notes 
 
30-second soundwipe
     
     


Developing my 30-second soundwipe allowed me to use Garageband for the first time. As I worked on this soundwipe, I played around with the software and was thrilled with its capabilities. The overall layout of Garageband I found to be user-friendly and soon I was creating tracks, toops, changing effects, recording via the keyboard, and microphone, etc. I did have trouble figuring out how to edit the loops that I played in using the piano. It took a while to realize that if I made a mistake while playing, I didn't have to replay everything in order to fix it. Instead, with a couple clicks of the mouse, I could fix that one wrong note/rhythm, and have a perfect loop. This 30-second soundwipe acts as introduction music for an imaginary TV mystery series. The jungle type percussion, and use of instrumentation (violins and horns) create a sense of suspense and excitement. After the music aspects of my soundwipe were completed, I made it more interesting by recording my voice along with the music. I altered the tone of my voice using Garageband to make it deep and gruff. In the end I think this alteration enhanced my soundwipe tremendously.


3-minute composition


Composing 3 minutes of original music was more work than I originally thought it would be. I chose to have my piece in 7-part Rondo (ABACADA). Since my B, C, and D sections were all in different keys, I had to think of ways to transpose between them and my returning theme. I achieved this by finding the dominant chord of the new key and using that as the goal for the end of each transition. I used about 10 tracks in this piece, and it was a thrill to have so many instrments and rhythms available to me. The down side to a great number of tracks is the amount of became hard to see all the music at once. I ended up doing lots of scrolling you have to do. My 3-minute piece is meant to let you, the listener, take a musical stroll around a quaint, little town. As you walk, you returning to the main part of town (representing theme A) multiple times and find a different atmosphere each time - sometimes bustling with people, and at other times very tranquil. Listen for the “rain effects” and church bells, (A section midway through the piece), indicating the weather change.
3-minute podcast

My 3-minute podcast project was effective in letting me familiarize myself with programs other than Garageband. I created some of my slides using Microsoft Word. Both Microsoft Word slides and my pictures were imported into i-movies. At this point I had fun adding transitions and "moving text" to my photos. To finish the podcast off, I sent my "imovie" to Garageband and added music. The pictures in the podcast were ones that I took while in Mexico last semester. Many of my friends have told me they are anxious to see my photos. I think this podcast will be perfect to show them! It will only take 3 minutes of their time, and hopefully be enjoyable to both listen to and watch.  


AUDACITY PROJECT:
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("Row, Row, Row Your Boat" Round)
 


                                DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECTS:
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Children's Round

Accompaniment





NOTATION SOFTWARE PROJECTS:
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Sibelius

Kindertotenlieder - Mahler
Cotton Tail - Duke Ellington

Finale
       
Excerpt