Discover: The song I chose for my project is City by Alkaline. Released in 2016, the uptempo song was made with combative nature towards doubters, despisers and critics while simultaneously creating a feel good atmosphere encouraging people to attack hate by simply living life and accomplishing their goals. The song seems to be produced using a synthesizer with small sounds of claps and shakers. The instrumental sounds almost alien-like. The main sound heard at the beginning sounds like a jump from pattern to pattern like the game piano tiles. Then for the chorus there are high pitched climbs that alternate with low pitched. The song makes its listeners feel like they are climbing up to new levels.
Define: The song is composed of so many intriguing sounds that it was difficult deciding what to draw. I was trying too hard to draw eccentric patterns that may have not been the best representation of the song. However, after a while I decided to clear my mind and just let the music carry me. The first box represents the climb in sound heard at the start of the song. The third box shows the wave of sounds heard in the chorus. The fourth box ironically resembles a city skyline and is also an alternative representation of the chorus instrumental. The sixth box represents a broken spectrum of glass where the high synthesized sound can be deposited. The seventh box shows string beads that serves as the small shaking sounds you can hear in the background of the song if closely listened to. The last box (not shown here) is a set of arcs created from the center point of the box. The final product is a grand firework which covers the entire aura of the song.
Develop: These are my final designs that I thought of. The song left and impression that it wants listeners rise up and relax. Highlighting the negatives was more critical than I thought because it is meant to show the dips in the sound and it’s connection with the positive areas but I slowly stated getting the hang of it.
Deliver: It was a difficult project because I lack that ability to draw without visual inspiration or something to copy from. After completing this I learned how to transform sounds into shapes and patterns. It is a task of letting the music flow in your mind and go along with it instead of trying to force something. I think I could’ve thought of more patterns that can fill the box more. For my next project I will be more familiar with turning sounds into art. I now know the importance of negative and positive patterns.
