Midsummer Night's Dream Soundtrack Log
30th January 2010- Started creating first song for the soundtrack: The Woods. Has a rather sinister edge, and a subtle mix of light and dark elements representing both the light comedy side of the play and the fear of what troubles the characters face ahead. Have spent about half an hour on this and it lasts roughly 15 seconds.
1st February 2010- Finished off The Woods, and started work on second track, Helena’s Song. I am quite pleased with this, as it sounds lighter than The Woods, representing the sadness of Helena in her current situation. This took about an hour.
2nd February 2010- Brought in trumpet today and was excited about recording Oberon’s Song using it. Put together start of song using contrasts in pitches and blending different recordings of myself to create a grand, royal tune fitting of Oberon’s character. This took about an hour after school.
5th February 2010- Finished Helena’s song, and collected ideas together about what Bottom’s Head should sound like; chaotic, mischievous, dark, but still with a great sense of fun and adventure. This took about half an hour.
6th February 2010- Tried to start Bottom’s Head using software instruments on Garageband, but despite my attempts, I couldn’t produce any decent material. So, after that I decided to grab my trumpet and do some more on Oberon’s song. I stayed for about an hour and a half after school that day.
10th February 2010- Started compiling ideas in lesson for sound of Sleep- soft, gentle, tranquil and peaceful, with a good-natured vibe which hints that soon all will be well in the play. Also started work on Pucks Entrance, which is mischievous, and filled with deep bass lines, and cathedral organ passages, amongst more silly instruments such as musical boxes. That took about one hour.
15th February 2010- Have now completed two songs, The Woods and Helena’s song.
16th February 2010- Finished work on Oberon’s song with an effective fade out effect. This is the best song I have created so far, as it sounds more fresh and realistic than my other material, with grand trumpet passages and a royal, triumphant atmosphere. This took about half an hour.
18th February 2010- Created Pyramus And Thisbe, a short (about 8 seconds), punchy trumpet fanfare on three different pitches. This took about half an hour.
20th February 2010-Done some more on Puck’s Entrance, adding a higher passage on the upright bass and a fade out ending section. Took about an hour after school.
25th February 2010- Started Sleep, a peaceful track characterised mainly by light synths, soft pianos etc. I think that this particular piece would be brilliant to listen to when you are in a laid- back, calm mood.
26th February 2010- Have now completed The Woods, Helena’s Song, Pyramus And Thisbe, Oberon’s Song and Puck’s Entrance. Done some more work on Sleep and almost finished that apart from a few pitch adjustments to be made.
28th February 2010- Completed Sleep and started collecting ideas about Helena’s Song, a dark, emotional piece with a hint of sadness reflecting Helena’s feelings concerning Demetrius. Took about half an hour after school.
5th March 2010- Started work on Helena’s Song and Titania’s Song after school. Both tracks are similar in some ways, although Titania’s Sing is much lighter.
10th March 2010- Have now finished Helena’s Song and Titania’s Song, and started work on Bottom’s Head, although this will probably prove difficult as it should be a hectic and complicated piece.
15th March 2010- Have completed Bottom’s Head, but am not altogether happy with it, as it sounds rather too chaotic, and a swirling mess of loud drum beats and dark piano passages which seem to alternate between the sinister and the absolute panic of the situation at hand.
20th March 2010- Have now been told to do soundtrack songs for the start of each act instead, which I am not best pleased with. I now plan to use the best sections of the old songs in songs for each act, and build separate sections around them.
30th March 2010- After a short break, I have resumed work on the soundtrack, considering doing tracks for Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, as well as a main theme and an end theme. Have blended sections of Oberon’s Song and Puck’s Entrance/ combined them both together with a new bridge section recorded on trumpet. Took about an hour after school to blend them together and create new section.
5th April 2010- Finished work on Act 1, and created a new section for the first part of Act 2. It sounds like Sleep, but with more catchy segments and a larger range of instruments. This took about an hour after school.
7th April 2010- Finished Act 2 with a section of another song I created which sounds rather strange, but fits in well with the theme. Ended the tune on a slightly darker note, which signifies the arguments which await with Bottom and Titania. Took about half an hour after school.
10th April 2010- Composed some sections of Main Theme in lesson, and pieced them together after school. These last about a minute altogether. Took about 45 minutes in lesson, and 30 minutes after school.
11th April 2010- Started Act 3, and composed another section of Main theme which lasts about 30 seconds and features more drums and improvisation than other tracks.
13th April 2010- Completed Act 3, and finished main theme. This took about an hour and a half after school.
14th April 2010- Recorded with Melissa Whittingham after school on flute, once we had compiled some decent segments for Act 4. It took about an hour to actually joint compose two tunes, which sound peaceful and good-natured, and about half an hour after school to record them.
16th April 2010- Added some similar passages to the flutes in Act 4, but on a wider range of instruments, and extended one flute part to nearly half a minute. Took about 45 minutes after school.
19th April 2010- Finished work on Act 4, and brought trumpet in to record the triumphant Act 5. This is without a doubt, one of the best tracks I have recorded yet which far overshadows Oberon’s Song in terms of pitching and a royal, outstanding sound. This took rather a long time though, and nearly two hours after school.
21st April 2010- Found loads of unused bonus material on Garageband which could be used on the Soundtrack CD, and spent about an hour after school sorting out the best tracks.
24th April 2010- Finished Main Theme after school, piecing the current sections together plus adding new sections which fit in well. This took about an hour and a half.
26th April 2010- Have started work on the End Theme, which begins with the last segment of the Main Theme. This took about 45 minutes after school.
4th May 2010- Have worked out how to get electric guitar on software instruments, and plan to use them as part of the End Theme. Have also discovered new effects and used some of them in my previous work. This took about an hour.
8th May 2010- Have decided against using electric guitar sections in actual End Theme, and so the previous guitar parts have been removed, and will only exist as bonus instrumentals on the final CD. I have, instead arranged to record with my mate Danny Fletcher on piano next Monday.
11th May 2010- Have recorded with Danny, who I must say is very skilled and a grade 7 on the piano. I am very grateful for his assistance. We spent about an hour composing and recording the tune after school, and I spent about another half an hour after that editing it.
12th May 2010- Disaster has struck! I have somehow lost the song that me and Danny recorded and can’t find it anywhere! I have spent a full hour trying to find it, but to no avail, and will have to give in soundtrack as it is.
13th May 2010- Have managed to produce two more sections for the end theme, a avant-garde orientated passage and a rather emotional acoustic part. Have included this in a 19 track CD with 7 songs used in the play, and 12 bonus tracks.
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