This week I have not been able to work much on my 20% Time due to projects in my economics class as well as a blog assignment for Literature. Despite this, I have noticed that I am right on track for my project. I have finished the written final draft of my song. Additionally, I was able to make it longer than five minutes in all. The song as a whole flows and sounds good, but I might have to add a few minor edits in the final weeks of this project. Overall, I did not make changes to my song this week. Although I am done with the written final draft, I have not decided what I should use to record the song. I could use Finale, but it would take a a lot of work and time. On typical weeks, I only get to go to the music tech lab 2 times a week, and I need more time this. I need to research the best way to record my song. Also, I need to show my band directors my song and play it for them. I could learn important details from them that I could use to make my song sound better. If they tell me my song needs major edits, I will create a second written final draft. I have accomplished a lot so far, but I still need to figure out how I am going to present my concerto.

This week has gone very well. Right now I am writing the final draft of my song. I finished writing the final draft and the 1st movement and I am currently writing the final draft to the 2nd movement. Based on what I have written, the 1st and 2nd movements are the best movements of the song. They sound good and their are little to no problematic areas in terms of musical flow. Any final edits that I will do tomorrow, Friday, and next week will be in the 3rd and 4th movement. In these movements, there are areas where I added notes just so the song could continue on. I need to change these areas and think of something that would cause the song to flow better and make more sense. Additionally, I was able to finalize certain parts to add into my song. For example, I added some measures to the 2nd movement to make it end in a more interesting way. I added more music to the 3rd movement as well. Next week I will finish any edits that need to be made. I will play through my song to see its length as well. In the end, I want my song to at least last 5 minutes. Additionally, I will ask my mentor how I should record my song.

This week I feel good about my project, but it is getting tougher to do. Since I am now done with a draft of the concerto, I have been adding crucial edits to the song. For example,  I added some music to the 2nd and 3rd movement that would allow the song to flow better. I tried to add more of the melody into certain areas of the song so that it could be heard more often. Despite this, it is very difficult to go back into a song and change anything that needs to be changed. I often have to play a part of the song to see whether it will fit into the entirety of the song or not. Sometime next week, I will start going back to the music tech lab. In the lab, I will use Finale in order to write any music that I have not yet done. Additionally, I will start writing a final draft of my song on paper. To do this, I need to research what type of paper I should use, and how I can get it. I will talk to my mentor in order to get important tips that I can use to make my song sound better as well. Overall, I have accomplished a lot, but I still have some work to do.

 Ever since I first started writing my concerto, I have made a lot of progress. I have finished a draft of all my music. In particular, I finished a rough draft of my 4th movement this week. This movement is nothing like the other movements that I have created. It starts off slow and legato, and it builds in speed and excitement. The middle of the song has a flowing melody. At the end of the song, the main melody that was introduced in the 1st movement is heard once again. The end builds in sound, and it ends on 16th note runs. Despite everything that I have accomplished, I still have a lot of work to do. Some of the movements are not long enough, and sometimes the melody does not flow as well as I would like. To fix this, I plan on concentrating on editing and revising next week. I want to add more dynamics and focus more on musical flow as well. Additionally, the song in its entirety is too short. Although it sounds good, it only takes about 3 or 4 minutes to get through the entire song. Once next week is over, I plan on having a song that flows and sounds better.

This week I am feeling good about my song. I have not yet added important details to my 1st movement yet because I have been busy drafting my 3rd movement. In fact, I been able to finish a draft of my 3rd movement. Unlike what I said in the first week of my blog, my song will not be three movements. In actuality, it will end up being 4 movements. My 3rd movement ended up being a short, rondo like piece that one can dance to. Abruptly, near the end of the movement, the piece gains a mysterious feel. The end leaves you in suspicion and wants you to keep hearing more music. As a result, I have decided to write a 4th movement. My 4th movement will probably start with a slow melody that is comparable to the main melody heard in the 1st movement. It will most likely gain in speed and excitement. Additionally, I noticed that I will probably need to make edits to some parts of my music. In some places, I could not think of what to write. As a result, I  wrote  a melody that somewhat flowed with the rest of the music. I need to fix these problematic areas so that the music flows better. Next week, I will go through my music and make important edits. I will begin drafting my 4th movement, and I will try to finish my 2nd movement in the music tech lab.