1.0 - Specification & TOC

Welcome to my Capstone OP3!

Use the tabs at the top of each page to navigate through this report.

This project details the progression and design of my experience and learning process of intensive music engineering and production between September 2014 and April 2016. The project describes two distinct aspects of my process which unfolded as a progression of

1. Learning how to record, engineer, and produce through helping fellow artists with their own music, while studying with mentors and guides to help improve my process. 
2. Becoming proficient enough to engineer and produce my own music, ultimately recording my second full-length album.

 This project centers around my growth process related to my dedication to music as a life-path and career, development of skills, efficient use of technology and tools, working with others, and establishing myself as a professional musician and producer. 

My intention with this report is to reflect upon my own process and clarify my goals regarding my pathway as a music producer, song writer, and Gaia associate. Once more I hope this OP can act as a guide tool for anyone pursuing or just interested in learning about music production, recording technology, and album-engineering design dynamics. 

OP Design

I referenced Capstone associate Simha Bodes' year 2 OP3 as a design template for most of the layout and structure of this OP in terms of core requirement sections. Though our project topics were very different, I was able to utilize the bare-bones framework to base the sequence and unfolding of my own report around. I based my core report on two key projects, the people and processes involved, and the outcomes achieved.

Goals

My goals for this report are to

1. Articulate my recording process

2. Detail my learning journey

3. Share the outcomes

In designing this OP I followed my previous pattern of referencing best practices through studying Simha Bode's work. His outputs are very well organized and give me a good template to work off of for the production of my own. After creating a basic layout for my Mahara pages (using Simha's tab design) I input my own information into the given criteria sections. Apart from using best practices, I am completing an unfinished TALC module from my orientation with Gaia U, the last subject of which is focused on 'generating fabulous OPs'. I used the mind map from one of the readings of this section as a guideline and checklist to track my progress and organize the essential pieces I needed to include in the output.

This is my second to last project OP with Gaia U and the process is definitely feeling monotonous at this point. My central priority and focus in life is furthering myself as a professional musician through writing, recording, performing, and other musical and artistic enterprises. Documenting the process of how I do it, in relation to output packets and Gaia U, is not wholly for myself but essentially for my mother as she is my primary motivating factor in completing my program with Gaia U. It will bring her immense joy and fulfillment knowing that her son can finish a program from an accredited university and earn  a bachelors degree. My mother has blessed my life immensely, we've made an agreement for me to complete Gaia U, and here I am, doing my best to stay present and committed to the program and its process. I appreciate that this process is making me a more efficient and articulate writer hopefully positivley influencing my artistic expression through musical and interpersonal communication as well. This is my third Output Packet about recording and so Im definitely feeling repetitive at this point in terms of communicating my projects and why I am engaging in them. In general, I feel that I am taking one step forward and two steps back every time I submit an OP. This means that in my last 3 OPs, which I put a lot of work into (especially capstone OP2), I believed to be following the guidelines and appropriately fulfilling requirements necessary for a complete output packet. Every time I received a Pro Review, I found through their feedback that I had fallen short, usually due to a lack of design tools and articulation of design processes. For this OP I planned to fulfill the writing requirements, submit by the first of May, and refine the report during the review process.