Genius Hour Project #2 Reflection

I finally finished my second Genius Hour Project on Arranging Music. For those who don’t know what Genius Hour is, check out my Genius Hour Project #1 Reflection. Like I stated in that post, I wanted to do arranging music as a topic and I finally got to. I chose this topic because as an avid piano player, I like to listen to different arrangments to find the perfect one, which can sometimes take me a while. I figured that if I could write my own arrangements, then I could create something perfect for me. Also, my father is the music teacher at my school, so I could also ask him for help or advice from time to time.

I started my quest on Twitter where I asked many Twitter experts for their tips and tricks on how to arrange a decent piece. I got lots of help and many good ideas from them that I will talk about later. I then realized that writing out music by hand would kill me, as there are so many notes to write that it would take me forever to even write a couple of bars of music. Plus, with technology and the internet out there, why should I have to. I created an account in Noteflight, an online music notation software, and though this made writing music easier, it also added another element to my list of things I needed to do: learn how to use it. It didn’t take long to learn the basics, but I had to learn more advanced concepts as I went along. After figuring it out, I was able to create something that I was pretty happy with.

I did an arrangement of my Top 10 favorite instrumental movie soundtracks, and I arranged it for a Stage Band, as it is the band that I know best. I play in my school’s stage band as the piano player, and both of these facts I considered when writing the piece. One of the pieces of advice that I got from an expert called @reed_man, was that I should arrange for the instrument I play first, and then expand upon that and add in other instruments from a band that I know best. This was really helpful and also one of the most important things I learned that helped me complete this piece.

I learned a lot from this project, and one of the most important things being that arranging music takes a lot of time! I had to work on this project in and out of class for a lot of time, but thankfully, it was something that I wanted to do, so it wasn’t too bad. That was something else that the experts told me: choose something you’re willing to do in your free time. You have to be committed or else you won’t get anything done. And I was, which helped me grow more responsible and determined. This project not only taught me something new but it also changed me in a way I did not expect. This will then help me with other commitments, so even if this project didn’t have a huge impact on the world around me, it was beneficial to me and I am happy I did this project.

For my next Genius Hour, I want to learn sign language or some other form of communication with the deaf. This will impact the world around me because I can then help people that cannot hear, and hearing loss is becoming more and more common, so with the increase of people going deaf, I can do something to help. It will also help me in certain ways like fixing my spelling. Many words or phrases in sign language are spelled out, so this will not only help the deaf and others but for me as well. I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to have Genius Hour in class and I can’t wait to start my next project!

 

Works Cited

Berkovitz, Joe. “Noteflight Logo.” Noteflight, www.noteflight.com/.

Grosz, Arthur Valentin. “Music Composing.” Arthur Valentin Grosz Composer & Arranger,
ICANsign. “ASL Alphabet Chart – Printer Friendly.” Baby Sign Language BABY SIGNS AND BABY
           SIGN LANUAGE RESOURCES, WordPress,
Logos Download. “Twitter.” Logos Download, logos-download.com/169-twitter-logo-download.html.
Tan, Caleb. “Top 10 Best Movie Soundtracks.” Google Slides, 14 Mar. 2018,