“‘Be shapeless and formless.. like water’ (Bruce Lee)” by Akinini.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

“Have a mind like water.”

― David Allen,  GTD

SUMMARY

• I explored hookpad and played around with it to create some cool progressions usuing uncoventional means. I plan to continue on and do more of the activities avaliable in this post.

PRACTICE ROOM (GUITAR LESSONS)

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 30 minutes in the ‘room’
• Write a reflection of the key topics that got your attention.
• Write how far did you got in lessons this week
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

Watch Mary Spender: Powerful advice from 10 Professional Musicians you need to hear (14:15)

• Continue his 117 Free Lessons YouTube Playlist
• Check out his web site, justinguitar.com.
• The first 10 videos take less than an hour.

• Be curious about Justin.
• Mr. Le Duc considers him the best beginning guitar teacher online. He’s not the only one that thinks this.  Check out some of the celebrity endorsements at justinguitar.com.

How interested in learning more about playing the guitar?

• 1 (YUCK!)
• 2 (not really)
• 3 (sorta interested)
• 4 (interested)
• 5 (YES!)

Your score: ?

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 15 minutes in the ‘room’
• Pick a video essay from Holistic Songwriting’s Artist Series and watch it.
• Write a reflection of the key topics that got your attention.
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

Holistic Songwriting by Friedemann Findeisen

An Example: The Swift Formula – One Note Melodies

How interested in learning more about music theory and song analysis?

• 1 (YUCK!)
• 2 (not really)
• 3 (sorta interested)
• 4 (interested)
• 5 (YES!)

Your score: ?

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

• I liked what he was trying to do but the versions are different and I can’t find the places to do the things he wants me to do. Still interesting though.

• Songwriting Series. (4 videos)
• Lyrics to music videos (2 videos)

How interested in learning more about HookLab and HookTab?

• 4 (interested)

OUTSIDE (PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• Set a timer
• Spend 15 minutes in this ‘room’

• Review this infographic for 5 minutes (Click for larger PDF version)
• If you want, read more at  bananatreelog.com/blog/daily-dose-of-happiness-chemicals

• Go for a 10-minute walk, if it is safe to do so 
  • Reflect on how you structure your day to maximize your production of the  D.O.S.E. happiness brain chemicals
• Writing a small paragraph reflection for 10 minutes
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

How interested in learning more about music theory and song analysis?

• 1 (YUCK!)
• 2 (not really)
• 3 (sorta interested)
• 4 (interested)
• 5 (YES!)

Your score: ?

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 15 minutes
• Write a reflection of the key topics that got your attention.
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

Watch Holistic Songwriting: Do THIS with every song you write | Hit Song Architect S1E3

How interested in songwriting, song structure, and music production?

• 1 (YUCK!)
• 2 (not really)
• 3 (sorta interested)
• 4 (interested)
• 5 (YES!)

Your score: ?

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

• Set a timer
• Spend 15 minutes in this ‘room’
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

Watch Clark Eagling: Soundtrap tutorial 5 – Arranging the song, Mixing and adding effects

Watch all five videos in the playlist, if you are interested.

How interested in recording, engineering (sound effects, EQ), and mixing?

• 1 (YUCK!)
• 2 (not really)
• 3 (sorta interested)
• 4 (interested)
• 5 (YES!)

Your score: ?

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

• I learned more ways to use hook-pad and some new things about chords.
• A problem I solved was figuring out how to access some tools that had changed from a previous version in the video.

WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

• Give feedback on this week’s class Content and Process
  • Fill in the Weekly Activity Evaluation
• DELETE THIS WHOLE SECTION, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

Teens are overwhelmed, partly because they don’t yet have the skills to manage the unprecedented amount of stuff that enters their brains each day.  – from LifeHacker.com

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

“You can do anything, but not everything.”

― David Allen, (GTD) Getting Things Done for Teens: Take Control of Your Life in a Distracting World

SUMMARY

• I watched some great videos on productivity and GTD as well as re-assessed my own system to improve it.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

• All of the resources gave some very interesting ideas about GTD and the whole process. I personally have been feeling like my GTD process had been lacking a lot in some major aspects, and these videos have given me some helpful concepts to consider and apply to myself.
• I was stricken with a lot of ideas and applications when he mentioned “Mind like water” and “Appropriate Attention”
• I’d like to be more reactive to my surroundings by completely adapting to them much like water.
• When he talked about “Appropriate Attention” I was confused at first about what exactly it meant, but I soon came to figure out it was about where your attention was during a critical or important moment.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

1. Detailed map by guccio@文房具社 icensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
2. Basic map from BiggerPlate.com embedded below

GTD-based Trusted System

OUTSIDE (PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)

OPTIONAL EXERCISE

• Read Getting Things Done for Teens: Take Control of Your Life in a Distracting World by David Allen

STUDIO (CREATING MAPS)

• David Allen summarize the steps
  • “Very simple folks! …
    1. Just WRITE STUFF DOWN
    2. Decide the ACTIONS and OUTCOMES embedded in them
    3. Get yourself a MAP OF ALL THAT so you can step back and take a look at it.
    4. And then, basically, you USE THE MAP TO DECIDE, “OK, here’s the course that we’re going to go on.”
    5. You then LAUNCH the ‘ship’ on a trusted course in the short term, as well as on the long horizon that you’re moving on.
    6. And then, on a regular basis, you need to REASSESS, “OK, we need to take in NEW DATA, CLEANUP, RECALIBRATE, and REFOCUS for the next leg of the journey.”
  • It’s that simple…”
• ‘Capture’ all the ACTION ITEMS you can in your GTD Trusted System

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

• I learned some pretty cool and new ways to focus and stay efficient in today’s environment. I’m excited to try to implement these new ideas and concepts.
• This blogpost came at a great time since I was feeling like I had very little attention and my assignments have been piling up as of late. With these new concepts of complete focused attention and paying even more attention to organizing my materials and tasks, it’s sure to improve my GTD by at least a good bit.

Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. – Maya Angelou

SUMMARY

• It took me a while, but this week has blessed me with some important musical knowledge and tools for the future.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

• Notes are like rungs on a ladder
• False relations were once very popular
• The blues notes didn’t fall on the typical western ladder
• Classical composers began to incorporate folk music into their work
• Slave trade and migration caused new expanses in music
• Jewish melody became the bedrock of the American musical

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

• Hookpad is an excellent tool for music experiments and creations
• I learned how to place chords, single notes, and the basics of navigating the UI and tools

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• It was interesting to hear about how others judge the present work of an artist as compared to their previous work. I oviously new this was a thing but never took the time to think about it and how it affects the individual
• The different ways different artists talk about there creative process was very facinating to me, especially the poet who lived in rural virginia

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

Melody Composition Terms

• Theme – A long melodic idea
• Motive – A short rhythmic idea
• Period – 8 Measures
• Phrase – 4 Measures
• Antecedent (Question) Phrase – The first phrase
• Consequent (Answer) Phrase – The second phrase
• Scale Degrees
  • Tonic –Stability and resolution
  • Supertonic, Mediant, Submediant – Moderate tension
  • Dominant, Subdominant, Leading Tone – High tension
• Steps – Any movement using half or whole steps
• Leaps – Any movement using intervals larger than a whole-step
• Conjunct motion – Melody built primarily out of steps
• Disjunct motion – Melody built primarily out of leaps
• Repetition – Use repeated material to create a link between the two phrases of a period
• Contrast – Write two phrases that contain contrasting material to create tension and interest
• Variation – A mix of Contrast and Repetition

Melody Resources

Mr. Le Duc’s Key of C Major Notes and Chords Chart (PDF)

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

• I learned how to use some important tools as well as solved my problem of not knowing the structure of how to write a melody. After watching the video on the topic I feel a lot more prepared and motivated to do so.

“Day 092/366 – To Do List” by Great Beyond is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Your toughest work is defining what your work is! –  Peter Drucker

SUMMARY

• I set a timer, a single goal, and completed that goal after 1-2 timers had finished. I then repeated that process for a few other assignments. I took breaks too, even if they lasted a little longer than they should’ve.

PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)

In this ‘room’ you are going to try Getting Things Done (GTD).

STEP 1: MAKE A LIST

• Physics Notebook 8
• English Pre-Test Practice
• History Reformation Lecture #2 Notes
• History Reformation Textbook Questions
• Algebra 2 Quadratics: Factoring and Solving
• Rock Recipe for Success Blog
• Rock Week 8 Blog
• Clear out my email inbox
• Study Lines for Theater

STEP 2: NOTICE WHAT YOU NOTICED

• English Pre-Test Practice
• Study Lines for Rehearsal Tomorrow
• Algebra 2 Quadratics: Factoring and Solving
• Rock Week 8 Blog
• Physics Notebook 8
• History Reformation Lecture #2 Notes
• History Reformation Textbook Questions
• Rock Recipe for Success Blog
• Clear out my email inbox

STEP 3: SET A TIMER

1. Set a timer for your first task
   1. Decide how long you think it will take before you start
2. Start working
3. Repeat this process for 45 minutes for as many tasks as you can complete, then take a 15-minute break
   • Get up and get a drink of water
   • Get up and go for a walk
   • Every 20 minute blink your eyes 20 times while looking at least 20 feet away
     • This is good for your eyes

Start steps 1 through 3 again, repeat for your school day

OUTSIDE (PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 20 minutes in this ‘room’
• Watch the first 30 seconds of this Oct. 2020 interview with David Allen

• Reflect on GTD and getting to the top of the colorful list above for a minute
  • How can the GTD process help you tame the crazy-busy dragon of modern life?

• Then, go for a 15-minute walk, if it is safe to do so
• Write a few sentence reflection
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

OPTIONAL EXERCISE – Literally, read the article and go for another walk 🙂

“I coach C-suite executives and rising stars from the earliest startups to Fortune 100 companies. My passion is to help ambitious leaders achieve their full human potential.”  – Read more about Katia…

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 15 minutes reading…
  • FastCompany Magazine article about Katia Verresen’s techniques and GTD, https://www.fastcompany.com/3026827/the-brain-hacks-top-founders-use-to-get-the-job-done
• Then, go for another 15-minute walk, if it is safe to do so
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

• I learned that setting a single goal and eliminating all distractions greatly increased my productivity.
• A problem I solved was that I can decrease the amount of time I spend lounging around If I set a break timer, so I know how much time has passed as well as when I need to get back to work.

SUMMARY

• Overall, the activities were fairly engaging. I enjoyed looking through Hooktheory and Soundtrap, and the freedom to just explore was nice.

PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)

• Learning Bass from MusicCollegeTV
  • Link
• The playlist seems to cover many areas that I’ll need to improve upon and seems promising.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

• Listened to Washingtonian Gordon Hempton’s interview: Silence and the Presence of Everything, https://onbeing.org/programs/gordon-hempton-silence-and-the-presence-of-everything/
• This guy is a rather interesting person. The way he thinks about things is a different perspective I would not have thought of normally. I thought it was incredibly interesting when he mentioned that no creature on earth evolved to have earlids. That fact really showcases the importance of hearing.

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

• Explored some songs at https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab
• The website was very interesting and I found great enjoyment in messing with all of the features of the song like tempo and key. I will most definitely be revisiting this site when learning new songs.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• Went for a walk
• When asked to think about my life as a narrative… I was a bit shocked. I had never really thought about my life as a story in any way, much less one with a coherent plot. Though it did remind me of this one time when talking to a friend. I was discussing some personal issues and hangups and said “dude you have like 4 character arcs ahead of you” which made me laugh, as that was a funny way of saying “you have a lot of emotional baggage my guy.”

STUDIO (SONGWRITING)

• Started Soundtrap.com expert training here, https://academy.soundtrap.com/p/soundtrap-expert

CONTROL ROOM (RECORDING & MIXING)

• Finished Soundtrap.com expert training