Reflection

This process was very different to my processes in the past. With this process, we already had a destination in mind of what we would like to do. Figuring out how to get there was tough, as there are so many routes towards the 'destination'. It wasn't until after presentation 1 that I was open to the idea of a new 'destination' that would provide the same outcome. Normally, I like to not fix an end goal with my music work, as it prevents me from being creative.

For this project, I feel like Matias and I have jam sessions that would scope the shape of the music and musical effects similar to how a band jams to create new ideas and inspiration. In doing so, we were able to develop a list of sound effects in Ableton that worked well with the style of piano playing. 

I would say that we haven't faced many challenges due to interdisciplinary mix. There was a period when I didn't work on the video side of things, which meant that I didn't really know how to fix the bugs in the Max patch. This was a mistake by me, and it meant that I had to spend time to get to know what the patch is doing and be able to help provide more input to the video aspect of the piece. Throughout our performance, our setup has changed multiple times and I think that it was challenging to scratch each setup and start with a new setup. This meant learning how to play differently as well as mapping out things differently as well. 

With my piano playing, I had to take out a lot of my preferences and played to the intentions of the piece. That meant I could only press certain notes at certain times, or play a certain way when the piece reaches a certain point. This was hard for me to remove my ego and look at what's best for the project. 

Throughout this project, I think a very important thing that we did was continuously reflecting on what we have done and where we are heading. At times, these conversations led to dead ends, but at least we eliminated a possibility. Having crazy and wild ideas can also ignite new possibility and I think this was necessary in the process. For this whole reflection process.

For this whole reflection process, I think that had I read my responses before I started the project, everything would have made sense and seemed sensible. After actually going through the process and looking backwards, I think that going through the process is actually much more detailed and challenging than imagining. Especially for a project that has a timeline of a few months, I think it leaves a lot of room for new ideas and change of direction.