Create a Theme music for SHREK! Composition homework
This song was written within my first year of composing.
There was a class in music school on creating film music, so I attended and turned in my assignment.
The teacher explained that Shrek does not have a theme music, so instead we were to learn to create our own music according to the image.
However, I have never seen the Shrek movie.
The teacher showed us a video that summarized Shrek.
I think it was about 5 minutes long in total.
I analyzed Shrek’s character and the worldview of the movie and came up with the idea for the song.
At the time, I used an app called “notion” on my iPad to compose the music.
When I take my iPad out of storage to write this blog now, it brings back my memories.
I bought a used iPad to save money, but it was not fully inspected and unbelievably, the passcode was still locked.
I remember that I exchanged it for another one in a hurry and managed to get my homework done in time for the due date.
Since then, I have changed my home twice, my clothes, my phone, and my physical belongings.
But I still have the feeling that I created this piece.
I am thankful that technology has progressed at a dizzying pace and that the musical environment has improved since then.
I still enjoy listening to this music! How about you guys!
Now, back to the main subject.
First of all, I chose at the very beginning what kind of instrument I would use.
After watching a 5-minute reference video, my image of Shrek was “hail, primitive, but with a wonderful warm heart of simplicity.
I chose the marimba for its simplicity and warmth, since I didn’t have an image of an instrument made of metal or a delicate stringed instrument.
I also added a whistling melody to the beginning of the song to express the funkiness of the music, and added drums, wind, car horns, champagne bottles, and other interesting sounds. I came up with an interesting composition.
It was a different kind of musical fun than when I was learning classical piano, and I was hooked on composing.
I used notion a lot until I was able to create scores in finale a little later.
It was a very necessary app for me.
This time, I made some modifications to the sound source at that time to make it complete.
However, I now believe that I could have used a little less treble and a little more overall volume.
It is difficult to get a balanced listening experience on a variety of devices.
This is my challenge for the future!
I hope everyone will listen to it while thinking of Shrek.
Thank you very much.
Hisami
PS
I also think the sound quality is better this time around due to the introduction of a mastering plug-in called ozon by izotope!
Surprisingly, the sound of notion was also good when I heard it on my recently purchased monitor speakers, so I will consider using it as my sound source.
It is a small thing, but I am making progress step by step!
Thank you very much.
Hisami
