Adding a little mix

The mix tape assignment was an interesting one for me. Not only was this project much different from anything I have been expected to do for my previous classes, but it was also somehting that I very much enjoyed doing. I frequently make mix cd's for my friends and am constantly arranging new playlists in my itunes library. To be able to do this and get graded on it was a rewarding experience to say the least. Aside from the fun that I had putting together this project, it also served as a learning experience as it taught me about writting and composition that is present within music. In this case, I realized that mixed cd's are comprised of writting within each individual track and their arrangement into one collective whole helps tell a story. For this reason, mix cd's are dominated by writting by the artist on an individual song level and exhibit the writting, ideas, and composition techniques of the person creating the mix tape as this person conveys a message within their finished piece. In order to help better tell the story, I think that writting the liner notes contributed to effectively getting across any points or songs that the listener could be confused by. For me, the liner notes offered an opportunity to justify why I chose to include the songs that I did along with offering an interpretation of their meanings as they pertained to my overall theme of impossible relationships.

I tried to focus my cd on different things that complicate relationships, often causing them to fail. It was important to me that we were able to chose our own topic/message because I was able to pick a theme that I am genuinely interested in and knew I would be excited to craft a cd around. This aspect of the project helped me realize something that we've been discussing all year. Anyone can be a writter. I initially thought that I was just going to be throwing some songs onto a cd and turning it in, taking a few minutes to do the entire project. After spending several hours thinking about and working on the cd though, I realized that my passion and interest in my theme drove me to be a writer here. I spent so much time thinking about the best way to convey my message through the selection and arrangement of my song that I ended up not creating a cd with a bunch of songs on it, but rather a story that links very closely to my personal experiences. Overall, I realize that being passionate about my topic for this assignement allowed me to compose it from the perspective of a writter and not just a person randomly throwing some tracks together.