A Crazy Week

This week has been crazy for me...mostly because I've been working every day on top of a bunch of other things. Because of this, I haven't had a ton of time for working on music. I have, however, had some awesome experiences this past while that I will tell about.

First, I ordered and received an 88-key usb keyboard. I LOVE this keyboard SO much. I bought it for a few reasons. First, because it helps me notate my music so much quicker. In fact, if you have a song down well enough and can play it to a metronome, the program will notate it for you. You can also do note-by-note, chord-by-chord entries on the keyboard which speeds up the process so much. The second reason I got this keyboard is for recording. Even though it works through midi instruments on the computer, some instruments sound really good. Unfortunately, piano is one of the sounds that doesn't sound as good, but there are a ton of other instruments that would sound nice on a recording. This is invaluable to me because sometimes it is really difficult for me to find instrumentalists for parts in my songs. Also, with the digitally-created instruments, you can put all kinds of other twists on your music. These digital instruments are used all over in the music industry. In fact, I would say that 99% of hip hop and a good portion of pop almost completely use digital instruments. Digital instruments are also used all the time for film composers. One of the best examples of these is Hans Zimmer, who is pretty much the biggest film composer of our time.

The other big experience I had this week was my high school's talent show. When I heard my school was having a talent show, I decided to throw together a medley of some of the most popular songs at the high school. I didn't know how much of a chance I had at getting in, but my good friend and my sister encouraged me to audition. Anyway, I made it, and the show was last night. I was nervous, but somehow I felt comfortable when it came time to go on stage. I also got to watch a few of my friends perform, and they did awesome! At the end of the show, the judges chose three finalists. You can only imagine my surprise when they announced my name along with one of my really good friends, Keley. After the popular vote was taken via text, I was announced as first place! I couldn't even believe it! I was not expecting it at all. Keley played a composition that was way more sophisticated and amazing than mine, so I was humbled to be chosen. Anyway, it was an awesome experience all around. My dad filmed my performance, so here it is. Enjoy!