The End & The Beginning

Well, I did it! I made it through Full Sail University's Music Production, Bachelor of Science program. I made some incredible friends and industry connections during my 23 months here. Did it go fast? Absolutely! Would I do it all over again? Without hesitation! 

I learned so, so much during my time here, both musically and about myself. My work ethic and drive that I've always had sure helped get me through it. It also allowed me to work on some pretty incredible projects, specifically helping with WWE NXT. 

There is a list 100 miles long of people that I could thank, but I'm going to leave it at "you know who you are." We're Full Sail family. The last few months were a grind, but they were so, so worth it. I built up my resume, made even more friends, and busted my ass to showcase my work-ethic, something I bank so hard on in my life. It's already brought a lot to me, and I look forward to seeing what opportunities it brings in the near future! 

The last two months of class I had the opportunity to compose a hybrid orchestral, Hans Zimmer-inspired track. It started with me playing around an arpeggio I came up with on the piano. When we got in the studio to record, I became heavily inspired. I had the opportunity to bring in a live cellist (who was my lab instructor) and my good friend Abby, who is an incredible vocalist. Having live cello and vocals on my track changed the entire direction of the track from a mixing standpoint. I've embedded a SoundCloud link below. The song is called "The Beginning." 




This track is not close to being done, as there's so much that I want to do to it yet. I'm hoping that it will get picked up by a movie or something and then I'll be forced to finish it. 

On top of having to compose a song we also had to create a website for our portfolio. Luckily, I had built one awhile back so I just added and updated it to suit the needs of the class. However, now I need to update it again (I think). Web design is fun, but I can never completely put out what I want. You can view my website, projects, and other portfolio items here. 

As I sit here writing this post, I still can't get myself to fathom the idea that I'm completely done with school for the rest of my life (unless I decide to go back). I'm a very analytical person so I know that I'm going to learn so, so, so much more once I get out and land myself a job (which I'm currently working on). Life is full of opportunities. Why not try all of them once and learn something from each one?

Lennon 
Graduate
Bachelor of Science, Music Production 

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Professional Workflow

It has been another extremely crazy month. With two WWE events, Gradfest, classes, labs, assignments, family visits, and homework, I've hardly had any time to myself. Regardless, it's been a ton of fun, and I'm glad that I managed to get through it. Hard work always pays off!

The course I had this month was called Professional Workflow. It was essentially mixing, mastering, communicating professionally with peers, exporting files correctly for mixing, and session organization. The assignments were fun, and I wish we'd had more classes with assignments similar to the ones in this class. We were to compose a piece of our own, mix one that a classmate composed, and then mastered one that was composed and mixed by one of our classmates. We had to utilize email and other forms of communication in order to efficiently and effectively finish the EP (extended play) in a timely manner. 

As I go into my final project course this next month, I can't help but be flooded with mixed emotions. I've made so many incredible friends during my two years here. Although I'm not entirely sure what's to come next, I can't help but be excited and nervous at the same time. It's been such a crazy ride, and I wouldn't take back any of it for anything. This has been the best thing that I've done for myself, my career, and my skillset. The time has flown, but I'm excited to jump in head first to my final project course here. Then it's graduation day on August 5th! Quite proud of myself for making it this far! 

Thanks for all of the support! It means a lot to me! 

Lennon
Student
Music Production, Bachelor of Science

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Life Update

I'm a bit ashamed of myself, but I'm proud at the same time. I have a good excuse as to why I haven't had any blog posts the past few weeks: life, school, and work. Through SPARK at Full Sail, I've been put on a few projects that I'm working on. June came around, which initiates a new class, group of assignments, and schedule. So, I do have valid excuses as to why I haven't been able to post anything. I've tried to blog, but it's been very difficult. Nonetheless, here's an update on what I've been up to this past month or so. 

Through SPARK at Full Sail, I was placed on a project for the ASPCU (now CECU). This project entitled a hand-selected group of seven people in SPARK. Our duty was to create a 20-minute, utilizing the resources that were provided to us by the ASPCU. Not only did we successfully complete the video, but we "blew it out of the water," according to the president, Steve Gunderson. On June 6th, we attended a luncheon at a beautiful resort here in Orlando, Florida. We Full Sailors were treated like royalty, and our video was ranted and raved about by everybody. It was so, so amazing to be recognized by the "higher ups" and various professionals. As I'm sure you've heard me say, "hard work does pay off!" 

After they played the video that we created, we were called up to the stage and awarded a certificate of appreciation, a $50 gift card, and a thank you card. Again, being recognized for hard work feels so good! 

The incredible group that I had the honor of working with during this project.

Also through SPARK, I'm currently waiting to receive some information from the Winter Park fire department so we can record their instructional video. I'm looking forward to helping with that. I may even become an actor for a few minutes! 

A classmate of mine sent me his beat that he sampled and produced to mix and master. I've always thoroughly enjoyed mixing and mastering music, and it was great to mix and master something other than my own stuff. Having a fresh set of ears on a piece of music can make all the difference to a track - it gives it new life and a whole new perspective. It was a smaller session and project, so it didn't take all that long. It was a ton of fun to do, though! Hopefully he sends me some more stuff to mix and master! If you're interested in listening to it, you can listen to it below. 



On top of class, homework, spending time with friends and family, and SPARK projects, I'm working the WWE events here on campus. They get to be long, long days, but they're so worth it. The people that I work with teach me so much, and I have the best crew to work with! They're fun, energetic, and extremely hard working. Work is fun when you work with a bunch of friends! 

In the coming weeks I'm hoping that things slow down a little bit so I can do a few more blog posts and get some side projects finished. I can feel myself slowly re-ordering my priorities, and that's both a good and bad thing. It puts aside my working side to have a little fun. But I have to remember that school work comes first. I am spending a lot of money to be here, so I need to soak everything in.  

I'll keep this short and sweet, so we'll end here. Hopefully I'll have some posts up in the coming weeks. Stay tuned! 

Peace out,

Lennon
Student
Bachelor of Science, Music Production

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Is Full Sail Worth It?

Graduation is shortly approaching for me. I started online at Full Sail University back in September of 2014. I was part of the hybrid program, which means that I could do a maximum of four months online and then I had to move to campus to pursue the rest of my degree. This wasn't my plan before I'd heard about this program; however, I knew that attending Full Sail would require me to step way outside of my boundaries. Moving across the country to live on my own and attend the college I'd dreamed of attending for years was inevitable, and my family supported me 100%. It caught me off guard, and I hadn't mentally prepared myself to move away so soon, but I knew that I had to do it. I'm glad that I did. It's been one of the best decisions I've ever made! 

"If you're serious about your dream, we'll take your dream seriously." "Your journey starts here." These quotes are quotes that I see around campus every so often. When I first came to the campus in July of 2014, that's one of the first quotes I saw, and it was very reassuring. I'd done my research on Full Sail and knew what to expect. However, I wasn't 100% sure that they would be able to live up to my dreams. I've always been a creative, non-stop thinker and I have high standards in most aspects of my life, but seeing these quotes plastered all over campus and in the videos we watched while on the tour of the school was very reassuring. I went in skeptical, as I do with most things. You can read 100 books, watch hours and hours of video, and even get reviews from other people, but experiencing everything for yourself is the most rewarding and beneficial for you, especially mentally. For me, it sealed the deal. At the end of that tour, I knew that Full Sail was where I needed to be. 

When I started online in September of 2014, I jumped in head first, pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. I took full advantage of the discussion posts we had to do each week to network with our classmates. (They were there for a reason!) I also took advantage of group projects. Although I'm normally not a fan of group projects because I usually end up doing a bulk of the work, I was ecstatic to swim a little deeper into networking. After all, Full Sail does push networking pretty heavily, and I'm glad that I caught on from the beginning. I met some pretty talented people and had some pretty interesting conversations. It's always interesting to get to know somebody, their story, and what their dreams and aspirations are. The world is full of amazing people! 

I moved to Florida to attend Full Sail on campus in January of 2015. I was nervous as all hell to get started and do this thing called "adulting." I had a pretty good understanding of what needed to be done, but it was still scary and nerve-wracking. The week prior to me moving, my laundry was being done for me, I had no bills, and I had dinner being cooked for me every night. (I do miss Mom's delicious cooking!) Now I had to do all of that myself. It was a little tough at first, but I caught on pretty quickly. I had amazing support from my family and knew they would always be there to help me when I needed it. They knew I could do whatever I set my mind to, and I did, too. When all of the hustle and bustle boiled down, I realized that this was good for me. I would rather learn these simple things early on rather than later. Now I can focus on the things that are more important being that a majority of these "adulting" things are somewhat figured out. 

As classes progressed, assignments got more time-consuming, and I started getting involved with various events around campus I realized something about myself. I realized something that I thought about but never really paid attention to: I have anxiety. Bad. I'm a creative thinker and I overthink a lot of things, even things that are petty. When it would get really bad, I would notice myself breathing weirdly and feeling like I'm not getting enough oxygen. I would also get small chest pains. And I'd even lose sleep at night because I don't know how to shut my mind down. Then I would begin to worry about my chest pains, thinking they were something more than anxiety, and about losing sleep. I was an anxious mess. Thankfully I went to the doctor and am being medicated for it, which has helped immensely and changed my life. I no longer have any of the aforementioned symptoms. In fact, I may even be a little too relaxed...

Aside from learning a lot about myself, I've learned a lot about society. (If you can't tell by now, I'm a very analytical person.) Growing up in a small town had me set in the small town mindset, which isn't a bad thing. I had just never really been exposed to the world before coming to Full Sail. Much like love, talent has no boundaries or borders, and I've accepted that and really, really appreciated and embraced it. Art has this amazing power to bring people together to speak one unified language. Creative-thinkers like myself are free to be themselves and can connect on a level that really is another language, even if there is a language barrier. After I accepted and embraced that, I truly learned the definition of art and talent. And it has revolutionized the way that I think and view the world. 

After I embraced and accepted the meaning of art, I was able to push myself even further out of my comfort zone. I was able to network and really start digging into various activities that Full Sail was providing us with. I started meeting people who speak the "art" language and are willing to work as hard, if not harder, as me to achieve their dreams. I sifted through those who thought that Full Sail was just going to hand them all of the opportunities and found those who had done their research and are working their asses off to leave their mark here at Full Sail and even in the industry. 

This is when I met up with my career development advisor, Jeff (who happens to be a 4x Grammy-winning recording and mixing engineer). He gave me some good advice and told me about the SPARK group. This was the turning point in my Full Sail journey: joining SPARK. I've made some of the best friends while I've been in the SPARK program--friendships that will carry past graduation and into the industry. Not only have I made amazing friends, but I've had some pretty amazing opportunities come my way, which definitely helps with the resume! The people that I've met and opportunities that have come my way in the SPARK program have changed my life and me as a person. Hard work does pay off! 

Full Sail University isn't for everyone, and that's okay. Some people come in thinking it's going to be really easy because it's an accelerated program, but they get a rude awakening. If you're not willing to put forth that extra 150% to go above and beyond what is expected on your assignments, during meetings, and networking, then don't expect to be handed a good job. Yes, you can press your luck, but it's not recommended, especially when you're spending so much to soak up all of the information and opportunities that Full Sail throws at you. You will learn the hard way, but sometimes that's best. If you're like me, you hit the ground running and learn the small stuff first. Then, when you get to the bigger stuff, the small stuff will just come naturally. The opportunities and the connections are most definitely here, but you have to be willing to sacrifice yourself, time, friendships, and sleep in order to make the most of them! Like I said, I've had some amazing opportunities come my way all because of how hard I work in class and in outside projects. I've made a name for myself and know that being successful from here on out is absolutely inevitable, regardless of which path I choose to take. 

Bottom line: Learn the language of art; embrace change; step out of your comfort zone, and challenge yourself each and every day. By doing these things, you'll wake up every morning saying, "Hard work does pay off."

Lennon
Student
Bachelor of Science, Music Production

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Game Music Composition: Angry Bots Project

Our new assignment this week is composing the music for a game called Angry Bots, and I may have had a little too much fun with it. We were to go with a really kind of industrial feel (and for good reason; look at the space we're in), and give things a really gritty feel. I may have gone too far, but I really like how it sounds so I'm going to roll with it until I get some feedback from my instructor and peers. 

We were to create a 1-2 minute ambient loop that would be played when we weren't battling the bots. Then we had to do an 8-bar loop for each of the bots, giving them each a unique melody and feel so that you know which bot you're fighting. There are also three stingers that play when each of the robots' themes start. Can you differentiate each of the bots' themes?



Lennon
Student
Bachelor of Science, Music Production

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Game Music Composition: 2dPlatformer: Sound Effects

One of this week's assignments was to remove the sound effects from last week's project, 2dPlatformer, and replace them with sound effects that we either record, create, or find on a sound library. I haven't had to do a lot of sound design for interactive media since my Interactive Audio course back in November of 2015. So this turned out to be a lot of fun! 

I've embedded a screen recording for the assets that I created for this assignment below. 

Here's a screenshot of the assets that we had to deliver.

Some of the sounds may have been difficult for you to hear throughout the video, as I haven't really mixed them yet. I'm not entirely sure how to go about mixing individual oneshots like this for a game, so that will come later. However, I did get them to somewhat sit and not fight with each other. 

In case you couldn't hear everything, we had to create sound effects for the bomb exploding, bomb's fuse before it explodes, picking up the bomb, setting the bomb down, three grunts when we kill an enemy, a gunshot, the health box pickup, three jumps, "ouches," and taunts. I had fun with the bomb's fuse, enemy deaths, jumps, "ouches," and taunts. I got to get out my microphone and do some recording. Then, I went into Pro Tools and did some pitch shifting to make them sound more alien-like. Tons of fun, especially when you're creating sounds for something as ridiculous as a bean who's ship has landed in London and being attacked by aliens. 

As always, I'm open to suggestions on how to make things better. If you noticed something that seemed off, please let me know so I can tweak it.

I don't think I've enjoyed "homework" this much before!

Lennon

Student

Bachelor of Science, Music Production

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Let's Talk Music Industry, Streaming, and Piracy

"Why?" This is a question I ask myself far too often. I find that it's simplistic, effective, and can be answered in more than one way, especially for the music industry. The music industry is an industry that, in my opinion, needs some work. The copyright laws haven't caught up with the modern technology; the labels are still stuck back in the early days of music, and artists are not getting the royalties and paychecks they deserve. Although there are a handful of law makers and lawyers working on updating various copyright laws for the industry, there are still a variety of things you and me as consumers can do to help move this industry in the right direction.

The first thing I want to talk about is streaming. What is streaming? About Tech contributor and Digital Music Expert, Mark Harris, states, "[Streaming music or audio] is a way of delivering sound without the need to download files or different audio formats." If you haven't already noticed, streaming is extremely popular today. Why? Because you don't have to download audio files and because you can create a Spotify playlist on your home computer and then open it up at work the next morning and pick up right where you left off. One thing consumers have always wanted is simplicity, and they're getting exactly that with streaming. 

Before I continue, I don't want you to think that I hate streaming and that I look down on the various streaming companies. I, too, use streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music, but I do support artists in other ways. The streaming business model has forever changed the industry, and I think it's absolutely genius; however, not everything about it is genius. How royalties are paid to their rightful owners, for example. Let me ask you a few questions. Do you use a streaming service? Do you use them daily? Do you pay for a premium subscription, or are you strictly a freemium person? These streaming services have perfected the way on how consumers use the product, but they have not done so when it comes to paying the artist their royalties or a lot of the back end work. To get a better grasp on how big streaming audio has become over the past few years, here are a couple of facts about streaming and royalties:

1. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) estimates that in 2013, digital music services grew 4.3 percent to $5.9 billion in revenue. "The increased revenue can be attributed to a larger number of users utilizing subscription services and sales from downloads," states Trevir Nath in his How Pandora And Spotify Pay Artists article.
2. "Pandora has 250 million+ users and a one million song library" (Nath, "How Pandora And Spotify Pay Artists").
3. "In 2014, performance rates were $.0014 for non-subscription [Pandora] users and $.0025 for subscribers" (Nath, "How Pandora And Spotify Pay Artists"). Let me clear this up. Basically, if you just used the free account Pandora offers, for each song that you listened to, Pandora paid that band/artist $.0014. (That's 14/1000 of a dollar!) And if you paid or subscribed to Pandora each month, Pandora paid the artist $.0025. (Again, that's 25/1000 of a dollar!)
4. "Since its inception in 2008, Spotify insists that royalties have been its largest expense, accounting for 70% of revenue and about $1 billion over a 5 year span. Per stream payments are estimated to be $.006 and $.0084 with royalty payments for premium subscribers being naturally higher. However with large overhead costs, the Swedish company is still estimated to gross $1.2 billion from its 10 million paying subscribers alone. As a result, Spotify has been recently valued at $8.3 billion" (Nath, "How Pandora And Spotify Pay Artists"). 
5. Zoe Keating is a musician from Northern California. She shared her royalty sheets, in detail, on her Tumblr blog back in 2012. "After her songs had been played more than 1.5 million times on Pandora over six months, she earned $1,652.74. On Spotify, 131,000 plays last year netted just $547.71, or an average of 0.42 cent a play" (Sisario, 2013, "As Music Streaming Grows, Royalties Slow to a Trickle"). Note: Recording anything "professionally" these days requires a lot of time and money. Some (if not most) professional recording studios charge rates of $1,000/hr.+. (This rate solely depends on the studio, so it could be more or it could be less.) So, for Zoe Keating to make $1,652.74 in six months is nothing. That's not even two hours of recording time at $1,000/hr. That doesn't count the bills, taxes, and other miscellaneous fees she has to pay in her everyday life. Would you be able to afford and continue making music when you're paying such a premium to record and produce your work, but only getting paid like 10/hrs/week internship at minimum wage?
1. There was a rumor that Lady Gaga received a check for $167 from Spotify for a few million plays. $167! That's it!
6. Spotify was just valued at $5.74 billion, and it's growing exponentially each and every day. How so? There are currently 60 million total users; 15 million of them pay for a subscription. There are 30 million songs available on Spotify and 20,000 new ones are added each and every day. (Source: 12 Interesting Spotify Statistics) You get the point... It's a lot, and it's only getting bigger.

As I mentioned before, streaming audio these days has changed the industry forever as you can easily see from the stats that are listed above for Spotify. The industry will continue to evolve and work streaming into the business model, but in order for it to become an even more suitable model for the bands, artists, songwriters, etc, something about it needs to change. As I stated before, how these companies pay the artists who are available via their platform is something that needs to change.

I used to advocate purchasing music quite a bit (and I still do to a certain extent). I once told friends, family, and myself that I would never utilize a service such as Spotify for the very reasons I mentioned before. As a musician myself, I have bills to pay, food to buy, and a college tuition to pay for. I've spent countless hours working on my craft, and I continue to better myself each and every day as a musician. Whether that be learning something as simple as opening up my digital audio workstation to advanced MIDI quantization and humanization techniques, I'm always working and bettering my craft of music. I have a gift and talent that many, many people wish they had, so I'm going to leverage my time and talents as best I can to utilize and share the music I create and knowledge I learn with the world. 

Yes, I spend countless hours (this is hundreds, if not thousands, of hours mastering my craft of music). I work 40 to 80 hours on one song. Yes, one three minute, "simple" song. Is that $1.29 that you pay going to break the bank? Probably not. Right off the top, the distribution company I go through takes 15% (some take more and some take less), which is $0.19. Not a lot, but every little bit counts, especially when you're a college student. So that leaves me with $1.10. For spending 40+ hours on one song and getting $1.10, that's poor. Remember, musicians have gear to purchase and maintain, producers, bandmates, managers, dancers (sometimes), stage managers, and various crew members they need to pay. $1.10 is really, in my opinion, bad.

Moving on. 

Being able to write and compose your own music is becoming almost too easy these days. All you need is a computer, a digital audio workstation, and a little bit of music theory knowledge... if that. That being said, every person (including me) has/had that dream of becoming a big producer for Deadmau5, Lady Gaga, or Taylor Swift; however, that's not reality. The music industry is much like the NFL; tens of thousands of hopeful young adults poor their heart and souls into college football, but only a tiny sliver of them are drafted - the "elites," if you will. That same concept goes for the music industry. Thousands and thousands of talented people all over the world work on their craft for hours and hours and hours a day, only to remain unnoticed and manifest a SoundCloud following of 35 "fans" (bots in my case, haha!) after a year of extraordinarily hard work. 

What I'm trying to say is that supporting an artist in any shape or form that you can means so much to us musicians. We work hard to perfect our craft and love for music, and it's so much more difficult for independent artists to make ends meet and "get their foot in the door." Major artists like Taylor Swift are really pushing to make streaming more profitable for artists, which is certainly a good thing. We're making progress, but we still have a long way to go. 

What're some things you can do to make this transition more promising for musicians?

Thanks for stopping by! 

Lennon
Student
Bachelor of Science, Music Production

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Game Music Composition: 2dPlatformer Project

A new month means a new class! I'm a few months out from graduation and it's slowly starting to hit me. 

This month I'm taking Game Music Composition. I'm not a huge gamer, but I was when I was younger. I'm open to everything music related and the game industry is an $80 billion industry. Wow! Not only that, but writing music for games requires different techniques than writing for a radio spot, commercial for TV, or any other form of media, specifically writing music that loops seamlessly. 

Our first assignment was to write music for an arcade game called 2dPlatformer. It was built by Unity Games to showcase their set of game development tools, appropriately called the Unity game engine. The game has a bit of a ridiculous concept, but that's the fun in games: You can be creative! The aliens have attacked and you are the hero, a bean with a bazooka. Destroy as many aliens as you can while racking up the points. Along the way you can find health pickups and bombs to help you out. 


Game Music Composition: Project 1: 2dPlatformer from Lennon Cihak on Vimeo.

The music you hear in this game was composed by me. You will hear a variation of three, 2-bar introduction loops (before the game starts), three, 8-bar main music loops (during gameplay), and three, 2-bar ending loops (when you die). The picture below shows you what my session looks like. 

I have my intro loops in blue, main loops in purple, and the ending loops in pinkish/red. 

I haven't reached out for feedback from my instructor, so this could be entirely wrong. However, it is my project and I do like how everything turned out. Stay tuned for a revision during this week. 

Lennon
Student
Bachelor of Science, Music Production

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My Top 10 Favorite Songs and Why

We all listen to music... obviously. In fact, it's almost inevitable. Music is everywhere! It's playing when we go to the grocery store, on TV, watch a movie, and even in children's toys. And with today's advances in music streaming and sharing it's easier than ever to discover up and coming artists or bands. Over the years, I've listened to a lot of music, as I'm sure all of you have. However, I tend to listen to music different, analyzing the overall mix, sound quality, master, panning, effects, sample choice, rhythms and chord progressions. From classical to oldies rock, to modern genres, I've discovered many great tunes that have either inspired me as a musician or made me feel a certain way. And being that I'm going to school for music, this post only makes sense. 

1. Cascada - "Everytime We Touch": I don't think that I'll ever stop listening to this song. Furthermore, I don't think I'll ever stop listening to Cascada. Every time I hear it I can't help but stop whatever it is that I'm doing to get up and dance. The overall production is so well done, and it's an extremely catchy piece that features a killer vocal and a phenomenal melody. This is also the song that turned me on to electronic music, specifically the fast-paced "hands-up" music. Because of Cascada's inspiration, I've changed my outlook on music. 

• Fun fact: Most think that Cascada is simply an artist, which can easily be misunderstood due to the fact that most of her album covers feature her and her only. However, Cascada is the name of the group. It features Natalie Horler, Yanou, and DJ Manian.

2. D.H.T. - "Listen to Your Heart (Furious F. EZ Radio Edit)": When I first heard this song, I fell head over heels in love with it. It was a smashing hit back when I was younger and went to Youth Alive after school. I was at a point in my life where music started to make sense. I'd been taking piano lessons from an excellent instructor for about three or four years at this point, so I was understanding the concepts of a major and minor chord and some other simple music theory. This was released in 2005, and I remember it like it was yesterday. I obsessed over it forever because it was one of the first fast-paced dance songs I repetitively listened to and loved. Even to this day I'll listen to it on Spotify and jam out! Definitely a classic in the dance world! 

3. Backstreet Boys - "I Want It That Way": What teenage music list would be complete without a Backstreet Boys song? None! I remember when I first got my Backstreet Boys CD (what's a CD, right?). In the early 2000s, the Backstreet Boys were pretty popular. I heard their music on the radio quite often, and "I Want It That Way" is the one that really stuck with me. Although I love most of the Backstreet Boys' stuff, "I Want It That Way" is probably my favorite. Definitely a pop classic! When I hear that acoustic guitar at the start of this song, I stop what I'm doing and sing along. "Ain't nothin' but a heartache. Tell me why..." Take it away! 

4. DJ Sammy - "Heaven": Much like D.H.T.'s "Listen to Your Heart," I fell in love with this song when I first heard it. If I can remember correctly, my iPod (I'm dating myself here) deleted the song because it got sick of playing it over and over again (not really, just a figure of speech). The vocals and melody line are what really reeled me in. They're both beautiful! As I listen to it now, it brings back so much nostalgia from my younger musician years and studying it. It definitely has that 2000s dance music sound, which is something I'll never get sick of. It is the dance music that got me hooked on the music I listen to today. 

5. Kevin Lyttle - "Turn Me On": When I used to go to Youth Alive after school, this song would play almost every time. The radio was pretty big at the time; it was one of the only sources to hear music (alongside having a portable CD player). This song was a lot different than what was usually played on the radio. It didn't have your standard Backstreet Boys vibe to it, nor did it sound anything remotely close to everything else (in my opinion). "Turn Me On" was Kevin Lyttle's song that made him popular, and now you don't hear about him, unfortunately. Not only did the music sound different, but he also had a different sounding voice, and I really enjoyed it. This song really helped me open up to newer styles of pop music, and I'm forever grateful! 

6. Britney Spears - "Oops!...I Did It Again": Much like the Backstreet Boys, a pop music list wouldn't be complete without Britney Spears. "Oops!...I Did It Again" was a smashing hit, and I listened to it a billion and one times. It was catchy, sexy, and fun.

7. Blue Oyster Cult - "(Don't Fear) The Reaper": My dad is an avid vinyl collector, so I grew up to an extremely wide array of music. I was exposed to old country (which I thoroughly enjoy), rockabilly, rock, hair bands, jazz, soul, and pop. However, one song that I particularly clung to was Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." I really like the guitar riff that's used throughout. Not only is this song really, really catchy, but it also has a cowbell! 

8. Adam Lambert - "For Your Entertainment": When Adam Lambert got off of American Idol, he started his solo career by releasing his "For Your Entertainment," which kickstarted him into the music industry. When this album came out, I had "For Your Entertainment" on repeat for a long time (my parents and brothers can speak for this). I just loved it! It was a mixture between his killer vocals, the pop/dance production, and the memorable "treasures" sprinkled throughout. I knew this song inside, outside, upside down, and downside up. It had well over 1,000 plays on iTunes. I had the amazing opportunity to see him live when he went to the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minnesota. Although he didn't perform "For Your Entertainment," this concert only brightened and strengthened my passion and support for him as an artist. I still do and always will love this song! "I'm here for your entertainment!" 

9. L.A.R.5 - "All the Girls (Empyre One Remix)" [feat. Jai Matt]: I remember shuffling through the internet's amassed collection of music. I was looking for something a little different, but not so different that I'd have to almost force myself to enjoy it. I narrowed my search to something similar to Cascada - I wanted to expand my music in the German dance music. Bingo! I found Empyre One! I'd heard of him before I stumbled across this remix of his, but I never took the time to listen to any of his stuff. He changed the way I listened, critiqued, analyzed, and now produce dance music. In fact, a huge chunk of my inspiration when producing dance music comes from Empyre One. In my opinion, he's set the standard for fast-paced dance music. This particular remix had my ears yearning for more. It was one of those songs that I wanted to last for hours. The crazy wild melody line, tacked with the amazing vocal, brought this song to its full potential! They don't come crazier and more amazing than this, folks! 

10. Eiffel 65 - "Blue (Da Ba Dee)": Last but not least, Eiffel 65's "Blue (Da Ba Dee)." It's one of those iconic 90s dance tunes that everyone can sing along with when they hear it. I remember when I first found the song. I loved the piano part so much I took it to my piano teacher at the time and wanted her to help me figure out how to play it. I was young and not too sure how to figure things out by ear quite yet. Although I never figured out how to play it at the time, I know for a fact I could sit down and in a matter of minutes have it figured out. I've improved quite a bit since then. This song is one that I'll always be able to jam out to because it's such a classic to me. The vocoded vocals, catchy piano throughout, cheesy dance beat are what really make this song come to life. 

Well, folks. There you have it! A complete list of my top ten songs. Keep in mind that these songs are not in any particular order. These are songs that have affected me in one way or another over the years. Whether they've made me feel a certain way, or even inspired me to do something, it's on here. This list could've been 100+ songs easy; however, I don't have the time or patience to type up something that big. I figured a few songs that have inspired the musician and professional inside of me was good enough. Besides, I am a music production student. Wouldn't it make sense for me to share some of my favorite songs? 

What're some of your favorite songs? 

Lennon

Student

Bachelor of Science, Music Production

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Miami Motivation

Downtown Miami

A couple of trips to Miami, family time, and beautiful weather is enough for me to continue pushing in the entertainment industry. As of right now, I'm very proud of myself for doing everything that I've done for myself and for others thus far. In doing so, I've established myself among my classmates, peers, industry mavens, and instructors. If you've read any of my previous blog posts you'll know that I've talked about professionalism, which is how I've established myself and built the reputation I have for myself. 

In the past year, I've built lifelong friendships, worked on some amazing projects, and assisted in some life-changing projects that have forever changed the lives of those who aren't as fortunate as I am. One of my most recent projects that I had the opportunity to work on was composing the music for an event for the homeless called "He Got Up." I was given the chance to compose the music for a PSA that was played on TV and radio in the Orlando, Florida area. My second proudest assignment was having the chance to compose a theme song for a WWE wrestler or diva. I poured my heart and soul into those projects and I eagerly await an email, phone call, or in-person interview from WWE. It would be a life-changing gig! 

What does all of this mean? It's a reassurance for myself that I'm on the right track; I'm headed down a path that many struggle with and dream to succeed in. I've done my research on Full Sail, the industry, and trends within to aid me in succeeding. At the moment, I firmly believe that I have everything going for me. I've established myself, succeeded in a multitude of projects and, most importantly, I have an amazing support group: my family. Without them I wouldn't be where I'm at today. 

I've veered off topic once again, which happens in a lot of my blog posts. That's alright, though, because this is meant to be a journal for myself that I've chosen to make public and share with all of you. 

Going to Miami has inspired me once again. Seeing all of the nice cars, affluent clothing, and beautiful homes and architecture only motivates me to become successful. I'm sounding a bit materialistic; however, it's a way to keep me pushing forward and realize that hard work pays off. My family has given me everything, so it would be a way to repay them. I mean, who doesn't like a beautiful place to stay when they go on a vacation? :) I would love to be able to share what I've worked hard to earn with those I love and care about. 

A bit of a shorter post today, but I wanted to talk a little bit about how going to Miami has inspired me. So, I bid you a farewell, my friends. Until next week! 

Lennon
Student
Bachelor of Science, Music Production

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