Final Capstone Project Reflection Questions

(Please give specific detailed answers.)

1. In the process of completing your Capstone Project, what did you learn about your subject? What did
you learn about your skill set? What did you learn about yourself?
For my capstone project, I took on the task of investigating musical composition and writing my own
original piece on the piano. I learnt many things involving identifying things by ear and on paper.
These things include identifying key signatures of pieces by looking at the keys played, and most
importantly, being able to identify which chords are being played when, whether they are broken up
or solid, and using my own chord progressions to create a melody. Through completing the project, I
have learned that my composition skillset is based around going with whatever first comes to mind
when I play a possible sequence of a song. I also figured out that I am able to make good use of
songs I already know how to play, and songs I like, to find chord progressions or even sample (and
adjust) melodies from. I learnt that I am suspect to mental blocks and slow progress, due to my
tendencies to be a perfectionist when I am working on something I am passionate about. Especially
because it took me a long time to decide on which parts of my brainstorming to me were perfect to
include, which I thought none of them were. All I had to do was suck it up and pick something and
work with it, and this helped me avoid mental blockage as well as my perfectionism.
2. How is your project relevant to you? How is it relevant to the school? How is it relevant to the
community?
My project is relevant to me in a way that connects to the majority of my life. I have been taking
piano lessons since I was four years old, and I had always wanted to make a song, especially when I
was still a kid. This project gave me the opportunity to explore composing, opening a whole new
window of music into my life for me to look out of and explore. It is relevant to the school
community for the reason of giving the grade 10’s inspiration on their own capstone projects. This is
because the main lesson I took from my project (which I told the grade 10’s when we presented to
them) was that it is very valuable to keep artistic aspects in their lives, whether it be drawing,
making music, writing a book, or any kind of art form. Through telling them that, I recommended
doing the project on an artistic passion they have buried away (or not buried at all) because they will
enjoy it. The main reason my project is relevant to the community outside of school is because I am
sharing my emotions through music for other people to hear, feel, and relate to. I want to use my
own unique sight on music to provide potential listeners with a fresh feel and experience to their
own emotions.

3. What impact did your Capstone have on you?

The biggest impact that completing my capstone project had on me was that it gave me a new
perspective on music. I now understand that finding cool songs that I like and learning how to play
them isn’t all there is to the art of piano. Through composing my own song, I have determined that I
will most likely continue doing so whenever I find inspiration through my emotions of the time. (And
if I have enough spare time.) it also helps me feel more connected to my own emotions when playing
 the song, since it is my own creation after all. Overall, it was an experience which make me want to
continue to broaden my horizons on the subject.

4. What aspects of your project are you most proud of?

I am most proud of being able to push through difficult moments of the process and come out with a
piece which I feel has originality. When I play through the song, I can feel the emotion of which I put
into the music, and I am very proud that I can see that feeling in my final product. I am also proud of
the fact that the project has broadened my horizons to piano composition, as I mentioned earlier.

5. What was a difficulty you encountered while researching your Capstone project? How were you able to
overcome those obstacles?
When I was looking for sources to aid the beginning stages of my capstone, the biggest problem I
encountered was finding relevant information for composing original piano music, which was
surprising for me. I was able to overcome this issue by bringing the project to my mentor, my piano
teacher, and she was able to provide me with teachings and sources of her own to assist me. As I got
past the beginning stages of the project, I no longer had a need for sources, as I understood the main
concepts which my teacher helped me learn. Once I reached that point, I was able to use my own
mind and creativity to continue progressing. The main challenge I encountered when I reached that
stage of the project was mental blocks. I got through them by looking back at what I knew how to
play, and songs that I liked, and tried to modify and incorporate bits of their melodies into my own.

6. What is the one thing you would have changed about your project if you could?
The one thing I would change/modify about my song is the introductory segment. At the start of my
composing journey, I didn’t really know what to do and how to make a creative piece, and it is
reflected in the intro. It feels very straight forward, and almost unoriginal because of its simplicity. I
would want to go back and add more complexity, to properly introduce the feel and emotion the
rest of the song brings. I used very blocky chords, breaking them up only in the left hand, which
never occurs again in the song. (The blocky chord part that is). This fact makes the intro stick out
more than I would like it too.

7. What advice would you offer to future Capstone students to help them with their Capstone journey?
As typical as it may sound, start your capstone as early as you can. Start at least brainstorming and
generating ideas for the process as early as you can. Chances are, your teacher will be saying this
frequently as well, but it’s for a reason. The capstone is a large project, and even if you have the
entire semester to work on it, its best to put physical work and progress into it early on, even if it’s
only a little. I can say this because I procrastinated quite a lot, and eventually the small timeframe I
left for myself created possible impurities in my final project. The other biggest piece of advice I can
give is to look back on what you know, to think of what can help you. (This may be more related to
product capstones, since that was mine). And if there is nothing you can think of off the top of your
head, look at other sources or examples of people’s work which relates to yours. This is to gain
inspiration and other ideas by using other people’s perspectives, not to plagiarize of course.