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cOokie marsZter / Blog

Reflections on winning the Xenia Ghali feat Wyclef Jean remix comp

Submitting a remix to any competition can be quite scary. When I submitted the track, I thought that I would probably get another Popular Vote Win. I wasn't expecting to win the competition over 327 other entries.

I remember thinking that they wouldn't go for my moody house track...during the listening party, the day before the winner announcement, i received some great feedback and comments from both Xenia Ghali and Wyclef Jean...as well as my peers. It seemed like they really enjoyed my remix.

The next day, announcement time was approaching...September 09, 2015, 5PM EST. I was only hoping for a Popular Vote WIn...that would make 5 total. When i clicked on the Winner's link and saw my avatar... I almost fell to the floor and then I started to freak out. I was back in the Listening Party section of the website....Everyone was congratulating me. I was in shock. I couldn't believe that I had won the competition.

A week has passed...and now I wonder, how am I every going to top that?

I have submitted 4 other remixes for other comps at the same site since that entry...I don't have the intention of doing a remix to win...My intention is to do a remix that I am proud to put my name on...my musical stamp.

I have been collaborating with another producer from Birmingham, England. We are currently working on glitch remixes...I'm learning more about this genre. I plan on doing other collaborations as well with another producer and musician from Australia. The possibilities are endless.

My musical future got a little brighter...

Revisiting earlier work

Yesterday, I revisited some of my earlier songs. I stripped away all of the effects. To get better at mixing, there is a lot of trial and error, trying things out, and listening. When I thought I was done with a new mix for "Reflecting," I decided to change the ending of the song. In upcoming months expect to hear updated and newer versions of these older tracks. "Metamorphosis" is the song that will have a lot of major changes...it will always be changing. Candy, Going Out of My Head, and a new track called Play Time are a few of the songs I'm hoping to finish before the end of the year. There's an instrumental pop track I did for school that I hope to share here also. It's going to fun. 8-D

The Headache known as Theory

Trying to relearn cadences by listening to them over and over gave me a headache. Authentic cadences are the easiest. When you throw in Plagal, Half, and Deceptive, they all started to blend together and I started to make mistakes.

Music Theory… I am living and breathing it at the moment. Not a day goes by when I hear cadences, intervals, chord progressions, major and minor keys, when listening to my favorite songs. I can’t seem to stop doing this, especially when I revisit my favorite songs that I hadn’t heard in a while. It seems like it is a game and I miss out on the actual listening to of the song. Inside my brain, all the theory is swirling about and then attaching itself to certain parts of every song.

At least I realize now, what I didn’t realize when I was much younger, that Music Theory is essential to the music making process. I’m glad that I retained most of what I had learned way back then and am able to apply it to all of my assignments now. I can only imagine how difficult it is for some of my fellow peers in class who don’t have a working knowledge of advanced Music Theory.

School and other things

I'm currently in my 8th month of school at Full Sail. Music Theory 2. I remember this stuff from the first time I learned it in high school. It is very interesting that the way that my school has set up the curriculum...an entire month for one subject that used to covered in an entire semester. This accelerated speed for learning was especially tough last month, when I had Physics and Audio Fundamentals together. I constantly felt like I was running out of time to do all the homework. There were days I would submit the assignment with 2 hours to spare. Trying to find more time to work on songs... I have had many sleepless nights because I couldn't fall asleep...so I end up opening one of the DAWs in my computer and making beats for future songs. I have fallen asleep while listening to playbacks of beat tracks. Now if only days were 28 hours long...hmmm.