Genius Hour with Gabriel

I went around asking classmates to tell me which option I should do. The results were 6 for animation, 2 for trig, and 0 for learning German. In the following section, I will write down my draft for my plan.

Animation: Plan A

Goal: To create a relatively well-done war documentary (similar to Armchair Historian, Kings and Generals, Eastory, etc.)

I’m back with another season of Genius Hour! I have some options that I could potentially choose, though I would like some input on which on to do. The options will be listed below:

• Learn Animation
• Study Triganometry
• Learn German

I am quite stuck on what to progress with, since I don’t have much time out of class (I’m taking my Level 10 RCM Piano Exam in June). Please leave a comment to let me know what I should do. Thank you.

I thought that presentations were really fun, especially watching everyone else grow overtime. I also think my presentation was great. I do think it was a bit on the short side, but all in all, everything was pretty good. I really focused on bringing my point that I faced challenges, but in the end, made something great. I really enjoyed this project, and I learned lots from it. Thank you Mrs. Englot for assigning this, it was a fun and interesting project.

This week I talked to a professional. His name is Stephen Tan; he’s very nice. He gave me some suggestions on my piece, mostly making the return of the A section different every time. I didn’t change much, just that. We talked for about 15 mins, the final product will be below:

I have begun to learn the song, hopefully should be done by next week. I have managed to learn A, B and A2 sections. My progress in the song will be recorded below.

As well as that, my parents and I have been working on finding a professional composition teacher from RCM, and we have found a few, including potentially Brendan, Cameron Watson, Cyndi J. Connah and Galen Noland. I will be sending emails to them between this blog post and the next one.

I’m finally done! Section C is completed, and with that, A3 as well, since all the A’s are the same. The coda is very simple, since I don’t quite know how to write a coda. My coda is simply a higher tonic chord followed by a lower tonic chord. Other than that, I don’t have much to say about the piece itself, you can refer to the image below. I have also added rehearsal marks so that you can understand what is going on.

I also have some new plans going forward. Seeing that I only have 3 weeks left, I’ve come up with Plan D. I will simply edit this piece with professional help instead of writing a new one. In the last week or so, I will start to learn how to perform this piece. I will keep you up to date whether or not I will do it in person or record a video. Right now I still don’t know, I think I will decide next week.

I’m now done half of the rondo, but the worst is yet to come. Section C will be the hardest section I will have to do. Nevertheless, my work is still coming out well, picture posted below. Next week I will be contacting a professional. Other than that, I don’t think that this new goal is that ambitious any more.

Anyway, the two sections below are written similarily to how I planned it. Although I had wanted to write in 3/8, it was too complicated. I decided that 4/4 in D major would work well too. Of course, the A and A2 sections are both written in the tonic, D major. B section is written in the dominant key of A major, and C section will be written in the relative minor, B minor. Hopefully this information helps you track my progress and understand what is going on in the piece.

I’m now done section A of my Rondo in D Major, but the screenshot button won’t work, so I’ll have to take a look at that. However, upon realizing that February 21st is coming up fast, I might have to call in a professional after finishing Rondo in D Major. I have also realized that my original plan of one piece a week was way to ambitious, since writing music takes time. I think that with a good amount of focus, I can get 2 songs down by the middle of February.

I have decided. I will compose, and I will postpone the professional until mid January. I will likely write in Rondo form, hopefully one piece a week. I will begin tommorow.

I have researched Rondo form for about half a year by now. I think I will write in Second Rondo Form, since it is the easiest form that is not confused with Ternary form. Many famous Rondos are also written in Second Rondo, which makes it easier to use these songs as inspiration. I also managed to find a chart online with the keys I will need for the project, so with everything all found out, I can rest assured that I will be able to do this for the next 5 weeks. I hope that I can find a professional in the time though, it will be hard.

Ruby and I can no longer work together. I’ve asked her to bring a tuned cello with her bow several times, and she has failed to do it. I don’t blame her for not bringing her cello due to the cold weather and the possibility of it breaking, but I think that I would do better by myself.

However, ideas are hard to come by, and I have much experience playing my instrument and composing/arranging music, so I have yet to come up with an idea. I will brainstorm over the week and write again next week.