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(1) What is your essential question? What is the best answer to your question and why?
My essential question is. What is most important for a Turntablist to perfect their art? and my best answer is simple. The most important thing for a Turntablist to perfect his/her art is to have a broad selection of songs and samples in their library. I came to this conclusion by 3 main sources, personal experience, both mentor interviews, and mainly 2 research papers "4, 19"
Number 4 simply showed me the basics but it wasn't until later reading and experiencing how important it is to be fully prepared on a show or just to have available material to work with at the studio. Having to prepare for a show is very difficult, specially when you are performing a totally different event to your style, this is what my research suggested, but I did not experience this until later with my first independent component, as I try to perform at events on my own, I discover how important your library is to the live audience, I went from having the top new singles to having to say no because I did not have any of the special material requested. Later on between does periods I talked to my mentor and he explain basics on how to build my own library, I started to do research on, today I have a not so big but well built library that can be used in simple but almost any events. My best answer also can be connected to professionals and rookies, so it is not just local DJs also so create remixes, original songs and complex episodes for podcasts that requires a good amount of time spent to show your audience the kind of techniques you got. Everything Is possible when your materials list is broad and you have lots to chose from.
(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
As I said to arrive to this answer it took my 3 main sources,
My independent component was my almost starting point, as I prepared for my first show for my IC I decided to research top hits, unconsciously I was doing what I was supposed to do all along, find music, it started okay but once I arrived and started to perform, a rookie disc jockey get anxious and speculates about his work, for example In my mind it was passing the whole time I was there that songs lasted too long when in reality they were just fine, the audience was very aware of your potential, yet you have to be prepared for anything they throw at you. Requests start, and you wrestle with your hard drive hoping you have the material. This would not happen if you are fully prepared with the best of the best material available out there. First time was easy, yet after couple of little events came a completely different show, when this show started right away I notice it was a ethnic party and they requested songs I have not prepared for, this is a really bad situation, I froze for a moment and played it off with the some of my material, it was not the same. When the night was over I called my mentor, who help me booked this gig, he explained and laugh a bit, it was sad but he helped me through, I promised to not make the same mistake again, my research took a turn and my project a different direction and all though my mentor helped to build on to this idea, I my self have a not as big library like Alex, but I believe my library is well prepared to any kind of even and has variety of songs and samples for hours of entrainment. This experience event arrived me to my answer. All the rest builds on this.
(3) What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?
Although my mentorship and overall project ran smoothly I did encounter some problems,
My first as I already mention was during my IC, the issue was not having enough material to work with in my live events, to resolve this issue I started more research to find the answer on how to build a variety library that had a little of everything and where to find the material. After I resolved this issue I had other problems that revolved around my project, for example transportation with large pieces of equipment to events and my mentors house, this was easy to fix since finding rides with my cousins or calling my mentor Alex to pick me up in close access points close to the bus stop. In other encounters, Working with Alex, was a very difficult as a day to day process, when we prepared for an even there was so many factors that we have to take care of, like a check list, keeping up was basically the issue because I was so overwhelmed with school projects and outside activities that keeping in touch and involved with the equipment, materials, connections, and directions was very difficult. Alex and I pulled through by organizing our schedules and making planned out sketches of the events outline, after that mentorship was smooth events ran easy and enjoyable. Almost every other little problem encounter it was easy fixable to just make an organized chart to fix it. Like for example, we had an issue at one point where we did not bring the charger for the serato box that connects the turntables to read in the laptop. By making a chart checklist we never forgot anything again. Very simple, organization power.
(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
My top two sources for my Essential question is where my mentorship knowledge acquired on how to develop a better library and how to and where to find the materials, and my research on the same subject, yet it was more in depth with different back up plans like a internet hotspot to find the material on the spot day of the event, this helped because it also boosted my mentors library since I am the one who told him. My second most significant was my Independent components 1,2. because everything build from there, from my first solo work and encounters to my second original mix in which I needed to create my own song, it was very difficult but with hard work I finished 55 seconds of the song. this was possible thanks to research on how to do the song from ableton live tutorials and this showed me the importance of buying and creating samples and learning how to alter them into a completely new sound. My Eq was based on the concept of the basics for a turntablist to perfect their art, and that is exactly what this two sources help me discover, from where to find them into how to manipulate and creating new sounds.
(5) What is your product and why?
For my final product of my senior project, The skills that i have acquired allow me to open more doors to my hobbies and interests. for example i have many software knowledge. Not just for mixing music, but to make beats, and other design software.
