Artist's Statement

Central Question

For this project, I wanted to explore the concept of using music as a form of escape during these trying times, especially since music was often used as an escape prior to the pandemic. The big question I wanted to center my project around is: how can music help those feeling anxiety or uncertainty? Therefore, I created a collection of songs titled “what I’ve been thinking”, with two original songs and one cover that represent the teenage experience in the worldwide quarantine. Each song is meant to showcase a different period in the year of 2020, beginning with the start of lockdown and moving into the present day.

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Literature

There have been many studies proving the helpfulness of using music in order to ease anxiety or as a form of therapy in the past and it is a technique still used to this day (de Witte, et al.). For example, in 1982, a study was published examining the effect of music therapy on terminally-ill child patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City (Fagen). Researchers found that anxiety and fear in the patients that underwent this therapy was significantly lessened. I want my audience to feel seen and heard in these difficult times in a similar way. Two of the albums I have drawn a large amount of my inspiration from are Taylor Swift’s folklore and evermore. Normally, artists have to work and meet with many different people in order to formulate and execute plans for musical projects. However, due to the quarantine, these albums were completed completely in the isolation of Swift’s home. The general tone of folklore creates an obvious cohesiveness with nostalgic components while evermore is an album of articulate storytelling. I wanted to use these elements to create my own music that both expresses the difficult emotions felt in this time as well as becomes something people can turn to for comfort, almost like a personal diary created through music.

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Methods

Whereas the albums I have drawn inspiration on have mostly touched on an artist’s personal feelings, I wanted to gauge a variety of perspectives that I was able to draw inspiration from for my music so it is possible more people are able to relate to it and it will reach my intended audience. In order to do this, I conducted a survey through Google Forms in order to collect information on other college students and their experiences throughout quarantine. I found that many people were feeling lost and scared, yet still hopeful in the beginning of quarantine, but indifferent a more depressed in their current lives. After conducting this survey, I began to use methods, such as the verse-chorus format for pop songs, that I learned in the songwriting workshop I took last semester to successfully write the lyrics for my songs using keywords from the survey. Finally, I will be using a one-take method when using GarageBand to finish producing my songs. Essentially, this means that I recorded both the instrumental and vocals in one take then added extra elements, such as harmonies, afterward based on what I believed sounded right for the song. 

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Audience & Impact

The audience for this project is college students and other teenagers affected greatly in quarantine, more specifically, those who suffer from anxiety. I chose this audience because I personally fall into this category and have been dealing with the mental health effects from quarantine. Hearing that my friends had gone through similar experiences inspired me to create something that we could channel those feelings into. I wanted to tell our quarantine story. I also wanted this project to be something I could carry with me like a time capsule that I could look back on and remember exactly how I felt during these uncertain times knowing that it gets better. My true goal was for others to feel the same way about my collection of songs. Perhaps it will inspire them to express their emotions through music as well, or allow them to safely address any feelings about the quarantine that they have suppressed. I know that it has helped me work through those emotions and these songs came out being very personal. Additionally, this project made me more comfortable with producing and writing songs in a short period of time. I learned that art does not have to be perfect, as long as you feel your message comes across.

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References

de Witte, Martina, da Silva Pinho, Ana, Stams, Geert-Jan, Moonen, Xavier, Bos, Arjan, & van Hooren, Susan. "Music Therapy for Stress Reduction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Health Psychology Review, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2020.1846580

Fagen, Trudy Shulman. "Music Therapy in the Treatment of Anxiety and Fear in Terminal Pediatric Patients." Music Therapy, vol. 2, no. 1, 1982, https://doi.org/10.1093/mt/2.1.13

Taylor Swift. evermore, Universal Music Publishing, 2020. 

Taylor Swift. folklore, Universal Music Publishing, 2020. 

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Acknowledgements

I wanted to thank Heather for her help in crafting my survey questions and taking the time to answer my questions. I also wanted to thank all of the peers who took the time to answer any of the questions I had about my project!