Date of Award

1-1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Dancigers, Mark

Area of Concentration

Music, English Secondary Field

Abstract

As someone with the desire to continue creating music for most of my life whether as a full-time career or just as a hobby to fulfill leisure time with, choosing where to devote energy to can be quite difficult. The objective of this EP was to obtain as much exposure to the musical genres, styles, and programs that interest me in order to attempt to figure out how I work as a musical artist. I aimed for six different genres to explore: Pop, Experimental Pop, Alternative, Tech House, Blues, and Surf Rock. The process consisted of stages where I would compose or produce the music, then write the lyrics, record the lyrics, continue mixing, and finally when finished mixing, I could master. However, it also involved other creative work, for example, making an album cover, as well as coming up with the names for the songs and the EP. Over the course of the year it took to prepare this music I found that no matter what genre is being striven for, there will almost always be components of the work that involve or evoke feelings in yourself or others, that associate the sounds with different styles. Genre is subjective and most often involves the mixing or blending of musical styles and techniques, making it an immensely porous medium to use for art. Therefore, throughout this paper I will be addressing the parts of each song that inspired me, that adhered to the genre I initially set out to make, and that which ended up innately unique to my work. Together, these sections will aid in visualizing my process as a musical artist and how my own personal style is beginning to form.

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