This is my initial sketch for the concept of the performance which I plan on calling “the Wizard, the King, and the Fool”. In the diagram, the black circle represents the unconscious, while the triangle/prism contains the archetypes which correspond to each point (wizard, king, fool), each of which the performance will attempt to expose. Furthermore, each archetype has a ‘light’ and a ‘dark’ side, which are relative to each archetype–the dark side of one archetype is also the light side of another–which is shown in the shading of the triangle.

I’m planning on grouping the performance into several acts where each act will correspond to a different archetype and several songs. Ideally, each act will flow into the next and follow the spiral on the diagram. For example, the last song of the ‘wizard’ act will embody the negative aspects of the wizard archetype (i.e. manipulation), which will ultimately lead into the positive aspects of the king archetype (i.e. ambition), which will break down into its negative aspects and fall into the fool archetype, and so on.

Setlist:

1. the Anomaly (Wizard)
2. Alone Time (Wizard)
3. the Controller (Wizard)
4. New Moon (King)
5. Save Yourself (King)
6. Becoming No One (King)
7. Fool's Song (Fool)
8. Acedia (Fool)
9. WTF (Fool)

The spiral in the diagram, which starts from the center and moves counter-clockwise, represents movement into the unconscious. In “The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious”, Jung states ”in general, a leftward (counter clockwise) movement indicates towards the unconscious, while a rightward movement goes towards consciousness” (Jung, 320). The spiral is representative of how the performance seeks to explore/channel the unconscious, and in doing so, integrate it into consciousness. Furthermore, as the performance cycles through each archetype, their subconscious functionalities become more exposed and ultimately transcended, which is why the spiral grows outwards.

The symbols that surround the head are meant to represent the motifs that are projected by the archetypes. Additionally, the figure above the head is supposed to be a 3-D perspective of the mind, which is meant to show that the mind is not 2-dimensional as the symbol suggests and in fact contains many facets which permeate to deeper levels of the unconscious, out of which ‘the Wizard, the King, & the Fool’ are only several. In future sketches I would like to focus more on the symbolism surrounding the head and perhaps make it more clear that they are being ‘projected’, as if the archetypes were a prism that is reflecting the subconscious contents of the psyche.

In this vlog I go over how I have taken each song and moved it into a final Ableton project¹ as well as my reasons for doing so. I also talk about how I have added a 'stopper'² to make the set stop playing automatically if needed, how I am dragging in and planning out the visuals³, as well as what I plan to accomplish for my next update. Below I have linked some videos that helped me in this process:

• 1. "Preparing a Performance", Compiling a Live Set Into a Single Project
• 2. "Preparing a Performance", IAC Driver
• 3. "Preparing a Performance", Synchronizing and Displaying Visuals

I’m really humbling myself here by putting these clips out so be nice to me.

This is audio of me singing my song “Save Yourself” on 12/2/2021, which was over 6 months ago. I thought it would be a good place to begin since there’s a good distance between now and then and I can listen to it with a fresh perspective, now that I’ve done some research on vocal theory.

First of all, there are some things I thought I did okay, which I think are a good direction and something to move towards. In some instances, when I get off on the wrong note, I’m able to readjust the pitch to the correct one before the notes ends. I’m also able to sustain some phrases that are drawn out, have considerable jumps between notes, and are generally difficult to sing. When I sing “falling for another God” (@ 0:10), for example, even though I am pitchy, I am able to maintain a fullness and stability in the sound.

However, I also consistently fall flat on a lot of the notes–in the verse which goes “spiritual falacies, haunt me endlessly….” (@ 0:47) especially. There are a couple ways I think I can correct this. Firstly, I think simply practicing more and getting comfortable singing the song with just the instrumental will help curb some nervousness and commit the notes to muscle memory. Secondly, I suspect that excercising my upper register¹ (the cricothyroid muscles), and approaching the notes with an ‘airier’ feeling will help to balance out the flatness. You can tell from the recording that I’m very much anchored in my chest voice as it sounds full and heavy. Good exercises for combatting this would include those that work out the head and the mixed range² of the voice.

Additionally, in some places the delivery is very monotonic and it sounds like there’s no real emotional connection to what’s being sung. It’s like I’m singing the notes but I’m not really experiencing them. My timing is also off in some places, and I end up running out of breath at the end of the last chorus. I think this goes back to continuously rehearsing the song and getting as familiar as I can with it. This will help me to come in at the right times, find good places to take breaths, and add in more emotion once I’m more comfortable. Additionally,breath control exercises³ such as a sustained “z” can help me maintain power throughout the longer phrases.

Below are some clips of me doing the exercises that I mentioned above:

This is me exercising my upper register by singing "guh" using octave and a half scales. The purpose of this exercise is to train my vocal cords to coordinate notes throughout my mixed range, which the glottal stop⁴ in the 'g' onset stimulates. As you can hear, a lot of the notes are weak and sound raspy because the vocal chords are not coming together cleanly, indicating that more practice needs to be done.

This is me doing the "z" replacement exercise. Basically, all I'm doing is singing the melody but through a 'z' consonant. This is because the 'z' consonant in particular stimulates abdominal muscles⁵that are necessary for strong breath control.

• 1. "How to Train Your Voice", Head Voice
• 2. "How to Train Your Voice", Mixed Voice
• 3. "How to Train Your Voice", Breath Control
• 4. "How to Train Your Voice", Glossary: 'Glottal Stop'
• 5. "How to Train Your Voice", Respiratory System

In this vlog I go over how I have begun mapping effects to specific knobs on my MIDI controllers using Ableton's MIDI mapping feature¹. I also talk about how I have added an instrument 'switcher' using my computer's IAC driver² to automatically swap sounds on my keyboard in between songs, as well as my goals to accomplish before next update. Below I have linked some videos that helped in this process:

• 1. "Preparing a Performance", Modifying Sounds While Playing
• 2. "Preparing a Performance", Creating an Auto-Stop

This is audio of me singing my song “Alone Time” on 6/26/2022. Firstly, I think it's good to mention what I feel like I did well before I get into the criticism. For one, I feel that I have much better breath control on this song. There's not one part where I feel out of breath, and you can even hear some vibrato¹ at the end of some phrases, such as "of my own" (@ 0:35), which is an indication that I'm doing something right. This could be because I have gotten better at breath control from my exercises or because the song is simply easier to sing than the one in my last analysis, but it's probably a mixture of both.

In terms of criticism, one of the first things I immediately noticed when listening back is that I'm singing sharp² as opposed to the last vocal analysis where I'm mainly singing flat³. I also hear myself singing more nasally⁴, particularly on phrases such as "who think they know the world" (@ 0:19). There's nothing wrong with singing nasally in it of itself, however I think that it may be making it more difficult for me to sing on key. It's likely the result of singing with a closed vowel shape (think sounds like 'eee' or 'ayyy') which tend to lend themselves toward the lengthener muscles, which may be causing me to sing sharp. To combat this, I think it would be helpful to practice singing the song but with more open vowels, such as "ehhh" or "ahhh".

Secondly–and this plays into the first criticism–there are some instances at the end of words where I close off the vowel too early. For example, at 1:46, instead of singing "Aloooone", it sounds more like "alonnnne", meaning more emphasis is put on the 'n' sound as opposed to the 'o'. This can be problematic because consonant sounds aren't as easy to resonate⁵, and sounds like 'n' or 'r' at then of phrases further lend themselves to nasally singing–not to mention are hard on the ears. Going forward, I'm going to focus more on drawing out the words, keeping the vowels open, and waiting to close them off until the very end.

While I'm recording these anlaysis clips I've also noticed that it's easier for me to sing on-key when the instrumental is playing directly in my ears as opposed to when it's playing through a speaker. This may be problematic because when I'm performing I'm not always going to have an in-ear monitor to hear the music directly, not to mention there will also be an audience and other aspects of the performance to pay attention to which will make it harder to focus and stay in tune. This being said, going forward I'm probably going to practice and record these clips with the instrumental playing out loud in the background as opposed to playing directly in my ears to develop more control.

Above is a Voice Notes recording of me going through the melodies of the song and practicing singing each note with as open of a vowel as I can. Some of the higher notes were pretty hard for me to sing with an open vowel, such as "own" at 0:36 and "alone" at 1:40, since they are at the top of my chest range (C4-D#4). However, the point of the exercise is to cement the melodies to memory and sing more open than I normally would so that when I'm singing the song for real, I'm able to find more balance between open/closed as well as shortner/lengthener dominance.

• 1. "How to Train Your Voice", Vibrato
• 2, 3. "How to Train Your Voice", Pitch
• 4. "How to Train Your Voice", Tone
• 5. "How to Train Your Voice", Tone, Glossary: Resonance

In this vlog I go over how I have hooked up my computer to a projector to display visuals¹ while I'm also playing music. In doing this process I discovered several potential concerns, including how I am going to power everything in the final stage setup, chords/stage setup, the resolution of the projector, as well as the lagging processor on my computer, which I also discuss in this vlog. Below I have linked some videos that helped me in this process:

• 1. "Preparing a Performance", Synchronizing and Displaying Visuals

This is a clip of me singing my song “the controller” on 7/2/2022. Firstly, I notice that my pitch accuracy seems to be a lot better than my previous two posts. I think this could be because I have practiced and sang the song more than the other two, but it may also just be the payoff of daily exercises. For this take, I decided to simulate more of a 'real-life' scenario where I recorded at a distance from the microphone while the instrumental played through my laptop speakers, as opposed to the previous posts where I recorded as the music played directly into my ears via headphones. I thought this would have made it harder to sing, however now I'm thinking that maybe having the instrumental playing directly in my ears may have caused me to think I was singing better than I actually was. I also sang standing up during this take, as opposed to the previous takes where I was sitting down, which most likely improved my breath control and made it easier to sing (see 'posture')¹. I am also hearing more and more vibrato in my voice, which is nice because it's supposed to be a sign of good technique and it's something I don't remember having at the beginning of the experience.

Although I hear my breath support getting better and better, there are still some instances where I run out of breath. For example, @ 1:32 at the end of "this game that we're feeding" I run out of air and it causes my voice to shake and sputter out before I finish the phrase. Other areas that I struggled with breath were the second verse @ 2:48 - 3:16 and the very last phrase @ 3:38. This song in particular has a lot of sections where there are not a lot of gaps to take breath in between phrases, so in order to maintain power I'm going to need to strengthen my voice so that it can supply the same amount of vocal pressure² for longer. One way of doing this is SOVT straw³ exercises, generate backpressure and cause the repsiratory system to work harder in practice than it would in performance, which would make supporting these phrases easier.

A couple of other things I noticed were that one, @ 1:50 I'm straining and 'pulling chest voice'⁴ and two, @ 0:30 I don't articulate⁵well enough, making "my mind" sound more like "my mine". The latter is an easy fix, I just need to focus on articulating my words more clearly, however the former is a trickier problem. When I sing "will you change with me" @ 1:50, "change" is the highest note of the song, it's a D#4 and it's right at the tip of my chest-dominant range. Holding on to the shortner muscles in this area where they're not well trained may cause them to break and infict vocal damage. As a solution, it's better to use more of a mixed note that's both shortner and lengther dominant so that the shortner muscles don't give out. Additionally, it's important that I don't increase the force/volume as much as I did, espcially during tricky notes like this, which may cause even more vocal damage⁶ . If I adduct⁷ my vocal chords properly, I shouldn't need to increase the force so much to produce a resonant sound, which will make it easier to sing and less likely that I damage my voice.

Above is a clip of me doing an SOVT straw exercise, particularly in my mixed range where I struggle to find power the most. As you can hear, the straw sort of 'holds' my breath back which generates backpressure and causes the breath system to have to work harder than normal. The goal of the exercise is to train my lungs with some resistance so that when I am actually performing, it will be much easier to sing.

Above is a clip of me practicing the "change with me" phrase that I was previously straining on but this time with more of a mixed coordination. As you can hear, although I am reaching the notes it still sounds pretty breathy, which means my vocal cords aren't adducting completely and too much air is escaping between them. However, I probably just need more practice, and rehearsing this range with SOVT straw especially would help.

• 1. "How to Train Your Voice", Posture
• 2. "How to Train Your Voice", Breath Control
• 3. "How to Train Your Voice", SOVT Straw
• 4. "How to Train Your Voice", Vocal Gaps/Breaks
• 5. "How to Train Your Voice", Articulation
• 6. "How to Train Your Voice", Vocal Damage
• 7. "How to Train Your Voice", Glossary: Adduction

This is my second concept sketch of the so-called "map" of the performance. In terms of my previous sketch, in this one I added pictures of various archetypes I took from medieval manuscripts as well as lines emitting from the 'archetypal prism' on top to demonstrate that the characters are being projected by the subconscious mind.

I changed the archetypes from symbols in the last sketch to actual characters because I think it's more representative of how the archetypes show up within the performance–as characters rather than random symbols that are embodied through different songs. I also thought it was fitting to take the characters from medieval manuscripts, because the appearance of certain characters throughout medieval texts, folklore, and fairytales is in itself a display of the evidence and relevance of the archetypes.

The characters are meant to follow the story arc of the performance, meaning each character is supposed to morph into and become the next, moving counter-clockwise. Maybe this isn’t very clear based off the images I chose, however that’s the idea that I’m working towards and what I plan on improving upon in my next sketch. Starting with the wizard (top left), which represents a psyche that is cloaked and cut off from itself, it morphs and integrates personality aspects of the other archetypes, and ultimately arrives at the syzygy (top right), which represents the unification of the psyche. The story arc of the performance aligns with the concept of individuation where more and more parts of the psyche are channeled and integrated.

The sun and the moon are also representative of this unification of the psyche. In the words of Jung, the personality “must be extended both upwards and downwards”. The idea is that in order to become more psychically whole, it’s necessary to bring the unconscious into the consciousness, as opposed to just reenforcing what’s already conscious, which would in turn strengthen the force and hold of the unconscious.

I feel pretty satisfied with this sketch. It definitely feels like I've made some strides in the right direction, but it's still not complete. In terms of my next sketch I would like to:

1. Make the transition between characters more apparent by finding images that are more similiar to one another
2. Try to incorportate the idea of spiritual alchemy within the diagram (which Jung paralleled with individuation). I am thinking of adding more moth-related imagery (i.e. the stages of larvae, caterpillar, coccoon, moth) to further accentuate the metamorphosis that is undergone during the process of individuation.
3. Redesign the spiral and 'projection' lines–make spiral more in the background and projection lines more in the foreground. Also add movement to the spiral to make it clear that it is moving counter clockwise and outwards, which represents the growth into the unconscious.

This is a clip of me singing my song “fool's song” on 7/6/2022. In this song what I've struggled with the most isn't singing the right pitch, but singing the right pitch with the right tonality. In the beginning of the song I want it to sound gentle, almost like a lullaby. Because of this, I tend to sing with a lot of breath to make it sound airy and soft. However, when I attempt the notes that are more in my mixed range, such as "one" @ 0:14 and "weirdo" @ 0:19, it's harder to maintain fullness. My voice also sounds squeeky on certain notes, like on "freak show" @ 0:34. There are a couple exercises I think would help with this. First, a vocal fry¹may help to to relax the vocal chords and make it easier to sing higher. Secondly, a vowel modification exercise may help to balance out the bright, squeeky tonality of my voice.

I also struggle with breath control in this song, mainly in the transition from the first verse to the first chorus @ 0:37-44. As you can hear, I have to stop to take a quick breath right after the last phrase of the first verse when the most natural thing to do would be to sing straight into to the first line of the chorus. I think this is partly to blame on not taking a big enough breath right before the phrase and also on not having this section of the song well-trained. Some exercises I could do to help this are to a 'z'-replacement² or exercising this phrase with the SOVT straw.

There were several notes that were off-key that may be the result of weaknesses in other areas such as breath control, vowels, and tone placement, however I still intend to iron over them by playing and singing along with the melody. I also accidentally sang the wrong lyrics in some places, however that's something I just need to be more conscious of going forward.

Above is a clip of me doing a vocal fry. The intention of this exercise is to loosen and relax the vocal chords as well as strengthen the muscles responsible for the lowest vocal register, which will help bring balance and ease to the mixed register.

This is a clip of me doing a vowel modification using an "ah" vowel. Since in this particular song I struggle more with the notes being too closed and whiny, I chose to do this exercise on a whole, open vowel to bring more fullness to my mixed range.

• 1. "How to Train Your Voice", Exercises: Vocal Fry
• 2. "How to Train Your Voice", Exercises: Vocal Fry

In this vlog I talk about how I have purchased an audio interface¹ and wireless microphone in order to sing over my instrumentals + record while performing. This process was honestly pretty straightforward and much less complicated than I anticipated, which I go over in my how-to guide. For next update, I hope to have more of a "final" setup² prepared with everything hooked up together, and to be able to demo part of the performance.

• 1. "Preparing a Performance", Equipment
• 2. "Preparing a Performance", Final Stage Setup/Rehearsal

This is a clip of me singing my song “poop is everywhere!” on 7/14/2022. In this take I sang into a wireless microphone and moved around as if i were performing as opposed to standing still to simulate more of a real experience. I felt like this helped me to be more emotive and theatrical so-to-speak, but it also introduced some issues.

For one, there are several instances where I get off rhythm from the instrumental, “is there someone out to get me…” @ 1:49 and “God within me…” @ 3:22 for example. I think this mainly has to do with the fact that it was hard for me to hear the instrumental when I was moving around. I think this is less a matter of vocal technique than it is performance technique, which I think I could solve by counting beats in my head as opposed to singing instinctually.

There are also some notes that are way off-pitch, “control” @ 1:35 being the main one. I think this was because I was amped up and anticipated the note would be higher than it actually was, which caused me to sing sharper than I should have. However, most of the other notes were surprisingly on-pitch, and as I was singing I didn’t feel that this note was particularly weak or hard to sing. This makes me think this is also not as much a matter of technique/ability matter as it is practice + experience singing this song in particular. Before the final performance, I think I should record myself performing each song in a similar manner where I’m pretending to perform so I can identify these mistakes I tend to make and correct them as I’m singing.

Lastly, at the end of “and then release it” @ 2:54, I try to do sort of a metal scream which I failed at miserably. However, I think learning the technique to scream is a good idea as it will add a lot more expression and flexibility to my voice:

**EAR BLEED WARNING** Above is a clip of me attempting to do a 'fry scream'¹. Basically, I adducted my vocal folds and did a vocal fry which I gave more power and directed into my soft pallette. Based on the tutorial I watched it's supposed to produce more of a heavy metal-like scream–mine ended up sounding more like a screech than a scream, but you get the idea. Once I had the basic steps down, I then tried to transition from the "release it" phrase into the scream. The thing about screaming is that you can't do too much of it, especially if you aren't good at it, otherwise you may damage your vocal folds. So I probably just need to practice this more a little bit each day leading up to the performance.

• 1. "How to Train Your Voice", Screaming

This is a clip of me singing my song “the anomaly” on 7/20/2022. The hardest part of this song for me is the runs at the end, “reason and pain…must be divine” @ 2:30-2:51. Not only are they in a difficult range (C4-F4), the rhythm is also a bit irregular. This caused me to get sort of tense and sing a bit stiffer than I would like, which contributed to some whinier notes like “divine” @ 2:47, “line” @ 2:54, and “mind” @ 2:59. To balance this out, I think it would be helpful to play and sing along to the melodies with more open vowels¹ at a slow pace, gradually speeding up until the runs are more comfortable and fluid. Other agility exercises² may also help with this.

I am also still struggling to find my scream voice³, which I attempt at the very end. I can do a vocal fry, but adding power to it is where I fall short. It would probably be helpful to find more tutorials on how to scream while continuing daily practice.

Overall, I think I sang this song decently well. I would like to get the runs more locked down, however I think the first 2/3 of the song is generally okay. Asides from some pitchiness, I think my main task for the rest of the song would be to continually practice and strengthen my voice with regular daily exercises. Through these recordings I’m starting to realize that a lot of my struggle is not technique or skill but confidence⁴, which requires more experience.

This is a clip of me practicing the vocal runs from @ 2:30-2:51 as mentioned above, on an open "ah" vowel. The purpose of this exercise is to 1. lockdown the melody, 2. balance out closed, whiny singing with an open vowel and 3. improve vocal agility by gradually increasing the speed I practice at.

• 1. "How to Train Your Voice", Vowel Modification
• 2. "How to Train Your Voice", Agility
• 3. "How to Train Your Voice", Screaming
• 4. "How to Train Your Voice", Confidence

This is my third and final concept sketch of the so-called "map" of the performance. In terms of my previous sketch, in this one I added pictures of figures/archetypes that are more fitting to the songs they represent, and also show the metamorphosis from the wizard into the syzygy. I changed the design so that the 'projection lines' are now eminating from the spiral, as opposed to the beacon, which is more aesthetically pleasing and less visually confusing. I also switched over to a digital format to make it easier to create.

Each character corresponds to a certain song or section of the performance. Each character (wizard, king, fool) is further split up into subarchetypes as described below. For example, starting in the top left and moving counter-clockwise, here are the characters and their meanings:

1. Wizard - the Anomaly
   • About getting in touch with your insticts and cultivating a vision for the future.
   • "Long lost sorcery, breathe through me, like sweet electricity"
   • "Transforming, transmuting, becoming the new way to be"
2. Hermet - Alone Time
   • About solitude and secluding yourself for the sake of personal growth.
   • "Someday this venture of my own will give so much more, that's why I need to be alone"
3. Manipulator - the Controller
   • About the urge to control everything in the effort of bringing vision into reality
   • "I'll make you see, things you won't believe, even if it's the death of me"
4. King - New Moon
   • About the desire for power and to be the ruler of your own world
   • "Conqueror, creator, diviner, destroyer, I can be everything"
5. Priest - Save Yourself
   • About self-deception and falling for schemes in an effort to have control
   • "Soon as I think that I'm free, I don't know what to believe, so I succumb to the next scheme, and let it delude me"
6. Warrior - Becoming No One
   • About giving up a crusade or the desire for things to go your way.
   • "Face to face with all deceit, kingdoms of make believe, one by one learning to lose, unlocks the truth in everything"
7. Fool - Fool's Song
   • About embracing humility and humor.
   • "If you feel like a loser, you're not the only one"
8. Zombie - Acedia
   • About burnout and laziness
   • "Let's lay around and stare at the floor, I can't stand to think anymore"
9. Death - WTF?
   • About giving up your identity and discovering deeper truths about yourself.
   • "If you surrender all that you know, then it may dawn on you"
   • "Everything you've ever faced, was your own mind rearranged"
10. Syzygy - rest of performance
    • About uniting all sides of yourself.

The first song of each character archetype loosely highlights their 'good' side while the last highlights their 'negative' side. This is represented by the shading of the prism/triangle and the presence of the sun/moon, looming over the performance. It's a reminder that unity is achieved "not by imagining figures of light, but making the darkness conscious". For example, the 'negative' of the Wizard, (i.e. manipulation) becomes the positive of the King (ambition). This switching of perspective is ultimately how the performance seeks to achieve harmony and unity between the archetypes.

In this vlog I go over a mock setup¹ for the final performance. In creating this setup I initially did not account for the wind, which was problematic because the stands that hold up the projection screen and the curtains kept blowing over. When setting up for the final performance, I will need to make sure that I tie and stake each stand into the ground. It also gave me a better idea of how big of a space the stage will need to occupy. There was not enough space in my backyard to place the projector behind the projection screen like I wanted to (as opposed to in front of it), which caused me to cast a shadow on the screen. I will need to make sure I have large enough of an outdoor space and that I plan the performance for a clear night to make sure all goes smoothly.

I also was unable to do the setup with a PA system², which is something I still need to look into how to obtain (probably going to rent one). I am also still missing some props, such as a chaise lounge, mannequins, and costumes which I want to include in the final performance. I think I will do another mock setup before the final performance with costumes and everything.

• 1. "Preparing a Performance", Final Stage Setup/Rehearsal
• 2. "Preparing a Performance", Equipment