2019 – 2020, 10th Grade Project (100 hours) – Justin Davis
Justin Davis’s Capstone showcased a variety of his work in all of his classes, ranging from a Hunger Games board game he created for English, collaborating to create a logic & reasoning “Escape Room” for his math-based immersion, and constructing a musical instrument from a plank of wood, three screws, and an old mini guitar sting for his physics class. It was this latter project which gave Justin the idea for his grade-level project. He wondered if he—a “non-musician”—could learn enough about music theory and technology to digitally compose music that an audience would enjoy listening to.
Justin began with numerous hours researching and teaching himself music theory in order to learn the “rules” of composition and what sounds good together. He joined the Friday music theory workshop to increase and develop his newly-discovered interest, and from there everything catapulted into full motion.
Justin felt a creative drive pushing him and by the middle of Fall he commenced writing his first tune. The process of composing itself took longer than Justin had initially intended, however, he was able to complete two songs by the spring.
During his oral defense Justin shared his upbeat tune, “Good Morning” with the panel, to their delight. Of his experience, he relayed:
I think that music is very important, it’s a great way of expressing one’s thoughts of feelings. Learning music was a fun process, and I still have a long way to go. I tried to take my time, go slow, and understand what I was trying to learn. It got rough sometimes, I would get mad that I couldn’t come up with any good ideas for a song. I spent a decent amount of time at home researching and writing music. The quality of what I made exceeded my original expectations; I’m very proud of my work.
Justin Davis