Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Nolan Overgaard Date: Feb. 26/24

Teacher: Mr. Green Block: C

The Capstone Focus I have chosen is Product

Proposed title for my Project Proposal: (write the proposed title for your Capstone Project in one clear
sentence): Mastering the advanced Music-Making Journey.

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that connects with
a purpose, passion, or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that you cannot just google an
answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

Can I compose a musical piece on the piano which will represent my emotions and be meaningful to others?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are choosing to
investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect to your passion(s),
purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I am choosing to do this as my capstone because ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted to write my
own song on the piano. I have been playing the piano since I was 4 years old, but never learned the
necessary skills to compose a piece. The curiosity I have surrounding music writing has led me to decide
that I want to research and learn how to compose a piece of work that will be enjoyable to listen to and
reflects some of my own certain emotions.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this area of inquiry?

I have been taking piano lessons (and playing the piano in my spare time) for almost 13 years. At some
point around the covid era, I took a 1.5 Ish year break. I have very little knowledge on song composing, and
I wish to learn.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What connections does this
inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

At this point in time, I plan on taking a gap year to determine what I want to pursue. My inquiry question
connects to my thought of I want to do things in life which I am intrigued by and wish to pursue but will also
have meaning and benefit to others. At this moment in time, it does not connect to either academic or
career goals, but rather connects to personal interest.

0
Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core competencies will
be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

Creative thinking – throughout the project, I will be constantly generating ideas and developing the ideas
which I value more. I will be providing others with my unique insight on my perspective on music.
Communication – I will be taking advice from my piano teacher, and communicating with her to determine
which things suit me best.
Personal awareness and responsibility - for this project I will be regulating my short-term goals and will
seek advice to keep me determined to complete it.
Critical thinking – I will be exploring different ways around my composition and will assess my progress
along the way.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to present your
project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once completed. You may use a
combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o iMovie presentation
o YouTube channel

I will most likely use an audio file or upload the song to Spotify or SoundCloud.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what will you
research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced at the end of this
project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your proposal.

For my capstone project, I will be composing my own original piece of music on the piano. In order to have
the capabilities I need; I will do research on music theory and compose tips. Although I will be doing
research, my main source of information will be from my piano teacher, who is very knowledgeable in the
topic. She will provide me with teachings, practices and sources that I need to assist me in my work. These
things include the main chords of each scale, and how to structure a song properly. Within my own
personal research, I will look at older sources to get the classical side of things, and then shift my focus to
more recent sources, to gain a more diverse outlook on how the music can be synthesized.
I will follow this rough process to complete my project: first I will do research on the things I mentioned
before. The next thing I will do is through the songs I know how to play; I will determine which scale I will
use through which songs I like the sound the most. The thing which will influence this decision the most will
be the feel of the song I am looking for, which is still up for grabs. After I pick the scale which resonates
with me most, I will play around with chords and patterns to get a better feel of what I can work with. Then I
will take my ‘playing’ and decide which sounds the best. I will then continue refining my work through this
process, both by myself and with my piano teacher, taking her advice greatly into consideration. After I find
a feel of what I want to produce, I will take all my notes and recordings of my ‘playing’ and mix and match,
give a little and take a little, until I have a product which I am satisfied with.

1
Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology, and skills you will
need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to access/learn all of the resources
necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail your plans.

I will need a set of staff paper (musical sheet paper) to write notes for ideas of what notes I will use in the
piece. I will need some sort of stand to set up my phone to record myself practicing for my capstone
blogs. I will obtain the staff paper by searching up a format and printing it at home, and I will obtain the
stand by either making one or buying one online.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will you need to

help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you? What is your plan to access
the mentorship/community connections necessary for this project?

I will reach out to my piano teacher to shift my learning from learning songs to learning how to compose
one. She will help me by teaching me how to identify key chords of a scale, which scales match with each
other etc., all things aligned with music theory. Since I already see her weekly, I will just have to bring up
the project to her to begin the learning.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee that might
affect progress with your Capstone Project?

The biggest obstacle i can see affecting my project is the inevitable procrastination, and possible mental
blocks that will come at different points throughout the writing of the piece.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about your project
that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

I may decide to teach myself how to use a system which I can connect my piano (as it is electric) to my
computer and the notes I play will be uploaded to it. This can be useful because then I can play back the
notes I just played, and easily make small tweaks. I will decide if I want to use this depending on how the
process goes just using the staff paper.

References: Provide a literature review of 5-10 PEER REVIEWED ACADEMIC references: research,
videos, etc. that offer some preliminary research you have done for your project that shows you are able
to access the key information that you will need to be able to complete this project/work. Your list should
be written using correct APA formatting.

Kaminsky, P. (1989). Principles of Formal Structure in Schumann’s Early Piano Cycles. Music Theory
Spectrum, 11(2), 207–225. https://doi.org/10.2307/745936

Konowitz, B. (1980). Improvisation on Keyboard Instruments. Music Educators Journal, 66(5), 86–88.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3395782

Alex Ruthmann. (2007). The Composers’ Workshop: An Approach to Composing in the Classroom.
Music Educators Journal, 93(4), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.2307/4127132

2
van Elferen, I. (2013). Fantasy Music: Epic Soundtracks, Magical Instruments, Musical Metaphysics.
Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 24(1 (87)), 4–24. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24352902

McGowan, J. (2010). Riemann’s Functional Framework for Extended Jazz Harmony. Intégral, 24, 115–
133. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41495296

3
4