Sam McKay’s Final Evaluation
What I did and why I chose to do it
I have always been interested in music, whether it be through my studies of music at GCSE, being
involved in multiple musical productions such as Cats, the Vackees, or Billy Elliott, or my nearly 10
years of playing guitar experience. However, whilst I have had a musical background, I have always
been performing other people’s music without an understanding of the theory behind what makes
music popular. I also had little knowledge of what processes are involved in writing and producing an
original song. I thought that the EPQ was an excellent opportunity to finally explore how to write,
record, and edit an original son. as well as learning how to plan a project, stick to deadlines and
overcome challenges along the way. Throughout this process, I wanted to learn the theory behind
the modern music that we all listen to, produce an original piece of music using my newfound
knowledge, and also practise the skills required to complete a large project of this sort.
What I found out while completing this project.
Whilst I found out many things whilst completing this project the things that I would like to highlight
include how music theory is used in modern music, the importance of a project plan to ensure
deadlines are met, and how to record, edit and write a modern song. I was surprised at the
importance of the theory behind modern music, despite my GCSE in music we focused on songs from
the classical era, therefore, the music theory was more pronounced and obvious. However, when I
started my research I realised that theory helps artist to recognise what notes sound nice in which
order, it gives purpose to the song and this theory also greatly helped me to write my song. Without
music theory artists would be guessing at which notes to use and it would take much longer to write
music that would result in a successful song. Here is a quote that I found whilst researching that
emphasised the importance of theory in modern music ‘it serves as a set of rules and guidelines that
musicians use to create, analyze, and interpret music. While the term might seem intimidating,
especially for beginners, understanding these basics can significantly improve your ability to produce,
compose, and appreciate music at a deeper level.’ https://www.avid.com/resource-center/music-
theory#:~:text=It%20serves%20as%20a%20set,music%20at%20a%20deeper%20level Avid Oct 2023.
I also found out the importance of planning and sticking to deadlines during a big project such as the
EPQ, if you fall behind on deadlines it causes the whole project to be pushed back therefore the
deadline may not be met or you must submit a reduced standard piece of work due to the reduced
time. Finally, I developed songwriting skills such as how to write Chord Progression, how to write
lyrics, and how to use recording and editing software to my advantage once the song was written.
Skills and techniques I acquired throughout the process
Throughout this process, I have had to learn many new skills and techniques to ensure my song is as
good as possible and to ensure I score the best possible mark on my EPQ. Every time I learnt a new
skill I had to research the skill to find out how to accomplish it and how to effectively use the skill in
my EPQ. For example, when learning how to use a project plan to improve time management, I
decided to research previous successful project plans and find out the benefits of having a project
plan when completing a project such as the EPQ (see date 8.11.23 on Bibliography). I also learnt
many musical skills throughout this process, some include: learning how to structure a song, how to
What I did and why I chose to do it
I have always been interested in music, whether it be through my studies of music at GCSE, being
involved in multiple musical productions such as Cats, the Vackees, or Billy Elliott, or my nearly 10
years of playing guitar experience. However, whilst I have had a musical background, I have always
been performing other people’s music without an understanding of the theory behind what makes
music popular. I also had little knowledge of what processes are involved in writing and producing an
original song. I thought that the EPQ was an excellent opportunity to finally explore how to write,
record, and edit an original son. as well as learning how to plan a project, stick to deadlines and
overcome challenges along the way. Throughout this process, I wanted to learn the theory behind
the modern music that we all listen to, produce an original piece of music using my newfound
knowledge, and also practise the skills required to complete a large project of this sort.
What I found out while completing this project.
Whilst I found out many things whilst completing this project the things that I would like to highlight
include how music theory is used in modern music, the importance of a project plan to ensure
deadlines are met, and how to record, edit and write a modern song. I was surprised at the
importance of the theory behind modern music, despite my GCSE in music we focused on songs from
the classical era, therefore, the music theory was more pronounced and obvious. However, when I
started my research I realised that theory helps artist to recognise what notes sound nice in which
order, it gives purpose to the song and this theory also greatly helped me to write my song. Without
music theory artists would be guessing at which notes to use and it would take much longer to write
music that would result in a successful song. Here is a quote that I found whilst researching that
emphasised the importance of theory in modern music ‘it serves as a set of rules and guidelines that
musicians use to create, analyze, and interpret music. While the term might seem intimidating,
especially for beginners, understanding these basics can significantly improve your ability to produce,
compose, and appreciate music at a deeper level.’ https://www.avid.com/resource-center/music-
theory#:~:text=It%20serves%20as%20a%20set,music%20at%20a%20deeper%20level Avid Oct 2023.
I also found out the importance of planning and sticking to deadlines during a big project such as the
EPQ, if you fall behind on deadlines it causes the whole project to be pushed back therefore the
deadline may not be met or you must submit a reduced standard piece of work due to the reduced
time. Finally, I developed songwriting skills such as how to write Chord Progression, how to write
lyrics, and how to use recording and editing software to my advantage once the song was written.
Skills and techniques I acquired throughout the process
Throughout this process, I have had to learn many new skills and techniques to ensure my song is as
good as possible and to ensure I score the best possible mark on my EPQ. Every time I learnt a new
skill I had to research the skill to find out how to accomplish it and how to effectively use the skill in
my EPQ. For example, when learning how to use a project plan to improve time management, I
decided to research previous successful project plans and find out the benefits of having a project
plan when completing a project such as the EPQ (see date 8.11.23 on Bibliography). I also learnt
many musical skills throughout this process, some include: learning how to structure a song, how to
