Homebound: producing music during a pandemic

Commercial Music Design is a new course within the Music Media Production degree path, jointly taught by Dr. Christoph Thompson, area coordinator of the Music Media Production program at Ball State University, and Prof. Michael Rafter, assistant professor of Music Theatre. The curriculum is designed to exposed students to the multiple facets of music production, combining elements of songwriting, composition, beat production, and recording within a fast-paced learning environment. Two projects within this curriculum called for full production from songwriting, to mastering, with requirements for inclusion of acoustic elements in the recording. The two songs from these projects are the central focus of this thesis. Following a brief overview of the concepts and themes explored in the creation of the songs, I provide a comprehensive walkthrough of the production process from start to finish in three stages: pre-production, production, and post-production.