Chris Aghaei

Graduation Portfolio
Spring 2019

Reflections

To reflect on my time at Eastern, I must quickly give some background

information. I was two years removed from switching careers. After 8 years working in

television production, I decided that I wanted to explore the life of a professional

musician. My professional experience consisted of two summers at a theme park in

Charlotte, NC. I had not thought about going back to school. Then the opportunity was

presented to me to apply to Eastern. It was then, in my first meeting with Jamie V. Ryan,

that I realized how little I knew. And as I delved deeper into the program, I realized that

I had the potential to do so much more.

I met with Mr. Ryan literally a week before the semester began. I had been

playing only drum set for 10+ years at this point. I had zero percussion experience, in an

ensemble setting, outside of worship bands. Mr. Ryan gave me a short interview and

took me through the audition process. I had never felt more lost in my life. I could not

read music. I did not know my scales. I buckled in trying to perform the simple tasks

that Mr. Ryan gave me. After 20 minutes, it was safe to say that I was not ready to be a

student.

Instead of denying me the opportunity to audition, Mr. Ryan wisely advised me to

take the theory rudiments course during the fall semester, work with one of his students,

and audition for Spring 2017. In theory rudiments, I picked up so many of the basic

music essentials (scales, solfege, notation, rhythm reading). With the help of Craig

Buckner, I worked on learning music for my audition. In December, I auditioned for the
program. Although, I thought I had done terrible, Mr. Ryan saw enough improvement to

accept me into the program. Now, five semesters later, I am excited to look back and see

the growth of my musicianship and understanding of music.

The focus of this paper is on a song analysis that I wrote about a Muddy Waters’

Blues tune called “9 Below Zero,” an Electronic Music composition I created called

“Bane of My Existence”, and a Jazz Combo performance. The paper “9 Below Zero”

represents my ability to analyze and write about music. The composition represents the

technology, production, and recording side of my degree; I want to expand my ability as

a producer of music. And my combo performance reflects my growth as a drum set

performer, which will be my main instrument as a professional.

The analysis paper on “9 Below Zero,” came from my Nonwestern Music class.

After learning a form of music analysis that focused on the overall feel of the

performance rather than Roman Numeral Analysis, I had to listen to this song on vinyl, in

the library, and then analyze from my own critical perspective. That being said, in order

to have a perspective, I used knowledge from my music theory class to understand the

chord progressions, song form, etc. I also had to research the origin of Blues music and

the performer, Muddy Waters, to gain a better listening experience. Blues music is an

amalgamation of African-Americans migrating away from the south and eventually

mixing with other styles of music. It is one of the basic elements to so many genres of

today (Rock, Pop, Rap, Hip Hop, Disco, Funk, etc.).

The electronic music composition, “Bane of My Existence,” was created in the

class, Electronic Music Studio. Honestly, I initially thought the class would teach me

techniques on how to be a producer, but Dr. Decker helped me to see so much more. He
broke down so many techniques of sound manipulation from analog to digital. I had to

listen to a lot crazy compositions. This class turned music into a science because

composers worked on their pieces the same as an engineer would calculate constructing a

machine. Then I was assigned to create my own compositions and it was so much fun. I

learned about sampling and how to develop sounds in the digital audio workstations. It

was great to think outside of the box.

The track, “Bane of My Existence,” is titled because of the rhythmic composition

in the piece. That semester I was working on pieces in percussion ensemble and concert

band that focused on a 7/8 time signature (a time that was impossible for me to count and

feel without struggling to stay in time). In logic I used MIDI information to construct

several different rhythms in 7/8 time. The sweeps and cascade of sounds that overlay the

rhythms were instruments that I had recorded (including my own voice) and transformed

using filters, wave manipulation, and panning within the stereo field. I believe that the

listener could focus on one sound and have a different perspective, from another listener,

of the soundscape based upon how they perceive the sounds to be interacting.

The two excerpts from my Jazz Combo performance represent my growth as a

performer. The combo is a great chamber group for two reasons. First there is an

organized setting in which the group plays an introduction, a melodic chorus, and a

bridge. Second, there is a time when each member of the group will play solos with their

instrument over the arranged parts. This part is where the soloist can showcase virtuosity

on their instrument and the rest of the group continues to play a loose structure of the

arranged parts as an accompaniment. The challenge for the group is to listen to each
other, keep a collective time/groove going, and understand how their individual part

complements each other.

I grew from this group for so many reasons. First, I learned an appreciation for

the skill of playing Jazz music. Mr. Ryan has done a great job of teaching me the

elements of playing swing drum set in the group. Paul Johnston gave me some great

suggestions of music to listen to and showed me the importance of keeping a solid groove

with the bass player. Both professors reiterated the importance of “keeping my head on a

swivel.” In other words, keeping my ears open and paying attention to what the group

was doing. The two numbers that are on my page, “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Forecast,”

represent this growth.

In “Isn’t She Lovely,” one major challenge was the overall time of the piece. The

time signature for the piece was 3/4 + 4/4, which meant that I had to play time in 3/4

followed by 4/4 in the next measure, then repeat. I am used to 4/4 swing playing, but

3/4-swing time is something I have recently learned. This took a great deal of

concentration, but because I was listening to my band mates and following the music

(another part that was impossible for me until coming back to Eastern), I kept the time.

During the solos, we kept the time strictly 4/4 to make it easier for the soloists, but it also

changed the feel of the song which prevented the audience from getting bored with

repetition. Also, I love the dynamic nature of Jazz music and how a group can use shout

choruses and hits to add adventure to the music.

In “Forecast,” the challenge was more directed towards how I can accompany the

ensemble and how to craft a solo of my own. Both tasks required me to think and listen

in the moment, but I also learned the importance of having a “drumming vocabulary” of
rhythms and fills to help me think and react quickly to the music. The solo that I

performed was inspired by the original recording of this song and by my studies with Mr.

Ryan. I changed the 4/4 feel of the tune into 6/8, first by swinging my fills (changing

from duple to triple feel), and second by incorporating an Afro-Cuban bell pattern that

Mr. Ryan taught in Percussion Ensemble. You can hear elements of it as I progress in

my solo. It reaches the full pattern when I switch to ride cymbal and snare drum. Then,

working with my bass player we slowly bring the feel back to 4/4, which leads the group

into the final chorus and ending.

The common theme of these three artifacts is that I needed to learn how to listen

to, and think critically about, music within the moment of an experience. As a critic of

music, do I hear and appreciate the individual parts? Do I understand how the

composer/performers intended to convey the piece? As a recording producer, listening

for the details within the performance, can I make the decisions on how to best convey

those details in a recording. And as a performer, am I aware of my surroundings

(conductor, ensemble members, environment, etc.)?

When all is said and done, I think the best part of my education is that I have

learned “how to learn.” It is impossible to know everything about music in 2.5-4 years of

education. And I realize that I have a lot more practicing to do. But knowing how to

approach my career with an inquisitive mindset, and to keep improving at my craft, has

equipped me to pursue my career as a musician. On top of that, I now have the ability to

produce my own music. That is an unexpected bonus that I greatly appreciate.