How to get some money from Monty

How to get some money from Monty

Hey everyone, I’m Hunter and I decided to dive deep into the statistics and reasoning of the Monty Hall Problem . The basis of the Monty Hall problem comes off of a famous game show. The famous show “Let’s Make a Deal” was one of the most popular shows on weekday mornings. The show’s famous host, Monty Hall, would give away a car on the show.

A Brand New Car From “Let’s Make A Deal” Source: Bestride.com

He did it in a simple way: Show a contestant 3 doors. One door had a car behind it, and the other two had goats behind them. He would ask a contestant to choose one door, and then Monty would open one of the doors the contestant didn’t pick, revealing a goat behind the door. He would then pose the question “Would you like to switch doors?” meaning, would the contestant like to stick with their original choice or switch to the third unopened door.

Monty would show them three doors, pictures above Source: Devlin’s Angle

Natural instinct is to stick with your gut and keep the door you originally picked. This is the origin of the Monty Hall Problem. It wasn't until Bayes theorem was applied that the truth of the probability came out. Bayes was way ahead of his time with the creation of the formula to predict the outcome of an event happening based on prior conditions. This is perfect for the Monty Hall problem. The theorem, when applied to The Monty Hall problem, shows that:

• The original chance of getting the car behind the door you choose is ⅓.
• After Monty reveals the goat behind a door, then using the Complement Rule from Statistics, the door revealed is factored out of the equation and all probabilities must sum to 1. Therefore 1-⅓ , is the remaining probability that the other door has the car, or ⅔.
• The famous movie “21” is based on more statistics in card counting and blackjack, but there is a key scene that depicts this perfectly where the switching of the doors gets your a higher probability.

A model of the three doors Source: Statistical Engineering

I used a google survey form to get a sample from my school. I asked them to play the simulation game and then answer if they switched or didn't switch and then if they won or lost. After running the test on 50 upper school students at my school, I got an even split that 25 switched and 25 didn't switch. The results were astonishing high for switching. Out of 25 students 21 won while switching but only 17 won while not switching. This data accurately represents the math behind the problem. If you switch you have a higher chance of winning. In the test run, a 20 percent higher chance.

The common mistake people usually make is thinking: “Oh, once the door is revealed, wouldn't the probability of you having the car be a 50/50 shot now?” This leads to the paradox that the Monty Hall Problem creates. The key is that Monty is improving the chances of the door that you didn't pick being a car by revealing a goat behind the other door. Let me further explain, imagine you have 100 doors, one with a car behind it and 99 with goats behind them and you pick one, hopefully finding the car. You have a 1/100 chance of getting the car. Then, Monty reveals the next  98 doors with goats and leaves 2 left, your door and one other. Would you still consider it a 50-50 chance? You already know that those other 98 doors were thrown out for a reason, from this you can decide to choose the door that is left out. The more information you know the better your chances are.

This same idea puzzled some of the greatest minds in history including one of the smartest women in the world, Marilyn vos Savant. She published the theory on switching having a better chance of winning and was bashed and ridiculed by thousands of people telling her she was wrong. She improved her theory with more work explaining her reasoning with a test of 1,000 schools and sure enough, the data showed her theory to be correct. Vos Savant also was asked the question of the similar “Two-Boys Problem”, which has similar aspects of the Monty Hall Problem. Vos Savant was posed with this very question:

“A shopkeeper says she has two new baby beagles to show you, but she doesn't know whether they're male, female, or a pair. You tell her that you want only a male, and she telephones the fellow who's giving them a bath. "Is at least one a male?" she asks him. "Yes!," she informs you with a smile. What is the probability that the other one is a male?”

Everyone assumes that the events are independent. As they say in statistics meaning the 2 puppies being different genders do not have an effect on each other, or in other words, one being male doesn't make the other a certain gender. This makes the reader of the problem think that the dog has a 50-50 chance of being a boy, just like in the Monty Hall Problem. Once again, Vos Savant proved it wrong. The way to look at is that if there are four possible combinations of puppies: Girl,Girl, Boy,Girl, Boy,Boy and Girl, Boy, then once the man giving them the bath tells you that one is a boy, then the Girl Girl senario is out and out of the 3 scenarios left, only one has the ability to be Boy, Boy therefore the probability is ⅓. The catch came in the question. The reader assumes that the puppy being bathed at the time of the call is a boy then that must mean the second puppy has a 50-50 chance. This table gives the same statistics as the puppy problem, but it instead uses a similar problem of the older and younger sibling problem.

This is the breakdown of the “Two Boys Problem” Source: Wikipedia

This basic theory of probability has puzzled the greatest minds in history. Most of the time it is the human brain overthinking reason and replacing it with emotion. The Monty Hall problem is that specifically. No one wants to switch from their door because of it being a psychological thing. Switching makes your chances better even though your brain tells you that there is a 50-50 chance.

This bar graph shows the results of various tests and seeing the physiological results Source : The Psychology of the Monty Hall Problem: Discovering Psychological Mechanisms for Solving a Tenacious Brain Teaser

I hope this helps untangle the complex web of the Monty Hall Problem. At first, it seems to be super complicated and complex, but when it is boiled down to the statistics, it can be seen that switching will get you some money from Monty or at least on a game show.

The Illusions of Mathemagics: How Tricks can be Deceptively Simple

Hello fellow math enthusiast,
My name is Robert.

If you are reading this, you hopefully have an interest, or at least general curiosity about math. If so, I'm sure you like to understand how and why the world works the way it does and why everything functions. Well, I certainly do at least.

Even the most seemingly unrelated and random things can have a simple mathematical explanation when broken down into smaller and simpler components.

That is why, for my project, I learned to perform various "magic" tricks and analyzed them through a mathematical lens in order to solve and explain how and why these tricks work.

Let's begin
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Introductory Trick

Let's start with an introductory trick to demonstrate how math can break down magic into smaller and simpler parts. Try this problem:

• Think of a number between 1-10

• Add 2

• Multiply by 2

• Subtract 2

• Divide by 2

• Subtract the original number

Did you get 1?

Now, try this with any number, not just 1-10. Still 1 right?

"Okay," you say, "but that can't always be the case, can it? There has to be an exception."

I'm here to say there are NO exceptions. Even if you try a negative number, irrational, or even imaginary number it will still be 1.

I'll show you an example, using a random negative number. Let's choose -1000.5

Crazy, right?

Now, what was the part kept constant? The 2. Here's how it works for any number:

In fact, the trick will change depending on what number is chosen to make changes to the original, but it will always be one less than that number. The following algebra proves this fact:

So, if the original number was π and it was changed with number 3 as the constant, the solution would always be 2, if it was 466/3 changed with 4 it will always be 3, or even -i⁴⁵⁰⁰ changed with 5 it will always be 4.

By throwing people off and combining numbers together, it makes the trick seem more complicated than it actually is. In reality, it is only simple algebra extended into many parts. This is Magic 101: Misdirection

For more info on this trick, click here

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Birthday Trick

Now onto a similar, slightly more complex trick. Here are the rules:

Ask someone to, secretly, write down their month of birth (1-12) and perform the following calculations:

• Double the number
• Add 5
• Multiply by 50
• Add their age
• Subtract 365
• Then, ask them the total, and secretly add 115

The first number will be the month they were born and the last will be their age (for example, January for a 10-year-old is 110 and December for a 10-year-old is 1210)

To demonstrate, let's use my birthday, which is in December. For reference, I am 16 years old at the time of writing this blog.

• m = 12 
• 2(12) = 24
• 24 + 5 = 29
• 29(50) = 1450
• 1450 + 16 = 1466
• 1466 - 365 = 1101
• 1101 + 115 = 1216

This trick works similarly to the last one, and again, is much simpler than it seems:

m = month and a = age

• m
• 2m
• 2m + 5
• 100m + 250
• 100m + 250 + a
• 100m + 250 + a - 365 = 100m - 115 + a → the total given
• 100m - 115 + a + 115 = 100m + a

(The 100 in front of the m moves the month over so age is at the end and not added onto the month.
The number will have to be multiplied by 1000 instead if the person is 100 years old or greater,
and the numbers will be shifted differently)

Essentially, the adding cancels out previous algebra, and while the number seems unrelated, they are actually being multiplied to create a certain result. To throw people off, this trick takes the "long" way by separating the algebra into steps. However, by looking at it from a different perspective, the final answer makes logical sense. At the end of the trick, it is just a number with 2 extra 0's at the end, which are filled up by the age that is simply added to the number.

All that is actually happening is shifting (usually) 1-2 numbers in the thousand's and hundred's place, and (usually) 1-2 in the ten's and one's place. But it doesn't seem that way, and that's the point of these tricks.

We are using a longer method in order for it to seem more magical.

It is much simpler to see how this trick was even initially invented once it is looked at in it's simplest terms (variables allow it to be more easily seen); while the tricks may initially seem confusing, the variables allow for the numbers to be combined and broken down into smaller portions that apply to all numbers, instead of what varies between other numbers, which makes it seem random and "mystical."

"That's great," you may be thinking, "but these are just numbers in people's heads. Is this even possible with tricks that most magicians would actually use?" As a matter of fact, it is. Allow me to demonstrate my final tricks using physical objects, specifically cards and paper.

For more info on this trick, click here

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Paper Trick

Here's the next one's rules:

• Take out three slips of paper 
• Have someone choose a starting number. Write that number on the first slip of paper.
• Write the next number on the back of that paper
• Continue the sequence of adding one to the next papers (i.e. the second paper has the next, the other side has another, and so on). There should be 6 numbers at the end, one for each side.

• Then, face up the highest number on each paper
• Add all the numbers together

For instance, if you start with 1, the sides of your cards are:

First Side - Lower Numbers

Second Side - Higher Numbers

Now, keeping them flipped on the second side (the ones with 2, 4, 6 in my case)

Let's choose one of these cards to flip back over to the smaller side. I'll choose the first one.

Option 1

These add up to 11. So what's the trick? Well, there's 2 parts. First off, any of these combinations of cards will add to 11. If you flip another one over, it's the same. Here's the other 2 options:

Option 2

Option 3

All of them are either different ways of combining 6 + 5, or however other way you want to look at it. This is because in every single case you are adding up every number and subtracting 1 exactly. Because of how addition works, it will be the same number every time from a constant difference.

However, this trick does not only work by starting with the number 1. Any other number (yes, even the annoying ones like the first problem) will work. However, it requires a little more work to get to the answer. Not every number will add up to 11; for instance, if 10 is chosen, the answers will all be 38. So, there needs to be an equation to find it.

Simple enough.

Let's represent the numbers with variables again.

These can represent any number

If all the cards remain flipped over like this, they add up to 3X + 9. By flipping one card over, you are doing the equivalent of subtracting 1 from one of these cards, as these are the higher numbers, so the equation will be 3X + 8.

This trick has a lot of variety, as you can see, but we aren't done yet. There are many other variables you can also change.

For instance, you can add and subtract another number instead of 1. If two of these cards were flipped over...

Option 1

Option 2

And so on.

In these cases, there is a constant difference of 2. Thus, the equation is 3X + 7.

You could also change the number of cards used, which would affect the first number in the equation (for instance, it would be 5X + 8 if the first trick was performed with 5 cards), or have a different amount per number (for instance, going 1, 3, 5... on the cards). These all follow the same concept, but have different results and equations that can be combined to make for an even more amazing trick!

Now for my final tricks, I will make them slightly more complicated, but not by too much. These require more effort to perform, but are easy enough concepts to grasp.

For more info on this trick, click here

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Card Trick #1

Here's card trick number 1 (with shuffled cards):

Final Results

Here's how the trick works:

• Start with a standard 52 card deck (no Jokers)
• Take 9 cards out of the deck (for instance, off the bottom)
• Pick one of the cards and place it on the top, face down, of the 9 cards
• Place those cards face down at the bottom of the deck
• Pull out 4 piles, each counting down from 10. If a card matches the number counted, leave it (for instance, in my video, I went "10, 9" and the 9 matched for the first one). If none of them match after 10 cards, put an 11th card face down on top of the pile
• Count all of the face up cards and add them together. That number will be where the chosen card will be

This trick is actually extremely simple, and only requires normal subtraction to figure out. Here's what I mean:

• 52 - 8 = 44 (it is subtracting 8 because it is the 9th card, and is included in the calculations. You are ignoring the last 8 cards in the pile to get to the top card. This trick would work the same way if the last 8 cards were removed from the deck completely.)
• The cards, at maximum, are in 11 deck piles
• Thus, it is 4(11) = the card

The numbers of the actual cards don't matter, but they are used in order to perform the trick. In this case, it works because it represents the amount of cards needed to complete a pile. Let's use mine as an example:
Pile 1: 11-2 = 9
Pile 2: 11-3 = 8
Pile 3: 11-9 = 2
Pile 4: 11-11 = 0

There are normally 11 cards in a pile, but in my first one, for example, there are only 2 cards down, meaning 9 more are needed to do the equivalent of completing the pile. Thus, to finish the pile, making the equivalent of 11 cards taken out in each, we need to take out an additional 9, 8, and 2 cards from the original deck.

¡Voilà! You get the original card back.

Performing this trick, we are actually just counting forward from the deck, instead of the 9 back like we did before, to get to the 43rd card. However, again, we are making it seem like the cards and the magicians themselves are the cause of this trick working, not simple math. The standard card deck can be manipulated and used from standard whole numbers to form a simple mathematical equation and trick.

For more info on this trick, click here

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Card Trick #2

Finally, for my last trick, I will demonstrate some more mathemagical manipulation.

Here's card trick number 2 (with shuffled cards):

Here's how the trick works:

• Start with a standard 52 card deck (no Jokers)
• Take off the top card of the deck, and count from that number to 14 (Aces are 1,  Jacks 11, Queens 12, Kings 13)
• Form 3 more piles this way
• Choose 2 of the piles (doesn't matter which ones) and put them back in the deck
• Flip one of the top cards over
• Take that number off the deck, then an additional 22 cards
• The number of cards left in the initial deck will equal the card that were not turned over

Final Results

Similar to the last one, this one only requires addition. Here's what occurred in my version:
x = top card of pile 1
y = top card of pile 2
d = number in discard pile (including the unused piles)

• The cards remaining in the piles are 14-10+1 and 14-6+1 (+ 1 because it includes that card itself as well, like a sequence), so the numbers are 5 and 9.
• So, the total cards subtracted by the amount in two piles is the total cards in the discard pile. 
• d = 52 - (5 + 9) = 38
• And, rearranging with the 22 (cards taken out) means that d = 22 + x + 6
• Substitute the d to make it 38 = 28 + x and x = 10

This one works because of the number 14. Again, the number of the card allows us to see how much of each one is remaining. Using a type of sequence, we can rearrange the piles and determine the remaining card.

For more info on this trick, click here

Even impossible and mystical tricks can be solved from learning your 1-2-3’s.

Nothing is as it seems, and even physical objects can be placed into our current understanding of math. All magic was first determined from these logical mathematical steps, and not pure coincidence. You only need to know where, and how, to look for it.

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Other tricks to look into if you enjoyed these:

The Gray Elephant from Denmark

1089 Trick

Can u calculate faster than the calculator?

Hi! My name is Dennis Wu and I am a sophomore in Saint Andrew's School now. Recently I am fascinated by a youtube video called "faster than a calculator" made by Arthur Benjamin. In the video, he shows that he can calculate the multiples of 2, 3, 4 or even 5 digits numbers faster than a calculator. As I am always interested in mental math, I decided to do some research on how can we use some special method to calculate faster by just using our brain.

Arthur T. Benjamin

According to Moscoso del Prado, a scholar from MIT University,  "A new way to analyze human reaction times shows that the brain processes data no faster than 60 bits per second". However, the most advanced computer in the world, "TaihuLight," invented in China, can do 200 quadrillion calculations per second. It's true that a computer can literally do calculations faster than human beings because of the advancements in technology, however, there are some ways that can help us to calculate faster by just using our brains. By the way, we, as human beings, only develop less than 10% of our brains.

Sunway Taihu Light, the fastest computer in the world

Here is a video I found that tell us about how powerful the human's brain is:

Here are some methods that I found interesting.

(1) India fast calculates method: an amazing method that was invented by ancient Indians that can let us calculate 2-digit-number multiples (only between 10 to 19) mentally under only 3 seconds.

Basically, this method can be concluded as

Here is an example of the India Fast Calculates Method:

(2) Another method that deals with multiplying 2-digit-numbers - I called it "cross out digits."

First, we need to multiply the number in the tens digit with the number that comes after the number in the tens digit in counting. Now, we have the first 2 digits of your answer. (e.g if it is 33 times 37, we multiply 3 with 4 firstly and then we got “12” for the first 2 digits of your answer)

Then, we need to multiply the number in the units digit and get the last 2 digits of your number. (e.g if it is 33 times 37, we multiply 3 with 7 and get 21 for the last 2 digits)

Then we have the answer to this multiplication. (e.g so 33 times 37 would be 1221)

There are two restricting conditions when we apply this method.

1. The number of the tens digit must be the same number
2. The addition of two unit digits must equal to 10

Here is an introduction video of this method:

(3)Tricks of calculation of perfect squares ( I am using 33 as a demonstrate number)

First, we need to find the difference between the number you want to calculate and the nearest tens number. So for 33, it would be 3.

Then we multiply the addition of the difference and the original number with the difference of the original number and difference which we got from the first step. So for 33, we multiply 30 with 36 which can be done fastly in our mind and got 1080.

Lastly, we calculate the square of the number’s unit digit number and add to the number we got from the second step. Then we will get the answer. So for 33, we add the square of 3 which is 9 and 1080 which we got from the second step, then, we got 1089 which is the final answer.

Here is the introduction of this method:

Last but not least, I found out that all of these tricks are basically applying the same thing, which is very simple that we might learn from primary school -- Multiplicative Distribution Law.

So I conclude my personal trick to deal with all the situation of 2-digit-number multiplication:

ab*cd=ab*c0+ab*d

For example, 54*32 = 54*30 + 54*2 = 1620 + 108 = 1728

My personal way seems very simple but it is actually very practical. So...try it in the future and do not rely on your calculator all the times. Your brain needs some practice!

Math is FUN!

After all, I want to say, for me, what is interesting and amazing about math is that we can use simple things to create fantastic and unbelievable stuff in the world of math. The charm of math lies in its unexpectedness. Only an open mind, can discover how interesting it is.

Citations (For the pictures):
https://shop.spreadshirt.com/niftees/math+is+fun+t-shirt-A8593554
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_T._Benjamin

The Mathematics of Yoga

Hi! My name is Morgan, and because of my love for yoga, I decided to learn how to draw a mandala!

Mandalas represent an imaginary place that one's mind travels too when he or she meditates. Each object one observes in that place has significance, embodying an aspect of wisdom or reminding the meditator of a guiding principle. The mandala's purpose is to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones and to assist with healing just as yoga has for me with anxiety. The different movements and yoga positions leave me feeling relaxed and allow me to clear my mind. I felt a similar feeling of relaxation when I drew my mandala.

Having never drawn a mandala before, I had predicted it to be a long, complicated process that would be draining. However, I felt calm and stress-free as I allowed my mind to unravel and draw my mandala. At first, it was a little challenging to know what shapes and lines to draw after I had created the skeleton of the mandala, but by the end, I didn't even have to think much. I went with my intuition and let my mind do what it felt in the moment.

Here is a video of my first mandala drawing, showing the whole process and what goes into creating a mandala.

My first mandala completed

A close up shot of my mandala

Materials needed to draw a mandala:

• Compass
• Protractor 
• Ruler 
• Pencil
• Black pen with felt tip (thin sharpies will do)
• Blank notebook or 8.5 by 11 sheet paper

Procedure:

1. Draw “skeleton” in pencil.
• As I showed in my video, use your compass to draw a small circle in the center of the paper then continue outward drawing circles until you reach near the end of the piece of paper. 
TIP: rotate the paper while using the compass as shown in this video. 
• Once your circles are complete, use your ruler to draw straight lines to divide the circle up into several different sections. 

22.5 cm trick shown above
• In addition, although I didn't show it in my video, you can use a protractor and make markings at every 22.5 cm then use a ruler to draw lines so that your mandala is more precise.
• Also, the circles do not need to be exactly the same amount apart from each other. It actually comes out better if you organically draw some circles close together and and some further apart. 
2. Then begin using your black felt tip pen (or Sharpie) to draw the mandala. 
• Some commons designs and shapes include:
• Petals 
• Longer and thinner
• Shorter and rounder
• Triangles
• Various line lengths 
• Circles with dots 
• Squares 
• Symbols such as: 
• Flowers
• Suns
• Moons
• Trees
  
  Basic designs
• Tip: Begin with drawing simpler shapes then use dots and smaller designs to fill in shapes and the areas surrounding them!
3. After you finish drawing and designing with the black felt tip pen, erase the pencil marks underneath and admire your mandala! 
• You can also add color to your mandala to brighten it up if you want!

After learning how to draw a mandala, I shared the process with some students who are part of Saint Andrew's Mu Alpha Theta, which is a math club at my high school. Here below are some photos of them and their mandalas.

Designing the mandala

Beginning the design after creating the skeleton

Working on the first step with compasses

A colorful mandala!

A finished mandala with a unique design: a different design for each half

Another finished mandala

I hope my blog inspires you and teaches you about mandalas! I have linked some mandala designers and tutorials that I found helpful below as resources for you. :) 

Here are some accounts that I found inspiring when creating my mandala!
@courtneybetts was super helpful in getting me started with my mandala and giving me tips. She has a super cool art Instagram story on her page that features beautiful mandalas. I came across @mandalabybhagya 's Instagram page when looking for inspiration for designs for my mandala. She has lots of intricate colorful mandalas, too! 

One of @mandalabybhagya's colorful mandalas

Another one of @mandalabybhagya's beautiful creations

Lastly, here are some tutorials that I recommend to help you on your mandala journey!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiSzGBguPm0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcHDIK0E5KY&t=573s

Thanks for reading! :)

Creating A Song From Scratch

     My name is Jamie and I wanted to solve the problem of how to write an entire song from scratch.

     At first glance, writing a song may not seem like you are solving a problem. To many, it is simply putting notes that go well together and some lyrics. However, this is not the case at all. Music is more than just one vocal contribution, one drum contribution, one piano contribution, and one strings contribution. It is a collection of many more parts, but more than that, it comes from the heart. Creating music is putting all the melodies in your head down and making them mesh well together, however you see fit. And although this may seem simple, attempting it is quite the opposite.

     For my project, rather than just writing a full song (my first ever), I wanted to take on another slight challenge to make the project more interesting. I wanted to write a song that sounds creepy and, in a sense, scary, for a good amount of it. My reason for doing so was because I wanted to give myself more of a challenge; if my task was to just write a song, I would have so much direction and so many options, while giving myself this narrow path gave me less options and made writing a song more complicated. Doing so essentially means that I have to use less scales fully and create my own sound, which to me, is much more difficult since many amazing riffs, chords, and progressions are created using the basic scales.

To start, I wrote a few riffs and progressions and began changing one or two notes to go up or down one note. So rather than playing a common power chord of "D A & D," I made it "D A# & D," which made it sound slightly off and a little bit creepy, using some effects. I continued with this trend, making the next power chord notes change from the common "D# A# & D#" to "D# A & D#”. To show what I mean, I have included a short clip so that the difference between the power chords can be heard. The first sound clip is the power chord D#, and the second sound clip is the same chord but with the A# changed to an A.

Power Chord Change

     After writing the initial verse on guitar for the intro, I was stuck. For hours, I could not find a way to transition this intro into the next part of the song. I tried numerous guitar riffs, I tried different patterns, etc. yet I could not find a way to properly transition the song into the real verse. Finally, after a long time, I was able to make the transition. What I did was slightly change the tuning for the verse. The song starts off in "Drop D" tuning, and then at the transition, I changed the chords and progressions played to "Drop D#" tuning. It has a strange sound to it, but it works very well together. Then, to continue this trend, for the choruses, I changed the tuning of the guitar and the chords yet again to now be in E Standard tuning. I had never attempted or even thought of change the tuning mid song, but in doing so, I was able to produce such a unique sound that, although took very long to finish, I was very happy with.

     My process in creating this song was started on the guitar itself. I sat down for a while and wrote some riffs that I enjoyed and thought fit the theme of 'creepiness', and then I translated that into the program Garageband. I did so because, at this time, I did not have a chord that connected my guitar to my computer, however for Chanukah, I got one of those chords, and was able to record the guitar directly into the program. Because, though, I did not have the chord at first, the intro guitar is computerized, however the rest was all done through my recordings. The singing was done as well through recordings. The bass, drums, piano, and effects were all sounds that I created using Garageband. To further my claim that a song is normally not one contribution per instrument, my song had a total of 38 parts used to create it. I used 7 total vocal parts, 15 total guitar parts, 6 bass parts, 4 drum parts, 1 piano part, and 5 strictly-effect parts.

Vocal and Some Guitar Parts

Some Guitar and Bass Parts

Some Bass, Drums, and Effect Parts

     However, just recording and writing all of these parts was not the only thing that I did for this project. I also had to add effects to each part, like make certain drums have a heavier tom drum, have the volumes slowly increase and then immediately decrease, make a vocal part pan from one side to the other, and, in some cases, add five to six effects to one part. In the pictures shown below, the yellow, blue, and green lines (as well as the very subtle different-color lines around some of them) show the effects that I had to edit and make.

Volume, Kick, and Compression Being Edited

Volume Adjustment

     For the vocals, I tried some different things to get a unique sound. I multi-tracked certain parts, meaning I used two or more tracks at once while singing to give it a different effect. I also whispered some parts fully, and whispered one line of lyrics under another line to give it a different sound. The whispers definitely gave the song a creepy sound.

     As for the guitar solo, I wanted to make it completely different than the song itself; I wanted it to be unexpected, so I sped up the tempo to double the tempo of the entire song. I played five different guitar parts for the guitar solo part of the song, three for the rhythm, and two for the solo itself. I went off-scale to continue keeping the unique sound.

     Lastly, to create the drums, bass, piano, and effect parts I first had to write the parts themselves, and then 'translate' them into Garageband. To do so, when I added a part, I pressed the editors button (the scissors at the top left of the screen) and manually placed each note down as the proper note, in the correct place, and to last for the appropriate amount of time. The picture below shows some of these notes.

Drum Note Placement and Lasting Length 

     I solved my problem in creating a song from complete scratch. It was a challenge to create my very first full song, taking upwards of 50 hours to finish, however the process was so amusing. I was successfully able to write each part, edit each part, and, in my opinion, get the sound that I wanted in this song. I knew that writing music was difficult, but the difficulty is never truly known until you attempt to write a full song yourself. Also, I would like to credit my brother for writing the lyrics for this song. He did an amazing job at writing lyrics for this song that continue the trend of creepiness. The lyrics themselves are about someone who is slowly becoming more and more delusional as time progresses.

     The song is called "Fair-Weather," and I hope you all enjoy!

     Link to Song: Fair-Weather
     Link to Lyrics: Lyrics