Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Eden

Date: Mar 5, 2024
Teacher: Lara Lacroix
Capstone strand I have chosen is Compose my own music
Proposed title for my project: Creating joyful melodies for community

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:

Why do certain songs have the power to unite people?

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 this inquiry question because I think the students at my school are not united
and show disrespectful behaviour. For example, one time a band concert was happening
during lunch time, and some spectators who were standing above on the second and third
floors were disrupting the performers by throwing food such as tomatoes at the players. I know
that most students enjoy music because I frequently see students wearing airpods in their
ears, so I wanted to find a way to use music to make our environment more friendly.
I have been playing music since grade 1 when I took piano lessons, and I have been
participating in school bands since grade 3. When I was younger I played cello and violin and
since grade 7, I have been playing saxophone. I not only love playing music, but I also enjoy
listening to music as well. I love listening to classical, jazz, and latin music.
Although I know how to read and play music, I don’t know how to compose music. This is a
skill I would like to develop.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this

area of inquiry?

Until June 2022, I attended highschool in Abbotsford, and when I moved to Langley I felt a
great difference between the two schools. In Abbotsford, most of the students were
friendly and considerate. For example, whenever I was waiting in line at the cafeteria,
other students would frequently let me go before them to order. Although this is a small
thing, I could feel students were really respectful of each other. I was really satisfied, and

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 because I was treated kindly, I also acted like this to others. I know that highschools can
be positive environments from my experience, so I hope to change this school for the
better.

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?

Although I don’t want to major in music in university or be a music conductor for the school
band for my profession, I do want to continue to play music as a hobby for the rest of my life.
Whenever I play music, I feel I am connected to music as I produce musical sounds through
my instrument on my own. Also, whenever I am stressed about something or feel bored, I play
music to improve my mood. If I am able to compose my own music, I think I can share my
emotions or thoughts with other people through my own music.

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

Google slides

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.

Survey students - I will make a survey of at least 5 questions to find out information on their
feelings about the school environment/school spirit/atmosphere. I want to determine how
satisfied students are with the current mood at the school and whether they think the student
body is respectful and united. I also want to discover the students’ taste in music. I hope to find
out what genres are popular so I can incorporate the style in my song. Also, I want to know
why students listen to music and how it makes them feel. I am going to complete the survey by

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asking my friends to complete them and attach surveys on walls to allow students to take the
survey easily. Also, I will hand out my survey in class to each student member and ask each
person to fill one out and return.

Research how to compose a song- I will use google to research different formats for how to
structure a song. I will also look at the steps to songwriting and the parts of a song. For
instance, I will find out that songs start with an intro, and I will look for different types of ways
to write an intro.

Listen to songs - I will use Youtube or Spotify to search for various music and get inspired by
these songs. I will listen to the music to hear how the parts of a song that I researched are put
together and performed to become a song. I will also listen to anthems as well as other genres
to see what style of music is best for a school song.

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.

Internet search engines - how to compose a song/parts of songs

 Youtube - listen to lots of music as examples
 Music tutor and teacher - Support me by giving feedback about composition
 Songwriting apps - help me to write sheet music easily
 Computer for musical production
 Phone for recording
 Research skills - How to write a song and to survey students
 Communication skills - Getting help from music teachers and advice from other
students
 Organization skills - to complete the whole project on time and to satisfy all the
requirements of the assignment

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 think my music tutor is my best mentor. I have been taking his lessons since November,
2022. Not only can he play music, but he can also understand the speed, beat, and accent of
every piece of music. I think he will help me to compose music as he is really kind and I
regularly meet him once a week. After he teaches me how to compose, he can help me
perform my piece of music. Since I meet him every week, I think I can easily get assistance
from him.

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

Since it is my first time composing music, I may face lots of obstacles. For example, my song
may not sound as good as I think it will when I play what I have written. Also, if I feel I am not
satisfied with my own music, I may have to re-write sections, and it may take lots of time to
compose my song.

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

References:

On a BLANK PAGE ADD YOUR REFERENCE LIST. Your list should be written using
correct APA formatting. An example is provided on page 20 of your Capstone booklet.
THIS IS NOT YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW BUT A REFERENCE LIST OF ALL THE
ARTICLES FOUND IN YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW.

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