June 2023 – Spinnaker Radio

Lisa and her dad wearing bucket hats in front of Ed Sheeran's stage.

Listening with Lisa: Ed Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour

June 23, 2023

Singing and dancing to live music with nearly 80,000 other people, and looking up to see a black sky filled with stars brought me close to euphoria.

For my birthday last month, my parents got tickets for us to see Ed Sheeran live at Raymond James Stadium! (This almost topped the Yankees purse they gave me five minutes beforehand…) Just kidding.

After seeing Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at the stadium in Tampa, Florida, I knew we were in for an amazing experience. Singing and dancing to live music with nearly 80,000 other people, and looking up to see a black sky filled with stars brought me close to euphoria.

It wouldn’t be a true day in Florida without an absolute torrential downpour, which is what my dad, my sister Anna and I drove through on the way to the stadium. We suited up, along with the rest of the crowd, in our wrinkly ponchos, hats and headed into Raymond James.

BLOW, a song Ed Sheeran collaborated with Bruno Mars and Chris Stapleton to produce, was second on the set list and became my favorite song of the night. The hard rock/blues rock piece fit in Ed’s edgy voice perfectly. The kicking drums and electric guitar became even more thrilling with bursting red and orange fireworks during the chorus.

Although I already thought of Ed Sheeran as an outstanding musician, watching him perform live only solidified that as a fact for me. For a large portion of his setlist, Ed performed completely by himself using the Chewie Monsta Looper pedal. A loop pedal is a piece of equipment musicians use to record a few bars, play them back, record new elements over those bars, and continue to do so. With a loop pedal, musicians can individually create the sound of a full band, a wall of harmonies/background vocals and more… the possibilities are endless.

When creating his loops for Shivers, Ed used his guitar for chords, obviously, but also hit its body to add a percussion section. Creating the loops gave Ed freedom to move around the stage to see each side of the audience. Something that made the concert even more fun was seeing that Ed was having fun himself as he ran and danced around his constantly rotating stage in the middle of the stadium.

When going to a concert of a musician I look up to, I look forward to not only listening to them perform, but hearing them tell us personal stories, jokes or anything that reminds us that they’re human. Ed told us about what it was like performing as a teenager in London.

“I was on this singer-songwriter circuit in London, and by that, I mean I was playing in pubs to people that ignored me. I remember writing this song and being like, ‘I think this is a good song,’ and playing it that night in a pub, and everyone had their back to me,” Ed said before playing The A Team.

It’s hard to imagine that because The A Team, now, has nearly one billion streams on Spotify. Listening to Ed sing this song live was surreal… It brought me back to when I was in elementary school, laying on my pink bedding with monkeys on it, listening to The A Team on a loop.

Ed’s band came back to the stage for a few songs including Thinking Out Loud (a classic) and more. A violinist joined Ed for Galway Girl and not only did she play the entire piece from memory, but ran, danced, and jumped around the stage while she did it.

As an inspiring songwriter, churning out compositions left and right, Ed writes a lot of music for and with other artists. When Ed wrote the piece he would play next, he gave it away to another artist. After the song debuted and held the number one spot on the Billboard charts for two weeks, Ed told us his team asked him… “Why’d you give that song away?”

We all knew what song he was introducing: Love Yourself (Justin Bieber)

I wouldn’t say Ed should’ve kept the song for himself because it fits so well in Justin Bieber’s smooth, honeyed voice. Hearing Love Yourself sung in Ed’s gravelly style was serene, giving us a breath of fresh air amidst the rock, rap, and running around the stage.

More of the chaos (good chaos) followed with Ed’s encore after he changed into a red Bucs jersey. You Need Me, I Don’t Need You seemed like it almost had more lyrics in it than the whole Mean Girls Musical…

Fireworks lit up the black sky for the concert’s finale, and I could mark the Ed Sheeran Mathematics Tour as one of my favorite memories with my family.

On the other hand, trying to get out of the parking lot, along with 70,000 other people… that’s a memory I could live without.

Girl in a white skirt and pink shirt standing in front of a movie poster.

Listening with Lisa: My First Time Film Composing

June 2, 2023

One thing I’ve learned with composing music is that there is never enough time, making the process all the more exciting and challenging. I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

Last semester, I had the privilege of composing for a FSU senior film.

Sophie Rizzo, FSU film student (now graduated), asked me to be the sole composer for her senior film Sisters. She sent me her synopsis and script for me to get familiar with while she worked on finishing her first rough cut.

A few months later, Sophie sent me the rough cut for me to start composing. Nine minutes of film and I had complete creative freedom for the music… what a treat!

So, how did I do it?

First, I watched the film. Then, I watched the film again… and again… and again. I stopped it at each point I thought music would fit and made note. What were the characters feeling in that moment? What emotion do I want to enhance with the music in the scene? Then, I talked through all my ideas with Sophie and, luckily, she agreed with everything.

Creating music for a film is a lot different than the music I’ve composed before. In the film, the music is supposed to be supplemental… in the background, not the main focus. I found myself composing and having to reel things back because the music was too heavy or dramatic. I had to find a balance between creating music that would enhance the characters’ emotions without taking away from the scenes.

When watching a movie or a film, people who aren’t musicians won’t be fixated on the music or sound effects. However, the film music subconsciously makes the audience feel what the director wants them to feel.

Simply put, for a sad scene, a composer may write in a minor key and a slower tempo with jut enough ornamentation to make the music interesting, but not distract from the scene.

Is a composer is writing for an action scene, they may use instruments like electric guitars, bass and drums in an up-tempo piece to excite the audience. In modern action movies, specifically car-chase scenes, I hear a lot of hip-hip.

Within the two-week timeline I was given, I spend a lot of late nights composing, mixing, and editing my music hoping it would live up to Sophie’s expectations.

Most musicians will agree with the statement that music is never finished. There’s always more mixing that can be done, more harmonies to be added, or more effects that can be used. However, my two-week timeline came to an end and I turned in my “finished” project to Sophie.

Long story short, she loved it! I finished in early February and she has the rest of spring semester to finish editing.

Two months later, Sophie invited my to the premiere screening event for all the FSY senior films in May.

The screening was at the Student Life Cinema, a beautiful theater right next to my sister’s old dorm. (Go noles!) Everyone was dressed to the nines and my dad said it reminded him of when he went to premieres for films he composed for.

From fiction, to animation, to documentaries… there were so many films made by the talented FSU senior film students.

Sisters was the second film in the line up. I wasn’t nervous until it started playing. With the first strum of the guitar I composed for the introduction, I swear I could hear my heart beating louder than my music in the surround sound theater… then I had to repeat that to myself. My music in the surround sound theater… woah! Butterflies.

The audience laughed at every joke told in the film. This was my first time hearing my music in such a large setting. I soaked up every second with Anna and my dad by my side.

As the rest of the films were shown, I could relax and appreciate the intricate details of them, especially the music.

One thing I’ve learned with composing music is that there is never enough time, making the process all the more exciting and challenging. I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

Composing for Sophie’s film and attending the screening was the highlight of my junior year.

Thanks for spending five minutes of your day with me!

Monthly Archives: June 2023

Listening with Lisa: Ed Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour

Listening with Lisa: My First Time Film Composing