Research Summary: In Process, Tessa McGahan

Tessa McGahan
DRAM 436 Senior Capstone
Research & Analysis Summary Paper

Hello, my name is Tessa McGahan. I am a lighting technician, scenic painter, and

musician. I have spent the last four years focusing on film and theatre, but for my capstone I

decided to focus on my musical passions. I have written an original song and created a music

video titled In Process. In this essay I will reveal the journey of who and what events have

influenced this song, my creative process, what I have learned, and what I hope to teach others. I

started with a simple goal, I wanted to see if I could record a song, make a music video, and see

if I could take something hidden within myself and share it with others.

While this project is an original piece, I have drawn from many different artists that have

helped me in creating my own sound. To understand my own music, I decided to take a look at

the various artists who have influenced me, to start is Mama Cass. Mama Cass was an American

singer and actress who is best known her time spent as a member of the Mamas and the Papas,

one of her most popular songs being a cover of Dream a Little Dream of Me. I personally find

Mama Cass influential because she was a plus size artist, she loved theatre, she was indulgent,

strong, and her music as much as her life story has taught me how to be confident in myself. In

her early career Mama Cass did not present fear to others, she displayed blatant positivity and

laughed in the face of those who doubted her. Mama Cass has taught me to share simple

messages of light and love as well as embrace the harsh truths of living.
 Research Summary: In Process, Tessa McGahan

Throughout this list of artists, you will see I have gained inspiration from the similarities

I see between myself and the named artists, such as Yebba also known as Abbey Smith. Yebba is

an American Grammy-award-winning singer and songwriter. I first heard her duet Smoke on

Spotify, and quickly recognized the lower tones of her impressive vocal range, I too have a lower

vocal range, so I was eager to find more of her music. After a quick YouTube search my eyes

and ears were blessed by this beautiful plus size artists who had such power while embracing

vulnerability was awe inspiring. Yebba has given me someone to look up to, to follow and she

has given me a goal in life to reach her level of breath control, as well as create music to be felt

and not simply heard.

Powerful women and powerful messages are a common theme in this list artists, and I

could not write this paper without acknowledging one of the greatest storytellers in the music

industry, Mrs. Lauryn Hill. I could write an entire essay alone on how she is one of the best

musicians of all time, but instead I will simply say; Lauryn Hill has connected millions of

people, she has brought truth and light into the world and has changed my life many times. I

have found friendships though her music, I have found my own voice through her music, and

have learned how tell story through music because of her. I have learned how to show harsh

realities from both Mrs. Lauryn Hill and an equally beautiful and influential soul, Tracy

Chapman, another wonderful storyteller, and singer. Tracy Chapman has been a childhood

favorite of mine; her music was some of the first to show me how songs can be stories of broken

but beautiful life. Stories surrounding corrupt power, pain, and truths of love and not simply love

cliches. Tracy Chapman has showed me how to write life stories into music, how to reflect on

what we see and feel every day, and how to focus on the troubles of tomorrow.
 Research Summary: In Process, Tessa McGahan

Lastly but certainly not least in this list of musicians is Austin Dean Ashford, the person

who originally inspired for me to get an ukulele and truly begin creating my own music. Austin

Dean Ashford is a national championship debater, actor, playwright, and musician. I had the

privilege to witness one of his original pieces, (I)sland T(rap), an epic remix-ology of the

Odyssey, during my time spent at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. In

(I)sland T(rap) Ashford performed lyrical poetry, and live ukulele, while telling the story of a

Black Odyssey and his journey through contemporary American culture. I had never seen a piece

of theatre like this, my eyes had been opened to a whole new world of storytelling. I saw how

Ashford used his music to visually tell story and I knew I wanted to try as well. Before the end of

that year, I got a ukulele off Amazon and began my own musical adventure. Each of these artists

have inspired me to make music and tell the truth, to not linger in the face of adversity but

instead keep moving forward, defining thoughts and feelings that would otherwise run ramped

over my own subconscious. The common themes from each of these artists has helped me to find

my style and genre.

As for what genre my own music falls in, I have trouble trying to pin down a specific

category because my voice is unique and untamed, and I am somewhat of a ukulele novice, but I

after analyzing my lyrics, vocal range, and ukulele style the best way I would describe my music

is ukulele folk soul, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but I think it encompasses my style

thus far. The approach for my song includes having a moment of weakness, I sat crying in my

room with my ukulele, the notes open on my phone, and started to sing. As for the rest of the

process, I enjoyed a lot of procrastination in which I struggled to write the script, once I began

writing I focused on visuals that would show the mental state of which I wrote the song and what

the lyrics themselves represent. I started by breaking the song down into scenes and assigning
 Research Summary: In Process, Tessa McGahan

various times of day that best represented each part of the song. As far as technology goes, I tried

to keep things simple while still having good production value, I decided to challenge myself by

only using cell phones and minimal lighting gear to film the music video. I chose to do this

because I wanted to show myself and others that to create art, especially when starting out, you

cannot always afford a plethora expensive equipment and you must make do with what you have.

In my case it was my Galaxy s10+, my fiends iPhone 12, and an Odyssey PAR 16 which is

essentially a mini spotlight.

Now that I have covered some of the technical aspects let me dive into the emotional side

of this project. Everyone on our planet has gone through a major shift in the last two years. A life

changing amount of misfortune and misery that has altered our existence. I know had my share.

Now, I have debated whether I wanted to include this information, but because certain life events

influenced so much of this piece, I believe it is only fair. The first inconvenient nudge on my life

started with Covid (obviously), which lead to the cancelation of my long-awaited study abroad

program in Italy. No big deal, I was disappointed, and had a mental tantrum, but I accepted it

eventually. The next painful nudge was not being able to see my dad for nearly a year, due to

Covid my dad was not able to leave his job in Alaska. I was of course heartbroken, but I have

had long periods of time without seeing him due to work before so I knew we could make it

through. Unfortunately, the next phase of life was more of a heart wrenching stab than a nudge.

Over the last year four of my family members passed away. At the beginning of this semester my

uncle lost his fight with cancer, over Thanksgiving break my childhood dog Sabella had to be put

down due to illness, ten days before my birthday in January my grandpa passed away alone in his

sleep, a week later my grandmother was gone too. All this combined was enough to bring me to

a complete halt. Lost in a sea of grief that I had never experienced.

 Research Summary: In Process, Tessa McGahan

Now while I realize this is nothing compared to the millions who have lost their lives,

their families, and their homes this year, it was enough to break me. I felt trapped in a familiar

wave of pain and trauma I have experienced only once before. I felt myself slipping into toxic

patters that I had spent years trying to break, and even though I have friends and family

supporting me, it does not make it any easier to find acceptance when the “real” world feels

unacceptable. However, it is my hope that perhaps mutual suffering can be what brings people

together. Final goal with this project to reach out to people who feel lost and those who have lost

others. I believe my song has the potential to reach people who don’t know what is happening to

their lives, who are holding on to the present, and trying to say goodbye to the past all at the

same time. For me, this song is daily inspiration to take a step towards acceptance of the who we

have lost, what parts of ourselves have changed, and how to keep moving forward in order to

grow. From these experiences I have learned that inspiration and conviction are hard to come by

when you feel broken, but one can find small romantic notions of joy that keep the fires within

us burning.

In conclusion, I wanted to record my original song and create a music video. I wrote the song,

wrote the script, recorded the song, and filmed the video. Now I will put it all together to create a

piece of art that represents my truth, that acknowledges the things I have lost, and accepts saying

goodbye to this chapter of my life. I will continue with my art in the hope that it will help or

inspire others as much as creating it has healed me.