Today I’m going to talk about and reflect on the song and process of making Two Timer, which I wrote with my band in my Creative Practice class. Out of the three songs we made, I chose this one to reflect on because it was the most developed piece and it showed the highest level of creativity. It was the second song we worked on as a group so we had already spent some time getting to know each other’s strengths and playing styles, which made it easier to work together as a group. The writing process felt more natural than it did with the previous song and I think that’s why Two Timer stood out, it really showed how much the group had grown and developed together. A new approach we took was to split the group in half and give each group a different role. The other group worked on the genre and sound, and they were aiming for a reggae style. Straight away, we realised our ideas didn’t match up and wouldn’t work together. Because we’d worked separately, the ideas we had were too far apart and gel well. So we came back together as one group and tried to figure out how to combine what we had.
We all started experimenting and improvising, and that’s how Elyssa came up with a piano riff and Anwen created a flute part. In ‘appendix number 1’ (A voice recording we took of our discussion) we speak about how these two parts sparked something that gave us a new direction for the song. It wasn’t at all what either group had originally envisioned, but we all liked it and decided to go with it.
One challenge early on was the disagreement about process. Kerian said that he “prefers starting with lyrics and then adding melody and instruments”, while me and the rest of the group preferred having a beat first and then writing lyrics. Since I was the only lyricist on the project, I knew that working from a instrumental was best for me. At this point Leo had added a guitar part and with a rough structure forming, I tried singing the lyrics we’d developed.
The following week, a new girl joined the group and wrote a verse but the next week, she didn’t return, so I had to completely rewrite her section. It was inconvenient, but Im good at free styling so it didn’t take long. Improvisation actually played a huge role in this whole project. A lot of what ended up in the final version started as freestyle ideas we all liked and decided to keep.
After we had the main structure, Jack started playing a really nice guitar melody, which led to the idea of including a male vocal part. Kieran, who hadn’t sung yet, was a great fit. This also tied into our lyrical content, since we no longer had, we changed the narrative to focus on a boy and girl singing to each other. The first half of the song is more emotional and angry, but when Jack’s calmer guitar part comes in, it reflects the boy’s more relaxed attitude, as if he didn’t really care while the girl was more hurt and dramatic. This shift really helped capture the contrast between their emotions and added depth to the story we were telling through the music. Elysian quoted that these mood changes where very good and contrasting.
From there, we kept developing the arrangement, even adding an angrier guitar section just before the calm melody leading into the boy’s part. This made the transition more dramatic and highlighted the change in tone. We experimented with different textures and sounds, trying to find the perfect balance. We got loads done, and I think these sessions were really valuable for all of us. They gave us a chance to work with people from other pathways, to see how everyone approaches music differently, and to create something really beautiful together. This collaborative experience helped us grow as musicians and as a team, making the project even more rewarding in the end.
I learned a lot from the others. Something as simple as a piano or guitar riff can inspire an entire song. And one big lesson was that songs often don’t turn out how you first imagine, things shift and evolve, and that’s part of the magic.
You can hear the difference in development between “appendix number 2” (an early recording of the track) and “appendix number 3”.
We all pushed ourselves in new ways. Kieran played piano, Sophie learned how to accompany someone on piano, Anwen explored a more creative setting outside of classical music, Leo got a chance to lead and direct ideas, and I even wrote lyrics from a boy’s point of view for the first time, which really made me think differently and step outside my usual creative process. It was a great opportunity to experiment with new roles and approaches, broadening our musical skills and perspectives. These lessons even helped me outside of class in my band rehearsal, we had to come up with three song and from these lessons I learnt how well improvisation works in groups and also trying completely different things can open up many new doors.
Of course, there were both positives and negatives throughout the project. One of the main downsides for me was not getting the opportunity to try a new instrument, which I had hoped to do as part of pushing myself creatively. As a group, I also think we could have been more honest with each other when it came to giving feedback, saying whether we actually liked something or not. At times, people held back their opinions, which meant we weren’t always making the best decisions for the song. We also could’ve been more self-aware about when it was necessary to contribute and when it was better to step back and let others lead a section. Despite these challenges, the positives far outweighed the negatives. This class was such a valuable experience. We collaborated really well and learned so much from each other. Everyone brought something unique, and that variety made the project stronger. The music we created was a genuine team effort, built on trust, creativity, and a willingness to experiment. I’m really proud of what we achieved together, and it’s something I’ll remember moving forward.
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
