BIG PROGRESS UPDATE (1/2): 1 Month of DAW, Warrior of the Mind Basic Analysis, More Psychagogue Info & Characters, Reading List + What's next on my agenda
(This is part 1. Read part 2 here! https://www.tumblr.com/psychagoguedigitalmusical/778869348098015232/psychagogue-musical-preview?source=share)
Hello! It's been a while since my last big update. Work has been a bit heavy lately and I'm getting some stuff sorted out with my current medication, so it's been a bit harder to spend as much time and energy on this project as I'd like. That being said, I'm still thinking about it all the time, making notes for myself, and making incremental progress. The creative process is an ebb and flow; with my recently-diagnosed ADHD, even moreso I have to learn to ride with the waves. And with amounts of discipline I lacked in my younger years, I am able to consistently keep moving forward. So I'm excited to share some of the progress I've made!
1. Warrior of the Mind Basic Analysis
Here is the ✨S✨P✨R✨E✨A✨D✨S✨H✨E✨E✨T✨ we've come to know and love, feel free to give it a look for more details.
I'm going to keep my supplementary thoughts on this one brief today, since it's actually been a couple weeks between when I filled this out and now. Good song (honestly, I think like 39/40 of the songs are straight bangers, in addition to much of the cut content). The biggest thing I noticed when analyzing this song that I started to notice when listening everywhere else is really just how similar Athena and Odysseus are, which I especially took note of in the Wisdom Saga, like in God Games. Very well done. I also noticed other small things, such as Athena saying "enlighten me", calling forward to Zeus's line in Thunder Bringer, she talks like her dad alright. Very excited for a future analysis series where I note the all the setups-callbacks I notice like these.
Central Conflict:
Athena is concerned that Odysseus's consideration of Polites' Open Arms philosophy is leading him astray from being the greatest warrior she had been mentoring him for, a warrior of the mind.
Resolution:
Athena reminds Odysseus why she decided to mentor him, and reminds him to stay on track. She warns him not to disappoint her.
Thesis Quote (Fundamental question or philosophy):
I still intend to make sure you don't fall behind Don't forget that you're a warrior of a very special kind You are a warrior of the mind Don't disappoint me
What factual information do we explicitly learn about the unfolding plot situation?
Athena appears to Odysseus to chastise him for forgetting the lesson she taught him, which was to turn off his heart in order to be the greatest warrior.
Athena begins to recount the story of how she and Odysseus met.
Athena had set up a challenge to find someone skilled enough to kill a magic boar.
A boy took the challenge for fun.
Athena considers to herself this boy's potential.
She thinks she can mentor him to help make a better future.
Odysseus tricks Athena into revealing herself.
Athena is impressed by Odysseus, and they each try to get the other to introduce themselves first.
Athena offers to mentor Odysseus as a fellow "warrior of the mind". Odysseus agrees.
Athena warns Odysseus not to disappoint her.
Athena's lessons to Odysseus have involved "turning off his heart"
What factual information do we implicitly learn about the situation?
Athena's story of Odysseus and the boar (therefore, most of this song) takes place in a flashback.
Odysseus was the boy who took on Athena's magic boar challenge, and he won.
Athena used magic to make herself invisible to watch Odysseus take on this challenge.
Athena has been mentoring Odysseus continually since they first met.
What factual information do we explicitly learn about a character?
Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom
What factual information do we implicitly learn about a character?
Odysseus is an intelligent warrior.
Odysseus was a thrillseeker in his youth.
Gods are fallible and can be flawed.
How does a character explicitly view a character?
Athena views herself as a master of war
Athena and Odysseus view themselves and each other as "Warriors of the Mind"
Athena views Odysseus as clever, intelligent, and a great warrior.
Athena thinks Odysseus is straying from the path of mentorship she has taught him.
Odysseus views Athena as badass, witty, and a great strategist.
How does a character implicitly view a character?
Others also consider Athena a master of war
Athena views herself as clever.
Odysseus considers himself clever.
Athena views Odysseus as someone who could be the greatest warrior and change the world.
What information do we explicitly learn about a character's relationships, perspectives, or philosophies?
Athena is primarily motivated by creating the greatest warrior.
Athena is secondarily motivated by wanting to make a better world.
Athena considers herself Odysseus' mentor moreso than a friend.
Odysseus considers himself Athena's friend.
Athena does not want to be disappointed.
Odysseus employs trickery and deceit in his interactions with others.
What information do we implicitly learn about a character's relationships, perspectives, or philosophies?
Athena believes that the greatest warrior is a warrior of the mind.
Athena believe the purpose of the greatest warrior, a warrior of the mind is to make the world a better place.
Athena and Odysseus share similar values
Odysseus and Athena both shrewdly avoid telling others their name.
Athena is disappointed in Odysseus because she views his consideration of Polites' "Open Arms" philosophy as antithetical to being a great warrior of the mind.
Odysseus admires Athena.
As I've said, much more detail and explanation of the implicit points, and inclusions of the textual evidence in the spreadsheet, so check it out!
2. Psychagogue Info Dump
I think I've been fairly vague about what Psychagogue: A Digital Musical has been about up through now. If that's true, it hasn't been intentional. I have a very strong idea of what it is in my own mind and personal notes, but that hasn't always translated here to this blog. Excited to share at a high level what I've been cooking up. Be aware, everything here is subject to change throughout the process. Also, since we're looking at my creative process here, there will be spoilers.
What is Psychagogue?
Psychagogue is a story about loss. Psychagogue is a story about obsession. Psychagogue is a story about growing up as a young man in a society that doesn't care who you are on the inside. Psychagogue is a story about perception, perspective, and power. Psychagogue is a story about what it means to be a hero on the personal scale. Psychagogue is a story about monsters, parasites, predators, and thieves. Psychagogue is a story about memory. Psychagogue is a story about finding your voice.
Psychagogue is a love story. Psychagogue is a ghost story.
--
Our protagonist is an adolescent boy named Morvic. Feeling like an outcast from his family and peers in the town, the greatest solace in his life is a girl named Manor, his childhood friend although he's always yearned for more. One day when playing in the woods outside town, the tall tree that Manor is climbing is suddenly struck by lightning, and she falls to the ground. Morvic tries his best to save her, but is unsuccessful
Morvic does not take this well.
Later on, while brooding, Morvic is approached by a mysterious man who promises him the power to bring Manor back and get everything he wants. This man leads him to his lair deep in a cave in the mountains and introduces himself as the Psychagogue. In order to bring Manor back, Morvic is to enter the mysterious "Realm of Shades" and follow his instructions. Along Morvic's journey, he learns that not everything is as it seems, and maybe what he wanted wasn't what he needed. He learns to find his voice and grows from an insecure boy on the precipice of a dark path into a man to be proud of.
--
What is the Realm of Shades?
The simplest way to explain is that the Realm of Shades is a sort of Underworld. A mysterious and magical world parallel to our own, expect instead of being a land of the dead, it is a land of shadows, memories, and perception. In the Realm of Shades, perception is literally power.
People, places, and things project something called a Shade, which is a kind of physical illusion based on how they are perceived. For example, let's say that you got bit by a dog once as a young child and have carried a fear of dogs with you throughout your life. If you encounter a dog in the Realm of Shades, you might perceive it as a snarling, vicious, ferocious beast, even if in reality it is a small harmless puppy. Another example, you revisit the hometown you moved out of as a young child. In the real world, you might notice that the park you played in is a lot smaller than you remember. But in the Realm of Shades, it's scaled up to match your memory. A stranger on the street who resembles an old friend literally looks like them to you until the illusion is disbelieved. You trick an assailant into believing you have a weapon, and in the Realm of Shades, you physically do. I hope that all makes sense.
I've always been fascinated by the idea of ghosts. Do I believe they exist? Yes and no. On the one hand, as much as I want to sometimes, I cannot force myself to believe in the supernatural. So no I, Adam D. the author, do not literally believe in the existence of the spirits of the dead coming back to haunt you. On the other hand, yes absolutely 100%. Ghosts are real. But they aren't a supernatural oOoOoOoOo physical phenomenon. Ghosts are a phenomenon of memory. A ghost isn't a Victorian child in an abandoned hotel yelling into Zak Bagans's EVP recorder. A ghost is the empty spot in your bed where your dog used to curl up on a Sunday morning. A ghost is the scent of your ex's perfume on the air in the grocery store. A ghost is your mother's voice in your ear calling you a failure when you close the door just a little too loudly. Ghosts must exist because otherwise we wouldn't be haunted.
In my mind, the genres of fantasy and horror are two sides of the same coin, both founded on the core idea of taking an intangible part of the human experience and turning it into something physical that can be interacted with (The dragon is a wealth-hoarding tyrant who exists to be slain, the Babadook is grief, etc.) . This is the type of Underworld that the Realm of Shades is.
Who are the characters of Psychagogue?
Not a comprehensive list, everything subject to change, etc. etc.
Morvic
Our protagonist
Adolescent, approximately late teens in age
Awkward, insecure, low self-esteem, cynical, stubborn, naïve. But at the same time earnest, kindhearted, passionate, intelligent, determined.
Appears to other certain other characters as sad but well-inentioned, a lost soul in need of guidance, a vulnerable target with more money than sense, a dangerously obsessive powder keg, a genuinely kind young man, and more
Stricken by grief after Manor's tragic death, he undergoes a journey into the Realm of Shades in order to bring her back from the dead.
Musical identity, I'm thinking something like a harp, and longer more yearning songs. Tbd for sure.
Manor
Morvic's childhood friend
Adolescent, approximately late teens in age (deceased)
In Morvic's eyes, she is perfection incarnate. No other could ever compare to her beauty, her kindness, her everything. Morvic dreams about one day telling her how he feels and growing old in love together.
Closer to reality, it is true that Manor is a beautiful young lady. Combined with being sporty, confident, and kindhearted, she is a popular and well-loved member of the community.
She has the self-awareness to be aware of how others perceive her and feels a constant pressure to be the perfect girl everyone sees her as. Internally, she's a bit more tired, a bit more crass, and her secret desire is to become a priestess in the community.
She is one of the few people in the village willing to give Morvic the time of day. She has picked up on his feelings, but doesn't know how to handle the situation and genuinely doesn't want to hurt him.
Dies early on in our story.
Musical identity my current thoughts are something like angelic choirs for her shade, and pop-style music. TBD.
The Psychagogue
As we eventually come to learn, the antagonist of our story.
A mysterious magical man who appears to Morvic claiming to be able to grant him what he wants most.
He appears to Morvic in the form of an old wise philosopher/alchemist/wizard/scholar type, but in truth he is more than that.
"Psychagogue" is merely a title. A shared mantle by certain figures of the Realm of Shades who share similar abilities and a common goal.
Because perception is power in the Realm of Shades, the Psychagogue's ultimate goal is to find and take advantage of vulnerable people like Morvic for his own gain.
Leads a cult. If one Psychagogue were to disappear, another similar patriarch would quickly fill in his space. The specific man doesn't matter.
Along those lines, in our story, we see 4 different "aspects" of the Psychagogue. Despite technically being different characters, they are all the Psychagogue.
We will see aspects including "The Scholar", "The Predator", "The Salesman", and "The False Friend". You can imagine these are based on some of the real grifters we see in society.
Musical identify, I'm thinking something electric or ethereal. Think "dark barbershop quartet"
Raphael
Young man Morvic meets during his journey in the Realm of Shades.
Adolescent, but slightly older than Morvic. So late teens to early-mid 20s.
Noble, determined, kind, confident, wise, mature.
Originally descended into the Realm of Shades in order to save his younger brother. Haunted by his failure at this task. Has a bit of a savior complex.
Musical identity is regal, knightly, medieval, bold, heroic. Strings and brass.
The Huntress
A girl who lives in a hidden village in a forest in the Realm of Shades.
Adolescent, slightly younger than Morvic. So mid-teens
The forest around her village is plagued by a vicious prowling shadow beast known only as the Predator.
Due to her responsibilities, she must frequently travel through the dangerous forests. As a result, she has grown keenly adept at avoiding notice, staying safe, and survival.
Due to the environmental pressures of growing up under constant danger of the lurking Predator, she is responsible and fiercely loyal, but also very distrustful of outsiders and quick to strike first if it will ensure her survival.
Musical identity is primal, deadly, percussive.
Raphael's brother
A cultist in dedication to the Psychagogue.
Slightly younger than Morvic.
Musical identity will be some twisted combination of the Psychagogue, Raphael, and Morvic (think kind of like how Telemachus' themes are heavily derived from Odysseus' and Athena's)
The Goddess of True Life
A mysterious goddess who oversees the exist from the Realm of Shades.
In opposition to the Psychagogue.
More characters to come. I have some thoughts in mind for character relationships and arcs, but I want to flesh those out more before those are ready to share.
What will the story of Psychagogue look like?
On a structural level, I am currently planning to do something similar to Epic, where we've got an approximately 40-song story divided up into 2 acts. Within each act, there will be "Sagas" (though not necessarily by that name), each of which will focus on one section of the story, with 3-5 songs in each as a unit of action. It it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Still a lot tbd, but initial thoughts are something that vaguely shaped like this:
Descent Saga
Song 1: Morvic and Manor playing in the forest when tragedy strikes
Song 2: Morvic attempting to drag Manor into the village for help.
Song 3: Arrival at the village. They are not happy and berate Morvic for how he handled the situation.
Song 4: Morvic broods at Manor's grave.
Song 5: The Psychagogue introduces himself to Morvic and sends him into the Realm of Shades.
Shadow Saga
Song 1: Morvic enters the Realm of Shades and learns about its strange rules.
Song 2: Morvic meets some friendly denizens who want to help him out.
Song 3: Those guys turn out to be cultists and want to induct Morvic. His final initiation trial is a baptism of sorts.
Song 4: The pristine baptism pool turns out to be a vile and murky swamp. Once Morvic realizes this, the cultists leave him to drown.
Song 5: Morvic is saved from drowning by Raphael.
Some stuff happens, more stuff happens. Other thoughts that are not quite as well-formed yet are
The Predator Saga
Morvic for whatever reason needs to meet with the Huntress girl and get something from her. He's terrified of the Predator in the woods himself. As he looks for the girl, he either intentionally or unintentionally scares her and his own shade appears to her as the Predator. He is initially offended by this since he knows he isn't the Predator, but they talk it through and he learns from the experience. They come to an understanding and work together to take down the Predator aspect of the Psychagogue, who has been manipulating the situation in the forest for his own gain.
The Ghost Saga
Morvic enters a memory ghost town shade version of his own village. At first, it's perfect, everything he had ever wanted. The villagers and his family are all nice to him and he gets to live with shade!Manor in happiness and peace. But when the illusion shatters, Morvic learns to confront his past, face his fears, and determine on his own that what he wants isn't what he needs. I'm imagining that the musical identity of this sage will be cool, weird, and experimental. Things like glitchy/vaporwave/etheral, and all sorts of stuff like that that I just think is so cool. Seriously cannot wait until I get to this one even if that's a long time away from now.
Some other miscellaneous thoughts as well, like Morvic carries around a heart-shaped locket that was orginally around Manor's neck. He secretly knows that his picture isn't inside, but is in denial. This is his focus object that he manifests his shade of Manor from. Raphael sees Morvic as a lost boy like his younger brother. In one moment, Morvic makes a bad choice that drives Raphael away, and his primary motivation for act 2 is to find Raphael to apologize and reconcile. Honestly, I'm getting a little choked up thinking about this scenario and I haven't even written it yet!
Bonus Reading List!
I bought some books. Have not gone nearly through these yet, but look at this photograph every time I do it makes me laugh
In addition to this list, I also read through the self-help book "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (if you haven't picked up on it by now, Morvic is a Nice Guy TM, and a major theme of this story is him growing to be a better man).
I am currently working my way through The Hero with a Thousand Faces. With this project, I want to create a unique and original story (as much as those exist) and to evoke feelings of a classical epic.
In addition to all these, I have been accumulating a number of resources on writing, songwriting, and music theory from Youtube in my personal notes.
In the screenshot, books pictured are:
The Hero with A Thousand Faces (Campbell)
The Power of Myth (Campbell)
Modern Man in Search of a Soul (Jung)
Man and His Symbols (Jung)
The Seven Basic Plots (Booker)
Pathways to Bliss (Campbell)
Understanding Masculine Psychology (Johnson)
Goddesses (Campbell)
The Writer's Journey (Vogler)
The Aeneid (Vergil)
The Will to Change (Hooks)
Frankenstein (Shelley)
In addition, by pure coincidence, this past weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing the world premiere of this brand new play called Push/Pull by Harry Davis, which was really good and covers some similar themes of a young man's struggles.
As Abraham Lincoln said:
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
And as one of my friends with an actual education in writing has told me:
"You can't research your way into a book."
So as part of my creative process, I am learning to balance research with actually creating in order to keep making forward progress.
3. Snippets of Musical Progress
About 1 month ago, I downloaded the free trial version of Ableton Live. I had practically no experience using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), and my knowledge of music theory was limited to the bare minimum needed in order to perform in an ensemble. Learning theory seemed like such an insurmountable task. In some ways it still does, but I'm not frozen in fear like I was when I began.
My free trial of Ableton has now expired, and I intend to purchase. I've had a bad habit before of spending money on tools for a project that I was excited about for a short time before putting it down permanently. This is too important, too personal for me to let my dream rot like that, so I decided I needed to be better about how I approach this one. I challenged myself to see what I could get done in Ableton before the free trial expired so I could justify the purchase to myself.
I took a few scattered approaches, including attempting reproduce music from Epic, cataloguing musical motifs from Epic for future analyses, writing lyrics, composing parts of songs, and in one case something approximating a first rough draft. I'm happy to share what I've got.
Be aware: All of this music I am about to share is unfinished and does not necessarily represent the final result. I share these in their unfinished states in the interest of honesty and transparency into the creative process.
Epic Motifs
Okay full disclosure I was originally going upload a half-finished MIDI recreation of Infant and the Horse, but appranetly the way the Ableton Free Trial works is that you can still use it; you just can't export stuff from it, so pretend I did that here and I may post Epic recreations in a future update. Luckily, I did get a chance to export may more things.
For recurring motifs in Epic, I will be cataloguing them (probably) in the future. I'll have a spreadsheet and all that stuff, but for now I recreated some of the motifs. All of this is from a work session in a single afternoon where my primary goal was to get some stuff exported before my trial expired, so bear with the jank please and thank you. I also came up with my own names for these and tried to abstract the motifs to their barest core forms. An exercise more than anything, but I'd still like to share.
Danger
uhhh, the mp3 export for this one doesn't seem to work, so we'll skip this for now
He will chase you
Used by Zeus in Infant and the Horse and by the Siren in Suffering
Just a Man
Used all over the place
Penelope
Penelope
Six Hundred Men
Used all over the place. Motif of Odysseus' crew.
Survive
Used all over the place, including Zeus in the Infant and the Horse, Survive in the Cyclops saga, and by Eurylochus in Mutiny
(When does a Man become a) Monster
Used in the titular song, and is the foundation for the Monster motif
There are a bunch more, but that will be for a future day.
Psychagogue Works in Progress
Okay so I wanted to post the audio files of some works in progress of Psychagogue music but apparently the hellsite only allows 10 audio uploads per day??? This feels completely arbitrary. I actually even had 1 more Epic motif in the earlier list that I tried deleting to make room. Nope. I saved my most developed WIPs for last, so I'd feel bad if I were to post my draft as it was and only show the bad stuff first with the better stuff hidden away in a separate post. Ah well, I have errands to run anyway.
Part 2 coming tomorrow (with the fresh juicy stuff in it), I already have it mostly written in a draft. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy what I've had to say so far. I'm glad to be able to share another progress update since it's been a while. As always, please be nice and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
(Read Part 2! https://www.tumblr.com/psychagoguedigitalmusical/778869348098015232/psychagogue-musical-preview?source=share)
