This article was updated May 6 at 9:08 p.m. 

Sheng Chang is turning in her passion for music with her capstone project.

A fourth-year music industry student, Chang will soon release a three-song EP titled “Feel It All.” Chang said she has been passionate about music since she was a child and added that the release of “Feel It All” represents a new stage in her artistic evolution. Chang said her priorities of lyricism and cohesion have surfaced in her debut EP.

“I definitely write for self-expression,” Chang said. “It’s really beautiful that when you express yourself, somebody can relate to that, and that’s what I think I try to do with my music.”

Chang said her connection to music became personal after going to a Taylor Swift concert with her mother when she was a child. Chang said she was captivated by Swift’s lyricism, as well as how the artist utilizes her personal experiences as inspiration when writing songs. Becoming involved in online fan communities also deepened her appreciation for Swift’s craft. Although the experiences Swift writes about are intimate, they also resonate with a broader audience, and Chang said imbuing her music with an emotional pull has been a driving force in her creative process.

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Nevertheless, Chang said writing from personal experience can occasionally come with writer’s block. However, Chang said she enrolled in MSC IND 112C Songwriter’s Workshop six times during her time at UCLA. She often finds herself pulling from prompts that she answered in class in order to overcome the occasional obstacle, she said.

“Basing your art on your personal life and experiences is hard,” Chang said. “One, because you’re trying to process what you’re going through, and so confronting that is hard. But two, it’s hard to listen to something that’s true. … There’s not much more you can give if it’s authentic.”

Although Swift’s influence on her creative output is prominent, Chang said the works of Lizzy McAlpine and musical group Tiny Habits are also imprinted on her music, particularly in its acoustic instrumentation. Growing up on the East Coast, Chang said she was inspired by the subculture of singer-songwriters who were alumni of Berklee College of Music. She said the sound of these musicians is folksy for her, conjuring warm memories of train rides and other East Coast nostalgia.

Chang said she often begins by composing the melody of a song on her guitar. Although her creative process is always lyric-oriented, she said she is also very keen on instrumentation that is as raw and authentic as her lyrics are. She said she prefers a stripped-back acoustic sound and often experiments with different tunings on her guitar to generate different outputs. During the process of engineering and producing the songs on “Feel It All,” Chang said she introduced synths and pedal steels to create an airy and atmospheric feel. She said her producers also built on her vocal track with the use of vocal layering and harmonies, helping execute her vision for the project.

Two of the three producers for her EP were women, Chang said, emphasizing the importance of spotlighting female producers. She said Katie Simpson and Bella Marcy are talented singer-songwriters in their own right and were imperative to the realization of her project. Simpson, a fourth-year communication and music industry student, said Chang is among the top three best writers she knows and has a strong grasp on artistic and sonic influences.

“You can tell every lyric, she meant it. Every note she wants to mean it,” Simpson said. “She’s very particular because she knows exactly what she wants to say.”

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Additionally, Natasha Pasternak, a music industry lecturer at UCLA, said she was struck by Chang’s talent when Chang was enrolled in her songwriting class a few years ago. Pasternak added that she found herself listening to Chang’s song assignments recreationally because she enjoyed them so much. Pasternak said Chang has a delicate yet meticulous focus on life and is able to translate that into her music.

“I think she’s really good at capturing little moments,” Pasternak said. “As soon as she starts singing, a movie starts in your mind, and you’re there with her. Even if you haven’t had the same experiences, that same bittersweet nostalgia resonates, and it just feels very honest. And I’m all about honest work. Her work is so honest and pure.”

Chang said “Feel It All” is an artistic goodbye to UCLA. Since the EP is part of the assignment for her capstone project, she was able to reflect on the culmination of four years at UCLA. Chang said her time learning at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music has taught her to be a better collaborator, a better writer and a better artist. By overcoming various writer’s blocks and conflicting responsibilities to release “Feel It All,” Chang said she is ultimately staying true to herself.

“All the stresses about school and life and stuff, it sometimes feels like I don’t have the time or energy to commit to music, but when I actually do it, I understand why I love doing it in the first place,” Chang said. “It’s hard, but it’s rewarding.”