The technology that my band and I have chosen to use was a laptop with a midi keyboard to play sample. For example, in the song Say My Name/ Drunk Texting, we assign different samples to different keys on the keyboard. We did this to add texture that we wouldn't of been able to add with the amount of people in our band.
In Sequencing, we were learning how to use EXS24 sampler in Logic. This is used to be able to play audio files on a midi keyboard. How it works - You can use any software e.g Logic to load samples. Once you have your desired samples, you assign them to a key on the keyboard. Benefits - It is versatile as you are able to apply and sound that you would like to use. You can also customise where on the keyboard you want to play it Disadvantage - You are limited to the amount of keys that keyboard has.
SPd -sx is a Sample pad. Itplaysback any sound, that may be pre loaded or made, with the hit of a pad.
If there isn't a long list of instrument you will have to plug the midi wire out and start all over again so the computer recognises the pad
Adding sounds to the different pads we have on the spd - sx.
Each pad has a sub and a main. You need to add the sample where it says main as that's the main part of the pad. To use different kits you just use the the plus and minus to go up and down to get different types of sounds
On the 17th of December, level 2 and 3 Music Performance students performed for the Winter Gig to an audience of performing arts students.
We performed in room 139 which is a smaller room then the theatre so this made it have a different type of atmosphere then it did for the induction gig. By being in room 139, when I wasn't performing, I felt more engaged with the performers as I was more closer to them. Also, it was easier to get the audiences attention. However, because of being in a small room, it was hard to get to the stage when you was needed to perform which made the time in between songs longer then I hoped it would of been.
During the time between songs, we lost some peoples attention which was then gained back again when the next group performed. At some times, people were distracted by talking to their friends outside of the class which at one point made them forget that they were meant to be performing next. This made it slightly awkward for the group and looked unprofessional as everyone was ready and on stage. It got to the point where we had to call the persons name. I think this may be because people weren't paying attention and there was a lack of being pro active to find out when and what you was performing. I think for next time, we should all stay in one area so it will be easier to go on and off the stage. I feel like the songs I performed on piano went well due to the practice I had done before hand individually and also in with my groups. Some endings to the song didn't go according to plan. For example, one member in our group didn't sing her verse to the song. I think this happened because of the lack of attendance to group rehearsals. Next time, we should keep members that are absent up to date of what we had done in the last rehearsal to avoid this problem
This is the first song I would like to work on. In this song you have vocals, bass, drums and sax. I first worked out the chords and played this into logic. I then worked out the bass line, counter melody and sax by ear and also played this into logic.
I realised that the block chords were overpowering the verses, so I used a crescendo and decrescendo at the beginning and end of the chorus'.
Because this is the last week before the solo performance, I wanted to work on my technique for example, rolling on one note. Also for piano, I wanted to work on accuracy when playing notes and to try and not make my fingers slip.
Since I was able to bring my pan home that week, I was able to practice the run. I did this by breaking apart the run by doing in it in sections. Even though I could play the run, I wasn't playing it accurately because I was too worried about having to play all of the in time with the song. I realised the more I broke it down, the easier it was to play along at the right speed.
My targets for this week is to learn more of Ah Feeling and to play the run at normal speed and to learn the chorus of the song. For Bella's Lullaby, I need to work on the dynamics of the song. On Thursday, I went through what I had learnt so far and asked other members from my section for clarification on some parts of the verse. I also took my pan to quiet room with two other people to practice on certain phrasing of the song. As a band, we learnt the chorus and outro of the song. Because we had learnt the whole song, we kept running through it to remember the structure and phrasing of the song. When I was practising Bella's lullaby, I listened to the original to see what dynamics were used. In the second verse, it was played louder than the previous but a decrescendo was used towards the end of the verse. I also notice that there was a gradual crescendo on the last chorus. I then used this but I also added more dynamics for example, staccato where it seemed fit.
For next week, I want to be able to play both songs correctly with the changes that I may have made.
My targets for this week is to play the run fluently but slowly and for Bella's Lullaby, to play the pre chorus fluently.
On Thursday, I went to practice the whole introduction because I thought it might of been easier to go into the run then just to start at the beginning of the run. So, I worked through the intro slowly and go into the run. This method worked but only when I did it slowly, so I worked more on the run itself. I kept repeating the run over and over again. Only when I done it right, then I would get faster. We also moved on to learn the verse of the song. As a band, we did drills which is to keep going over a certain section of the son. This really did help me increase my pace when playing the run.
When practising Bella's lullaby, I slowly went through the pre chorus and worked my way through correctly. Only then, I continued on with the song and when I made mistakes I would start again. Next week, I would like to play the run to the correct speed and learn the next part of the song. For Bella's Lullaby, I would like to play it correctly and work on dynamics.
The professional work I would
compare my own work to would Jill Scott’s – Golden at the White House. I think
from comparing our end result to her version, we have definitely succeeded in
what we wanted to do. I feel like we went above what we originally thought we
were going to perform which resulted in us being really satisfied with our
work. Arrangement/MD fits into the music
industry since this is needed when an artist may want to perform live. They
would be the person to get the band together and to also change the song
slightly from the original to make it sound different. For example, Beyoncé’s
studio version of Upgrade U is
different from some of her live versions. I struggled with being able to get
enough practice time with everyone since they had their own and others projects
to work on.
Also, I struggle with creating a horn section since it was an instrument I was familiar with so this then resulted in a horn section that could have been better if I had the right knowledge. If I could do anything differently, I would go into deeper research on how to arrange music with a horn section and also, manage my time and other people’s better so we use that most of the time we have for practice. In the future, I will hopefully fully plan out exactly what I want to do and follow it so I won’t go off task.
Research;
My
key areas of research were how arrangement worked and what were the different
elements of arrangement e.g. voicing chords. The methods I used when researching
were watching YouTube videos and also reading articles on different websites on
information that related to arranging music. I feel like have completed enough
research. However, I feel like my research has been more practical based. I feel like have completed enough
research. However, I feel like my research has been more practical based. The areas that I would have looked
at in detail if I had time was arrange for horn sections as this would of made
it easier to have more input out how and what I want the trumpet and sax to
sound like. I have learnt that I need to be sure of what instrumentation I want to use so I can gain full knowledge and be able to know what I’m talking in regards to a certain instrument.
Technical/ Practical skills;
The research that I have done has
enabled me to broaden the type of chords that I used. For example, learning
Golden and how the chords are structured and why each note is played in certain
place, I widened my knowledge of chords and also what different chords sound
like and how to manipulate this to use it in my own work. I developed better leadership skills
by having to put forward my ideas and to lead the practice and give feedback as
to what can be better. I feel like my practical skills have
improved for example, my technique when playing the piano. I am able to move
more fluently, especially when doing my solo in Golden which required moving
between two octaves over one bar of eight at 105bpm approx. Project Management/ Working Methods; The problems that I encountered were
not having a clear idea of what I wanted to do which made me having to change
my idea which then resulted to not spending as much time that I could have if I
had started with that idea. Also, when working with other people it make you
become dependent on not just yourself, and this made a slight problem as if one
person doesn’t remember what we did in the previous practice, it sets the whole
band back from moving on. In the beginning, I had wanted to
arrange four songs and to also put a band together to perform these songs in
the final performance. While doing this I was also helping other people with
their project and I realised that I was spending more time on other peoples
projects and not on my own which made me come to the decision to do a
collaboration with Erica but to still keep my project around the same area
which was arranging. I used these access times to learn
more of the song or used it with Erica to compose our original song without the
whole band as it was easier to give them the music when it was completed.
Collaboration; The people I worked with were Erica Adriko - Singer and also co writer for our original song
David Olasebikan- Played Drums for all 3 songs
Alex Whitmore - Played Trumpet for all 3 songs Josh Ayensu - Played Bass for all 3 songs Oliver Sellwood - Played Saxophone for Golden I did a collaboration with Erica and
she was the person to take care of vocals and other vocal harmonies. I really liked working with Erica for
this project since we understood what each other was doing and was able to give
suggestions even though singing is not one of my instruments and piano isn’t one
of hers. However, when trying to tell each other our ideas it was hard to
understand her sometimes because she wasn’t able to demonstrate what she meant which
became frustrating at times.
In the song Golden, we wanted to add more texture into the song so we added a trumpet and a saxophone. These are the individual parts, of the chorus, for each instrument and also what they sound like over the chords that I would be playing.
This is where we practised the horns' section with the band
7th chords are used to broaden the sound of the chord. When making our original sound we used basic 7th chords which were Dm7, Bb7, Gm7, A7. To change the sound of the chords, not only adding 7th, 9th, 11th, but also changing the chords into its different inversions. By doing this you would create nice clashes for example D/ CEFA (FIND OUT CHORD)Now knowing how to change the tonality of chords, with the help of Olly, I was able to incorporate this into the original, Save me.
We broke down each chord and also added the 7th, 9th and 11th
