Week 9

Week 9 Progress Report 

My target for this week are to finish transcribing the horn lines. 

I was working on Lingus and Outlier this week. When transcribing, I found it hard to distinguish every note clearly and accurately so I used a tool called flex in logic to help me to be precise when transcribing. It then made it easier to transcribe because this tool allows the tempo and pitch of any audio to be altered. In turn, I lowered the tempo and put certain sections on loop to because it was a much easier process to undertake.

I also worked on articulation, choosing the registers and phrasing with the sax line. At that moment in time, a baritone sax was what we could work with for now. At first I thought that baritone sax would be best to use, however I realised that the register of the baritone was too low for the register that the song was composed in. It would also blend in with the bass which is not a good thing since the horn line is one of the main melodies. 



The only thing about logic is that when playing and recording midi along to the audio, it's in time with the audio but not in time with logic itself 

I think this practice was good in terms of people have learnt exactly what they need to play. However, some of the phrasing wasn't correct which then slightly changes the feel of that sax solo. The phrasing is really important as some notes meant to played in gaps and also in unison with the bass line and drums. To make this better, I think we just need to listen to the original more and to play along to it until we get the phrasing and timing right then try without the original. 

Week 8

This week, I was working on my mid point presentation.

From my presentation, I have realised that I haven't followed my original plan that I had made at the beginning of my project which I think is fine, however I feel like I am behind of where I would want to be. To achieve my goal, I need to strictly structure the next few weeks.

Mid Point Presentation

Half way through this project,  I did a mid point presentation to receive feedback and guidance explain what my project is, what I have done and why and what I plan to do next. From the questions I was asked, I gathered that I need to distinguish what i'm using for arrangement and what I'm using for transcribing as it seems like I was using Logic for both transcribing and arrangement. Also, what exactly my areas of research are and how would I find this information. 

Week 6 & 7

This week, I decided that I needed to trim down my medley because I would not have enough time to transcribe and learn all 5 songs. So, I removed What About Me because I felt like it was the most challenging out of all of them which would require more time to be spent on that song. Now, I only have Celebrity, Lingus, Outlier and Shofukan in the medley.

Case study - Lingus

Case Study 

the in-depth analysis of the harmonic melodic and rhythmic elements of Lingus as seen through the roles of individual instruments. 

In Lingus, The instruments that are used are trumpets, saxophones, guitars, bass, synths, drums and percussion. To understand Lingus to a better understanding, its necessary to know the structure.

Structure; Intro | A (0:11) | B (0:48) | C (1:02) | A2 (1:20)  | B2 (1:58) | C2 (2:30) | D(improv) (2:49) | E (improv) (4:17)

Horns - the horns sections mainly consist of trumpets and saxophones. Since there isn't the use of vocals, the horn sections take the role of the main melody. This role is shared with the bass line mainly in the A section but the main focus is on the horns section. There are some moments where they play in harmony but the majority is played in unison which make that certain melody more prominent. They play using the E pentatonic scale.

Keys - the keys have multiple roles. The opening piano rhythmic motif is played as an underlying rhythm throughout the intro and section A. This then allows the bass line and the horns line be more centre. In section B, the piano really does carry the chord structure which allows the guitar riff to be forefront.

Guitar -  In Lingus, the guitar plays infrequently however, it contains carries some of the key melodic lines like in Section B. This melodic motif then gets repeated and also replicated by the horns. which then becomes the main melody in section C2. 

Bass -  In the beginning of the song and the ‘verse’, the bass line plays the main counter melody along with the horns. I think this is a crucial part of the verse since this is the melody/ rhythm that the horns revolve around. (almost as a pre curser). The synths also follow the bass line giving it more texture and pronounces the bass line more giving it more of a lead role which wouldn't really happen in an r&b or pop song. 

Percussion and Drums  - They both carry the 5/4 rhythm which changes from half time in section A to double time in section B. It adds texture where needed and adds dynamics. For example, in section E, the drums and percussion increase in depth and complexity.