Week 1
On Monday's session we decided to revisit ‘to be human’ as we had been off for a week. And as Harry had been with the other group I decided to fill in on drums so we could continue working on the song however, it was quick and easy to do as we had started this before half term, and it was just to get back into the groove of the song. On Tuesday the group was at the studio and now that harry was back with us we decided to run through the marina song once or twice to get harry back up to speed and it would help me get back up to speed with my guitar parts as I didn't play the guitar on the song yesterday. So we ran through the song once or twice and as we already knew the parts the song was smooth sailing, and it went all according to plan. After this we moved onto our second cover with the parts that we knew which was ‘black or white’. We saved this song for last because we knew this song was going to be the most difficult of them all due to some of the guitar parts in the song but, we didn't let that bother us and we decided to at least start the song by getting through the first two verses. For the rest of the session it was figuring out things to add to the first song and focusing on our dynamics in the song so we decided that as we have changed the style of the first song we should add a guitar solo when the song is at its loudest dynamically at the end of the song. But we ran into a problem where Leo and harry where not getting louder in the louder sections of the songs due to confusion. To solve this I gave them visual ques when I could and after running through the song a few more times we got a clear understanding of the dynamic changes in the songs. On Wednesdays session it was all about getting started on our original songs for the term and we got guidance from Liam in what direction to take them in and that guidance led us to the song had to be about culture and it had to be in a major key with the chord progression known as the ‘four pop chords’. After being given this information we went into a side room and we decided on a key as a group and the key was E as we wanted to make a more rockier song so i came up with a riff and chord progression and bass followed along as well as the drums and after this we made melody. This once brought together was decided as being our original and we was ready to perform the part we had ready so far. On Thursday we decided to go over what we had of black or white by Micheal Jackson however,we only managed to do the two verses again as no one had learnt the rest of the song yet and we didn't have enough time to because thursday is a shorter session
We struggled with the dynamic changes in to be human We gave each other visual ques on when to change the song dynamically. And know when the song gets louder and quieter in each section. We struggled with the middle section of black or white We didn't solve this yet because we are still learning this part individually to bring the group in the coming weeks We struggled for melody on the original song We solved this by running through the song as a group repeatedly to see which sort of melody would fit the best for our song
In this week I've learnt its a lot easier to write songs with pop chords from the key I've also learnt that dynamic changes in a song are important to the overall feel of the song and the dramatics.
Next week I target to have more of our original song ready to go so we arent struggling in the later weeks. I plan on doing this by running through ideas at home by myself on my guitar. My second target is to have an improvised a solo for ‘to be human’ i plan on doing this by finding the right scales and shapes and i also need to make it fit the feel of the song.
Week 2
On Tuesday at the studio, we started the session with a little jam to warm up as a group. Afterwards we began to rehearse our set. The first song we decided to rehearse was to be human by marina this was the first song we started working on and it was our strongest song so far due to the song being relatively simple instrumentally. After running through the song, we spoke about potential dynamic changes in the song such as the guitars being on clean settings during the verse and bridge section and the having a overdriven sound in the chorus section however in order to do this we would need switch pedals. After this we decided to go through the section of black or white by Micheal Jackson that we did know because we still didn't know most of the song due to it being the harder song this term however we are working to resolve our issues on the song. On Wednesday our session consisted of turning our originals from major to minor. We did this by watching videos on how changing the tonality of the song can give the song a completely new feel and meaning. After this we went into the side room to transpose our original into a minor key with the help of a minor key sheet but this session didn't feel as productive because changing the songs tonality affected the mood of the session heavily and how we played the song due to its now depressing nature. This happened because our original was originally in the key of E. After all of this we decided to keep our song in the key of E and started working on a bridge. On Thursday the session began with our weekly activity called “artists of the week” where we looked at Clown Posse and the history of hip-hop rap and the band itself. The session was interesting because we learnt that the first ever apparent recording of rap was in the 1950s when rock n roll and blues was popular. After this we tried to be productive and rehearse but due to technical difficulties with the mics we made no further progress.
One of our major issues was nobody had finished black or white Everybody is working on the parts at home to make sure it can be fully rehearsed next week Another issue was we didn't get a chance to utilise switch pedals on to be human When we are able to we would like to use the switch pedals in the hub to try our dynamic ideas out in to be human We struggled to write a bridge in our original song due to set backs We kept brainstorming ideas for a bridge with a chord progression and lyrics
I have learnt this week that contributing ideas with your band is very worthwhile this makes you heard and gives you a chance to put in an idea for and make changes to suit everyone in the group I also learnt that changing the tonality of a song can change the whole meaning of a song and how it’s heard
My first target is to learn the rest of black or white including my rap part My second target is to come up with a bridge section for our originals piece including chords and lyrics for this section
week 3
On Monday The band went into the practice room and the aim was to complete the original as we only really needed a bridge and then we could carry on writing verses and a chorus. However, due to recent news Harry had been told he would also be drumming for a Year 2 band so he now had 9 songs to learn so he was suggesting that I would play the drums which I willingly agreed to in this session. So, we went through what we had a few times so i could put my own spin on the drums and after doing this I would show Leo how to play the riff and Mia would be on rhythm guitar. Most of our session was going through this one song and unfortunately by the end of the session we had little to no progress on the song and we decided to scrap the song all together and make it an acoustic song without drums. Overall, I think this session was wasted as we could spent our time doing other things to our cover song. On Wednesday our goal for the session to finish the rest of “black or white” by Micheal Jackson. We decided this as we didn't want another session wasted on brainstorming new ideas for an original song that Harry didn't need to play on. We started playing black or white the way we usually had been playing the song as we only needed to add the middle part to song which I had finished learning the day previous as we had a day off college, and I was free that day. When we got to the middle part our main goal was to keep it as tight as possible as we hadn't played this section of the song yet so we gave it several tries to make sure we was all in time for that part and after a bit of trial and error in this part it finally started to sound closer to the original version of the song. Overall, I believe that this session was very successful and was a great step in the right direction for all of us. On Thursday, we didn't have too much time in the session but today we decided to brainstorm some ideas for the original as we weren't happy with it as a band and harry had now agreed he would play on the song. The biggest struggle of the session was coming up with a new idea and not getting disheartened by the set back of trying to make a new song but through all of this kept my head down trying to think of some chords on my guitar, After a while I come up with a chord progression consisting of triads and broken down chords with arpeggios on an acoustic guitar. The group seemed to be quite pleased with the idea as it had an obvious Pink Floyd and progressive rock influence. After doing this on acoustic I decided to plug my electric into an amp and experimented with some delay and reverb which gave is an extra ambient feel to the song. After this Leo jumped on a Acoustic guitar and played some rhythm, Oscar came up with a bassline, Harry played what he thought worked best on the song and Mia added some percussion but we knew something was missing in some synth and a melody to write over which we planned on adding in the next session. Overall this session although being short felt like our most successful session on the original yet as we was all pleased with the direction our song was going in.
We had to scrap our original piece and start again. Due to harry needing to play 9 songs this term and he was asking if it was possible that he didn't play on that song We solved this by moving the idea to the back of our mind for Wednesday's session so it didn't affect us or dishearten us as a band due to the setback however, for Thursday's session we came up with an idea that we liked as a band which was a positive step in the right direction. We struggled to keep black or white tight in the newly added middle section due to me only learning the middle part the day previous. We solved this by doing a process of trial and error and we went through the song quite a few times to try and make the newly added section tighter which we had ultimately achieved at the end of the session. Timing in “To Be Human” was off. This was concerning as this was the first song we did, and we had never struggled with the timing of this song before. We didn't solve this problem yet and we are a bit confused to what happened in the song as we were all out of time, but we are sure it's just a blip as we had not played it too often in this week.
In this session I learnt that not letting things get to you is the best solution as then you can push on in the session and by the end of the week your session become more progressive and successful for the band and then everybody can leave the sessions satisfied and happy. I also learned that its a lot easier to keep trying than just giving up on your idea or just being lazy about it in general because then there are disagreements no matter what within the group.
One Target of mine for the next week is to learn the rap in “Black or White”. This is important as it is a key part of the song and is not a skippable part in the song. I can achieve this by going home listening to the song and trying to match the rap and melody properly. I also want to know the rap off by heart without needing the lyrics. Our second target is to fill our new original with some synth and a melody for the vocalists. We are going to achieve this by asking Alex to possibly fill in for us on synth and all brainstorming ways to fit the melody around the song. After achieving this we can then set our goal to be thinking of lyrics.
Week 4
On Monday we came into the session and we our idea was to put these originals together that I had produced the week previous and we had all agreed it would be a progressive art rock sound. So how we put it together was I found my effects I was using the week previous week and went through the chords with Leo. Once we had done that me and him was going through and we told harry to join in with what he thought sounded best on the song ad after this Oscar joined in with some improvisation after being told the root note of each chord. After all of this Mia and Eva were producing a melody for the part we had and we decided this would work best. After this we decided to run through, we had a few times to remember our parts. After all of this we decided to go through Black or White as we knew the middle section now and we were still required to improvise the synth part as Alex didn't think he had enough time to learn it. I did this by asking craig for ideas and he gave me a hammer on pull triplet technique however, I did not think this was going to work so I decided to do a string scrape into that section which worked a lot better. After all of this is was time to run through the song as a whole and it was working al ot better but harry and Leo where coming in to late on the song but we didn't have enough time left in this session but it was good enough for our performance at the end of the day. On Tuesday we was at The Studio and our plan in this 3-hour session was to focus on the original and structuring it correctly and write some lyrics. We did this as we wasn't satisfied with our original song we was going to do previously. Our first step was to make sure we all remembered what we were playing and after this is was time to write lyrics for the song and we decided it would have a similar political way of speaking as Pink Floyd and Mia would be on the job of writing the lyric as we went along and it was decided that we would write it in a ABABCBBBD as we had an idea for the chorus coming out of the solo thanks to Liams advice. To start writing the lyrics I brought a verse to the group which I didn't mind getting used or not but it was to give Mia a direction of where to go with song and we decided it would then be about police brutality on ethnic minorities in America. After we did this I decided to improvise my solo over the top of the song which took me just a few minutes to figure out and after this we decided to go through the song but the verses where two small however we decided to go through it another day as we had to run through black or white to make the song a lot tighter. With black or white our only issue at this point was sorting a solution out for the synthesiser part. But we decided to perform both songs on that day. On Wednesday our plan was to keep running the middle section of black or white till we had got it down with the new idea of a string scrape. However it didn’t go according to plan because we couldn’t get it together on any of the tries at all due to the drums guitar and voice all coming in at the wrong times and this led to a heated discussion between me and Mia and Mia storming out of the session so we wasn’t very productive due to the argument that happened in this session and we would regroup another day. On Thursday we came back the session on a high after me and Mia resolved our issue looking to pick off where we left off the day before and thankfully we made more progress today and we finally got the middle part together for the song and we could run through the full song in the set however, due to the session being quite short this is alls we could do for today
Our biggest problem in this week was rising tensions between band members due to conflicting ideas We worked out our differences and made amends so we could keep pushing forward and make progress No other issues Overall this week was quite smooth sailing compared to previous weeks No other issues
I have learnt the conflict with band members can ruin the groups momentum and mentality as the week started off on a high with us being at our productive peak in the term so far
My target for next week is to tidy up black or white and make sure everything is less choppy and cleaner My second target is to think of a better solo for our original song so it sounds more complex
Week 5
On Monday we arrived at college and our intent was to focus on the original and tidy up some transitions. This was needed as we was recording these original tracks it was mainly the section after the solo as harry was struggling top come up with ideas for a fill back into the full band and he was also struggling to recognise what section came before and after the quiet part so he would come out in those sections. So I communicated with him so the song was a lot smoother flowing and when finally understood what section went where it was time to help him think of a fill. Since the song was psychedelic, we did not need anything to complicated so i just suggested that he hit the crash on the same beats as the walk down on the bass so to add this in we went through this section a few times and it eventually came together. On Tuesday we were at the studio to record our original songs, and our band was first up to record. We recorded the song as a live group as it would have taken too long to do our parts individually and as we weren't perfect with the song it was better to do it as a full as we could help guide each other from section to section. However, we still struggled as it took us most of the time to just do the instrumental part and it still was not perfect, but I think this down to the vocalist not being able to sing so it confused us quite a bit. However, we pushed on and we settled on our final take being the best. After this it was time for the vocalists to do their vocal parts and the instrumentalists would continue there coursework. On Wednesday as we had recorded our original, we decided to turn back to “black or white” so we could make sure everything was less choppy and at this point it was literally just a point of rehearsing the song as much as we could and eventually it got to the point where the middle section was perfected and we could comfortably go through the setlist back to back. After this we had to start thinking about timing but we would time it yet but next week when we need to think about narrowing down. On Thursday there wasn’t much to d except run through the set as this session is quite small due to artist of the week but it’s a case of practicing our stage prescience from now however due to our set being very low energy we won’t need much
We ran into issues recording our original with the drums as he thought the timing was strange We pushed on and we managed to err the song recorded in two proper takes as we was practicing for most of the recording session Timing problems where a big issue in our original song due to us playing a new style of genre We kept running through the quiet part to make sure we all came back in on the right beat for the triple chorus No issues No issues
This we I have learnt that recording without live vocals can be quite a challenge at first and your more prone to making a mistake because you don’t know where you need to come in and out of each song so you need to practice your songs well and thoroughly
One target for next week is to time the set and narrow it down into our 12 minute time slot Another target is to work on stage presence for a low energy set so you fit the style of music your playing
Week 6
In Monday's session we started to discuss set timing and what needs to be cut for our allocated time on stage in to ensure we didn’t eat into anyone else’s allocated time for the gig. We also discussed needing more passion in our stage presence. After discussing all these we ran through the set and timed it and it came equivalent to 13 minutes so we had to cut a full minute of somewhere so we all decided that to be human should be cut down because we got the least Joy out of playing that song so we cut down to be human by half of its time and we managed to get our set down to 10 mins long with 2 minute to spare. On Tuesday we had studio rehearsals and unfortunately Mia was ill in this session so she could not participate vocally so I filled in for eva to still do her harmonies but this led to a lack of stage presence due to being a vocalist down in this session because she didn’t want to overuse her voice however she did join in for our performance out in the stage but she struggled a lot so it meant it was hard for us to get involved stage presence wise On Wednesday it was all about just working on stage presence and I wanted to make sure me Leo Oscar and Harry interacted more on stage so when it came to performing in the hub I tried my best to interact with them but they didn’t do much back so I scrapped the idea and focused on my own stage presence within my self while’s we practice the set over the session On Thursday it was all about running it as a practice gig however before hand we got a chance to practice our set just before we did it as a practice gig with a mini sound check and a set up time after all of this our set was times under 12 minutes including set up and we was all prepared for the gig next Tuesday.
Mia had issues with her vocals due to being ill She pushed through it and tried her best to provide a vocal for us in the sessions but didn’t want to over work her voice for the gig We had to cut down a 5 minute song to a 2 and half minute song for extra set up time on the set We cut down the song as we didn’t get much joy out of playing the song in the first place and we didn’t need much to the song We felt uninspired stage presence as a band due to a lack of energy in the set There wasn’t much to solve this due the low energy in our set and having quite slow songs As a band
I learnt that if you all come together and agree on a decision as a group you will be more happy with the decision than one individual deciding what happens within your setlist I also learnt that it helps when someone can fill in for someone else when they aren’t well
My first target is to have a successful sound check with everything perfectly balanced for when we play My second target is to have a fun at my gig and play to the absolute best of my on the night of the gig