Winter Gig

On the build up to the Winter Gig, a lot of rehearsals and preparation took place in order to create a great performance. In my own performance, (which took place in two different bands) we all had worked extremely hard in order to get the right chords together and to vocally and instrumentally make the songs sound professional. I was playing the guitar in which I played accurately for most of both performances, however, one thing I made a mistake in was my timing on the guitar on a song called "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. I sometimes came in later than usual which isn't pleasant to hear, in order to overcome that mistake I need to practice paying the guitar with other people performing different songs so my guitar is up to speed with the song itself. As the group in general, we managed to successfully perform each song, however, one thing that went wrong is that one of the vocalists forgot the lyrics in the beginning of the first verse which confused the audience. Nonetheless, we managed to pull through by not making it too obvious that the vocalist had made a mistake by continuing our playing of the instruments.

When being live on stage, we showed confidence and comfort whilst being live on stage by smiling and looking at the audience. Particularly the vocalists had to smile whilst performing to ensure that no nerves were shown or fear to perform. The singers constantly looked at each other to make sure they sang the right parts and the harmonies were sounding tight and smooth.

I also enjoyed watching the Level 2's perform because from what I acknowledged from the Induction Gig is that they were really nervous and didn't manage to show confidence, however, this time they were able to perform at their highest level and you can tell that they had worked really hard on their performance. They accurately managed to play their song and no clear mistakes were made when performing.

What I had learnt from the Induction Gig is that I had to build up my confidence and show that I was confident with what I was playing and that I was enjoying myself, I personally think that the Winter Gig was a success and ma have been a slight improvement from the Induction Gig as more confidence was shown and the crowd had a great response to the performances.

Decades worksheet

1960s	JAMES BROWN - FUNK CHORDS	7th, 9th, 11th and 13th chords
1960s	JAMES BROWN - FUNK RHYTHMS	Multi – Linear rhythm (Polyrhythm)
1970s	STEVIE WONDER – SYNTHS	TONTO is an acronym for “The Original New Timbral Orchestra”: the world’s first (and still the largest) multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, designed and constructed by Malcolm Cecil.
1970s	STEVIE WONDER - VOCAL MELISMA	Vocal melisma is used from about 3 minutes in the song superstition.
1980s	KATE BUSH – 1980s DIGITAL STUDIO TECHNOLOGY	Synthetic drum sounds   Gated reverb

Farz Song

For my composition, I started off using found sounds which I recorded on my phone which I them emailed to myself and imported it into Logic. I used the scissors tool to cut up specific parts of the file in order to structure them correctly. The found sound was rain pouring down, I used this sound as it generally creates some sort of tension and suspense. The genre my song revolves would be a Trap/R&B influence. When I cut up the found sound, I then used the Alt key to drag the rain sound and make it repeat itself in the first 4 bars.

After the 4 bars of pure rain, the beat is then introduced, I used the boutique kick drum with compression and slight reverb to create atmosphere. The beat goes on for four bars in which the piano is the introduced, I played two keys from the piano in which I then used a lower octave of the same melody to create a balance between high pitch and low pitch sounds. When adding those piano notes I quantized the notes 1/16th notes at 100%. When the melody continues, I used a snare on the off beat to create more of a trap and Rap effect on the song to make it sound melodic and catchy.

I then exported my song to sound cloud by bouncing the track and uploading it from my file, I then copied and pasted the link to my blog on the HTML section. Overall, I felt that the track was fairly easy to make, however, the main issues I encountered was finding a found sound that would work with my track. In future projects I will be more cautious with time and ask for help in terms of using effects and making the track sound professional.

Composing Task 2

song 1 -
In this song, I tested out different songwriting techniques in order to create a song, however, the one technique I managed to use was cut ups and I wrote down phrases which corresponded to the topic of love or relationships. I wrote down phrases and then used some of my own lyrics from my mind to make the lyrics link together. I was inspired by this idea as artists such as David Bowie have used this way of writing their own music.

I used the structure: Verse, Pre Chorus, Chorus, Verse, Pre Chorus and Chorus. I wanted the song not to contain a bridge because I wanted the song to be short and sweet. By this I mean, the change in melody and avoiding boredom is mainly relied on the vocal more than anything and not so much on the production. This relates to why I used my falsetto to change the way I was singing the song. Additionally, in the pre chorus, I decided to use a seventh on the last two chords to make build up to the chorus sound more intense and rich. Another way I made the song sound richer and fuller is by using harmonies, harmonies particularly have the objective to create brightness and smoothness in the vocal which is what I intended to do otherwise the listener will eventually get bored and the song will sound plain.

In terms of constructing the song, I started off with a simple four chord progression on the  which lasts through out the entire song. In the third and fourth bar, the chord is played in staccato and on the off beat, this is an element of funk which makes the song sound more funky and slightly soulful. I had to use the quantiser (1/16th note) to quantise those off beat notes so it didn't sound wrong or be in the wrong place of the bar. For the drums, I used a simple drum beat using the Boutique using the bass and snare. I chose to use the tempo at 115 beats per minute because I wanted the song to have a fast but danceable tempo to work with.

Apart from using the piano, I also added strings using the same exact chords in order to make the song sound more intense which creates suspense. For the chorus and intro I used a Vintage Clav which is normally associated with R&B or soul, this was certainly inspired by Stevie Wonders music which contains a lot of soulful melodies. When the song is heard it has a very rich sound regardless of it being the only instrument with no actual chord progression and more of an instrumental riff. The bass carries the same melody through out the song, it simultaneously has a pop vibe as well as an R&B vibe, it makes the listener move and dance as it is a groovy melody to listen to.

I used the velocity tool in order to make the beat vary between powerful hits and weaker hits, this has a big impact on the way the song is heard because if the velocity is more or less the same through out the song, it will sound robotic and too technical, therefore, using the velocity tool makes the song sound more natural and relaxing to listen to.


In my second song, I used the same technique in relation to writing the song. I used cut ups in which I wrote different meaningful words to create a song to do with relationships. This technique was taken by David Bowie which helped me in a great way to write lyrics faster and more meaningful. As well as the lyrics being to a certain extent quiet simple, the way I vocally introduce my voice creates a lot of emotion and feeling which makes the song sound more emotional. I chose to use one perspective in this song which in this case would be my perspective (the male perspective) as the song was about a past relationship which didn't end positively I chose to use back vocals in which the lyrics are more in depth and are more understandable of the content behind the song. I used the structure: Verse, Pre chorus, Chorus, Verse, Pre Chorus and Chorus. The reason I chose to structure the song in this way is because in the verses their is a lot more information to do with the content of the lyrics whilst in the chorus the use of different phrases creates more mystery and suspense as not much lyrics are used but the strength of the production increases. Also, the reason I chose to use a pre chorus is because it is the intense build up to the chorus.

Behind the production of the track, I chose four simple chords which are played repeatedly throughout the song to maintain a base. In the pre chorus, my vocal range increased in pitch as I used a seventh and ninth chord to make the pre chorus sound mysterious. The increase in pitch creates more variation as it avoids the chance of boredom. I used strings and a Saxophone in the chorus to create an 80's soulful vibe. I took this saxophone idea from Stevie Wonders song "Sir Duke" in which the Saxophone is played in the beginning of the song at a faster tempo, but in my song, I used the Saxophone in the chorus with a slightly slower release.

Context Essay

In the 1990's, the society had a massive impact on the music that was coming out back then. Margaret Thatcher had come into power in 1979, she had a massive impact on British music, it was said that she was against the genre of punk/rock music which then caused a lot of bands to write songs against Thatcher. Thatcher was hated for a number of reasons, one of them being she destroyed Britain's manufacturing industry and her policies led to mass unemployment, ever since then her years 11 years of power led to change in music. Despite the fact Thatcher didn't like Punk/Rock music, during the 80's up to 1990, Rock music was incredibly popular. A song called "Margaret On The Guillotine" by Morrissey was released in 1988 in which the artist expresses his feelings towards Thatcher in a negative way, it is evident when he says, "Margaret on the Guillotine, cause people like you, make me feel so tired, when will you die?"

The 1990's was a decade in which technology started to advance very quickly cut as a massive use of internet and different musical genres starting to become popular. Bands such as Spice Girls became popular. The use of synths started to become popular in 90's music, it originally came from the hip-hop genre which started to cross over different genres of music. A band called "The Shamen" had a song called "Ebenezeer Goode" which might sound strange it today's modern society, however, when this song came out it had a massive impact on society due to the synths being used and rave culture being so popular. Rave culture was so important because it generally reflected what the 90's was all about. The 90's was all about: partying, drinking and dancing, many raves would take place in clubs as well as houses and sometimes forests. In today's modern music, synths are constantly used and are introduced in many songs, therefore, music in the 90's has had a massive influence in today's modern music.

In the 1990's the UK was still under a conservative government until when Labour came into power in 1997, the 90's was a special and important decade as technology and internet was developing at a fast rate. In 1995, Microsoft introduced Windows 95 which became increasingly popular over the years, due to the success of Windows, Windows 98 came out three years later which became even more popular. In 1991, Pro Tools was released which had faster processing, it became very popular and started being used by the most well known artists in the 90's. A great amount of Music genres became popular such as: Hip-Hop, Electronic Dance Music and Boybands/Girlbands started to become popular.

Artists such as Michael Jackson and Prince had a massive impact of worldwide success due to there inspirational music and lyrical content. Prince and Jackson were both compared massively due to there dynamic and high pitched voices, even though wars were still occurring, songs such as "Heal The World" by Michael Jackson managed to have a great response from the world as the song was about making a positive change and stopping deaths from around the world from happening. In the 1992 The Heal The World Foundation was founded to improve conditions for children across the world, this then inspired Michael to write Heal The World and make a positive change. As a musical artist myself, both these artists' music have had an amazing impact on me as an artist as there music is inspirational in many ways. This includes their vocal talent and their intention to make the world a better place which in general makes me write music from many different perspectives and improve in areas such as my songwriting and my vocals.






http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/24-inventions-that-changed-music-20140317/the-world-wide-web-1989-0403599

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pgxe59/memories-from-the-early-days-of-rave

Advanced Instrumental Equipment Test

There is a wide range of knowledge I need to known in terms of equipment. When preparing a vocal performance, I need a microphone in which I will connect the cable into the Amplifier. As the microphone then turns on, it is my choice whether I choose to use effects. This includes: Mid, Reverb, Echo and many others. When singing, I need to avoid putting the microphone close to the speakers otherwise there will be feedback. The microphone is connected via a cable into the pre amp/mixer which is then connected to the amp. There is an extension lead which reaches the mixer and then the effects can be used. (Stage Box) In terms of using the mixing desk, the channel faders are used to increase and decrease the volume of the: equalizer, master volume, reverb and echo. The aux send is when a song or instrumental is sent into the speaker when the aux cable is plugged into the phone in which the sound is transferred into the speakers. When using the microphone stand on stage, the Swivel needs to be tightened in order for the stand to be tight. The coach bolt is then used to move the stand up and down so it is set to the eight height so it is comfortable for the singer. You will know if your too close to the PA as if you are too close it will cause feedback or a loud pitch noise which is unpleasant to hear. Monitors are like speakers which are used to project the sound of any instrument or sound, the musicians who need it most would be instrumentalists or singers, this would be essential as it would be the sound louder so the audience can hear the sound out of the monitors. A channel is where each sound is recorded or played in a mixer, this would include the voice coming out of one channel and guitar coming out of another. The fader is used to adjust the volume of the channel on the mixer. Mutes are used in an instrument to soften the tone of the instrument, this is commonly used in orchestral instruments. A send is an electronic signal used in music to make effects such as reverb or EQ to be used. EQ (Equalisation) is a type of effects graph which is used to change the frequency of any sound or the brightness, it can also make the sound more filtered.

As I also play guitar, I have to be aware of how to use equipment for the guitar. When using the guitar for a performance, I need to connect the lead into the guitar in which it is then connected into the amplifier. If it is not working, it is either because it is the wrong amplifier or the volume is not turned on. There is also an amplifier for Bass which can sometimes be confused for the guitar, using a bass amplifier for a normal guitar will not work. As soon as the guitar is connected and the volume is at a good level, it is my choice to put any effects such as: reverb, echo, treble or added bass. Factors that affect the strings to be broken are playing the guitar too hard and what could cause the buzzing sounds or cracking could be that the input might not be plugged in properly into the guitar causing unusual sounds to be heard. The amp should always be far away from the instrument to avoid feedback. Effects that are used on some amps are effects such as: reverb, delay and mid. The reverb expands the sound making it sound brighter. The delay is like an echo which repeats the sound multiple times after being played. Tuners that are on amps are used to tune tune the guitar when the amps are out of the, when playing each string it will either show a red bright colour or green bright colour to show its in tune or out of tune. You will know if your standing too close to the amp or its too loud as their will be feedback which is a high pitched noise. Monitors are like speakers which are used to project the sound of any instrument or sound, the musicians who need it most would be instrumentalists or singers, this would be essential as it would be the sound louder so the audience can hear the sound out of the monitors. A channel is where each sound is recorded or played in a mixer, this would include the voice coming out of one channel and guitar coming out of another. The fader is used to adjust the volume of the channel on the mixer. Mutes are used in an instrument to soften the tone of the instrument, this is commonly used in orchestral instruments. A send is an electronic signal used in music to make effects such as reverb or EQ to be used. EQ (Equalisation) is a type of effects graph which is used to change the frequency of any sound or the brightness, it can also make the sound more filtered.

Case Study - The 1975

Band: The 1975

Line up: Matthew Healy (Guitar and vocals)
Adam Hann (Guitar and Vocals)
George Daniel (Drums and vocals)
Ross MacDonald (Bass Guitar)
Bio:

                                                                       Tour Dates                                                                                                                                                              

The supporting acts for The 1975 were two bands called MisterWives and Saint hotel.

Weekly Rehearsal Diaries - Week 4 - Massive Attack

In week 4, the song we focused on was teardrop by Massive Attack. This task took place on the 23rd of November. In this week, I played the drums as our drummer wasn't in. The drum beat in the song is repetitive which personally makes the song sound slightly boring, so therefore, I managed to add in some drum fills at the end of each chorus and on the build up to the chorus.

The main weaknesses shown in this rehearsal was the structure of the song. In the first verse, the verse is only repeated once in which the chords are only repeated once. However, in the third verse, it is slightly longer which confused the guitarist and the piano. Also, the song only contains three chords on the verses and intro. On the intro, the chords are played through once, however, on the verses the first chord is played twice which was unusual from the group to play as we kept on forgetting this change in chords.

Weekly Rehearsal Diary - Week 3 - Kate Bush

In week three, the focus for this week was Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush, this song was certainly the hardest song for our group to learn. The main reason for this is because the style of this particular song was very different to the groups' way of interpreting music in their own way. The main weaknesses in this rehearsal was more in relation to the vocalists, the way the song is sang by Kate Bush is very different to the way the singers in the group usually sing. However, eventually the singers in this group manage to overcome it and sang the song in their own way.

The date of this rehearsal took place on the 16th of November. My role in the group was to play the guitar, i didn't face any difficulties with playing the guitar as the chords were repeated and weren't complex. The target from weak one relies to this weeks task as it relates to learning new chords and practicing transitions between complex chords such as bar - chords. This evidently helped me as I faced no difficulty in playing the song on guitar and the transitions were really well executed.

Weekly Rehearsal Diary - Week 2 - Stevie Wonder

In this week, we focused on the song Superstition by Stevie Wonder, the previous target I set for myself was to learn new chords on guitar and practice transitions between chords. However, this week I focused on my vocals so the target was irrelevant for this week's task. I sang the chorus of the song in which I was the only boy who was singing on the song.

Since the song is known by everyone in the group, it wasn't difficult to get the song finished as it only took thirty minutes. This rehearsal took part on the 9th of November. On the chorus of the song, we added harmonies using the vowel 'oooo' in which it makes the song sound richer and fuller.

There were no specific weak areas, but the main strengths were particularly the vocals which were strong and in tune and the instrumental was very strong as well as the drummer and pianist were very confident. The only weakness shown was the guitar riff in the verses of the song which isn't easy to play on guitar for beginners.

Weekly Rehearsal Diary - Week 1 - James Brown

In the first week of college, we focused on rehearsing the song 'I feel good, I got you' by James Brown. In this rehearsal, our group deeply focused on getting the hardest parts of the songs right, this included the off beats on the chorus of the song as when we listen to the song it isn't obvious that it is on the off beat. This rehearsal took place on the second of November. Also, since I was playing the guitar, the use of four chords played were strummed on the sixth beat of the bar which was at first unusual to play, so I had to concentrate massively in order to not make any mistakes.

The target I set for myself as a guitarist is to practice new chords and the transition between complex chords because if I'm not completely confident on them, it will slow down the pace in which the group is learning at.

As well as areas of strength were shown in the rehearsal such as: team work and clear understanding of the structure of the song, there was a weakness that was shown during rehearsal which was the arrangement in terms of vocals, this includes harmonies and sometimes lyrics were being lost in the middle of the song. However, at the end of the rehearsal, everyone had learnt the song confidently and we were highly confident in our performance.