A1- PERFORMING AS AN ESEMBLE
A1
50's day journal and gig evaluation
EXAMPLES OF GOOD COMMUNICATION AND PLANNING WITH MY GROUP WOULD INCLUDE :
We created a group chat where could communicate ideas about the performance ( song ideas, equipment we'd need ,rehearsing time etc) we also emailed dan to book a room to rehearse outside of lesson time allowing us the extra time needed to get the performance to a good standard.
CREATIVE CHOICES
The creative choices we made were appropriate because they helped to perform better as a band ,for example, singing one of the lines an octave lower for the convenience of the singer avoiding the overly strained vocal sound on the higher range of the song . We managed to pick a song that everyone felt comfortable playing and (having a big band) managed to fit two piano players into it creating a rich sound to our performance.
WHAT WENT WELL?
I believe our bands dynamics blended well with each other, nothing being too overpowering or too quiet to hear . No lyrics were forgotten and our non verbal communication on stage had improved by the last performance.
TARGETS MADE FOR MY NEXT PERfORMANCE :
- Gaining more confidence
- more control over riffs (timing)
Today i started rehearsals for the Christmas gig we first decided that me and Tyler would sing the melody together however after we had sung it twice we decided that it would be
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Today we worked on the Christmas gig specifically on the harmonies, we played through it with the band and i decided to do a lower harmony on the verses and ;instead of singing the lyrics on the chorus we decided it would sound better if i harmonised like the original version by just singing the 'oo' sound over the top of the first line then harmonising with the lyrics for the rest of the verse , unlike the original .
Christmas gig
Today we worked on the end of the song i worked on my dynamic range to hit the high note at the end of the song where Paul McCartney uses a falsetto i decided to use my head voice . We secured the harmonies with Tyler singing the melody and me the harmonies. We got a recording at the end of the lesson.
We added the choir to the end part of Hey Jude were they did harmonies over the Hey Jude repetition at the end
5/01/23
Today was our first day back and we have a few gigs coming up one of them being in a couple weeks on the 20th . We decided who we wanted to work with and our band decided to work on an original . Oli had a few chords , Leanna added a melody over it and grace played the chords on piano me and Mollie worked on the vocal side of it we had written some rough lyrics and by the end of the lesson had figured out and idea for the chorus and structure of the song .
20TH GIG
For the gig in the 20th we had decided to play creep by Radiohead oli was on guitar, Dylan on bass Tyler on drums and me on vocal . In our first practise we all spent some time getting comfortable wit our parts and managed to play it all the way through . We realised it need some work especially on the bridge and with the levels and dynamics of the song .
During our next few practises we played it many times over slowing up the tempo a bit so as the vocal didn't sound rushed, as we were playing a bit quicker than the original. One of the first issues we ran into was that our second guitarist couldn't make it to the gig so we decided i would fill in which was difficult as I'm relatively new to guitar and would have to be singing at the same time however I like challenging myself . I learnt the chords and had to practise it with the band when our teacher came in he said it would sound better if i played arpeggios instead of straight chords like in the original and it would add a nice texture to the song. I found this difficult but after much practise managed to get it .
We felt there was still something missing and we believed that it needed piano to add the levels we wanted for the chorus and bridge . After playing it through with the pianist and getting feedback we still were struggling with the dynamics and levels issue, the musical journey of the song felt very basic and straight to the point with no change in levels ,however at this point it was sounding good enough to perform and sounded pretty decent but we felt we were missing the flavour. This lead to the decision of just having the guitar play for the softer section after the bridge and we needed to sought the transitional part and decided oli instead of playing all the chords should miss out one and let the last chord ring out when I would then play over the softer section alone.
This is a video we got from the gig:
GREASE BLOG
* COVER BAND CALLS
TECH REHEARSAL 21/02/23
Today was the tech rehearsal for grease where we worked on mic-ing up https://studentlivestrodecollegeac.sharepoint.com/:u:/r/sites/BTECPERFORMINGARTSFOUNDATIONDIPLOMADT3PAF1-22SCX22-23/Shared%20Documents/General/Grease_VOCALS%20(1).mp3?csf=1&web=1
UNPLUGGED GIG
For unplugged i would perform ' wish you were here ' with Zeno and a year 2 band and also duplicity an original created by wet paint .
Wish you were here
Today i ran through ' whish you were here ' with Zeno playing guitar so we could just get a feel for the song however the year two's weren't in so we couldn't play with the band . Zeno said he wanted to make it sound more like the original with less melisma so instead i sung some of the words more simpler drawing out the notes instead of adding mellismas. I actually preferred the way it sounded as it sounded more natural.
Today we played with the band , it was a rough rehearsal but i still wasn't 100% with the lyrics , so i did what usually works with me for remembering lyrics which is singing the song on karaoke . This usually helps me familiarise the lyrics and the music together after a while and is something ive found helps me.
Today we auditioned for unplug it went pretty well , and we got feedback about positioning on stage and how the guitarists should be either side of the singer instead of one side and the singer on the other side to make it look neater for the audience.
Duplicity
10/03 /23
Today was the first day with the male vocal on the rap i believe it sounded better adding more of a dynamic and worked with song as it added more of an emotive feel as the lyrics are about someone trying to find themselves and feeling alone in the process however might not be alone as they think. Furthermore we worked on the bridge and harmonies . We added a 3 part harmony to the end of the rap verses ( 1ST , 3RD AND 5TH harmonies )
Using Dolby on we recorded our work
We performed in front of the level twos and teachers for our unplugged rehearsal . Had to find a good mix of the voices stuff that fit our ranges
UNPLUGGUED GIG
To begin the day we had sound check; we each had a sheet that that gave us the day plan and times for everyones run through which allowed us to be organised . We were running around half an hour behind schedule however we still managed to get through everyone. My first performance was 'wish you were' during the soundcheck we were given feedback that the guitar should be played 'more sharply' increasing the volume and poiancy of the sound .
After soundcheck we had a three hour break until we had to be back at the church to perform we used this time to get food, change , do any last minute run throughs and get back in time . Overall i would say the gig was a success although we ran into a few issues we had to improvise and work around them .
Whish you were here :
After getting the feedback from soundcheck Zeno ( guitarist) played more sharper and it sounded clearer which was better for me as i could hear where to come in for the first verse more clearly . I missed my cue however in the second half of the song however thanks to the pianist playing the piano more skilfully to make it seem like it was a solo and the guitarist subtly hinting to me of my cue as i realised i had done it wrong and looked at him , it didn't seem as bad . We managed to get through the rest of the song and it overall it was a good performance .
Duplicity: Duplicity went well, the harmonies sounded good together and none of us forgot lyrics .
Use me : i sung this song for funk group as they needed a singer , i came in for a few rehearsals so that i could practise it with the band . The cover was fairly improvised and we hadn't done it the same twice we had to listen out for eachother for this to work but it did . During the performance the lyric sheet had been moved however one of the other band members ( also my tutor ) had a spare lyric sheet .
Grease
REHEARSALS FOR GREASE
Grease rehearsals and performances were very chaotic however in the end we managed to put on a great shows we had a lot of challenges and this we had to face collectively but we managed to overcome these issues .
Group and team skills are critical when doing a performance so this is a great example for wokring in an ensemle as every action you do on stage affects everyone else You have to remember cue lines so as the next speaker is able to say the next line , remember to put props in certain positions and pick props up . Some of us are given responsability over particular props and stage set up between scenes , for example ,i had to bring the telephone , drinks table , lunch trays and a dancing podium on for when they were needed on stage ; if i forgot to do this the performer would have to improvise ; this is just one of the many ways we worked as ensemble . Of course we did run into a lot of props lost , broken or just people not putting them on the props table where they're meant go but we always found a way around it for example when one of the notepads were missing i ripped out pages of mine to give .
During the rehearsal stage we worked collectively worked to learn lines doing scene practise outside of class hours and i made a grease group chat so as we could communicate more effectively with eachother. We practised choreography for and scenes on Wednesday afternoons and i also had extra rehearsals on Tuesdays as i was main cast .
We ran into many different issues during the rehearsal process for example we didn't have enough money to fund the production so we decided to raise money in the college having a 50's themed day with activities you could spend money on to take part in . This was hosted by the cast of Grease we were all given different jobs to do ; i performed in the 50's gig and then went around the college with a collection box to collect money . We managed to raise quite bit of money that would be pivotal for our production so we were all quite proud . During the next few days ,however, one of the drama rooms burnt down destroying all the money , props we already had , and some personal belongings to a crisp. Major set back . There were even rumours the production wouldnt take place . The directing team had quite a lot of personal belongings in there and obviosly felt very disheartened by the event . We were all there for them and we all wouldve backed any decision made as towards the show ,however, being the determined crew they are they decided the show must go on .
our actor playing Danny had to quit so this was obviously qiute a large step back as everyone had managed to become friends with him which is very important in performances as its important the cast get along very well so as the performance can fill its full potential , also we'd have to reteah all the blocking , lines , chorography, harmonies etc to the new ' Danny ' and this would be difficuilt as we had to keep on schedule. Fortunately the director managed to find a replacement who had just finished playing Danny in another drama group production of Grease , this meant he would #
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