History of Electronic Music

Loop Pedals

A loop pedal is a digital sampler built into a foot-operated pedal which allows musicians, primarily guitarists, to be able to record a phrase of music and then loop it over and over again with the use of the foot pedal.
The loop pedal's origin came from tape looping, with the use of a reel to reel machine, recorded magnetic tape is cut end-to-end which then creates a loop which can then be played continuously. 
The sound that was looped however, was very short which, some musicians were fine with but other musicians would get two reel to reel machines and attach a longer piece of the magnetic tape in order to get a longer loop, which didn't actually create a longer loop but just created a giant echo. 
The modern method of looping however, is used with a loop pedal which is a much easier method than tape looping. 
Loop pedals can be a great asset to solo performers and one man bands who play the guitar or any instrument that requires an amplifier because it allows them to create layers of looped sound which can give them richer and deeper melodies and textures during their live performances.

There are various known musicians and artists who are known for using a loop pedal in their gigs/performances, here is a list of the known artists/musicians;

• Victor Wooten

Victor Wooten is a famous electric bass player who is known for his playing style, which includes techniques like slapping, muting, harmonics, tapping and playing chords on a bass guitar. In the video above, Victor is performing Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder and demonstrates many of these techniques, he starts by looping the chords of the song then afterwards he loops the bass line. 

Now that the foundation of the song has now been looped, Victor continues to plays the main melody of the song as well as improvising with chords and harmonics. At  3:05, Victor erases the previous sounds that he had looped and replaces it with a simple bass line and then continues to improvise over it.

• Ed Sheeran 

Ed Sheeran is an English singer-songwriter who began his music career in 2005 and moved to London in 2008 to pursue it further. His debut album '+' features a variety of songs it is literally just him and his guitar which makes him quite a unique young artist. 

In the video above, Ed is performing his song You Need Me, I Don't Need You with the use of his guitar along with his acoustic style of playing which usually involves himself using a loop pedal that is plugged in to his guitar as well as his microphone which he uses for beatboxing as well as singing long and short phrases to add effect as shown in the video.

The differences between Ed Sheeran's uses of the loop pedal compared to Victor Wooten's is that Ed tends to use more percussive techniques for example, hitting the bottom end of the guitar and looping to serve as the pattern of the kick drum. A similarity between the two players which is more unusual for Victor would be that they both loop chords and then play the melody over it.

• KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. She began her career in 2000 and like Ed Sheeran, is known to play the guitar and sing.
In the video above, she is performing her song Black Horse & The Cherry Tree, she starts by looping the vocals and the beat as well as using the tambourine to make the foundation of the song then soon afterwards she starts to play the guitar and the lead vocal melody.

Between Ed and Victor's playing style with the loop pedal, KT Tunstall is very similar to Ed's playing style in the sense that, they both use percussive techniques on the guitar and they both loop vocal phrases but also, at the same time they are both very different artists. 

Different loop pedals include;
Boss RC-3 Loop Station
Boss RC-50 Loop Station (Image Below)

Akai E2 Headrush

VOX VDL1 Dynamic Looper Pedal Processor

Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_loop

Arrangements of others

The Greatest Love of All (Original)

• In the first verse, Whitney Houston sings softly with the electric piano, however in the pre-chorus, she starts to sing much louder as do the band which really builds the song up for the chorus.
• In the middle of the final chorus, there are syncopated chords that lead back to the chorus.

The Greatest Love of All (Arrangement)

What the world needs now is love(Arrangement)

• The tenor and bass voices are mainly singing sustained notes during the chorus and are rarely singing the first verse with the soprano and alto voices.
• The arrangement is in the time signature of 3/4 which gives a swing feel which is notated as Moderate Gospel.
• On the second verse, all of the voices are singing in unison.
• In the final chorus, The arrangement modulates up a whole tone

What the world need now is love (Original)

• The piece has a time signature of 3/4 which gives the piece a swing feel
• Because the song has a mellow and gentle sound to it, the drummer is using brushes instead of drumsticks.
• In the final chorus, the song modulates up a half tone and the singer starts to sing louder which builds the song up more.
• After the modulation, There are backing vocalists singing alongside the lead vocalist until the end of the song.

We Three Kings (Sacred Rendition)

• The main instrument used in this version is the organ, however as the song progresses, other instruments such as the gong and the tambourine start playing.
• At the end of each line in the song, there is a small bell sound that could possibly be a triangle or chime bells.
• There is an all male choir composed of tenor and bass voices which split occasionally for the tenor voices to sing the harmonies.

We Three Kings (Kamelot)

• The Electric guitar is playing the main melody of the song as well as occasionally playing a guitar solo.
• This version of the song is being played by the full band of instruments so there are different techniques like power chords and drum rolls being used which is very different compared to the other versions.
• In the middle of the song, the 'Metal' feel dies down and you are able to hear choral voices and chime bells until the band start playing again

We Three Kings (Ella Fitzgerald)

• In this version, Ella Fitzgerald is singing the main melody of the song, however the way she is singing it gives the song more of a swing feel to it
• The choral voices in this version are being used as backing vocals instead of the lead vocals which the sacred rendition has, they also seem to be mainly composed of bass and tenor voices.
• For a more 'bluesy' feel, the main instruments used are the harp, the double bass and the piano which tends to use seventh chords.
• Because the song is in 3/4, the instruments (mainly the double the bass and the harp) give the song a sense of rhythm although there are no drums.

Solo Performance Targets

1. Contact staff for better quality audio backing tracks

2.Consider the stage setup

3. Be aware when the tracks end

4. When introducing a song, I won't do anything apart from speak

This will be reviewed on Wednesday 4th December

Roles & Contracts

Live Performance

Role 1: Tour Manager

A Tour Manager acts as the 'Mum' or 'Dad' on a concert tour to make sure everything runs smoothly.

They are in charge of the business side of a tour, Their duties include confirming show times, managing finances, managing the venues, dealing with promoters and making sure everyone is where they need to be and making sure they're on time.

In terms of salary, a tour manager will receive a salary depending on the size of the tour, roughly about £15,000 to £20,000 a year to start off with.

Normally, the fee structure is a normal base salary + expenses + a.p.d (an a.p.d is a daily allowance for things like food etc.)

When a tour manager is first starting out as a tour manager, trying to build a reputation for themselves, they will be in charge of smaller tours, mainly for the expenses. When a tour manager has a lot of experience, they will be in charge of tours on a much larger scale that are most likely for more famous artists, they will be earning a much larger salary.

The basic skills needed to become a tour manager is to be able to work well with other people, experience of working abroad and an additional skill would be the ability to speak foreign languages if working abroad.

A Tour manager is responsible for the whole group that he's on tour with, he/she could be working from early morning to late at night, including weekends. Sometimes a tour manager can work 24 hours a day.

Tour managers usually have a short-term contract when on tour with an artist although some contracts can last quite a long time.

The pros of being a tour manager is the fact that its definitely a good job for people who like live music, also it give them a chance to help book the artists to show and even help put the shows together.

The biggest con would probably be the fact that once the tour is over, the tour manager would be on call.

Contract of a tour manager:
Tour managers are self-employed freelance workers who work on short term contracts. 

Learn new skills

Role 2: Artist Promoter

The main job of an artist promoter is to publicise the concert that the artist is performing at, their more or less in charge of putting on the show because its their job to get the word out about the artist so that there will be a larger audience to see them perform. Their promotional methods include; organising tours, negotiating contracts, organising publicity events such as interviews and getting airtime on radio and TV shows.

On average, starting salaries for an artist promoter will be roughly £12,000-£18,000, then as the promoter becomes more experienced, he/she can earn £20,000-£40,000, Top salaries can reach up to £100,000 if the job is done perfectly.

For an artist promoter, their working hours vary a lot because they might go to concerts at night and then deal with promotional events during the day which can involve travelling overseas to different countries.

The skills a good artist promoter should have would be good sales and negotiation skills, good spoken and written communication skills, drive, motivation and the ability to work well under pressure.

The pros of being an artist promoter would be that you get to work with the bands you love, its the perfect job if you like live music and the pay can be very good depending on the shows your doing. On the other hand, the cons would be that if your working by yourself, in a small venue and with a small band, if can cost the promoter a lot of money. 

Probably the biggest con would be that promoting a show is extremely difficult because the promoter make someone write about the show or make them come to the show so promoting the show is probably the hardest job they have and can all be for nothing if no one turns up to the show.

Technician/Sound Engineer:

The sound engineer's main job is to control the sound at live events like music concerts and performances.

Their duties include things like doing sound checks before the performance or concerts, positioning the microphones and setting up and taking down equipment at every venue when on tour.

In terms of salary, normally an experienced sound engineer can earn about £20,000 - £40,000 but a sound designer can earn about £40,000 a year or more.

A sound engineer would need to be very flexible about when they can work because the hours they work can vary from a sound check and a concert to whole day of work with no rest. 

A lot of the time, sound engineers are required to work weekends and evenings because most performances and concerts are in the evening.

The skills a sound engineer would need to have would be good hearing, for judging the sound quality during a sound check, good practical skills, good communication skills and an interest in music and sound.

The pros of being a sound engineer would be that they get to take part in the excitement and the build up to the live concerts, its a good experience for people who like the technical side of music.

The cons of being a sound engineer would be that they get to use the best and the worst of sound desks and still be expected to make them sound good. 

Much like an artist promoter, a sound engineer won't get much credit if the concert was good, but if the concert is bad the band may blame the sound engineer.

Contracts - Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of freelance work:

Being a freelancer, a tour manager can work whatever hours they want, if they want to sleep in on weekdays they can, they are able to work their most productive hours without falling behind on any work.

Another advantage to being a freelancer would be that they can work wherever they want as well, whether its at the local Internet cafe or the person is on holiday in Greece, they are not forced to be stuck in the office or at home.

Another advantage would be that they get to keep all of the profits from their projects, the money they get allows them to expand their business.

One last advantage would be that you are your own boss and if you don't agree with something or something doesn't go your way, you don't have to agree with it.

Disadvantages of freelance work:

Although being your own boss sounds like the best thing ever, being your own boss means that you have to be responsible enough to distinguish your business hours with your personal life and leisure time.

A common disadvantage of being a freelancer would be that there is a risk of not getting paid, although there are ways to avoid non-paying clients, sometimes you could realise too late when being at risk.

Since you are now your own boss, that means that your in charge of your own clients and projects, which means that you are the only person responsible so there is a lot of legwork which means you would have to take on many roles such as; marketing, advertising and sales.

Business Plan

Business Plan

Building a Small Home Studio

There are several places where you could set up a small home studio. Most likely places to be picked are bedroom, attic or basement.
In my opinion I would preferably pick a basement. This is because soundproofing won't be needed as much as other places because a basement is usually surrounded by concrete.
If you live in the basement then soundproofing would be needed most likely on the roof and windows depending on what your neighbours are like.


Equipment wise, what I would personally need or would be recommended to have are amplifiers, mixers, microphones, electric instruments and cables.
My budget for the studio would roughly be about £1000, with £1000, that can buy average equipment like small Fender or Marshall guitar amplifiers, Roland or Behringer bass amplifiers, a Yamaha MW12C USB Mixing Studio/Mixer and Chord or Samson studio microphones would be a cost effective choice of studio equipment.
To save money, besides cheap equipment, instruments that can be recorded are things that are easy to plug in. For example, vocals, bass and guitar can all be recorded through a DI box straight into the software if a mixer was not available and it cuts down on noise and interference.

The purpose of having a home studio would be to be able to make my own tracks at home without having the need to book out a different studio where I'd have to pay and lose money, but this way, I can earn money by renting out the studio to other producers who will want to produce their own tracks, and also artists and other musicians who want to hire a producer to make and mix their tracks and at the same time I would be earning money from it all as well. Nowadays, more artists want to be independent and record labels are dying.

Essentially, you can do half of the stuff that they pay to do for the price of next to nothing in your home studio, for example, you can pay for your tracks to be mixed and mastered or you can do it yourself although its not recommended to master your own tracks.
At some point, I'd create a website and a company logo to advertise my studio so that I can hopefully get more business since more people would know about the studio, other ways of advertisement could be flyers, business cards and presentation folders.  
Hiring a legal assistance would be essential and also very helpful seeing as there would definitely be legal issues in the future about having and renting out a home studio in your home.

In the long run, you will pay the cost it took to build your own studio, then after that amount has been surpassed, it will become profit. Charging for use of my home studio would help recover the money used to build the studio quicker and eventually in turn help make a profit.

Finding Faults

Finding Faults

The Beatles - Yer Blues

One of the biggest and most noticeable faults would be at 3:16 where the drummer does a fill and the song changes to a slower tempo but it almost seems like the turnaround interrupted the whole song.

When the vocals were recorded, they were mixed lower than the instruments which would make the vocals seem like they are being drowned out by the rest of the band.



Love - You Set The Scene

The first fault is at the start of the song where the guitar riff being played at the beginning is hard panned to the right.
When the bass guitar and the drums come in 4 bars afterwards, they are hard panned to the left, when most songs have the bass and drums balanced in the middle.
Another possible musical fault could be that the bass guitar clashes with what the guitar is playing.
Every instrument apart from the guitar is being hard-panned left which doesn't sound right since the guitar melodic line doesn't stop playing apart from at 2:22 where the drummer does a fill to change up the song which leads to a slower tempo and now the guitar and a brass instrument is playing a different melodic line which are both hard-panned right.

When the vocals finally do come in at 2:40, they are very quiet and are being drowned out by the band who aern't even playing loudly, at 4:10, the way the guitar is being strummed seems like the song is out of time but I don't think it is.

Weird War - I Live in a Dream

When the whole band is playing, the vocals are being drowned out, also the lyrics are hard to understand apart from the words 'I live in a dream'.

At some points in the song it seems like its out of time, especially parts where the whole band cuts out for the lead vocalist to sing the main phrase of the song.
The bass guitar is playing the same melodic line as the lead vocalist for most of the song which drowns out the singer even more.

There are many of problems with the backing vocals like the fact they are very sharp are not together and in sync, some of the backing vocalists sing their harmonies slightly before another the other vocalists.
Also the backing vocals are mixed very poorly, for example, the harmonies aren't always in time and at some points the harmonies are quieter at some points and at other times they are louder.
  

Song Chart for Songwriting Portfolio

Songwriting Portfolio


In my Songwriting Portfolio, 2 of the tracks are instrumentals and the other 2 are tracks with lyrical content.
Here are the lyrics for the 2 songs that have lyrical content;

The Golden Season

'Verse 1:
Its that time of year, when the world starts to change
and the warm-coloured leaves begin to die and fall from the trees.
In Summer's golden years, when the sky turns to grey
With shorter days and longer nights, and Halloween

Chorus:
I know that it rains a lot, but I don't mind
it gets dark by 4'o'clock and the street lamps shine bright
with its orange glow, in this Golden Season

Verse 2:
Its even colder now, Winter's on its way
and all the kids prepare to carve their pumpkins...
with scary faces
And eat pumpkin pie, in these festive times
and watch the fireworks explode like the fourth of July

Chorus:
I know that it rains a lot, but I don't mind
it gets dark by 4'o'clock and the street lamps shine bright
with its orange glow, in this Golden Season

Middle 8:
Mainly adlibs

Chorus:
I know that it rains a lot, but I don't mind
it gets dark by 4'o'clock and the street lamps shine bright
with its orange glow, in this Golden Season

..In this Golden Season..'

Chords for the Verse: 
Bm7
Em7 (2nd Inversion)
GM7
F#m7
Chords for the Chorus:
GM7
F#m7
Bm7
Am7 (leading to) DM7 (2nd Inversion)
Chords for the Middle 8:
Em7
F#m7
Bm7
GM7


Lets Sail (Album Track)

Verse 1:
'And I'm like months, days, nights, It has been the same thing
And I'm like our love is like, like a vicious circle who'll fight
Tell me how do you think that the love we had could ever survive
And I don't need, all of this in my life

Feel the rhythm in my heart, as a speak
could you see it beating ? could you feel it beating ?
from the start, feels a tension, as I speak
Tell me how you feel, tell me how you feel

Chorus:
And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by
And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by
Lets make a way to get by
And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by

Middle 8/Verse 2:
Look into my eyes, tell me what you like
hold my hands high, tell me that you love me too
Tell me that the feeling that I'm feeling is mutual i know its hard but..
I tell you all the time, I want you to be all mine
You take it as a joke you laugh all day
In my head I'm falling for you

Chorus:

And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by

And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by

Lets make a way to get by

And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by

And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by

And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by

Lets make a way to get by

And lets sail, lets sail, Lets get by'

Chords for the Verses&Chorus:

CM7 to CM6

Bm7 to GM7(1st Inversion)

Am7 to DM7 (flat 7th)
GM7

Royalties

Royalties are the most preferred method of payment for writers, musicians and performers for their work on a track or at a live gig. A lot of musicians use the royalties that they'd receive after a gig as their main source of income, especially since most musicians are self-employed and don't rely on a monthly salary.
Writers' royalties are slightly different. Every time a writers' song is played live, recorded or broadcasted, the writer is entitled to a royalty.

Copyright is the exclusive legal right given to an owner or the person who originally came up with an idea of something to sell, reproduce or license creative work, in other words, 'the right to copy' quoted by copyrighthouse.co.uk's definition of the term copyright.

The reason why copyright is so important is because if there were no copyright laws, any artist or writer could literally steal another artist/writers' original work and claim it to be theirs and probably get away with it.
Especially in this day and age where a lot of artists' voices or 'flow' sounds the same. But because there are copyright laws, if that situation was to occur, the person attempting to steal the creative work from the original writer may suffer very harsh consequences including;
Large monetary fines
Loss of employment
Loss of property
Loss of freedom
Another very common example of violating the copyright laws would be people illegally downloading music and videos from the Internet.
Although its a big problem, a large number of people do it everyday and get away with it but it can have a massive effect on the artist or songwriter who wrote or performed the song.

The reason for this is because from the artist' point of view, (for example a band) although a lot of people may want to listen to and enjoy their music, they're still illegally downloading the music and getting it for free which can harm the band and could even cause them to split up because of sales and support.

"There are different royalties for different uses of a song." Quoted by venturenavigator.co.uk, there is a royalty called the 'Performers' Right', this is the right to be paid if the song is performed.

"The Performing Right Society (PRS) collects and distributes royalties due for public performances of songs in clubs, pubs, concert venues, cruise ships, and anywhere else that uses live music to attract customers." - the definition of the PRS and what their purpose is in the music industry from venturenavigator.co.uk 's website.

Businesses pay the PRS for a licence for the song and then the PRS respond by giving the writers/publishers/artist their 'royalties' for their song being played on the radio, TV and film etc.

Although the writers receive their royalties for their song, the musicians that recorded on the track also get a royalty known as Performers Rights, not to be mixed up with performing rights.

People who own places that focus on music, for example, clubs, bars etc. have to pay for a licence to use the tracks that the musicians were recorded on, also TV and radio stations have to pay for a licence as well.

After that "A company called Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) collects the license money and then passes a share on to the musicians. Royalties Reunited is the simple way for you to claim airplay royalties that are owed to you." - venturenavigator.co.uk' definition of PPL and their purpose in the music industry.

Bibliography:
http://www.venturenavigator.co.uk/content/499
http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_5969732_consequences-violations-copyright-laws.html

 

Aural Perception Skills -

DISTINCTION-level assignment

 

 

 

SONG 1 (GC. 2)

 

1. The chords to the Jeff Buckley song Hallelujah at 1:00 to 1:45 are I, vi, I, vi, IV, V, I, V, I, IV, V, vi, IV, V, iii, vi, IV, vi, IV, I, V, I.

 

2. The chords change quicker as the song progresses which adds a sense of tension and a sense of sadness.

 

3. G#m diminished, E7

 

 

SONG 2 (G.C.1, G.C.2)

 

 

1. The 4 notes played on the guitar at 3:56 are Bb, F, G and E. The intervals are 1. Perfect 5th, 2. Major 2nd, 3. Minor 3rd.

 

2. The notes in the chord at the beginning of the song are G, Bb and F, This chord uses a minor 3rd and a minor 7th so this chord is more or less a G minor 7th chord without the D.

 

3.

 

SONG 3 (G.C. 3)

 

1. The time signature is in 12/8

 

2. It is 6/8 because the melody is a lot slower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Term 2 - Lesson 10 - 8th February

Track 1

1. Are the stands having any impact on the music/sound? If so, what?

The stands do affect the sound because the music is being played then it is bouncing of the stands which is allowing the audience to hear it clearer.
If there were no stands, there wouldn't be anything to rebound off.

Why do marching bands have so many instruments, and loud ones!

Marching bands have so many loud instruments because they are playing outside so there will not be any walls for the sound to bounce off to travel to the audience so a louder sound is needed for the audience to hear what is being played.



Track 2

1. Can you hear any reverberation. Do you think that comes from the room or might there be some digital reverb? Give reasons for your answer.

There is reverb, and I think it comes from both the room size and and maybe a  reverb effect made digitally on the computer.

Do you think the guitars are recorded through a mic or down a line?

The guitars are being recorded through a microphone


Describe the texture of the music. Does the acoustic environment suit the music?
The texture of this song is homophonic.
The acoustic environment suits the music because the small of reverb gives it a small echo feel to the music.

Track 3

1. Describe the texture of the music (it is not the same throughout so mention where it changes.
The texture of the music is mainly polyphonic, but there are some areas
 where it goes homophonic
 
Is the music suitable for the space / is the space suitable for the music?

The music isn't really suited for the space because since the choir are singing in a large hall, there will be a lot of reverb that may be sustained for quite a while which could mess up the music.

Style Band Workshop

Style Band Rehearsal

Monday 7th January 2013:Reggae

In today's band workshop, we chose the song One Love by Bob Marley to cover, the members in my group were Matty, Sheva, Harry, Emmanuel, Dani, Dar and Garnett. By the end of today's band rehearsal, we want to learn and perfect the whole song and be able to play it without any faults which we did achieve.

There were no real issues that came up apart from the fact that it took quite a while for everyone to learn their parts and perfect them, but luckily we all managed to learn our parts and when we did actually play the song as a group it sounded pretty good.
Our target for the next rehearsal was to be able to play the song without any faults or accidents and also to make sure we remember how to play the song perfectly even after we rehearse the rest of the songs to come.

 Monday 14th January 2013: Funk

In today's band workshop, we covered the song Super Freak by Rick James to cover, The people in my group were Matty, Caitlyn, Demver, Donavon, Sheva, Shardonnae, Dani and Dar.
By the end of today's band rehearsal, we hope to be able to play the song through fully and hopefully without any faults.
There were two main issues in this band rehearsal, and that was the vocalist's harmonies, and the rhythm section's timing, but by the end of the rehearsal session, we managed to learn the song without any faults.
The targets for the next rehearsal were to make sure the vocalists learn the harmonies and that we're able to play the song perfectly.
A personal target would be to be able to play this song or any song from memory.

Monday 21th January 2013:Latin

In today's band workshop, we covered the song Tropicalia by Beck. This was the first song that we had covered where the whole class played together as one group.

The main target for this rehearsal was just learn the song fully and hopefully perfect it, it was the hardest song to learn because everyone had a small but very important role to play, but some percussion instruments were harder to play than others, but in the end everyone managed to learn their parts and it sounded pretty good.

The main target for the next rehearsal would be to be able to play the song fully without any faults, which will be difficult since there are so many of us playing in this song.

Monday 28th January 2013: Blues

In today's band workshop, we covered the song A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke. This song had more of a 'soul' and 'jazzy' feel to it but we covered it instead of covering a blues song.
The people in my group were Darlene, Jacob, Emmanuel, Shardonnae, Harry, Dar, Sheva, Kline and Bianca.
This was probably the easiest song to learn since we all managed to learn the song quite quickly and even managed to perfect it.
The only issue was that Emmanuel didn't know when to come in after the middle 8 of the song, but he managed to do it.
The targets for the next rehearsal would be to be able to play the song without faults, which would be an easy target because everyone learnt the song very quickly so they'll know what they're are doing. 

Monday 4th February 2013:Electro

In today's band workshop, since this week's musical genre was Electro, we covered Heartbeats by The Knife.
I was in group 1 with Matty, La-Shaun, Shannun, Demver, Bianca, Danielle, Donavon, Harry, Garnett and Jordan. Out of all the songs from the musical genres that we've covered, this was probably the most difficult song to learn and master.
The main target for today's band workshop is to be able to perform the song fully without any faults, this will be a difficult target because it took quite a while for everyone to learn their part properly.
The only issue was that the singers couldn't work out the harmonies for the song, but they managed to find them by the end of the session.
Also, this is the one song that we've made a lot of changes to, La-Shaun made his own intro for the song and Matty and I changed the chords in the middle 8 which gave the song a kind of 'gospel' feel to it.
    
The targets for the next rehearsal would be to be able to play the song fully and hopefully add some more to the song.

Listening: Style 1

Monday 14th January

Q1.  In the first song, describe the melody (especially saying what notes it uses - feel free to use a keyboard to help you with this).

The melody in the first song alternates between the root note and the perfect 4th at the beginning of the song and the verses.

Q2. For each song, name the style/genre of the song and list three things (musical and/or sonic) that support your assertion.

The first songs genre is Reggae because the guitars are using the skank technique on the 2nd and the 4th beat, the bass guitar is playing the main melody and the there is syncopation

The second songs genre is Reggae, it almost sounds the same as the first song apart for the fact that there are different effects used in the that version. 

Listening: Style 3



Monday 21th January

Q1.  Give an account of the vocals in this track. Things to consider: effects, timing, style, articulation/phrasing, improvisation etc.

The vocals in the track have a unique feel to it, Amy Winehouse isn't exactly singing in time, she may start singing just before the beat or just after, this gives it a relaxed feel to it. Another effect she has in the track on her voice are the improvised sound effects she adds, e.g. do's, be's, boo's.

Q2.  Compare this track with the other version above. Does the track feel different? If so, why?

In the original version, The tempo is a lot slower than Amy Winehouse's version, also this version is more guitar based and has a more latin feel to it.

One of the most obvious differences is the fact that the original is in a different language.

Whereas, Amy Winehouse's version has drums, bass and Amy has added improvised vocals.

Also in Amy Winehouse's version, it sounds like the bass and drums are carrying the melody on their own.

Listening: Style 5

Monday 28th January

Q1. Give as clear as possible an account of all the different sounds and instruments in the first 3 minutes and 35 seconds. You probably won't know exactly how each sound is made but you should be able to make an educated guess whether something is sampled, synthesized or actually recorded in.

Answer: Drum Machine, Sampled Bass, Synth, Electric Guitar, Sampled Choir Vocals, Recorded Vocals, Various Sampled Sounds

Q2. What is this song about? How do the electronic instruments / sounds help to create the mood?
Answer: The song talks about how someone is feeling

Listening: Style 4

Lesson 6, Friday 25th January 

Q1. Describe the harmony in this song. (Try and describe the pattern even if you cannot pick the chords - eg. the first chord lasts for two beats then it changes to a chord that last for 8 bars). Is the pattern familiar at all?

At the start of the song, the first chord is played for 16 bars and then the next chord is only played for 4 bars, also, the chords V and IV are normally played for 4 bars and chord I is either played for 8 bars or 16 bars.
The basic of this song comes from the basic 12 bar blues but with a few adjustments like, the song isn't necessarily following the 12 bar blues pattern.

Q2.  This song has "Blues" in the title. Is it a blues song?

Although this song has the word "Blues" in the title and there is also a use of blues chords, major pentatonic and the major scale, this song wouldn't really be called a blues song because of the time signature that's being used and the guitar riffs that are being played

Functions Of A Keyboard 2

Q1. The Three Pedals on a Grand Piano are the Una Corda pedal, the Sostenuto pedal and the Sustain pedal.

• The Una Corda pedal softens the note and also changes the quality of the tone.
• The Sostenuto pedal sustains the notes that are being held down when the pedal is pressed, this also leaves any future notes unaffected when the pedal is pressed.
• The Sustain pedal, when pressed, sustains all the damped strings on the piano

Q2. The three main differences between a grand piano and an upright piano are the keys, the pedals and the action.

Action - In a grand piano, the strings lie horizontally and the hammers hit the strings from below, whereas on an upright piano, the strings are held vertically and the hammers hit the strings from the side 

Keys - There are longer keys on a grand piano which provides a greater reach, allowing more precise control, however on an upright piano, the keys are a lot shorter so the touch isn't as good as a grand piano and it makes the subtle control more difficult

Q3. The parameters that you are able to control on a midi keyboard would be the pitch bend, note velocity, modulation controls and the aftertouch..

Q4. If a sustain pedal is used with an electronic keyboard, it controls the electronic systhesis to produce a sustain effect but when the foot is taken off the pedal, the note is cut off co2mpletely, however on a grand piano, when the foot is taken off the pedal, the piano lets go of the note gently so that it still sounds smooth.

Q5. The advantages of shaping midi data using a keyboard would be that your able to play live music whilst being able to alter the sound, the disadvantages would be that

Landmark Songwriters Analysis

James Brown :

 

James Joseph Brown was known as the king of Funk, Brown was influenced by musical genres such as Classic blues, gospel and African-American folk music.

James Brown knew that he wanted a musical career after watching footage of jazz and RnB singer Louis Jordan.

Artists that influenced Brown were Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. James Brown took the musical genres that influenced him and fused them together into a new genre, which was called Funk.

Funk (being a mixture of RnB, Soul and Jazz) brings a rhythmic groove of bass and drums to the genre. Like most genres, funk doesn't focus on the lyrical content of a song, but more on the music itself being played, which makes funk more suitable for dancing.

For example, in James Brown's song 'Get Up Offa That Thing', The lyrical content is encouraging the audience to get up and dance, and thats more or less repeated throughout the entire song.

James Brown was considered the king of funk because of the energy he had whenever he performed one of his songs which would encourage the listener to get up and dance..

Bob Marley :

Nesta Robert 'Bob' Marley was known as the king of Reggae, Marley was influenced mainly by a musical genre called Ska, which was the predecessor to Rocksteady and Reggae, and also groups such as; The Kingstonians, the Skatalites, the Paragons etc.
Bob's songwriting process usually started with him playing the acoustic guitar, and then after he'd take out his harmonica and play it.
Bob would work on a song for weeks, changing lyrics and changing the melody until it came to a point where he would take the unfinished song to his friend Familyman who would help him in the studio and add different basslines for the song until it was finished.
Unlike Funk, Reggae normally has a much slower tempo and the drums and bass play the biggest role in reggae song, it is also easily recognised for the unique rhythmic accents called the 'skank' which is played on the off-beat.

Bob Marley was considered the king of reggae because unlike James Brown with funk, Bob Marley focuses on the lyrical content of his reggae songs.
Marley is a Rastafarian and is known to be very strong with his religion because part of the religion's belief is that every living thing is equal, this must be part of his inspiration for his songwriting process because more or less all of his songs are about redemption, being happy, treating people equally, not worrying about life's problems and obstacles etc.


Amy Winehouse :

Amy Jade Winehouse was known for her own type of genre called Vintage Soul, which is a mixture of blues, jazz, RnB, gospel, Motown and soul.
Amy was influenced by many artists such as; Aretha Franklin, Mary J Blige, Etta James, Otis Redding etc.
In a lot of Amy's song, the lyrics are auto biographical because the songs are actually about her and events that have occurred in her life. For example, the song 'Rehab' is about her refusing to go to a rehabilitation clinic even after her father forced her to.
Most of Amy's songs are about things that have happened to her in her life, which already makes her quite a unique songwriter, other artists like Adele and Lady Gaga and Duffy have credited Winehouse for her success and her unique way of songwriting.
Her 2006 album 'Back to Black', Amy infuses 1940s jazz with 1960s Motown in a lot of her song in that album.
Amy Winehouse and Stevie Wonder's style of music are quite similar because they both fuse different genres of music together such as; Soul, Jazz and RnB. Amy's style of music is also quite similar to Bob Marley's in a sense, due to the fact that they both write about true stories and everyday events in life such as struggle, happiness etc.


Stevie Wonder :

Stevland Hardaway Morris incorporated genres such as; Pop,RnB, Jazz, Soul and Funk into his songs which gave himself such a wide fan base because of the amount of genres he used.
Back when Stevie was at Motown Records, he worked directly with Marvin Gaye and was influenced by him as well as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Johnny Ace.
Much like Amy Winehouse, some of his songs are about events or people in his life, For example, His song 'Isn't She Lovely' was written about his daughter.
A lot of Stevie's songs are known for being difficult to sing, and he has developed a unique sense of harmony as he uses a lot of extended chords like; sevenths, ninths,elevenths, thirteenths, diminished fifths etc. This gives his songs a different feel compared to the other 3 artists', where there are almost unpredictable chord changes, also along with the vocals, which have a melismatic sense to it.

The artists that I've chosen each have their music based around one main genre; Bob Marley with Reggae, James Brown with Funk, Amy Winehouse with her own genre known as 'Vintage Soul', and Stevie Wonder, who doesn't really have a genre of his own but he has created his own style of playing using extended chords and melismatic vocals.
Funk seems to have more lively tempo to it compared to the other genres because of its focus on the rhythm section and keeping the song lively rather than focusing more of the lyrical content like most songs, whereas Stevie Wonder has incorporated funk and a few other genres together with his style of playing the piano to almost give some of his songs some 'funk' to it as well.
The two artists that probably have the most in common when it comes to the lyrical content of their songs would be Bob Marley and Amy Winehouse because both of their lyrics in some of their songs are about events or experiences that have occurred in their lives.