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Today we had our final STOMP performance. It went very well, just as we expected it to except for the fact that Emma and Yue’s fighting scene was off key as their stomping didn’t match my rhythm. However, for the most part, the performance went well and entertained our class very well. There were a lot of laughs!

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Today, we kept on practicing our STOMP performance which will be due on Wednesday 21st February. We are still having problems with timing because there are many different rhythms going on at once and it is difficult to keep on focusing on our own. I am the base of all rhythms so it is very important that I have the correct timing so that the other rhythms are on time as well. Our performance has a lot of acting and props in itl which makes it even more exiting! I really enjoy the theme and setting of our performance because I find it very unique and it has some humor in it which the audience usually enjoys

The following clip shows a bit more of our process and what we have accomplished so far: we have many new props added that make a great sound (for example Emma’s crinkling paper) and our performance is a lot more interesting since we now have a part where everyone freezes and then goes back to what they were doing. It is not shoes in the video but we have also decided on how the video will end: we will walk out of the room following on with our own rhythms.

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Today, I was still sick but I was fortunately able to get in touch with my group over the phone. I now know that they discussed changes in our performance: two of our characters will not fight; they will competing in a music competition. Also, there is a new memeber in our group: Aisling. We did not practice any rhythms since I wasn't able to coordinate with them, but we will make all the slight changes when I return to school. What is nice is that the part I play will not change and that my team members have also been creating props to add to the performance while I was away.

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I was away that day due to sickness.

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26/01/2018 Practicing our own STOMP performance 

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26/01/2018 Practicing our own STOMP performance 

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Today we mainly focused on combining our different rhythms and making sure that we were all on good timing so that the STOMP sounded good. We mainly focused on Emma and Yue’s rhythm and acting. The following attached video shows Emma and Yue practicing their
new rhythms and their acting in which Emma is studying and Yue is annoying her, and they end up in a wand fight.

Note: as you can see from this Process Journal and the one before, our ideas have changed for Emma and Yue’s performance while Loukas and I are still doing the same actions.

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23/01/2018 New personalized STOMP performance 

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23/01/2018 New personalized STOMP performance 

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Tody, we started a new project in which we will be creating our own STOMP performance from scratch. We will have to use a lot of creativity as there are no specific rules. The people in my group are: Yue, Emma and Loukas. Our setting is the Hogwarts study hall (in Harry Potter) where a student is studying and another is messing about. There is also a teacher and a cleaner in the scene. Our props will be costumes, wands, decoration for the fake hall, a broom and a newspaper. The timbres will be created using these different materials. We spent a long time discussing what scene and theme we wanted to create and how all was going to look all together but we now have a full plan.

Next lesson, we will work on expanding and making the timbres more complex as well as working on our acting skills for the performance.

Here is the link to a video of our process (so far this is what we have achieved): https://drive.google.com/open?id=1T9OnThmExoKvpaxEIf4DzHCxUrzkZlU-

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Today, we finally performed our STOMP performance inspired by an original video! The people in my group were: Nehir, Sacha, Gaurav, Rahul and Loukas. Our theme/setting for performance was a quiet library where some wanted to read calmly and others wanted to have fun, but did not realize that a library might not be the best place to do so. What went well during the performance was: our capability of staying in our character instead of laughing because of all the funny actions we were doing, staying on time with the beat, and also how well Sacha performed even though she had just arrived in our group. The performance could've been even better if we had created props and costumes (special outfits reflecting our characters) to go along with the STOMP, and if we had incorporated more acting and more extreme emotions. I woud give our group a 6 as a grade because we worked well and this was our best performance so far, however, some details were missing that could've made the performance even better. What impressed me in the other groups' performances were their creativity in their use of props and creativity. To illustrate this, in Amber's group, it was very clear that Emma was a chimney sweeper because of the black dust on her face and her fake sweeper made of black paper strips and a wooden stick.

Here is the link to our performance of today: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NYHLqVGlbCKqpbGQJX1joMwZE2T41UzQ

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For the last weeks our routine has been the same: we have been practicing our STOMP performance which is due next Friday. Sacha is the new girl in our class and has joined our group. Just like Gaurav she uses a pen to make a new rhythm and comes in second during the performance. Our performance is becoming more and more stable and we are controlling our laughing much better.

Here is a link to the video of our STOMP performance so far, to show our process: https://youtu.be/g4Tl5agwCu4

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Today, we practiced for about 30 minutes on our STOMP re-enactment. Then, we performed in front of the class. We are not graded on this performance as it is a drfat version but two weeks after the Christmas holiday, we will  be getting our final grade. What went well: the choreography was correctly respected (funny, crazy), everyone followed the correct rhythms, in the beginning, and we all enjoyed what we were doing and put a lot of enjoymen, happiness and laughter in doing it which made it more exciting. Attached to this process journal, is our draft version of the STOMP.

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Today, we started off with an orbit game. We had to make up our own beats and then pass them around the circle. We had to look at the person to our left so that we could copy the rhythm that was coming to us. We ended up with three rhythms being passed around, at the same time. The goal of this game was to keep those rhythms going without losing one in the process.

The skills we needed for this activity were: listening, focusing, timing, co-operation and memorizing.

Afterwards, we got into our groups and we practiced our STOMP performance with newspapers. We now have a draft version and an idea of what we want to accomplish on the performance day. The challenges that we faced in this task were: that we had to analyse the video very carefully and slowly to try and make sure that we were imitating it correctly and that we had the correct timing, that we had to be properly organized to make sure that we would be done on the deadline and that everyone knew what they were doing, and that our piece sounded coherent and similar to the STOMP. We all worked together to get organized and we had a long conversation in which we discussed who we wanted to bein the STOMP and how we were going to immitate the actors. We also slowed down the youtube video and focused on one performer that each of us wanted to be, and we copied their movements and where they are throughout the part of the video that we recreated. We will lastly, improve our timing and make the STOMP coherent by practicing many tims and filming our selves so we can look at what went well and what we could improve to make it sound better and more interesting.

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Today, was the first day of our new unit on drums. The lesson was not being taught by Ms. Pobjoy but by a professional, who came to the ISE for a drumming workshop. I was allowed to film 2 videos and 2 pictures before being told to put my phone away. The workshop was lots of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it because we all worked and had fun, as a class. I hope we can do it again sometime soon.

To begin with, he (the professional) performed a small musical piece, in front of us, that he had created using a small drum. He tapped and played it using his fingers, hands, and arm. He also used the bigger drum set, as well as the loop machine, which connected both souds together (as you can see in the video). His piece had a great an made you want to dance.

Secondly, he introduced himself and talked to us about samples. We learned that samples are made by taking part of a musical piece, changing it (for example the tempo, dynamics, pitch, etc.) and putting it into your own composition. You might call it stealing, but that is the reason why you must have permission from the original author to do it. The original writer then becomes co-writer for your composition and usually (as an arangement) receives part of the income.
During the class we made our own samples and looped them.

Thirdly, he showed us some editing apps for composing. The one he was using, called "Logic", was for professionals and cost 300 euros. But you can get some free ones for example Abletone try or fruity loops.

Fourthly, we were divided into 4 groups of four and each group was given different intruments. In my group, we were given the tambourine. it is a small instrument but makes a large amount of noise. Other instruments used were the small drum the professional used in the beginning of the lesson, and a new instrument that I had never seen before that created a bell sound. With these inrtuments, we followed a rythem we had created and composed a piece using the loop machine. It was lots of fun, although it was hard to remember what I had to do while listening to the other groups playing differently.

Fifthly, we created another composition with only our voices as an instrument. The professional started off by creating a rythem using the drum set, and we had to think of animal noises to go with it. Some of them were cat, dog, goat, cow and lion that each of us sung individually or in groups, into the loop machine. I also got the chance to rap but it was difficult because I didn't know what to sing. But it made me laugh so I was happy anyways!

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8/12/2017 Examining the STOMP performance 

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8/12/2017 Examining the STOMP performance 

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Today, Ms.Pobjoy was not here and the lesson was a big mess! We were not allowed to work inside the PA room and so we were sent to the top floor of the owl building. Sadly, we did not have the newspapers to practice our performance so we decided to analyze the video and specifically a performer that we wanted to imitate.

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Today, our main goal was to finish planning our STOMP performance.

But first, we started off with a game in which we followed a simple rhythm, but a fun trick was added into it to make it more complicated: one after the other, each person had to duck down every time. The skills required during this activity were: listening, focusing, timing and paying attention.

Then, my group and I had to finish planning what we wanted to do for our STOMP re-enactment. We wanted to do something from the "Harlem Globetrotters" (famous basketball players) with baskteballs, in the beginning, because we thought that it was really interesting and cool to so such tricks, but we figured out that it would be too complicated and it would take us too long to learn. Therefore, we decided to do a STOMP with newspapers that was very humourous. The STOMP is situated in a library where many loud people decide to come and disturb another person, calmly reading. It requires newspapers and a lot of acting skills because the acting is very exagerated. However, this is what makes it funny and this is the reason why we chose to do it. It also seemed easy and not too complicated

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1/12/2017 Beginning to recreate a STOMP performance

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1/12/2017 Beginning to recreate a STOMP performance

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Today, we started the lesson off with a game in which we had to follow a rhythm that we did through clapping, slapping our thighs, shouting, stamping and putting our arms out. The skills we needed with this were: focusing, remembering the actions, timing (staying on the beat), and listening.

Also, we started our second criteria for the STOMP unit in which we have to reenact a STOMP performance of our choice, as a group. In my group there is Nehir, Loukas, Rahul and Gaurav. We were supposed to find a video that we wanted to reenact during the lesson, but my group was not focusing very well and had different opinions, so we did not have the time to agree on a certain video.

The challenges that I predict in the upcoming performance task are:
1. Timing, because if one person does not start their part on time, the whole performance will be messed up.
2. Remembering the actions and when to do them, because there will be a part in the video in which all performers will be doing different rhythms.
3. Listening to make sure that all of us are on time and doing our actions correctly.

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28/11/2017 Presenting our STOMP presentation

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28/11/2017 Presenting our STOMP presentation

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Today, we presented our Power Point Presentation about the STOMP video we had been working on over the last week.

We had 15 minutes in the beginning of the lesson to practice the prsentation as a group before presenting in front of the whole class. I tried to teach my team mates how to perform the rhythms and choreography so that we could get a 7 or a 8 but because we were short of time we did not have the time to do it perfectly. However, our presentation was well organized and everybody had a good idea of what to say and knew what to do, also, none of us stuttered which kept the presentation clera and interesting. Thanks to this, we received an 8 on our presentation!

While watching others presenting, I learned that you could make great timbres with pans. I thought that this was impossible because I believed that when the wooden spoons would hit the pans, the sound they made would echo and it would last for an unequal beat. But, this did not happen and it actually souded very unique and interesting. I also learned that in a STOMP you could include some fun tricks and it could still match with the rhythms. For example, Manasvi's group analysed a STOMP performance with the Harlem Globetrotters who showed of very cool moves with basketballs that incorportated perfectly with the rest of the sounds.

From this analysis I have learned that STOMP is not only about music but also about humor, accesorises, setting and enjoying yourself! In my future performance I definitely want to use interesting and funny costumes as well as accesorises to make the performance very interesting and humorous.

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This is a picture of the professional that taught us during the drumming workshop.

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This is a picture of the app that the professional was using during the drumming workshop (Logic).

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This day I was sick and could not attend the lesson.

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Today, we looked at STOMP which is a way of creating music without any instruments but with everyday objects. When creating STOMP, the setting where you create the piece and your body language/choreography is very important. During the class, we had 15 minutes to create our own choreography for 4 short clapping rythems and layer them on top of each other.

My group and I had 5 chairs lined up back to back and all of us clapped a different part of the rythem. In my group there was Yue, Manasvi, Loukas, Varun and I. The performance started off with Yue who stood up and stomped her feet 8 times. Then, Manasvi and I stood up as Yue kept stamping, and I clapped the first line of the rythem while Manasvi clapped the third line of the rythem, at the same time. Lastly, Loukas and Varun stood up and clapped the second and fourth line of the rythem while Yue was still stamping. Our choreography was really short because we didn’t have much time as our initial idea didn’t work out (it didn’t have any layering).

It was easy because all we had to focus on were our movements as the rythem was already made up for us. However, it was hard at the same time because all of us had to be on time with the beat and focus on our part so we would not get distracted by the others doing different clapping in the group.

The feedback we received from our performance was: our performance was a little short, the standing up and sitting down was interesting, we need to practice staying on the beat, we could have made the performance longer by ending our performance with everyone playing at the same time, and we had organized the roles well.

I think STOMP is successful even with a simple rythem because of their choreography, layers, instruments and setting. I believe this because choreography is a major point in performing as it can really interest a viewer. As well as this, it can emphasize the theme or feeling you want your piece to sound like.
Layers are also very important because they can make a simple rythem much more exciting and enjoyable, it an also make you want to dance and participate.
The instruments are very unique in STOMP and this also makes the viewer interested even when you play a simple rythem with them. Everyday objects are relatable to the viewers and anything relatable is interesting (just like in comedy, sketches are relatable and that is what makes them funny).
The setting also emphasizes the feeling you want your piece to show and interest the viewer because it is not common to make music with a pan inside a kitchen!

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22/11/2017 Working on the presentation about a STOMP video

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22/11/2017 Working on the presentation about a STOMP video

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Today we worked on the presentation about a STOMP perfromance video (2 to 3 minutes long) on YouTube that we had to analyse. The Power Point Presentaion is due on the 29th (Wednesday). I am with Aisling and Gemma for this presentation. In this presentation we have to answer questions of different levels which our grade will depend on and compare/contrast the different performers in it.

During the lesson, we had to answer the general questions:
1. How many performers are in the performance?
2. What is te setting?
3. What objects are used?
4. What timbres are used?

And the specific questions (higher level):
1. Focus on one performer in the video.
2. What rythems do they use?
3. How do they move around

As we only have one more lesson before the presentation, this is what we have to accomplish next lesson: we have to finish all the levels of questions, create the power point presentation and add the information to it/ put it together, and we have to practice presenting it.

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Today was our last in class lesson to finish our presentation on the STOMP video.

In class, we began by answering the set of higher level questiosn as we wanted to get the highest possible grade for this project. The first two questions were about a second performer in the video:
1. What rhythms do they use? 2. How do they move around?
We focused on the the second woman that performed and answered the first 2 questions about her, looking carefully at alll her actions throughout the entire performance.

The third question was about both the second and first performers in the video:
3. Compare them to your first performer.
We compared her to the man we had chosen for the specific questions, and we answered the question by looking at both performers in the STOMP. It was a little bit difficult because the focus of the video would often change to different performers so we did not see them the whole time. However, we managed to answer the question and explained the different actions, rhythms and act of both performers.

And the last question was about the STOMP performance in general:
4.Can you demonstrate the rhythms, techniques or choreography?
The fourth question was the hardest because we had to carefully look at both performers' rhythms and it was hard to get every movement correct and with the right beat. But, in the end, we managed to recreate some of the performers' rythms that we will show during our presentation on Wednesday.

Improvement for next lesson: I would have liked to finish everything today but I was distracted and not very organized so that it something I will work on next lesson.

What I want to achieve before Wednesday: I want to edit and finalize the presentation (add details, colours, effects, etc.) to make it more interesting (which I will do as homework. I also want to practice presenting it with Gemma and Aisling before Wednesday so that we feel confident and we know what we want to say on the day of the presentation.