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It was a wonderful night and I really enjoyed performing in front of a real audience in a real venue.

The good thing about performing at the Mash House was that it was a real experience and atmosphere which wouldn't be the case if we were performing in college.

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Monday night at the Mash House was amazing.

I think I look really confident here.

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This was when we were setting up and getting ready to perform. I was feeling nervous in a good way and excited to get started. I thought this day would never happen but it did and I'm really happy and really proud of myself and the band.

After the performance I felt good about myself for achieving what I practiced for in the band.

I was a little nervous as I was in the middle of the stage were there was a mic and I felt as I took charge of the stage and performance. This is not something I've experienced, but this is something I would do again.

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Abstract Decision is a guitar-rich collective with a big sound and a bold presence. With Edward and Theodora on vocals, and a wall of guitars from Brooklyn, Diego, Jakub, and Matthew, the band delivers layered, powerful performances. Erin adds colour and atmosphere on keys, Theo anchors the sound on bass, and Connor keeps everything driving forward on drums. Together, they create a striking, full-bodied live show that stands out from the crowd.

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Abstract Decision is a guitar-rich collective with a big sound and a bold presence. With Edward and Theodora on vocals, and a wall of guitars from Brooklyn, Diego, Jakub, and Matthew, the band delivers layered, powerful performances.

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Week Beginning 12th May (The Mash House Gig)

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Week Beginning 12th May (The Mash House Gig)

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Today I practiced for the Mash House and it was really fun and everyone did amazingly well but I messed up on the chorus of Super Trouper as the lyrics change each time and was a little confusing so what I did was I kept singing and didn't stop as that's what you are supposed to do if you mess up is you keep going even if you mess up my favourite song to sing was Black Sheep as I got to belt the note and it was a fun song to sing the audience was really happy and they cheered us on. The other songs that we did were great to sing to. For the song Black Sheep there was a soloist guitarist close to the end of the song which was great to hear. I enjoyed being in the band as I have learned a lot about working with everyone and singing with them as well.

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This is the message I sent the band to see if someone else can be the introducer for the band at the Mash House.

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We planed to try practicing all 5 songs but we ended up practicing only 2 of them. I am anxious to make sure I know all 5 songs but if we are not getting a chance to practice them then this is not helpful. In fact I have decided not to introduce the band on the 12th and asked someone else to do it. This is 1 less thing for me to memorize and I can now concentrate on the songs although I do not think our original song is one that I will be able to learn off by heart.

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This is a warm up that I have used quite a lot and it has helped me. I find Cheryl Porter very easy to watch and understand what she does in singing.

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HAVANA Vocal Workout - Cheryl Porter vocal coach

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Today was recording day and we were all really excited but I was a little nervous as I have never recorded in the studio before. We decided to record our Original song (Nevermind). We also had Scott and Sarah with us. Scott was filming the sessions and photoshoots were done by Sarah - see above!

Sarah and Scott also did the technical stuff.

Scott filmed our session three times to make sure he had the best version for the website and for the YouTube page. By the end of the session my nerves had settled and I really enjoyed the experience.

I was thinking about the session on the 12th May at the Mash House and who would be introducing the songs and band members on the night. I thought it would be a good idea to contact the band about who will be introducing the band and the songs that we will be doing.

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We are back in college after the Easter holiday and we are practicing in one of the practice rooms. Unfortunately not all of the band made it today and we had to decide which songs we would concentrate on.

I am slightly concerned about the song called Tek it because the vocals are fast and start straight away which is not something I'm used to in a band. I'm going to suggest to Brooklynn that she sings along with me because that will help me with the song when we perform it.

When I listen to the original the vocalist seems to sing the first verse without taking a breath even though it's not the case. I need to work on my breathing to get the best effect.

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We met at Color sound studios which is based at 42a Haymarket Terrace Edinburgh EH12 5LA.

The band members who attended were: Gilly ( who booked studio), Theo, me, Diego and Brooklynn. Once again not all band members showed up.

We practiced Super Trouper as a warm up and then concentrated on Black Sheep. Because the full band didn't appear, we only practiced the two songs.

My opinion of the studio was good - it had all the equipment and the space was good but I just didn't like the location. It was cheap and a good option for bands who don't have a place to practice.

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The songs that we are doing are:

Super Trouper

The song was released in 1980 by Abba and would be described as pop. I found out what it meant. ABBA weren't talking about a 'troupe' at all – they were referring to a type of spotlight named a “super trouper” (beams are gonna blind me) that was following them on stage and perhaps a metaphor for their touring life – wishing every show was the last show. https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/qa-supertrouper/#:~:text=A%3A%20Well%20yes%2C%20because%20ABBA,show%20was%20the%20last%20show.

Black Sheep by Metric

The song was released in 2010 and is a blend of Indie Rock, Alternative Rock and Synth Pop. I found out that the tempo of this song is 124 BPM and is quite sorrowful and is energetic as well.

Nevermind (Original song)

Airplanes

The song was released in 2010 and was written by Bob and featured Hayley Williams who did vocals. The genre is Hip-Hop and Rap.

Tek it

The song was released in 2021 was written by Cafune the album its from is Running. The genre is Alternative and Indie

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When we went to band practice today (2nd April) I mentioned that I didn't feel comfortable with the title of the band which was "Seven Juice Cartons". I felt this was a band name that people might laugh at and I was concerned about this.

We had a chat with Ni and came up with a name that I felt happier with - "Abstract Decision". As you can see above in the post about Out Of The Box Fest 2025. I looked on the internet to check that this name had not been taken. I will contact Ni to check for the website.

We did a quick sound check and started rehearsing Super Trouper and Black Sheep. We only did these two because the full band did not turn up.

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My plan this week at band practice was to capture and record all activities during the rehearsal, so that we can measure the progress we are making.

Here are my notes from Wednesday the 26th:

We did a quick sound check and then we talked about the 2nd of April (Music Box sessions) we then chatted felt about the setlist. So, for example, we know that the performance has to be 20 minutes long and we have chosen 5 songs. We have to make sure everything fits in the time slot.

We decided to split the songs into parts and have backing vocals. We practiced this and I feel like this worked really well.

The screenshot above was part of the dissolution on what songs to do for the setlist but we have changed the songs to Black Sheep and Takit. But we have taken out Empire State of Mind and the Kendrick song.

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Setlist Research

https://www.stagesmusicarts.com/creating-the-perfect-setlist/

Vocal Techniques

Belting Explained | What is Belt? | How to Belt a Musical Theatre or Pop Song

During band practice on the 26th of March I realised that I had used a technique called belting. Which is why I decided to research the technique on youtube.com. I watched a singing coach demonstrate how to belt in singing. She used the Lady Gaga song Shallow.

She said " Its similar to yelling but its not". But you would have to control your voice while belting but you don't want to over do it as that may strain your voice.

Working with others

https://imusician.pro/en/resources/blog/music-collaborations-benefits-and-challenges#:~:text=Music%20collaborations%20allow%20artists%20to,to%20collaborate%20with%20other%20artists.

Music collaborations allow artists to combine their knowledge, talent, and experience, thus giving all people involved the opportunity to transcend the boundaries of individual creativity. In this article, we aim to look into when and why it makes sense for musicians to a with other artists.

As a team, each member can benefit by working together with others, allowing them to focus on the bits they do best (and perhaps giving them opportunities to learn from others).

Bibliography:

Hess, D. (2022). Creating the Perfect Setlist. [online] Stages Music Arts. Available at: https://www.stagesmusicarts.com/creating-the-perfect-setlist/.

Andy Follin (2017). Belting Explained | What is Belt? | How to Belt (Singing) a Musical Theatre or Pop Song. [online] Andy Follin (Estill EMT) - Professional Vocal Coach. Available at: https://www.vocalskills.co.uk/What-is-Belt-Belting.html.

musician.pro (2023) Music Collaborations: Benefits and Challenges [online] available at: https://imusician.pro/en/resources/blog/music-collaborations-benefits-and-challenges#:~:text=Music%20collaborations%20allow%20artists%20to,to%20collaborate%20with%20other%20artists.

Australian Writer's Center (2025) Super Trouper Available at: https://writerscenter.com.au

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A guide to Creating the Perfect Setlist from Stages Music Arts. Baltimore’s premiere recording studio and music school.

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My plan is to be prepared on a Wednesdays (band practice) to have a list of questions in my diary.

For example, to establish everyone’s roles and responsibilities. Take photos of the band members, people practicing and any other activities to show the progress we are making towards our performance in the Mash House.

I am going to be keeping a weekly diary of what I do in my band practice on Wednesdays. I'm going to be using the What, so what and now what model to help reflect on the progress of my project.

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The concept of this project is to work in my band to produce a 20 -minute set which will be performed at the Mash House on the 12th May 2025. We will be performing 5 songs and 3 of them are songs we have performed before in the band. The two other songs have just been chosen for the Mash House.

Succeeding with this project would make me really happy and show the skills I have gained since the start of the course. I see this as a journey for me.

The project will involve:

·      Great communication – working together and writing and performing a number of songs means we need to communicate regularly. Each person needs to be aware of what they are supposed to do in the band and to check their phones when someone in the band sends a message. And for them to reply to it as well.

·      Good organizational skills – keeping a diary and making sure to write down some notes and a list of any work that we’ve been given. And making sure that we are keeping up to date with deadlines.

·      Patience – Just being nice to each other and respecting everyone else’s views.

·      Working with others – Learning from other people

This will clearly have some challenges and part of the learning is to overcome these difficulties. The areas that I’m going to research are setlists, vocal techniques and working with others (groups) which I think will be helpful to the band work and finishing the project.

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When I started my padlet, there was a range of research areas that we could look at. I decided the areas that would best suit my project and padlet were working with others, vocal techniques and setlist.

For example, in our setlist there is a song called Tek it and I find it hard to sing and to find the right time to breathe in the middle of the song. I went back to look over the vocal techniques website to see if there was any helpful hints for me. However I didn't find it helpful and decided to speak to one of the other backing vocalists to see if we can work this out together and I reflected that good communication with other band members is not always an easy task but is definitely the best thing to do.

My skills have changed because I'm having to make hard decisions that I wouldn't usually make. For my sake and for the success of the project, I have had to think carefully about what I can and can't do in the time frame that we have. I had to contact the band and explain that introducing the band at the Mash House was too much of a responsibility. This is not something I actually wanted to do but thought it was for the best and I thought no one else would want to do it.

To help with my evaluation we looked at a video of our bands performance and it was pointed out that, while looking good I was relying on my note book to help me with the lyrics. This realisation really upset me because I wasn't sure if I had enough time to memorize all the lyrics. I panicked and was almost in tears but I made a decision to practice really hard everyday and on the morning of the performance we practiced for a long time. At the actual performance I didn't need my note book and although not perfect, I did really well. I think I felt a little bit nervous and anxious which I did and realise now this actually helped me improve my performance.

All of the work this year has been leading to this final performance at the Mash House. The preparation that we had to do was to come up with a set list that is for 20 minutes which was the time required. On the actual night it felt longer than 20 minutes as I was into the vibe and because I was in front of an actual audience. That made me feel a little nervous and excited. I've learned that being nervous is normal and it means that you care about the performance and that it is essential.

The preparation on the day we had 6hrs of practice before hand to make sure that everything was ready and that it flowed well and we were within the time frame.

We looked at the setlist and I was a little nervous about the timing was and it turned out to be 19 minutes which was perfect.

I was anxious in the lead up to the performance because some people did not turn up to practice. But in actual fact it was not an issue as the performance was very good and everyone turned up for the pre performance practice in the morning so we could finalise the setlist.

For one of the songs I messed up a little bit but I kept going as I should. The song was called Super Trouper and because it has some weird lyrics for the chorus as it changes each time in the song, I got confused. When I spoke to the others they said they hadn't noticed which then I felt a bit better afterwards. I've learned that it's ok to make mistakes which is normal and in fact the audience might not pick up on small things if the over all performance is good. This is something I want to take with me for HND 1.

On reflection I would have liked a little more band practice and personally I would try to learn the lyrics a bit earlier so that I could try not making a mistake even though it's ok to make them. Also it is more professional to perform without needing to rely on notes or other prompts.

I'm glad I chose the band option for my project. The down side of this was trying to communicate well as they didn't always reply to the messages. At the end of the day everything worked out and what I need to take from this is not to over worry about the small things as they usually work out fine. The positive side of this was being able to work well with others and to trust the other band members to do their bit.

Out of all of this I've learned:

In terms of the setlist I was happy with the it as we got to do Black sheep last as it is more energetic and all the songs were fun to do. The setlist was decided as a band and felt that the process worked well because everyone in the band agreed. At the beginning I felt that 5 songs was a lot but looking back, it was the right amount of songs for the time frame.

I've learned that working with others would mean more communication and that pushing myself to do so makes things a lot easier. At the start I wasn't as confidant as I am now but I still need to be more proactive.

My vocal technique I think has improved over the course of the year. For the song Black sheep I managed to belt the note when I needed to and I didn't know I could do it.

My aims for HND1 are:

To look into different genres and open up my potential. At the moment I tend to sing and listen to Pop songs, Greek songs and sometimes Classical songs if I'm calming down from a long performance. I would be up for learning and listening new songs of different genres. This will be helpful for next year when I go to do HND.

I want to be able to use different techniques for next year when I do my PadLet. For example: videoing myself or voice recording or writing a blog and trying to take more photos or videos myself because I will need to work independently next year.

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Knowledge can include:

Warm-ups and other practice techniques

The technique I use for vocal warm up is one I learned from singing teacher outside college. Please see link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl_RZcQcvlo

This technique is just a humming exercise to help with singing which came from lockdown.

Familiarity with existing songs/compositions/other art works

When I looked at the photo that was taken of the band practice on the 30th April I was aware that I needed my note book for some of the lyrics to 4 of the songs. So I decided to put some hard practice in around the lyrics so that I would not be so dependant over my note book.

Using hardware

As vocalist I am not personally using any additional hardware apart from the AMPS and mic stand as I have my own microphone. I don't think any of the guitarists or any musicians are using any hardware that I'm aware of.0

Using music technology

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personal vocal or instrumental practice

The way I prepare for band practice or any other performance is this:

I find the relevant song on YouTube and then I familiarise myself with the song so that I feel more confidant in singing them.

I would then find a karaoke version of the song and use this to practice more.

Finally I might take a backing track with me to band practice to keep me close to the original version.

songwriting, composition

We have one original called Nevermind, as "Nevermind" is used a lot in the lyrics that the rapper uses. During the second semester, during project 2, we were given the task to write an original song. Ni suggested a genre to get us started. The lyrics mainly came from Ed, Diego came up with the chords for the guitarists in the band.

arranging

rehearsing with others

https://youtu.be/1Zzz2ocBZ0A?si=Vo9LXNkOtuNH_gi-

collaborating with others

Last week 23/04/2025, I felt like I had an issue with the vocal parts for the song Tek it and I spoke to Brooklynn and she said she would ask Ed if they can sing the verses. We haven't practiced it yet but I think this is a better solution.

meeting with others

We met at Color Sound Studios during the easter holidays so we could get some practice in but not everyone showed up though we did what we could in 1hr.

performing

I was a little nervous to record as I wanted it to go well and I've learned that being nervous is normal and that the recording studio is different to when we practice in a room upstairs. In a recording studio its not just one attempt but you can get a few tries.

So if I was going to be back in the studio I wouldn't be too nervous about recording but have a little more confidence in the studio.