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As it is just Simran and I again next week, we will be rehearsing our cover of Still Into You. Simran will need to try to remember to bring her electric guitar to rehearsal, so we are able to successfully practice this song.

Me: learn all the lyrics for Still Into You, practice staying in time/in key

Simran: learn the chords and the timing on electric guitar for Still Into You

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This week, I believe that Simran and I were very productive. We achieved all our goals that we set for ourselves, and even started some preliminary rehearsals of a new song. We could have achieved slightly more, like really getting stuck into our new song, we we got one good recording completed, and we achieved everything we has set out to do. Next week we intend to begin practicing Still Into You, and potentially perform some of what we gave rehearsed.

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We got some really positive feedback from the audience - they really appreciated our joint acapella line we sang together, and the reggae ukulele at the end definitely changed the tempo and the style in a really positive way. I agree that that particular section does need more practice, so we flow into it more smoothly and naturally.

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At first, I was struggling to pluck the right strings all the time when playing the verses to this song, as plucking is a fairly new concept to me. After plucking a few wrings strings for a while, I eventually got the hang of it, due to more practice. I also struggled with the chords for the pre chorus, as there was very little of them and it just didn't sound quite right. I made a few mistakes with this in our performance, but with some more rehearsal this should become more fluid. Simran's vocal technique was spot on through the rehearsal, and she managed to add some decoration and ornamentation with her notes in the melody line. She did however struggle at first with the ukulele solo at the beginning, as she found it difficult to staying time with my guitar, but after we had practised together this became more fluid and in time.

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As we had rehearsed this song many times before, our initial ideas were to add some decoration to the existing material we had already worked on. Our initial idea to make our performance more interesting was to add a short ukulele at the beginning, which Simran would perform. I played the guitar chords for her over a few times, so that Simran was able to figure out notes that worked well with the chords in the intro. We also had the idea to develop a reggae outro; Simran played the same chords as I was on her ukulele, and used an off beat strumming pattern., to add variation to our song, so it wasn't the same all the way through. I plucked single chords at the appropriate times, just to keep us both in time and fill out the melody slightly more, to avoid it sounding empty.

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Our four aims for this week were to:
1. Finalise my solo song choice
2. Perfect and perform Put Your Records on
3. Create a ukulele riff to accompany the guitar on Put Your Records On
4. Add a ukulele reggae section effectively for the last chorus of Put Your Records On

All of our goals this week were achieved. Beth was absent due to illness, and Pixie was working with Jared and John for one of her solo songs. This just left me and Simran. Simran took the lead vocals and the ukulele and I took the lead guitar. To make best use of the ukulele, we decided to adapt a short solo for Simran to play over the guitar intro. This gave her a chance to really show off her skills, and also added excitement and variation to our piece, so it became more interesting for our audience. Adding the reggae section towards the end was an idea that we had been considering for a while. We thought it would be a nice way to change the style of the song, so it wasn't just the same chords and patterns all the way through, as eventually this would become tiresome for us to play, and for the audience to listen to. We finalised my song choice, after a couple of weeks of deliberation. We had gone against the idea of playing 'Are U Mine' by the Arctic Monkeys, as this song did not suit my vocal style well. We had settled to start learning 'Still Into You' by Paramore. For this song, I will take the lead vocals and Simran will play the electric guitar. This will add contrast to our pervious songs, as we haven't yet experimented with using electric instruments. We hope to begin practicing this song next week. We also completed a largely successful performance of Put Your Records On.

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Put Your Records on - Corrine Bailey Rae

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Put Your Records on - Corrine Bailey Rae

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Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On

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Capo 2 chords:
Verse: G, A7, C, G
Pre chorus: Em, A7, C A7, Am7
Chorus: G, A7, C, G
Middle 8: C, Em, C, A7, Am7

Barre chords:
Verse: A, B7, D, A
Pre chorus: F#m, B7, D Bm7
Chorus: A, B7, D, A
Middle 8:  F#m, B7, D Bm7

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As a group we were fairly productive during this session, we managed to reach all of our goals, learn new parts to the song and become more confident. Unfortunately we did not get round to recording a video of our work this week, but next week we will be sure to get some feedback from our peers.

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Our individual goals for next week are:

Me: rehearse the ukulele chords and tempo, and fluency of my playing for next week's practice of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'. Also to continue practicing the plucking for Put Your Records On, to add flair and confidence to my performance.

Beth: attempt to develop a short piano solo for the intro of Put Your Records on. In addition, to practice playing the chords and adding some melodic variation to her piano part for this song, making sure to accentuate her talents and make our song more elaborate.

Pixie: practice barre chords for Put Your Records on, making sure they're sounding good and in time, and ensuring that she's able to keep up with the chord changes.

Simran: to try and develop her ideas for the reggae inspired solo section we are hoping to add to this song, and to rehearse the vocals for Put Your Records on, to make sure she knows all the lyrics.

All: to listen to 'Weak' by Skunk and Nancy to try and become more familiar with the song, so we're able to learn it faster. Consider the contrasts within the songs we have chosen, making sure its clear enough.

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Three little birds sat on my window.
And they told me I don't need to worry.
Summer came like cinnamon
So sweet,
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.

[PRE CHORUS]
Maybe sometimes we've got it wrong, but it's alright
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same
Oh, don't you think it's strange?

[CHORUS]
Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.
You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Blue as the sky, sunburnt and lonely,
Sipping tea in a bar by the roadside,
(just relax, just relax)
Don't you let those other boys fool you,
Got to love that afro hair do.

[PRE CHORUS]

[CHORUS]

'Twas more than I could take, pity for pity's sake
Some nights kept me awake, I thought that I was stronger
When you gonna realise, that you don't even have to try any longer?
Do what you want to.

[CHORUS x2]

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Towards the beginning of this session, I had really struggled with plucking the verses to this song, as its not something I have much experience with. To begin with I found it very difficult to play at a good speed, and make sure I was playing the right chords and touching the right strings. This however, became easier with more practice, and although my technique is not perfect yet, it is coming along quite nicely. Pixie had some issues with the barre chords for this song, as they are mot something she has much experience with either. At first she found it challenging to get her finger technique correct, so the barre chord actually made a nice sound. After some time of practice, this became easier for her and she was managing to make a really good sound. Some chords however, proved more problematic than others, but I believe with a little more practice she will get it perfect. Simran had no issues with her vocal technique, as she was very well rehearsed. I also had trouble trying to play in time with Simran's singing, just because the plucking was very new to me, and difficult for me to perform quickly, but I soon began to feel more comfortable and confident, and managed to increase my tempo.

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Our initial thoughts and ideas regarding how we were going to perform Put Your Records On, were to use two guitars and a keyboard, alongside Simran's lead vocals. To add variation and to expand both mine and Pixie's guitar skills, we chose to play differently: I was to play the chords to the song using a capo and pluck the rhythm, and Pixie was to play the barre chords over the top to fill out the instrumentation, so our song didn't sound empty. We also chose to change the way I played the guitar throughout the verse, pre chorus and chorus. To achieve this, I plucked the rhythm for the verse, strummed single chords on the pre chorus and took to a strumming pattern on the chorus. We believed this would be an excellent way to add distinction to the song, and it would also challenge me to adapt new guitar skills: plucking and changing technique. Simran also had the idea to add a guitar solo section towards the end of the song, inspired by a reggae style to really show off our talents and make our working exciting and interesting for the audience. We haven't established this section perfectly yet, or decided who is to play it, but this will be an aim for weeks to come. We also planned to discuss with Beth the possibility of adding a piano solo as an intro to this song.

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This week our four targets were to:
1. Get the guitar parts for "Put Your Records On" fluid
2. Decide where the solo section would fit best
3. Plan next week's rehearsal thoroughly
4. Finalise our song selection.

All of our targets this week were achieved; Beth was absent due to illness, so the group this week was just me, Simran and Pixie. As per our goals of last week, we rehearsed our cover of Put Your Records On. Pixie and I both played the guitar, and Simran took the lead vocals. We also decided where our guitar solo section would fit best, and we agreed to attempt to add a reggae influenced guitar solo after the middle 8, before the last chorus. We are yet to finalise this idea, so it is something we will work on as a full group in later weeks. we finalised our song selection, and decided that we were to learn 'Weak' by Skunk and Nancy for Pixie's vocal solo, and for my vocal solo we were going to perform 'Are U Mine' by the Arctic Monkeys. We also devised an in-depth plan for next week session.

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I believe we all worked really well this session. We sat and planned our goals and organised our time well. Although not all of our targets were achieved, we managed to create a new song from scratch and get off to a really positive start. We also planned our targets and aims for next week, so we can make the most of our time.

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We attained some positive feedback from our tutor Mike, we were complimented on our good positive start - considering it was our first session together as a full group due to absences, we'd made good progress and had developed good technique. We just needed to consider the contrast between our chosen songs, to make sure we achieve the best we can, and challenge ourselves considerably.

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Our First Practice - Somewhere Over The Rainbow

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Our First Practice - Somewhere Over The Rainbow

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-eJl9G54HU&index=6&list=PLNTlmWoJVMq1kilEnZaBLN2mGDHge9XGX

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Eva Cassidy - Somewhere Over The Rainbow

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Eva Cassidy - Somewhere Over The Rainbow

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rd8VktT8xY

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For next week, each of us have individual things to learn and practice.

Me
I need to practice the ukulele chords and when to play them for Somewhere Over The Rainbow. This means that we will be able to practice more efficiently and use our time better in the sessions, as I will know exactly what I'm doing. I also need to practice and go over the guitar chord progression and the strumming pattern for Put Your Records On, so in rehearsal I am ready to focus on getting it perfect, and learning and solidifying my part at home will help to create more time in the session for working together as a group. I also need to do some research into an alternative song to 'Dear Happy', as we had decided against using it for our group.

Beth
Beth should practice her keyboard part for Put Your Records On, and work on getting the chords and the tempo correct, and also potentially making her part more complex, or beginning to develop ideas for a possible piano solo or different melody lines to fill the song out, and make it more interesting for our audience to listen to. She should also work on learning the lyrics for Somewhere Over The Rainbow, so she is able to concentrate more on her vocal technique and making sure we are all blending together well in the rehearsals.

Simran
Simran should start to think about and develop ways to enhance her keyboard part in Somewhere Over Rainbow, considering things such as adding a solo or a more complex melody line. She could also start to create ideas about how to present her vocals for Put Your Records On: whether we should consider using PA effects such as reverb.

Pixie
Pixie can start to work on learning the barre chords for Put Your Records On, so next week we are able to make the most of our rehearsal time and practice fully, so we're performing well to the group.

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Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Lyrics and Chords

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Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Lyrics and Chords

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C   C     Em       Em
Somewhere over the rainbow
F   Fm     C    C7
Way up high
F       Fm   C           Am
There's a    land that I heard of
Dm        G    C   C
Once in a lullaby
C   C     Em       Em
Somewhere over the rainbow
F   Fm        C    C7
Skies are blue
F   Fm  C               Am      Dm
And the dreams that you dare to dream
G       C    C
Really do come true
C                   C
Some day I'll wish upon a star
F                 Fm             Am Am  Am
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
C                  C
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
B7           B7
Away above the chimney tops
Em    Em     Dm   G
That's where you'll find me
C   C     Em       Em
Somewhere over the rainbow
F   Fm        C    C7
Bluebirds fly
F     Fm  C        Am
Birds fly over the rainbow
Dm           G         C   C
Why then, oh why can't I?

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At the beginning of the session, I didn't know all of the chords to Somewhere Over The Rainbow, so I had to learn some new chords such as C7, Fm and B7. As a result of this, I was playing quite slowly at the beginning of the session, because I was struggling to make all the chord shapes fast enough. I made quite a few mistakes to start off with, but towards the end of the session I felt more confident with what I was playing and was able to stay in time with Simran's keyboard playing and we were able to produce a really nice sound together. Beth also had some struggles with her vocals at the start of the session: she did not know al the words to the song, so had to read the lyrics off of her phone, and this therefore resulted in her not being able to focus her attention on her singing. She also struggled to reach some of the higher notes in the song, as she found she was running out of breath towards the end of some of the lines. However, as she got more comfortable with the song, her technique improved. Simran's keyboard technique was positive from the beginning. She experimented with adding patterns and gentle melodies, and it really helped develop the depth and texture of the song.

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Our first ideas for 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow', were that we should keep the amount of instruments used as minimal as possible; this would help give us a relaxed, acoustic vibe. We also thought that adding some high melody notes on the keyboard, played with the right hand alongside the chords would add to the whimsical aura the lyrics of the song present. These ideas influenced our decision to use the ukulele, as it also helps to emphasise clairvoyant, mystical elements. Other ideas we had were to try and make our cover sound different to the original version, and we planned to do this by using different instruments, so instead of using acoustic guitar we are using keyboard and ukulele, and also to perform our version with a faster tempo, but keep the soft vocals the same, to accentuate the roots of the song.

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Our four targets for this week's session were to select the instruments we were going to use for our cover of 'Put Your Records On'  by Corrine Bailey Rae. This target was reached, and we decided that we would involve two guitars, keyboard and vocals for this song. We also decided that Beth would play the keyboard for the melody, I would adopt one of the guitar parts, which was playing the chords and strumming a rhythm. Pixie would take on the other guitar part, and play the same chords, but work on barring them. Simran is to take lead vocals and she has a soulful, powerful voice which suits this song and the style perfectly. Another one of our goals was to figure out the order of the songs we were going to practice, for example next week we will work on Put Your Records On, and Somewhere Over The Rainbow if we have time. We also aimed to review our song choices, to ensure that everything was contrasting enough to challenge us as musicians. The only target that we unfortunately didn't achieve was to work on some harmonies for my song choice of 'Dear Happy' by Dodie Clark. We did not reach this target as we are reconsidering using this song, as it isn't contrasting enough, or challenging enough. Overall the majority of our targets were achieved, and achieved well.

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The group I am working in for this term consists of me, Beth, Simran and Pixie. We thought this would be a really positive group to work in, because as individual we are quite multitalented - all of us can sing well and we all can also play more than one instrument, so this means we are able to challenge ourselves by taking on different roles for different songs. This week, we were working on a song chosen from the list, which was 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' , by Eva Cassidy. For this song, Beth took the lead vocals, Simran took the keys and I played the ukulele. Our idea was to use the keyboard for the melody and the bass, and the ukulele to play simple chords to help fill out the song more. These two instruments contrast but work nicely together, as the twinkling of higher keyboard notes compliments the tone and sound of the ukulele, which is also quite high pitched. Beth's vocals accorded well with our instrument choices, as she naturally has a soft, gentle, higher vocal range, which suited the relaxed feel we were aiming for. We are almost trying to create a magical vibe with our work, to correspond to the themes of the song: rainbows, stars etc. However, Pixie wasn't part of this song, as we didn't want to make the piece too busy with too many instruments, so she was happy to plan our targets and aims for the session and consider working on a separate song with Jared and John in the future.

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January 16, 2017 - Somewhere Over The Rainbow

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January 16, 2017 - Somewhere Over The Rainbow