# data[].attributes.body
So far I have drums and bass for my recorded song- I have been focusing in on my live more than my recorded for now. I think however it is a good starting point to show the promise of my track that will be ready for hand in of my summative.

# data[].attributes.body
This week was the first rehearsal I organised for Love's Train.

It went well with the few run-throughs we did, I had told the instrumentalists to learn it as close to the original as possible- and to not worry about the horns or transposing anything as I had planned a vocal arrangement for the horn replacement. The session's primary purpose was to figure out where I was at with the groundwork of the song- the instruments.

I wanted to get a clean run-through so I could go home and build the harmonies into what we already had, so I told the backing vocalists to not come to this rehearsal as it would be unfair to ask them to come with no explanation of what they are singing- and also find out I had gaps that I then tried to make them fill on the spot. So instead I wanted to record a run-through and go home to record the backing vocals as I needed them and send it over later that night.

The instruments sounded really good, but there were a few tweaks I wanted to make. It is my performance and I wanted to show off my vocals as much as possible so tightening up the areas that I wanted instruments to stop in was imperative.

There weren't a lot of issues with the rehearsal however I did get increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress being made. We would run through it once and everyone seemed to then get distracted and start messing around or playing random things. To the point of me having to shout over instruments to be heard and start a run-through again. this was very stressful and meant I wanted to get the run-through recorded and go home to get the vocals recorded to send to Daisy and Kai as soon as possible.

In the next rehearsal, I plan to be more forward with the band and remind them they are session musicians there to play what I ask them to- not to play over me when I am trying to organise things to the point of shouting. Next rehearsal I am also bringing in the vocalists to add in the backing vocals and start talking about outfits and performance with the band (stage presence/choreography for singers/etc) and will be doing research into this within the next few weeks before the run-through.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose to do Love's Train by Silk Sonic for my live performance for multiple different reasons.

Vocally it's a lot of fun, there are a lot of different parts in the song by different vocalists which gives it a challenge. The vocals show a lot of different skills and there's lots of ornamentation with vibrato. It's also a challenge with harmonies as it all has to blend really well together, and the harmonies have to be tight. There's belting in this song and I feel like I can really play around with this song and have fun while I sing it.

Musically it is also a great song. It's got an odd structure, it's got modulations and it's also got a funky bass line which is a key driving force in how groovy the song is. It's also got a lot of layers which also presents me a challenge- how do I make those layers without certain instruments. For example the horns.

I have made my own arrangement of the song and since I'm a vocalist before anything else I want to fill the gaps with vocals. Having my two backing vocalists singing the horns section with harmonies will allow me to still have the vibe of the horns in the song without the actual horns. Singing the melody they follow using 'Ba' 'Bum' and swapping between 'ahh's and 'ooo's will give the layered impression of the horns.

This song also contrast to my recording. It's an upbeat, funky song and my recording will be chilled and mellow with just my voice and not many harmonies. Instrumentation wise it's also a very big contrast with how little instruments I will have in my recording.

Overall I think it's a great song to pick and it pushes me out of my comfort zone not only as a vocalist but as a musician, making my own arrangement of the song. These are the reasons I picked this song for my live performance.

# data[].attributes.body
Universal points to build on from WBO3

More evidence of your contribution and process- include videos to demonstrate your skillset in developing diaries

More critical analysis- less descriptive, pat on the back for myself while also evidence.

Submit from studio to canvas- if a video pr track is in your studio, can't see it

Check access links

Include all formative work in Summative as well- one whole thing

Define success

In relation to your career in music, what does success mean to you:- trying your best, making mistakes and learning from them, achieving my goals, making money from what I want to do and what I make, being happy and enjoying my time, as long as it’s in music.

Definitions or types of success: ‘the accomplishment of an aim or purpose’,

The 5 Types of Success:

Inner success- happiness

Physical success

Family success

Career success

Economic/monetary success

Extra types:

Artistically recognised

Quantifiable

Status-related

Measured by material possessions

Attributes

Time management

Originality

Work ethic

Technical proficiency/knowledge

Consistency in quality

Qualifications

Personality and drive

Networking

Media development diary- IMPORTANT PART: Technical and Performance skills

Set smart targets - important for reflection.

S- Specific

M- Measurable

A- Achievable

R- Relevant

T- Time-bound

JANUARY - APRIL

Academic-

Complete all of my work before the deadline, work hard and add more detail to my work. My formative hand-in will be an initial measure of my work being up to date. I will not procrastinate on my work and will keep up to date on my flipped learning. It will keep me on track to get me where I need to be for the final hand-in. The time boundary for this target will be the formative hand in I will have an initial plan, and then the second time-bound target will be the final hand-in.

Technical-

I want to show off my adaptability more. I will do more session work for different people and different styles, however, my own songs that I have chosen are also contrasting. I will branch out and sing for other people's bands as well as my own work. This is relevant because it shows my adaptability in vocals and different vocal styles. I will finish this target by the end of the term.

Performance-

Stage presence, I want to open up on stage more and let go. I will feel the music more and it will show how much more confident on stage I am. I will do my own research into how to relax more on stage over the course of the term. It will allow me to give the best performance for my live performance. I will be more comfortable on stage with the summative submission assessment.

Professional-

Make connections and branch out of my comfort zone by talking to people. Networking will be a focus for me this term. If I make more connections by going to more gigs and talking to people, taking more opportunities and sessioning. I will open up doors for myself by getting my foot in the door. This is relevant to my project because I want to build my career and make my opportunity pool bigger. By April/the end of the term, I want to be doing sessioning out for other musicians and also be branching out.

# data[].attributes.body
The musicians I have picked to play my song are all musicians that I have worked with before, and trust with the sound of my live song.

Elliot Mulley. Guitar.
Elliot is an extremely adaptable musician as well as a good guitarist and songwriter. He has a really good stage presence and is easy to work with. This is why I chose him as one of my guitarists.

Noah Cho. Guitar.
Noah is a great guitarist and bassist, soulful and funk-based songs are also his forte. He is dependable and a great musician. He also offered to play bass for me if Ben was too busy for my band. This is why I picked him as one of my guitarists.

Ben Goffin. Bass.
Ben is a great bassist, he is very talented and he can slap really well which is exactly why I wanted him to play for me. He is easy to work with, adaptable and flexible. This type of music is also one of his strengths. This is why I chose him as my bassist.

Nathaniel Bishop. Drums.
Nathaniel is a great drummer, he can play anything and is always tight, always in-time. He is a great drummer and a dependable drummer which is why I chose him as my drummer for this song.

Kai-Hannah Emmanuel.  Backing Vocals.
Kai is a great singer, she has a great voice that blends well with mine- as I know from last term when we performed together. She is a great vocalist and knows harmonies within a few minutes of figuring it out. She is great to get energy off and perform with which is why I chose her as one of my backing vocalists.

Daisy Coyle. Backing Vocals
Daisy is also a great vocalist whose voice blends well with mine. She is dependable and is really good at performing and is easy to get energy off. She will be a great vocalist for this song and that is why I picked her.

# data[].attributes.headline
Version of Paolo Nutini- One Day, chosen song for recording

# data[].attributes.subject
Version of Paolo Nutini- One Day, chosen song for recording

# data[].attributes.body
This week we planned ahead and came up with a few changes. We felt the song was a little flat in energy so we wanted to funk it up a bit more. We didn't have many ideas before we came into the rehearsal- instead we decided we'd just run it with each of our ideas and see what comes out. Noah added a new bass line and Elliot worked with more funky chords and strumming patterns, while Nat worked on making the groove more jazzy. In terms of vocals I wanted to really show off this week with the original being so vocally heavy. Being only one vocalist made it feel a little bit more pressured, but I ran with it. I wanted to add in lots of belty bits and work in a growl. The growl didn't happen as cleanly as I wanted it to but it's something I will research separately and work on on my own for future reference.

The feel of the song was much easier to get into when we spiced it up and it felt easier to move and dance to. I appreciated my band giving me space to really feel and run with the vocals. I'm very happy with this weeks song and so is the rest of the band. However, I do think the practice video is much better than the performance video.

# data[].attributes.body
This week I ran into my first problem with this project. My laptop is broken, I cannot use logic on my laptop or download anything else. I texted my boyfriend and asked if i could use his laptop to record on instead, as you can read in the above message thread. This has set me back a little bit in terms of my time plan- I wanted to start mixing now but I am going to have to wait until I have access to mixing software.

# data[].attributes.body
This week we re-vamped the whole song. We wanted to do drastic changes this week. This was the hardest one we have done yet. Elliot came up with a new arrangement of the song and adapted the riff to be a different genre- kind of prog-rocky with a hint of Deftones.

In terms of vocals I decided to step back this week and the let the instruments take the front, mostly just singing hums to accompany the guitar and bass to just fill it out. However, I still wanted to add in some good vocals since the original is also not as vocally based either- so I added the final belt.

The structure we changed completely which caused some confusion as you can hear in the voice memo's. But we got it in the end. I also wrote the structure down so it was easier to remember for everyone.

Overall, we are very happy with how this weeks song turned out and are going to take it into consideration for next weeks song.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose Paolo Nutini One Day for my recorded song for many reasons. The first being I love the song and I think it's one of his best vocal performances, but there are a lot of different reasons.

The version I chose to do was a live performance that he did of the song- which is listed in the week 2 recording tab- and the reason why is because this version has such a beautiful arrangement. The stripped back version of this song shows off his incredible vocal performance. The instrumentation is beautifully and tastefully curated to emphasise his vocals, while still being at the forefront of the song- not feeling like a backing track.

Vocally there is a lot to cover on why I chose it. First of all, the emotion in his voice in this song is so beautiful. He tells the story with the way he delivers each line- 'till the rain turns black' is a great example of how the way he emphasises the story and emotion in this song.

He also uses so many techniques that are not only a staple of why I love this version and this song- but why Paolo Nutini is one of my favourite male vocalists of all time. His rasp is so gritty and deep, yet sounds so healthy and some how smooth. He flips it on like a switch when it's needed and he places it in just the right moments to make the listener be caught off guard and really feel what he's portraying. His vibrato is also used to do this as well; he places it in tastefully which I usually find some singers struggle to do. His voice is also very rich and deep, yet when he goes for those high notes he utilises these techniques to reach them effortlessly with no straining. His breath control is also exceptional within this song, the long phrases he sings with the raspy-ness of his voice means he has to really think about the places and times he breathes- so as not to ruin the atmosphere of the song.

All of these reason are why I chose to do this song. The techniques he uses are something I have wanted to develop within my own singing and I want to push and challenge myself with this song. For example utilising a healthy rasp is something I have wanted to learn about for a very long time, I can have rasp but it's not as healthy as I would like it. The emotion in this song is also something that is challenging for me in a recorded aspect. Usually I portray emotion by performing live, with facial expressions or hand actions, but this is the recorded song so showing that emotion with my voice is something I really want to push myself to do here.

In terms of my added ideas for the recording, I want to create an atmosphere. This song reminds me of hearing someone singing in a bar, so I want to portray that feeling. I want a little bit of reverb added onto my vocals that makes them feel clear but still having that feeling of hearing it in a small bar. I want it to feel like the listener is hearing my vocals in an intimate setting. Just a few instruments on a stage and me in the middle. I want to create that feeling with the mixing of the instruments as well, however I want them a bit more bare and clean- not so much reverb, maybe not even at all. I also had an idea to add a few bird sounds in the background- however this will be an addition I will do later on and test out as I'm still not sure on how it will sound.

This song also contrasts a lot with my live performance- Silk Sonic's 'Love's Train'. The live performance is upbeat and funky, a chance to show off my vocals is a much different atmosphere than the recorded song. This song is more intimate and emotional, smaller band and no backing vocals. It's all on me in a way that Love's train isn't. Love's train is a very band influenced song, I will want to communicate with my band on stage, vibe with them all and have fun. This song is very much I want the instruments to play their parts and I focus on the story I am telling with my vocals. They both show off my skills well and that is yet another reason why I have chosen this song.

Overall, I think this song is a great pick for my vocals. I can challenge myself but also showcase my own vocal skills really well. It also shows a different side to my voice than my live performance will. These are the reasons I have picked Paolo Nutini 'One Day' as my recorded song.

# data[].attributes.body
For my strategy work, I will build on the case studies and do more research into the job roles I want to do. I have been mainly focused on the performance side of my project for the first half of this term as it is a big song to cover and organise. For the second half of the term, I will focus on the case studies and the recording.

# data[].attributes.body
The first half of this term has been successful for me I feel. I decided early on what I wanted to do and made my organisations quickly: for example my band members and rehearsal bookings.

I came up with a time strategy this term that plays to my strengths. Last term I was very disorganised and stressed myself out with work, so I wanted to have a different approach this term. Live performance is what I strive in so I wanted to focus on that side first this term and really get my ducks in order. Making the arrangements necessary to be 100% prepared for the final assessment. then the second half of the term I will focus on the other half of the assignment- the recording and case studies (WB04).

However, I have had some issues with my time plan. For starters I wanted to have a rehearsal each week for my live performance, forgetting the small pond availability cap. I also did want at least all instruments done for the recording, but my instrumentalists took a while to send over their recordings, and my laptop broke which both threw a spanner into the works. My strategy also took me a while to start as I was a bit confused on how to go about it, and struggled to decide on people for the case study- however I did do the canvas work for each week.

Live performance wise I have made real progress. I have mostly kept up to date with my time plan and have made at least a small amount of progress each week.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the first half of my term and project, and I am proud of the work/progress I have made so far. And I am on track to be where I want to be by the end of the 10 weeks.

# data[].attributes.body
This week I had booked in a rehearsal for the 9th March for Love's Train- with the vocalists and instrumentalists. However, I came down with an awful flu at the beginning of the week and subsequently lost my voice. So I cancelled the rehearsal and have rescheduled for the 16th March instead.

# data[].attributes.body
I unfortunately wasn't able to go in to my lesson as I was ill, so I have no lesson notes. I have however organised the guitar part being recorded for my summative track.