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Targets:
- learn the whole song
- practise fingerpicking

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
I started with listening to the song and finding the guitar tab online. Once I'd learnt it, I set about going over the fingerpicking pattern and memorising the guitar part and lyrics. Then, I went through the song along with the original so that I could memorise the melody and structure.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, I met my targets.

Individual targets for next rehearsal:
- continue to practice the fingerpicking
- work on turning it into more of a performance

How is your technique developing?
I think that my fingerpicking abilities are improving. However, I need to work on making sure that I don't accidentally pluck strings that I shouldn't.

Productivity:
I would give myself an 8/10 as I managed to learn the whole song using a technique that I not yet completely confident in.

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Targets:
- work on hitting a D5 note
- sing with more emotion and focus on performing

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
I started with a vocal warm up so as to not damage my voice during the rehearsal. The note that I usually struggle to hit is a D5 so I decided to focus my warm up on working towards hitting it comfortably. I sang scales starting lower and gradually worked my way up towards the D5. Once I'd warmed up, I began going through the song.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, I met my target. However, I still don't feel confident with the D5 and would want to work on improving it to make it smoother and better supported.

How is your technique developing?
My technique for hitting notes towards the end of my range in my chest voice is developing with practice to strengthen it.

Productivity:
I would give myself an 8/10 for this rehearsal as I don't often do as much of a warm up as I did today.

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Group:
- Grace (vocals & guitar)
- Sara (guitar)
- Morgan (keys)
- Me (vocals & ukulele)

Targets:
- write a complete song

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
We started off with a basic idea on which to base the song. This idea was 'growing up'. We talked about our feelings on it and we mostly agreed that we missed the old days where we had less to think and worry about. When it came to writing lyrics, we used the chord structure that we'd already come up with and began freestyling lyrics over the top. It took a while but we eventually came up with a melody and a whole songs worth of lyrics.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, we met our target.

How is your technique developing?
My songwriting technique is improving because I'm talking about and sharing my ideas with other songwriters which gives me another opinion and makes my ideas better.

Productivity:
We managed to get a full song written in the session. However, we did end up needing to record it in a different session so for this reason, I'd give us a 7/10.

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Group:
- Sara (guitar)
- Morgan (keys)
- Me (vocals and guitar)
- Paul (guitar)
- Leah (vocals)
- Grace (vocals)

Targets:
- come up with a completed song by merging together all of our previous ideas

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
In this session, we split off into smaller groups as our whole group was quite big. This helped us to focus on each section and part for the song. Grace, Leah and I worked on lyrics and a simple chord structure which we then passed on to the rest of the group for them to develop.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
We managed to get a full song but didn't have enough time to get completely confident with it.

Individual targets for next rehearsal:
+ Sara: work on a solo that can be added before the bridge
+ Me: work on adding in some harmonies and practise the chords on guitar
+ Paul: memorise the chord structure
+ Morgan: work on the chords and adding in more of a piano melody
+ Leah: finish writing the lyrics
+ Grace: work on adding some harmonies

How is your technique developing?
My songwriting is developing through continued practice, particularly my ability to write lyrics.

Productivity:
While we did manage to get a lot of work done today, I feel like the whole group didn't really gel as well as we should have done which hindered us during the session. For this reason, I'd give us a 5/10.

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QS16 2 Week 8 Ellie Brown Solo Performance

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QS16 2 Week 8 Morgan and Ellie City of Stars

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Group:
This week, I spent the session working on a song alone. Morgan and I also recorded 'City of Stars' again.

Targets:
- record 'City of Stars' again
- work on my expression in 'Candles' to give the performance more emotion and flare

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
Since I'd already learnt the song and rehearsed, I spent the session working on my performance techniques.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, I met both of my targets.

Feedback:
The feedback I received on 'Candles' was to try and be more confident with my guitar playing. It was also mentioned that using a mic and an amp would have made my performance better. On the positive side, I was told that my style fit in really nicely with the song choice.

How is your technique developing?
This session saw my performance technique improve and develop. Usually, I use my hands a lot when I perform to show emotion and to express myself. However, because I was playing the guitar, I had that comfort taken away from me. I used this an opportunity to work on improving the expression in my voice.

Productivity:
In this session, I managed to get two performances recorded. For this reason, I'd give myself an 8/10.

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Group:
- Leah (vocals)
- Me (guitar and vocals)

Targets:
- completely learn 'New Bridge Over Deadman's Creek' until we are 100% confident with it

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
We used this session to go back and work on 'New Bridge Over Deadman's Creek' again so the ideas were really all already there. It was just a case of fine-tuning them. We worked on the transitions between the sections as well as focusing heavily on how to make the last chorus different to the previous ones. We decided on having the guitar drop out after strumming the first chord and letting the vocals carry the song through to the end using the guitar as percussion.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, we met our target.

How is your technique developing?
My guitar skills have been improving as I've been branching out to find different ways to play the guitar as well as different sounds that can be made. I've worked on palm-muting which is something that I was never very good at before.

Productivity:
I think that we worked really well in this session and we managed to get the song completely finished. Therefore, I'd give us a 9/10.

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New bridge over Deadmans Creek - Jane  Keegan

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New bridge over Deadman's Creek - Jane & Keegan Chords - Chordify

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Chords for New bridge over Deadman's Creek - Jane & Keegan. Play along with guitar, ukulele, or piano with interactive chords and diagrams. Includes transpose, capo hints, changing speed and much more.

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Group:
- Leah (vocals)
- Me (vocals/guitar)

Targets:
- learn the entirety of 'New Bridge Over Deadman's Creek' by Keegan Joyce
- add in harmony

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
Because Leah had never heard the song before, we started with listening to it a couple of times, trying to sing along with the track. We split up the parts and gave me Keegan's and her Jane's. Leah continued to memorise the song as best as she could while I moved on to learning the guitar part. Because it's not a very popular song, I had to learn most of it by ear, using a chordify page for reference. We broke down the song into sections and started with the chorus as it was the most challenging. We figured out the harmonies and ended up switching them around between the two of us to see what sounded best. After that, we talked through the verses and got the whole song figured out.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
We managed to meet both of our targets.

Individual targets for next rehearsal:
+ Leah: Learn the lyrics and memorise the harmonies and parts
+ Me: Learn the lyrics and memorise the harmonies and chords

How is your technique developing?
I found that this session did a lot for my confidence as there was only one person that I had to share my ideas with. I think that this will be a good starting point for me to get better in group discussions. Also, Leah and I both got to work on making our voices blend together and think about adding in dynamics to make our performance more interesting. We had time to think about what we were doing and why instead of just going straight into it.

Productivity:
Because we were working in a smaller group, I found it easier to be productive and organised. We managed to hit all of our targets for the session so I would give us a 9/10.

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Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (with lyrics)

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How to play City Of Stars on piano - La La Land - Piano Tutorial  Lesson

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Group:
- Morgan (keys/vocals)
- Me (keys/vocals)

Targets:
- play both piano parts together
-  add in some harmony in the bridge

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
Both of us had learnt our piano parts prior to the session which saved us a lot of time and meant that we could just get straight on with putting them together. We spent some time finalising these parts and working on timing issues before we went ahead and added in the vocals. The next step was adding in the harmonies, changing our version from the original. We took our inspiration from a couple of covers that we'd seen online. We kept the harmonies very simple, singing in unison before we went on to the harmony.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, we met our targets.

Individual targets for next rehearsal:
+ Morgan: Work on hitting the low notes in the beginning to gain confidence in them
+ Me: Work on my piano part and memorise it

Feedback:
Some feedback included compliments on the way that we split the piano part into two - which allowed for the piano part to be made more difficult. However, we were told that in order to improve, we should keep on practising the harmony as we messed it up a couple of times.

How is your technique developing?
This rehearsal has helped to develop my piano skills. I always struggle with more complex pieces that aren't just chords so it was a challenge for me. However, with practice I'm getting there, focusing on making my piano part perfect.

Productivity:
Again, this week I found it much easier to share ideas because I was in a smaller group. This, as well as our motivation to learn the song as we both loved it, helped drive the session along. For these reasons, I'd give us an 8/10.

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8th February 2017 - 60's to 70's (continued)

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8th February 2017 - 60's to 70's (continued)

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Group:
- Leah (vocals)
- Morgan (keys)
- Dan (lead guitar)
- Sara (rhythm guitar)
- Me (vocals)

Targets:
- brainstorm ideas for a topic
- write a full song inspired by the 70's decade

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
We began by sharing our ideas on 70's music. I suggested Fleetwood Mac, particularly their album 'Rumours' as our main inspiration. From this, we took the ideas of making the song acoustic-based and using a fingerpicked chord structure on the guitar. Once we got some chords that we liked, we moved on to layering in a keys part to go over the chords. We decided to keep it fairly simple. When it came to writing lyrics, we decided to write in 2nd person which meant that we could tell someone else's story rather than one of our own. This made it significantly easier to brainstorm and try out lyrics as we didn't feel like we were sharing this huge of ourselves with everyone else.

The story that we went with was about a private detective called 'Denise' and her journey to go off and save the girl that she's in love with. The melody and lyrics are incredibly simple. For the most part, Leah and I chose to use some of the harmonic ad libs that we had come up with. We then referred back to this in several points in the song as well as coming back to it as the chorus.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, we met our targets.

Feedback:
The simplicity of our song was picked up on in a complimentary way. We were told that the song fit in with the genre and style that we were going for and that it had clear influences in some of Fleetwood Mac's music from the 70's.

How is your technique developing?
This week saw my songwriting technique develop. As a group, we found it easier to have one person improvise on their instrument and for the rest of the group to give them instructions on what to do next. This allowed for all of us to have chipped in on the final idea.

Productivity:
We managed to get a full song written, using none of the ideas from last week. We also managed to communicate better than in previous weeks. For these reasons, I'd give our group a 7/10 for this rehearsal.

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Group:
- Morgan (keys)
- Dan (guitar)
- Sara (guitar)
- Me (vocals)

Targets:
- learn individual parts of 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd
- bring parts together

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
This week, we took a different approach which was not as effective as we'd hoped for. We decided to split up and focus on learning our own parts so that we could then bring them together. However, I developed my own ideas alone by listening to the song on repeat to help me to memorise it as I hadn't heard it before.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
No, we didn't manage to meet both of our targets. Most of us learnt our individual parts but we struggled to bring them together. This could be put down to a lack of productivity and group discussion.

Individual targets for next rehearsal:
+ Morgan: Learn the whole song on keys
+ Sara: Learn the whole rhythm guitar part
+ Me: Get familiar with the song and memorise lyrics

Feedback:
We didn't get any feedback as we didn't perform at the end of the rehearsal.

Productivity:
We weren't particularly productive in today's session for no reason other than a lack of discussion. No one really knew how we were going to bring each of our parts together but we spent the whole session working independently which was not the best use of our time. Therefore, I would rate our group a 4/10.

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BEATLES  -  SOMETHING IN THE WAY SHE MOVES

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Group:
- Leah (vocals)
- Morgan (keys)
- Dan (guitar)
- Sara (guitar)
- Me (vocals)

Targets:
- learn the whole of 'Something' by the Beatles
- begin performing with flare

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
We began the rehearsal with a discussion in which we gave out parts to each of us. Then we separated into smaller groups so we could focus on vocals and instrumentation. Leah and I divided the song up so that we could both have equal parts and decided on the best places to add harmony. We went through the song a couple of times a cappella and then rejoined the rest of the group to go through what we had so far. We then ran through the song and identified any issues.

One thing I struggled with was starting the song in the right key after the introduction so Leah and I went back to the basics with a cappella until I got it right.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, we met our targets.

Individual targets for next rehearsal:
+ Morgan: work on a solo to play as an outro on keys
+ Dan: solidify solo part
+ Leah and I: fully memorise lyrics

Feedback:
We were told that we had begun to play with confidence and flare which was one of our targets for the session. We were also told that we played with accuracy and made no mistakes. As a step to improve our performance, Leah and I were given the advice to learn the lyrics by heart so that we wouldn't need to hold our phones. This will add to the confidence and flare of the performance as we will be able to move and look around more.

How is your technique developing?:
I have started to develop my performance technique by allowing myself to get into the music more, which results in making me look more relaxed when I sing.

Productivity:
I think that we were very productive during this rehearsal and I would rate us a 7/10.

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Group:
- Leah (vocals)
- Kian (bass)
- Will (guitar)
- Morgan (keys)
- Me (vocals)

Targets:
- brainstorm initial ideas
- get a basic chord sequence and structure for a song

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
We began the rehearsal by all getting together to brainstorm any initial ideas that we had. When we found that we didn't have many, we decided to look at some music made in the 1970's to get some inspiration. We went through a lot of different styles and ruled some out, such as disco and funk as our instrumentation didn't really allow for them.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
We didn't manage to meet our targets as we ended up focusing on finding inspiration for most of the session. Nothing really seemed to be working as, while we weren't lacking in ideas, we struggled to make them sound like they could have been popular in the 70's.

Individual targets for next rehearsal:
+ Leah: Try to come up with some lyrics reminiscent of what would have been written about in the 1970's
+ Me and Morgan: Come up with a chord sequence and possibly some lyrics to go with it
+ Kian and Will: Come up with an interesting guitar/bass part in a 1970's rock style.

We figured that if we all set out to write something individually then we would be able to merge ideas together or choose the best one.

Feedback:
We didn't get any feedback as we did not perform at the end of the rehearsal.

Productivity:
While we didn't come up with an solid ideas, it wasn't for lack of trying. However, choosing an idea and sticking with it would have greatly improved our productivity so for that reason, I would rate our group a 4/10.

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18th January 2017 - 50's to 60s (continued

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18th January 2017 - 50's to 60s (continued

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Group:
- Meg (vocals)
- Andy (guitar)
- Adam (bass)
- James (drums)
- Me (vocals)

Targets:
- have a complete song
- organise the structure of the song

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
We started the rehearsal by reminding ourselves of the work we did last session. Then we shared the new ideas that we had had over the week and incorporated the ones that we liked into the song. Both Meg and I had written some lyrics so we set to work on combining them to create a full song. We did this by splitting off into two smaller groups, one with Meg and I and one with Andy, Adam and James; this allowed for maximum productivity as no one would be sat around waiting for things to get done. Meg and I worked on lyrics and a melody while the rest of the group worked on the structure and timing of the piece as a whole.

We set out a basic melody line for the vocals but the majority of it was written whilst improvising during practise.

Did we meet our targets? If no, why not?:
Yes, we met our targets.

Feedback:
We were told that our song fit in with the decade very nicely and had clear roots to the type of music that we were inspired by at the beginning of the process.

How is your technique developing?
My songwriting technique has developed during these rehearsals by working with others instead of by myself to write lyrics. I've found that it is much easier when you have someone to share your lyrics with as they can provide you with advice or encouragement for them.

Productivity:
I think that we were very productive during this rehearsal and I would rate us an 8/10.

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Group:
- Meg (vocals)
- Andy (guitar)
- Adam (bass)
- James (drums)
- Me (vocals)

Targets:
- Write a chord sequence for the main part of the song
- Begin writing some lyrics

How were ideas developed in the rehearsal?:
We started the rehearsal by sitting down together and brainstorming ideas so that we could come to an agreement on the kind of style that we wanted to go with. We discussed a lot of the popular music during the 1960's and decided to base our song on the style of 'Please Please Me' by The Beatles.

Did we meet our targets?:
We managed to meet our targets, although struggled with the lyrics and only got a basic idea that I think we will have scrapped by next week.

Individual targets for next rehearsal:
+ Meg and I: Write some lyrics that fit in with the chord structure
+ Adam: Write a bass part that fits in with the chord structure
+ Andy and James: Clean up and perfect their individual part

Feedback:
We were told that what we managed to come up with this session was very fitting for the decade that we chose. There was also a part where the guitar moves down by a semitone which was praised for being interesting and unique.

Productivity:
I would rate our productivity this week as a 7/10 because we immediately cracked down to work beginning with an in-depth discussion about all of our ideas. However, at first I did have a little bit of difficulty talking to the rest of my group because I'd never worked with them before. I will try to improve this next session.