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For this week, I have begun brainstorming ideas for this WBO3 module. One idea I have is a creative cover of "The River Boat Song" by Ocean Colour Scene in a bossa nova style. I've already done a rough version of this for my pre-production class. For this rough idea, I used an afro cuban bembé drum beat in 6/8 from YouTube to create a track in logic and record my guitars to it.
Another cover idea I'm thinking of doing is "So Lonely" by The Police. For this, I'm thinking of combining aspects of an authentic and a creative cover as I want to challenge myself by attempting to replicate the tones of the original track but using modern equipment, as well as adding my own spin on some parts (e.g. improvising the solo section). My plan for this cover is to get other musicians involved for tracking drums, bass and vocals. This cover idea is challenging as it requires solid groove and the guitar part is very precise, along with being very iconic as well so this will need dedicated practice to deliver an authentic, good quality track.

I am also looking to further showcase my collaborative skills, much like I did in the last WB01 module. It will most likely be with singer-songwriter Francesca Bisson and other musicians for drums, bass etc.

In summary, my plan will be either 1 original and 1 creative cover or 2 originals. I plan to post the initial ideas and planning here on my Padlet. At the end of this module I would hope to have at least one of these songs at a good professional level that is studio ready or release ready. To achieve this, I am going to make sure to have good planning and use SMART targets to keep track of my work progress.

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Here is my reflection on the previous project management assessed module WB01. I am going to use this reflection to influence my learning and creative process for this module WB03.
Reading over the rubric for my summative hand-in for WB01, it is clear that I needed more evidence of planning. Although I had a fair amount of planning and still got good marks, more planning would show a much clearer direction of my project this time around. Another point of feedback was the mix itself. This was my first attempt at mixing it and I'm happy that it achieved good marks but the rubric showed me that it still had more room for development, as do I. One point raised by the marker was at the guitars overpowered the mix at times, so I will use my production modules to further develop the skills necessary to avoid this in WB03. Finally, the feedback suggested that I show how my course modules and in-class learning helped influence my track, so I will make sure to incorporate that this time.

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Bossa nova idea for "River Boat Song" by Ocean Colour Scene (Week 1)

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Bossa nova idea for "River Boat Song" by Ocean Colour Scene (Week 1)

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Here is a rough idea for a creative cover of "The River Boat Song" from my pre-production classes and creative performance workshops.

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This week I developed my ideas and narrowed them down to use for my formative submission.

I can now confirm that my first track will be an original collaboration with Francesca Bisson. She has sent me over a rough voice memo of a vocal melody that she would like me to create a guitar riff and chords to. So, I have begun to create loops to try out chords and riffs to show her. It's quite a catchy melody so I'll need to write with melodic playing in mind. I can also hear a swing rhythm in Fran's vocal melody so I'll making sure to keep to that. I aim to bring these ideas to writing sessions, where we plan to record our ideas into Logic.

I am still undecided on my second track but I am likely to go with my  idea to cover "So Lonely" by The Police.  For my research for "So Lonely", I have started to look into the main guitar parts which use chord inversions, have a reggae feel in the verses, double time in the chorus and a guitar solo. One challenge is figuring out the tempo of the song. I have been using cover versions on Youtube and a play-through from Youtube to determine the tempo as some videos and online charts say it is 157bpm and others say 155bpm or 75bpm. I'll continue to research this, but I think for my version I will most likely have to experiment with tempo until I am confident that I've got a tempo that will give the track the same feel as the original. Another practice point for this track was the chord changes as they use triad barre chords with Hendrix style lead lines in between, so I have linked a few videos I might use for my practice such as live performances etc.

I also developed a rough idea that I may add as a consideration for a second track. It is a slow pop ballad chord progression that I came up with while I was learning "Hold Back The River" by James Bay for my pre-production class. The guitar is tuned a whole step down and the tuning was very inspiring as it allowed me
to play chord shapes I am familiar with but sounding in a lower key, creating a nice baritone effect. For instance, with this idea I played the open chord shapes of A minor, F major, Fsus2 and G major, which in this tuning sounded a tone down but as open chords. I also played a melody over to lead into the chord changes, creating a melodic feel.

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Here is a voice memo of a vocal melody that Fran sent over which I used to create the rough riff idea

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Possible idea for 2nd track submission (slow pop ballad idea Week 2)

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Possible idea for 2nd track submission (slow pop ballad idea Week 2)

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Here is my project proposal for WBO3

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Here is a SWOT analysis I created using feedback from my WBO1 module to see how to further improve going forward with this project. I intend to use this to work on my weak points, such as production and theory. I also found this quote: "Knowing what you can reasonably expect to achieve will make the SWOT analysis more useful for your business" (Benefits and limitations of SWOT analysis | Business Queensland, 2016). This quote helped me to understand how a SWOT analysis can help me create a realistic plan for my projects, both for my assessments and in the future.

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This week I continued developing my first track, "Where Did All The Colour Go?". We developed the track further in writing/recording sessions and  have recorded a rough guitar and vocals track to give us a structure to add to. As we now have our initial  idea recorded, I booked an academic 1-1 to get some feedback on the track and advice on where it could go. The feedback from my academic 1-1 was  that the guitar went on too long before the first verse came in so I will to need to speak to Fran about how we can change that. Another comment from the 1-1 feedback was  that the swing feel needed tightening as it dropped in and out in some places. With this in mind, we tracked with a metronome so the swing rhythm was more consistent and easier to practice to. I conducted research into tracks that use a swing feel to familiarise myself with this playing style. Tracks that stood out as good examples of this were "Forever and Evermore" and "Is Everybody Going Crazy?" by Nothing But Thieves. These tracks both use the swing element but also incorporate their alternative style. Both of these tracks also helped me to think about the way in which I'd like the parts to be played; through listening to the tracks, the guitars are played very tightly and feature two contrasting tones, one from a telecaster with a fuzz tone and one a distorted humbucker loaded guitar. Additionally, listening to these tracks gave me good insight into how to use the swing rhythm in a modern way as it mainly focuses on the triplet feel and the guitars take a melodic approach which makes the main riffs stand out and be memorable, a method I'd like to use in this track.

Along with research, I also came up with some chords that could work in a bridge and possibly a solo section for "Where did all the colour go?". The chords are Db power chord, Ab  power,  Gb power chord, E power chord and back to Gb5. This was the initial idea but then I had an idea to  create a descending bass line to transition into a B power chord, then  Gb, then E then back to Ab. I did this by leaving out the root note of the Ab power chord and playing the 5th of the Db power chord, swapping the root note for C. I did this to create tension in the bridge section and build towards a solo section which I plan to write next week along with a bass line as I think the track is really missing the low end.

For my second track, I have decided to go with "So Lonely", as the loop idea from last week isn't as inspiring as I thought and I haven't developed it much aside from some mixing on the drums using compression to give it a tighter sound. With the formative coming up, I need to have a more solid plan as spending time on a track that isn't going anywhere has hindered my progress. Now I've decided on "So Lonely", I'll be submitting a rough recording for the formative and develop it further in the coming weeks. My reason for this decision is that I feel I can deliver a stronger track that I am happy with and can best show my abilities. I also found it easier to come to this decision after discussing quality vs quantity in my weekly webinars. This made me think about how I have so many ideas that I can't develop them as there are too many to focus on. Making the decisions now on which tracks to work on and submit for the formative will also benefit me by allowing me to work towards my summative as of now. It will be a good motivator for my practice as the parts are challenging in "So Lonely".  Although they are fairly simple in terms of chords used, the feel of the track is quite difficult for me. It will also challenge my planning abilities as I will need musicians to play the drums and bass and record vocals. "Where did all the colour go?" will help me to show how I can develop my own part writing.

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Rough voice memo of a riff idea I recorded over a percussion loop that I created to fit the swing rhythm of Fran's vocal melody.

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Track 1 - Verse riff ("Where did all the colour go?") recorded into logic

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Track 1 - Verse riff ("Where did all the colour go?") recorded into logic

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This part of the rough structure I brought to an academic 1-1, tracked in Logic with Fran's vocals.

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Rough bridge idea recorded into Logic (Week 4)

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Rough bridge idea recorded into Logic (Week 4)

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This week I wrote out a SWOT analysis (please see SWOT analysis post above) and a project proposal for my two track ideas, although my second track is undecided so I will edit the proposal as I go.

So far I have only developed my collaboration with Fran. We experimented with a chord progression and different keys in our writing sessions. We tried the riff in B minor from an idea I had from the  voice memo she showed me. We then modulated into E minor for our verses but after spending some time on it we didn't feel it worked very well to modulate keys between verse and chorus so we decided to keep it in B minor for the whole song. However, it was two low for Fran to sing, so after some more experimentation we moved the key up to D flat, which suited Fran's voice well. With our key decided, I transposed the riff to D flat  minor using the pentatonic scale for the intro riff. To log this idea we recorded it into Logic. The first idea  for the riff was one guitar playing the riff in the same way as the voice memo but I then experimented by using power chords followed by the pentatonic melody for the riff. I chose to use the minor pentatonic scale to create a dark rock sound and as it is a very common scale in rock music, it was a good fit for the track and worked with the melody.  I then had the idea to double track the power chords to create an aggressive   guitar tone. I decided to have both guitars play the power chords and use the 1st guitar to do a call and response idea using the pentatonic melody. When we come to track the idea fully, double tracking the lines could help the lead line stand out and be as aggressive as the rhythm tone.

For my second track, my ideas are still in early development as I have two half developed tracks that I feel have potential. One is the cover of "So Lonely" but I haven't spent time developing it this week as instead I experimented with another possible idea which started from a chord loop at 95bpm. Using minor 7 triads and one dominant 9th, I created this loop by using chord inversions and extended chord theory from my technical development classes. Using this theory helped me to create a chord progression using the triads of  A minor 7, B minor 7  E minor 7 and D9. I then used chord inversions  when I repeated the E minor 7 and A minor 7.  I created this idea through practicing the 7th theory from my technical development classes. It really influenced the track as the  minor 7th intervals add colour to the part and it sounds very different to what I usually write and play. This could be good for the assignment as the two tracks would be contrasting. With the progression created, I then thought about how to approach choosing a guitar tone. To do this I used a line 6 Helix amp modeller  using a modelled  "VOX AC30". I decided on this tone as I wanted the signature clean sound achieved with AC30's, as they are very bright and known for their clean tones. However, due to their clean tones, playing through them has to be precise as I have found using this tone that a lot more mistakes slip through occasionally. I then added chorus and delay to give a spacey lo-fi sound.  I then created a bass line to go over the chords using bass amp modelling with a pitch shifter and  improvised a bass line using the A minor scale.  Next I created a drum track by first tapping out the rhythm on a MIDI keyboard and editing it in the step sequencer in Logic. I used the step sequencer as I had trouble with the timing when tapping out the drums, so using it allowed me to take my rough idea and put it to a grid to create a tighter groove. I think I will spend more time on this idea and see if I can develop it as a final consideration for my formative.

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Here are all the ideas for the second original track mentioned in Week 3

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Step sequencer drum screen shot from Week 3

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Step sequencer drum screen shot from Week 3

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Track 1 - Guitar riff recorded into Logic (Writing session week 3)

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Track 1 - Guitar riff recorded into Logic (Writing session week 3)

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Here are some videos I used to see how Andy Summer blended the lead and rhythm parts live.
The Police, 2008. The Police - So Lonely 2008 Live Video HD. [video] Available at: <https://youtu.be/HPtKYbggCqE?t=39> [Accessed 20 February 2021].

Youtube, 2012. The Police - So Lonely (Beat Club performance). [video] Available at: <https://youtu.be/amL5ELxn4tg?t=28> [Accessed 20 February 2021].

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Here is the link to the play-through I used when learning "So Lonely"

Lick library (Youtube), 2012. The Police- So Lonely (Lick Library Michael Casswell). [video] Available at: <https://youtu.be/-YrjRCGX2rI> [Accessed 20 February 2021].

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This is the chord idea for my second track. Here I am using the extended chord and triad theory mentioned in week 3.

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Link to video of me playing to a  guitar-less backing track for "So Lonely"

My verse practice where I attempted to blend the lead rhythm parts.
https://waterbear.instructuremedia.com/embed/4fae2fd6-9b5e-4666-aed5-6071bf28daa3

Chorus practice
https://waterbear.instructuremedia.com/embed/aaa1b7c6-0f3f-4bac-9a73-85edeb4a2642

Guitar-less backing track:
Youtube/ Innkeeper Studio Backing Tracks, 2017. The Police - So Lonely Guitar Backing Track (No Guitar). [image] Available at: <https://youtu.be/SOwvnPZ6SWc> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

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Since settling on my two tracks to develop for the formative and summative, I have been more focused for my formative. I conducted more detailed research into "So Lonely" by watching more live performances and covers on Youtube, mainly a play-through of a lick library video from Youtube mentioned in week 2 as it has been a great tool to hear the guitar parts recorded in the high quality audio lick library offers. This meant I was able to learn the parts pretty much note for note although it doesn't sound exactly like the original as this is another guitar player Michael Caswell's interpretation. He did a solid play-through that helped me to learn some of the tricky lead parts (Lick library (Youtube), 2012).  By using the live versions, I could hear that it was very improvised, evidenced in the two videos I've linked showing Sting improvising lyrics, Andy Summers improvising the lead lines and Stewart Copeland changing up the drum parts. One stand-out point is that during the solo they keep the double time chorus feel throughout in their live versions. So by hearing this, I may stick to the original track for my formative hand-in as I feel that although it is a bit random in places it has a solid structure. Through further listening, I found that the guitar part has the lead lines after the 3rd chord in the progression which is  I V vi IV in C major. Andy Summers adds lead lines in between the chord progressions with a reggae feel to it. These parts have been quite challenging to get right as they require me to keep the reggae feel and I have been practicing a version where I'll play the lead and rhythm at the same time. I have linked practice videos of me attempting this next to this diary entry. I have also found a guitar-less backing track from Youtube which has helped me to practice along with tracks and listen out for nuances in the track such as the double tracked guitar playing inversions over the main rhythm/lead part, which creates a huge chord sound in the track. If I am to successfully create an authentic cover of this track then I will need to take this into account when tracking my cover.

As this is the week of my formative assessment, I have recorded a rough take of the cover but I hope to improve it greatly when it comes to the summative with a full band behind it. This is the same with my first track, the collaboration with Fran, as it is still a rough track with no mixing done yet although it is slightly more developed than "So Lonely" which currently is just a short play-through to the guitar-less backing track of the first verse and chorus.

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Where Did All The Colour Go?
https://waterbear.instructuremedia.com/embed/8c74fbb6-9888-48ee-b0a3-e4e5d2fb3323

So Lonely
https://waterbear.instructuremedia.com/embed/40d11eb3-a18d-4b87-bc42-f8ec9bf81d8c

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This week I conducted some research into the genre of my original track using Musicmap.com. Through this research I have concluded that the genre of Track 1 ("Where did all the colour go?") is alternative/indie rock. I came to this conclusion because I found that this genre is used as a term to describe rock genres that don't fit what is considered rock as this quote from Music map explains:"Alternative Rock is almost never divided into two distinct genres, but just like Dubstep and Nu R&B, it should be" (Musicmap | The Genealogy and History of Popular Music Genres, 2020). This quote Is talking about how in the 80's and 90's there was a huge boom in sub-genres of rock due to the grunge movement, indie movement and various punk movements which lead the press outlets to create various terms for these new emerging artists as explained here in another quote from Musicmap.com: "Alternative Rock and Indie Rock are synonyms. The latter is the term used by the British music press and the former by the American press at the time of the music’s heydays" (Musicmap | The Genealogy and History of Popular Music Genres, 2020). This relates back to my track, because although I've now determined it's modern alt-rock, I myself have struggled to call this a set genre as the track features swing and blues elements common in rock music but the track also incorporates thick distorted guitar tones more common with grunge and punk rock. But ultimately my decision for putting the track in the alt rock genre is the lyrical theme as it's common in alt rock tracks for the lyrics to be dark and emotional. This is evident in Fran's lyrics as it talks about the aftermath of abuse and how you pick yourself up again after such a traumatic experience. With such an intense subject matter, this would be hard to market to a pop radio station or pop streaming playlist so the most plausible playlist I could see this on is an alt rock playlist. I will also attach relevant playlists and tracks next to this post to show my reasoning for this marketing choice.

I have also conducted research into my cover track "So Lonely". One tricky thing about this research though was that The Police have been around a while and have changed their sound over the years but as I'm focusing on their early track, released in 1978 at a time when the  punk movement was at its peak. This quote explains how a new term called "New wave" was created from punk: "The group originally broke through at the same time that punk was shaking up the music scene in the late 70's" (Biography — The Police, 2019). However, The Police where very different compared to most bands as they came from a jazz background which is odd when describing a punk band. But The Police incorporated elements of genres with punk with their energy, jazz improvisation and reggae feel. A track such as "So Lonely" shows all these elements as the album track sounds very much like a punk band in a room but has the improvising of a jazz band. You can hear this through Andy Summers' lead as the lead parts sound very in the moment, although it does sound like he double tracked the lead two guitar parts.

For "Where did all the colour go?" we  are still figuring out a solid structure and we are waiting on formative feedback so we can see what changes need to be made from our rough track. With "So Lonely" it is still the same as last week although I am making a plan to contact a bass player and a drummer to track for me.