This week I also invited 2 members (Guitarist and Vocalist) to join my 3 piece band, now making it a 5 piece act. This opens the doors for us to try new arrangements we haven't been able to before, and will also change the way we compose. We are hoping to start rehearsing next week.

We were told to establish SMART goals to help us achieve something realistic within a set amount of time. I aim with my band to start gigging and have high quality recorded demos out by the end of the first term. My main priority is helping my band find success, so thats what I want focus my attention on over these coming weeks.

I had the first rehearsal with my band this week with one of the new members and things went well. The guitar player was unable to make it but the vocalist fits our sound really well and is very talented. We had a writing session (just me and the vocalist) and it was a positive experience. We came up with a lot of ideas we both liked and I think this shows we will gel well in the future. I am glad to have someone else to write with in the band as well, as previously I was the only person who chose to write songs.

I think I'm making good progress in achieving my SMART goals so far, with a few rough demos of full songs already being sent around the band group chat. I'm hoping once everyone decides on an original they would like to move forward with, we can make a solid demo and start rehearsing it.

This week due to conflicting arrangements, we were unable to practice in my main band (Edging). We all submitted some good ideas to the band group chat though and things are progressing well. I have started composing an original that I think would really fit the band and will present it to them next week.

I think I am maintaining a good course for my SMART goals as I am writing regularly with band mates, despite us hitting a few roadblocks when it comes to rehearsing. Next week we should be able to get a practice with all members.

This week we were able to have a full rehearsal with all members present. It went extremely well and we were able to rehearse our first original song written for the band by me and our vocalist. We also started learning a 30 minute set of covers which we hope to use in future to start gigging with. The new guitar player fits in with the band well and will be an asset moving forward, he brings a new element with his finger-style playing.

I am feeling great about the progress of my SMART targets. We have started rehearsing for live events and should hopefully have some gigs quite soon, although nothing is confirmed. As long as we keep working this hard, good things will come, as a band I feel it's important to maintain focus and not burnout. Hopefully this is something we can also achieve in future weeks.

In my main band we were able to perform our first show at the Rossi Bar. As we received notice to play at the gig last minute, we had little time to rehearse, but we were still able to play a good set. We had a good turnout to the show and received incredible feedback concerning our stage performance and technical ability. An area we should improve on is writing more original material for our set list and phase out doing covers.

You can watch our performance here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AsPEiF_ClM&t=64s

This week has been great in reaching a part of my SMART target. I was able to get a show with my band and play it well. We have multiple demos now and just need to write vocals and learn the songs. We still need to record a demo for our original song (titled 'UNIT 5') we have already learnt. This would be beneficial for us as promotional material and for our University assignments.

I have found my guitar lessons useful for learning new techniques that elevate my ability. Recently we learnt about the CAGED system and I have been successfully implementing this in exercises and songwriting.

This week we (Edging) were able to perform at The Pipeline with some bands in the year above. It was a great show and we got a great reception. It was a lot less stressful than the first show as we felt more rehearsed. We were also able to network with some new bands that could provide future opportunities. We have started to take more of a focus on our social media and creating an image that fits us. Original material we played live at the last 2 shows has been received well and people are telling us the parts they specifically enjoy (such as lyrical style and composition) which gives us an idea of the direction to head in regarding future songs.

You can watch the performance here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1iBKbq0Lus

Me and my band focused on expanding our set list this week, learning more covers and planning to add 2 originals to the set list. This increased our set time from around 25 minutes to around 45. We were able to rehearse the songs efficiently and got through all but one of the planned originals. Our bass player and vocalist didn't know it well enough so we replaced it with an extra cover we all knew instead. I would have liked to have done the cover but I'm glad we were still able to learn enough songs to increase our set time to the required amount.

This week has been a successful one in terms of my SMART targets. We have been able to make positive steps that will enhance the quality of our future shows. We plan to record our demo next week that will be subtitled as part of our main assignment at the end of term.

I helped come up with the breakdown of the song and the guitar in the verses. I recorded everyone into Logic and mixed everything in the track apart from the vocals. In our live video I'm playing the guitar parts throughout and also backing vocals. In future through improving my songwriting skills, I'm hoping I can make higher quality contributions technically to the songwriting process of the band. 

Our rehearsal schedule was well kept, we agreed to one or 2 practices a week, at least 4 hours. Within the first few weeks, due to everyone learning their new schedules after first moving here, we missed a few practices giving us a slow start and when we did practice we either had missing members or our vocalist was unable to perform due to illness. We initially planned to record our DAW project 2 weeks before the hand in date, but due to unplanned delays such as members being ill or family emergency. I also had a broken finger on my fretting hand during the 7th and 8th week so missed out on some vital rehearsal. In hindsight we should have planned to record sooner and left more of a time gap to allow for these circumstances. 

We rehearsed as a band every week for 4-8 hours at Small Pond Studios. We would run UNIT 5 through a dozen or so times every practice. At home I would go home and practice the main riff, trying to get it up to speed without playing it sloppy. I find spider exercises up and down the fretboard to be a useful warm up before playing this song making hand cramps less likely. I found the band rehearsals the most useful and efficient way to practice as we could all help each other ensure parts were being played correctly and there was no confusion on structure. We had been sent demos of track as well which was very useful for practice. 

The writing and demo phase of the track was very efficient. We had multiple demos sent by our vocalist which he and I created. We sent the individual stems as well to help individual band members learn their parts more accurately. In future I would like to be able to make higher quality demos for the band, as due to the tone used there was some confusion on what the guitar parts were. Sending tabs or other notation would also be a good idea for those in the band unable to learn by ear. The mixing phase was quick, but only because it had to be. I feel like with more time we could have produced a better mix and this is something we could change in the future with better planning and time management. 

Personally I think we have performed our track to a higher degree of quality in other performances not officially recorded. My stage presence in particular is lacking compared to normal. I also think I could have played the song better as I made a couple small mistakes. Even though the errors I made aren’t very noticeable, it frustrates me to know myself and other band members were not at our best. I have similar feelings when it comes to our DAW recording, as we rushed the recording and mixing process due to time constraints. I'm happy with what we produced at the time, but as a band we want to strive for a consistent high quality in everything we undertake. In the future, better planning would lead to a more successful outcome. Maybe establishing a way each of us cand record and send parts to each other remotely to record demos would help as well. On a more positive note, we were able to at least play the song fully with no huge mistakes and have a good piece of evidence for our projects. The mix is also surprisingly good for being done quickly, although I think the vocals are a little too loud in hindsight. 

From this module I have learnt that planning and allowing for unforeseen circumstances are crucial in a more successful project. Leaving everything towards the end was a big mistake on all our parts. In the future, writing up a physicial schedule or having a group calendar would be a big step in organisation. Organising ourselves verbally leads to people forgetting arrangements. I’ve learnt that my band are people I work very well with, in terms of songwriting output and gigging success, it is my most successful project for the short amount of time we have put in. 

If i were to do this module again I would make sure as a band we had a more set and secure plan that allows time for unexpected events. I would also encourage more members of the band to make their own contributions to the writing and creation of the song as we will get a product that's more unique to us.

I took some of the footage we had recorded at previous shows and cut them into clips to post in instagram. I also created a TikTok and we made our first post. We did well for our follower count and keep reaching new people. Any comments received so far have been very positive. We want to find a way to record higher quality audio during rehearsals which we believe would elevate the overall quality of our posts online. We want an impressive looking and sounding social media to be able to send to promoters.

This week in production tools class, we learnt about different compressors and their applications (such as using an Opto compressor on vocals due to its softer and smoother response) . This is something I was previously unaware have and will find invaluable taking forward. I want to learn more regarding production as it will help me produce higher quality demos and even master audio to a higher quality for our social media posts.

This week I feel like I'm falling behind a bit on my SMART targets. We are still yet to record a demo which we planned to last week and can't this week due to my injury. It will have to be next week which will leave it a little close to the deadline. I'm hoping we can still get the demo ready in time to submit. We also need to do our live recorded performance and our slot is booked for next Thursday. I'm hoping my finger doesn't impact my performance too much.

https://www.instagram.com/edging_uk/?api=1%2F&hl=zh-cn

https://www.tiktok.com/@edging.the.band?_t=ZG-8rzj2PWpO1w&_r=1

This week I had all my focus on finishing my summative assignment. Mainly the video and DAW evidence. We were able to record drums at the start of the week, but it took all day which delayed recording of guitars and bass till the next day. We then had to wait until the day after that for the vocalist to come up from Weymouth. We finished recording a few days before hand in leaving us little time to mix the track. We were able to produce a reasonable mix that at least everyone can be heard on and doesn't sound too bad. I would have liked to have spent more time on the vocals as some of the takes could have been better.

We also performed for our official live performance video which went okay. We played decently and had a good overall stage presence, I just feel we have played the song so much better in rehearsals. The tones were off on everything as well and it just didn't sound like it should. I think the video at least demonstrated a good understanding of the piece we had chosen to present, with everyone knowing the structure extremely well.

Now the end of the term has almost come the deadline for my SMART targets has pretty much been reached. I would say I have achieved them successfully as I have played 2 gigs with my band and have a further 3 booked. We also have been able to produce high quality demos and have learnt original material. I would have liked to have written more and maybe rehearsed slightly more consistently at the start of the year. This project has taught me a lot about planning, coordinating a team and dedication as well as thrusting me into doing something I wouldn't have done unless a project motivated me to. I was always too worried to start gigging with my band and this project gave me the perfect opportunity to push something I have wanted to for a long time. In future I hope we can continue this success as a band to take it to the next level. A good plan and clear realistic idea is something i've learnt is vital in making progress with my projects.