Session Musician Diary T5 by Ellie Brown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps en-us 2017-12-16 15:26:51 UTC 2022-10-05 10:52:11 UTC hello@padlet.com 25th January elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/225326198 In today's session, we worked on each of the three songs, rehearsing the instrumental parts completely. This will mean that next week all we will have to do is have Gifty and Rueben add the vocals. 

The three songs that we will perform are:
- 'Roar' by Katy Perry
- 'Migraine' by twentyonepilots
- She' by Elvis Costello

For 'Roar', I took on the main rhythm section on the ukulele, by playing the chords. I had already learnt this song before the session, making it very easy to just play along with everyone else. The chords are the same all the way through; we only worked on this song for around half an hour. 

Next, we worked on 'She'. Again, I had already learnt the song, so we spent the time putting each of the sections together. Sara played a fingerpicked melody on the acoustic guitar over the top of me playing the chords. Reuben added his vocals over the top. 

In preparation for next session, Sara told us her song choice, 'Migraine by twentyonepilots. We listened to the song a few times and sorted out the chords and what everyone would do.

Next week, we plan to put Migraine together fully and record all three of our songs. ]]> 2018-01-27 21:24:11 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/225326198 1st February elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230215374 In this session, things didn't go quite to plan. We started by working on Migraine. Most of us had learnt the song so we spent a little over an hour putting all of the pieces together. My role was to play the chords on the ukulele, focusing very heavily on providing a rhythmic background since we didn't have a drummer. Rueben learnt the piano accompaniment and Sara rapped over everything. 

When we recorded it, it took us a few tries. We ended up recording it three times. I feel like we gave a very energetic performance and I am proud of myself for performing so confidently. 

After we had recorded Migraine, I ended up having to sit out of the session for the rest of the time due to illness (an actual Migraine lol). This meant that we couldn't record our other two songs so we are going to schedule a time for us to do so. 

]]> 2018-02-09 21:41:46 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230215374 8th February elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230218881 A new group this session with three new songs to work on. This week, we worked a little on all three. 

The songs for this group are:
- 'That's What You Get' by Paramore
- 'Wait For It' from Hamilton: the Musical (led by me)
- 'This Is Gospel' by Panic! at the Disco

We started with Kayleigh's choice, 'That's What You Get'. I started playing the ukulele but quickly realised that it wasn't the right fit for the song and so switched to keyboard. I already knew the song and so we just ran through the verses and chorus' a few times. Morgan and Reese joined us a little while into the session as session musicians playing guitar and bass. After a while of rehearsing, we knew that we weren't prepared enough to get the song done without extra work individually at home so we moved on the next song. 

'Wait For It' is my song choice. I play piano in it and asked Kayleigh and Yvie to learn the backing vocals. Jordan learnt the guitar part and we were able to run through the song a few times. Since Yvie wasn't here, the harmonies and backing couldn't be practised completely, so we will work on that next session. 

After 'Wait For It', Kayleigh and I worked on Yvie's song choice, 'This Is Gospel'. Yvie asked me to learn the piano part, which I did, so I was able to finetune it and play it with a vocalist in the session.

]]> 2018-02-09 22:01:26 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230218881 18th January elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230220873 In this session, we all took part in a workshop. The workshop I took part in was a singing workshop. We started with a guided warm-up to get us all into the mindset of singing and some exercises to get us comfortable with each other. Then we all learnt a new song, a gospel song called 'I'll Fly Away'. Our leader split us into our vocal types and gave us each a section to sing. The end result was really good, we all sounded nice when we harmonised together. 

We ended the session with some more vocal exercises as a sort of cooldown, practising harmonising with each other straight off the bat. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the workshop and would want to use some of the presenting ideas that our leader used in my own workshop.

]]> 2018-02-09 22:16:05 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230220873 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230505565 My three chosen genres are:
- musical theatre
- country
- pop punk

Techniques used in Musical Theatre:
- singing with passion
- acting in song
- belting

Examples of Musical Theatre songs:
- 'With You' from Ghost
- 'Times Are Hard For Dreamers' from Amelie
- 'Wait For It' from Hamilton

]]> 2018-02-12 09:10:47 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230505565 Workshop Plan elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230508538
Country:
- demonstrate how close harmony works
- maybe split into two groups and get them to sing one note each to get the third

Musical Theatre:
- demonstrate how to act through song
- sing something from 'Dear Evan Hansen' (maybe For Forever)
- talk a little about why this is crucial in musical theatre performance

Pop:
- melismatic vocals

]]> 2018-02-12 09:28:08 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230508538 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230800202 2018-02-12 19:51:27 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230800202 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230800621 2018-02-12 19:52:12 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230800621 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230801537 2018-02-12 19:54:03 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230801537 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230802417 Techniques used in Country:
- close harmony
- country 'twang'

Examples of Country songs:
- 'I'll Fly Away' - Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss
- 'I Will Always Love You' - Dolly Parton]]> 2018-02-12 19:55:14 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230802417 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230804270 2018-02-12 19:58:53 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230804270 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230804611 2018-02-12 19:59:35 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230804611 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230804816 Techniques used in Pop-punk:
- distorted guitars
- energetic performance
- very angsty

Examples of Pop-punk:
- 'Misery Business' - Paramore
- 'If You Can't Hang' - Sleeping With Sirens]]> 2018-02-12 19:59:58 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230804816 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230806057 2018-02-12 20:02:16 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230806057 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230806266 2018-02-12 20:02:43 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/230806266 15th February elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/232700374 This week, we started with the song I was leading, 'Wait For It'. Everyone had been away and learnt the song so it took us only around 30 minutes to get it recorded. Kayleigh and Yvie learnt the backing vocals and harmonies so we spent some time working out how to separate the parts. Jordan played chords and a finger picked pattern in the beginning. I played piano and sang the main part. 

Next, we worked on Yvie's song 'This Is Gospel'. I'd learnt the song on piano and Yvie asked me to add some harmonies. It all came together really quickly and we only really had to work on adding some interesting dynamics. 

Lastly, we worked on 'That's What You Get' - Kayleigh's song choice. We decided to leave this one until last because we knew that it would be the most difficult so we didn't want to end up spending the whole session on it. It didn't do well since the timing of the song is quite difficult to get down. We tried recording it a few times but none really worked so we all need some more individual practice. I need to work on a part for myself since I'm not too sure how to do the harmonies - I will talk to Kayleigh and Yvie in preparation for the next session. ]]> 2018-02-18 15:14:20 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/232700374 Migraine take 1 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/237388084 2018-03-02 13:55:43 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/237388084 Migraine take 2 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/237390544 2018-03-02 14:01:17 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/237390544 Workshop Plan elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/244776404 Country:
- start by singing the chorus of 'jolene' through once
- talk about close harmony
- ask someone to repeat back a harmony
- sing the two parts together


Musical Theatre:
- talk about how important acting through song is, the form of a musical allows us to use music to convey what words just can't. 
- since it isn't exactly real life behaviour to burst into song, you have to add some realism into the performance by singing with some characteristics of a spoken conversation. 
- you can laugh mid-line, you can switch between singing and speaking.
- sing some of 'Michael in the Bathroom'

I am hanging in the bathroom at the biggest party of the fall
I could stay right here or disappear
and nobody'd even notice at all

I'm a creeper in a bathroom cause my buddy kinda left me alone
but I'd rather fake pee than stand awkwardly
and pretend to check a text on my phone
Everything felt fine
when I was half of a pair
and through no fault of mine
there's no other half there
Now I'm just
Michael in the bathroom
Michael in the bathroom at a party
Forget how long its been
I'm just Michael in the bathroom
Michael in the bathroom at a party
No, you can't come in
I'm waiting it out 'til it's time to leave
and picking at grout as I softly grieve
I'm just
Michael who you don't know
Michael flying solo
Michael in the bathroom by himself
All by himself


Pop (70's):
- talk about melismatic vocals, when you stretch one word or sound over several notes.
- sing chorus to 'You Make Loving Fun' by Fleetwood Mac


[Verse 1]
Gm                           
SWEET     WONDERFUL YOU,
F                                      Eb       
YOU MAKE ME HAPPY WITH THE THINGS YOU DO.
Gm                             
OH,       CAN IT BE SO,
F                                   Eb       
THIS FEELING FOLLOWS ME WHEREVER I GO.

[Chorus]
Bb              Bb7                 
I NEVER DID  BE-LIEVE IN MIRACLES,
Gm7           F                    Eb       
   BUT I'VE A FEELING IT'S TIME TO TRY.
Bb              Bb7                       
I NEVER DID  BE-LIEVE IN THE WAYS OF MAGIC,
Gm7           F                 Eb       
   BUT I'M BE-GINNING TO WONDER WHY.



]]> 2018-03-21 22:05:28 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/244776404 Workshop Review elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247392315 I am overall quite happy with how my workshop went. I am most proud of the musical theatre section. As this is the genre I am most familiar with, I enjoyed answering questions about it and giving the demonstration. 

The country section, however, didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I asked Kayleigh to sing the melody for Jolene and I would harmonise over the top of it. But when it came to it, I couldn't remember the harmonies and sang them wrong. 

At the end of the workshop, I was asked some questions about acting through song. I was asked about my views on David Bowie. I agreed that he was a pop artist who was very good at this technique. 

If I could do my workshop again, I would make sure that the harmonies for the country section were solidified in my head so I could demonstrate close harmony effectively. I would also talk more about melismatic vocals, maybe looking into how the technique varies in use within different genres. ]]> 2018-03-29 20:12:45 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247392315 Wait For It elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247393450 2018-03-29 20:20:10 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247393450 This Is Gospel elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247393633 2018-03-29 20:21:30 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247393633 That's What You Get elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247393923 2018-03-29 20:23:19 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247393923 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247394131 2018-03-29 20:24:53 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247394131 29th March elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247394999 This session acted as a catch up session. I had two songs to get recorded during the session. 

Firstly, I worked on 'She' with Rueben as his song choice. Since we had already practiced this song weeks ago but had just never got round to recording it, we were able to get it done in under half an hour. I played the ukulele and sang some harmonies. Rueben had said at the start that he wanted it to have a very chilled out, relaxed vibe so we went for all acoustic instruments and simple vocal harmonies. 

After we had recorded 'She', I went to work on Kayleigh's song choice. We had already recorded 'That's What You Get' as her choice but none of us were happy with the performance. Instead of trying to get it perfect, Kayleigh decided to change the song. We ended up doing 'The Only Exception' by Paramore. Both Jordan and I had to learn this on the spot within around an hour. I was played just simple chords that I found online. I listened to the song to get the strumming pattern.

I played the ukulele and sang some harmonies. Kayleigh asked me to sing the bridge of the song since she wasn't comfortable with the high notes. We ran through the song a few times, getting the timing right and figuring out the harmonies. The recording has a few mistakes that I hope we managed to hide well enough. ]]> 2018-03-29 20:30:11 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247394999 The Only Exception elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247396317 2018-03-29 20:39:24 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247396317 elliemaybrown https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247396527 Mike, I'm assuming you have the video of mine and Rueben's song :)]]> 2018-03-29 20:40:46 UTC https://padlet.com/elliemaybrown/l3bvor22jzps/wish/247396527