As for the original we are planning to take inspiration from The Rakes and other post punk artists.

1. I could continue the development of my own portfolio of videogame music with minimal collaborators

2. I could complete the assignment with my band potentially writting some new content

3. I could lend my skills to a completely new pool of people

Out of these I believe the most viable would be completing the assignment with my band as it will help us generate more content together, as such I will be taking this approach for this term.

1. We rehearsed a metal rendition of "Don't start now" by Dua Lipa with a change in the chrod progression for the pre-chorus and the final chorus.

3. Tones of the guitar was fitting for the genre, changes to the pre-chorus meant we played a I-III-IV-VI giving a bigger feeling to the section. Changes to the final chorus got us to play a III-VII-VI progression essentially making for a powerful final push in the relative major key of D. use of extended 9 chords helped develop the sound too however we were told to have more of a transition between chorus-verse.

5. Adding in a slide or some kind of movement at the end of the chorus could help the sections be more defined so is something I will try to do tommorow.

1. Performed our rendition "Don't start now" with altered chord progression and extended chords.

3. Chord extensions helped add a depth to the sound and the switch to the relative major in the final chorus really helped to create differation throughout the piece. Feedback supported this stating "It was constantly evolving and changing, like there was never a moment when I was bored for a couple of minutes." However I was asked about the chord choices by number and I didn't understand.

5. It would be very beneficial to understand the number system as it is a proffessional standard in session playing. My next steps are to begin learning this.

1. Performed a rendition of Riverboat song using one guitar.

3. Adding little passing phrases helped inform the vocalist when to come in. The structure was something we struggled with quite a lot and needs revising.

5. Revising the structure is the most important thing to do before tomorrow to create a coherrant performance.

1. Played our rendition of The Riverboat song by Ocean Colourscene with 1 guitar and a doubletime section at the end.

3. Unfortunatley the doubletime ending fell to pieces during this performance potentially due to odd time signitures and was something that needed more work. However we had Sam playing as a session bassist for this piece who had never played with us before, you can clearly see us communicating on stage which shows a great deal of improvement from last term.

5. Playing more 6/8 songs would help me develop more of an understanding of the time signature and is something that could be developed.

1. Played a slower more jazzy version of Chain Of Fools by Aretha Franklin on bass.

3. First time playing bass infront of people but I managed to create a line that fit the piece well. Jazz drums being counted on the hat and not the snare proved challenging for me. Transitions between the verses and choruses weren't as tight as they could be.

5. Being careful to count the hat and not the snare will improve my ability to play this track and is something I will be concious of tommorow along with the section changes.

1. Played bass on a jazz version of this weeks track.

3. I didn't make any mistakes during this performance which is impressive considering I have never performed on this instrument before or even in this genre before. Transitions were far tighter and I counted with the drummer well.

5. I would like to continue to learn and play bass as it is something I found to be quite fun. My next steps would be to learn some covers on bass.

1. Practiced Leave Me by Dying Desolation making mistakes on a few parts.

3. A few mistakes were made during this practice, notably in the bridge where I was unsure of the chords to use and the first chorus where I made a slight error in the progression. Tone was good and playing was fairly consistent.

5. Overall a good first practice. Make sure to refer to chord sheet during the next one.

Song 1: A cover of the song "Leave Me" by Dying Desloation. This will feature heavy, distorted guitars and syncopated rhythms.

Song 2: This will be an original post punk style piece heavily influenced by The Rakes. Guitars will be only lightly overdriven and the song overall will be a lot cleaner.

My next steps in development will be to combine the knowlege of C major chords with my guitar playing. ie: play a given chord progression.

Now understanding the system my next steps are to begin learning it.

Conclusion: Improvment from last time, I am on track for full band rehersals next week.

Analysis: Moving and playing can be quite challenging but bobbing in time to the rhythm shows you're enjoying the track and helps the stage seem more exciting without adding too much difficulty to what you're playing making it a solid choice for any high energy performance. Putting your foot up on the monitor is a great way to draw attention and add some flair to your performance and is very simple to do. It puts you forward on the stage and gives the audience something to focus on other than just the vocalists.

Conclusion: despite my love for the band and this song in particular I think the harmony section could have been more interseting on stage. Interacting with other band members by way of eye contact and walking over to play with each other is important to a performance. When practicing my version I'll encorporate everything done in this performance but also ensure to walk around and interact with other band members too.

Conclusion: To further improve and develop myself my next practice will be dedicated to finding a note on command using the E and A strings of the bass. This improved knowledge of the fretboard will allow me to make use of the number system far more readily making my personal practice far more applicable.

Conclusion: This exercise helped to deepen my understanding and command over my instrument. The exercise could be made more difficult with any of the three following:

1. Asking for notes more rapidly

2. Refering to the notes by sharps or flats (we only spoke in flats)

3. Adding more strings/requesting the note on a specific string

1. Performed a rendition of "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin.

3. Timing was something that proved difficult as the drums and guitars are often in different time signatures throuhgout the song. Communication is something that could have been stronger as a result of this but was still of a good level. The song came to a unanimous close despite an improvised solo.

5. Tommorow I want to have crystal clear communication throuhout the performance to avoid slip ups as once something goes wrong it is very difficult to recover from.

1. Performed our rendition of "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin.

3. Communication was constant throughout the performance, particularly between myself, drums, and bass. The improvised solo again came to a unanimous close despite this not being caught on film. I was told I could look like I am enjoying the solo more so this is something I want to work on.

5. A little more emotive body language on stage would go a long way it seems. endevouring to do this in the future is my next step.

My next steps are to further develop parts around this.

Intro

Verse

Chorus

Verse (extended by going up to Bb hammer-ons)

Chorus double

My next steps is to adjust this according to the vocals.

1. Practiced a performance of Leave Me.

3. Moved around a lot during the performance trying to put emphasis on my stage presence. Felt very locked in with the drums. Made a couple of mistakes with chords due to focusing so much on stage presence

5. Practice moving around and performing during my personal practice. Practicing sitting down has meant I haven't previously rehearsed this.

1. Played bass on a surf rock version of Rehab by Amy Winehouse.

3. Slap bass style was punchy and energetic. I made the decision to play bass this week as I felt it had more scope for expression than guitar and would also serve as a good oppurtunity to further develop my skillset. Fell out of time during in the solo section but recovered well. Timings could be tighter for tommorow, I also sat down for this practice as I didn't have a strap so making sure to move is important.

5. Try to calm down the part and focus on being in time. Strong focus on enjoying the song on stage to help develop my stage skills for this terms assignment.

1. Performed our surf rock version of Amy Winehouse's Rehab

3. Bass felt a lot less erratic and more in time for this run through. Issues with the cable meant my bass dropped out for a time but luckily was resolved after a short while. Stage presence and communication is good with multiple looks to each other throughout the performance, moving about and clearly enjoying the track overall.

5. The area suggested for improvement was involving the audience more. Trying to spend a little less time absorbed into the instrument and other player and taking the time to look over the audience would help with engagment and is my next goal.

Conclusion: While I have a strong understanding of what I am doing now, I don't yet feel able to translate it to full chords on guitar. As such my next steps will be to play arppegios during this weeks second practice session.

To make this exercise more difficult I could up the tempo or have my partner request it from a specific string. 

My next steps are to apply the full chords to this exercise. 

Conclusion: Continuing to practice this way is the best next step and will help to improve my performance.

Guitar 1 plays mostly octaves and mirrors the bass, however in the chorus it goes to a low F as opposed to the high F.

Guitar 2 plays a simple counter-melody in the choruses. This part is comprised of constant downpicking on a single string strongly suiting the post punk guitar style.

Guitar 3 only plays during the final half of the double chorus at the end. It mimics the melody sung at the very beginning of the track bringing a sense of familiarity and completeness to the song.

Now that these parts are finalised we can focus on rehearsing in preperation for our studio session next week.

Conclusion: This rehearsal was needed to make sure we all understood the song in it's entirety. We now all understand all facets of the song.

1. Played a rendition of Always on the Run by Lenny Kravitz on guitar.

3. Structure was mostly solid. Groove was strong and timings were good. However ending did not go smoothly.

5. Communication over the ending of the track is important for tomorrow to ensure it is in time.

1. Played rhythm guitar on "Always on the run" by Lenny Kravitz

3. Groove was good and playing was tight and well communicated with the drummer. Structure was perfect and The ending was syncronised.

5. Building my experience of rhythm playing is a really good thing to do. It is suggested that I familiarise myself with this position more.

Conclusion: I have a strong understanding of the chords from the A string and can play both the I and the VII in 2 different places.

Conclusion: Practice throughout this term paid off as I demonstrate a good understanding of the Nashville number system in C. My next steps are to incorporate different positions along with being given a full progression rather than each chord one at a time.

Conclusion: Performance was very good but I need to remember not to get carried away. Further rehearsal of this will likely remedy this.

In preparation for our studio session on Thursday I discussed available options for my recording strategy with the studio engineer. The following options were spoken about by Sam:

Full band: “The song will feel a lot more natural and vibey” he said. “However, there would be a lot of spill” we also touched on the idea that its far easier to go off click when you’re playing with a full band then it is when just playing alone or with one other instrument. (Coveney, 2024)

One by one: This option would produce the highest quality of recording due to there being no spill between mics, Sam explained. The big disadvantage for this is that we need to record as much as possible and this one by one process is very slow, in addition to this it might also effect the feel of the track. (Coveney, 2024)

A few at a time: “This would be the most viable option” grouping instruments like bass and drums together allows for feel and time efficiency. “Capturing bass via DI and monitoring it through headphones would prevent bleed while still keeping the song vibey you know” we also discussed that guide guitar tracks could be very useful. (Coveney, 2024)

In addition to this I'm going to record some guitar scratch tracks ahead of the session to help guide the vocal recording proccess. Once all the other sections have been recorded I am planning to record the guitar parts properly at home.

Conclusion: Playing like this was a success. I now want to look into some other keys for this purpose.

1. Played a very roughly put together version of Hard Times by paramour

3. Accented notes did not sync up with the other instrumentation at all. Everyone else seemed to be relying on me to know when to change section but without clear communication they ended up changing late. Ending was incredibly poorly synchronised. All of this is largley due to being placed in a group in which half the people hated the song and wanted to perform differently yet provided few ideas how to change it other than making it "slow and moody". This inaction caused us to waste near 3/4 of the lesson before I voiced that we were out of time and should just do it this way.

5. In future I will make my feelings and ideas a lot clearer in these sessions as well as taking leadership and guiding the group to be more productive. Tommorow will largely be down to communication as we were so unsure in this session. I will make sure to communicate and guide the song throughout.

1. Performed a much neater version of Hard Times by Paramour

3. Oscar had to stand in on guitar for us as James wasn't in. However, me and Oscar have a good working relationship and I was able to clearly communicate what exactly we needed in the song which led to the guitars being tighter and more complimentary than they were yesterday. I communicated with all members of the band throughout this performance making sure we all changed section and finished at the same time. My solo was phrased well and had some good note choices.

5. As mentioned in Pre-Production I need to put myself forward more in group settings, even if I am not familiar with them. Taking a more proactive approach will mean we're more productive in our sessions rather than having to struggle last minute.

Conclusion: Continuing work on this is imperative before attempting to play it on an instrument.

Conclusion: My next step is to play notes on command on bass for this key.

Conclusion: Relying on the fretboard to assist with finding the chords slowed me down. I should learn the theory independantly before relating it to my instrument.