Set List

-Funky Music by Wild Cherry

-Water by Tyla

-Get Lucky by Daft Punk

-Ex Factor by Lauryn Hill

Our set list is a different genre to what is typically played at the Mash House and we won't be performing any originals, but these are songs we really enjoyed learning and working through together.

• genre conventions/expectations

  I'm not really sure if the way of rehearsing and booking gigs changes by the genre. I know that the places you play will definitely change, like no heavy metal in a high end restaurant or Jazz in big summer festivals. With our rehearsing we could only really do a Wednesday afternoon as two of us were in a different group and had other commitments on a Monday. But we made sure to stay in contact through an Instagram group chat.

• potential or actual audiences/market

  To market this performance we were given a handful of posters by Scott a few weeks before the performance to put up around Edinburgh so that we could reach people that weren't just our friends or classmates.

  My band took to instagram (of course) and we regularly posted the link to the website so we could sell tickets and it was quite successful as at one point we had a higher amount of tickets sold, compared to the other dates.

• vocal/instrumental techniques

  My role is Rhythm Guitar. At home I enjoy learning Jazz/Bossa Nova, I once found the chords too difficult but now they are really helping me keep a good flow when playing. The Rhythm guitarists role is very important, you need to support the lead guitarist and create a strong rhythm section and groove with drums and bass. I wasn't wanted to have really basic strumming especially for Get Lucky as Nile Rodgers chooses a Jazz/Funk approach with string muting and really focuses on rhythm.

• inspiration

• We have had issues with workflow in the past, attendance hasn't been great from everyone for various reasons but we are still communicating outside of college.

• roles and responsibilities

• I have been really busy with work and other opportunities, such as getting to be an extra on TV shows and films. This is something that is very important to me so it means that I am taking some time off college. To help with this I'm keeping my band and lecturers up to date on my home practice.

• post-event work

  The live performance will be recorded and photographed by the college, students, family and friends. Afterwards we can use this material paired with audience feedback to understand what went well and write up an evaluation.

• I'm working with a Guitar teacher privately to spend more time working on our songs in addition to scheduled rehearsals.

• Daniel came up with a part to join together Play That Funky Music with Get Lucky because we wanted to have everything running smoothly due to the tight turn around on stage we don't really have time to chat to the audience in between songs.

• The band has arranged to meet up during the April holidays to continue with practice, likely to be a few hours on Mondays and Wednesdays.

• My friend is a photographer, focusing on live music performances. If she is able to she'll come along and collaborate with us to capture the event. Doing this will extend her portfolio, and give us (the band) material to post online to promote further band, or individual work and use as part of the evaluation process for this padlet.

• We missed our recorded rehearsal in the auditorium due to appointments and people not feeling well, to compensate we are making sure that we see and speak to our lecturers during class time.

• Warm-ups and other practice techniques

  For a little while we would play along to the karaoke this is because our drummer wasn't always at rehearsals so we were struggling with the rhythm and keeping in time, especially for Get Lucky.

  
  

  
  

• Reviews of rehearsals

  Fri/2/5/25

  During Rocio's class I went into a booth to do some personal practice as I have missed a few band rehearsals and I want to iron out some songs. I went through Get Lucky by putting on the song and playing over it to get used to playing at speed. Then I watched a YouTube tutorial by "Justin Guitar" for Play that Funky Music. I was struggling with the rhythm and order of chords and I'm a lot more confident with it now.

  My next focus will be learning Ex Factor by Lauryn Hill as it has recently been added to our set list.

  
  

  Wednesday 7/5/25

  We booked a rehearsal room for a few hours during the day and had to work without the drummer again, I hadn't been in for the past few weeks because of work so it has been a long time since I worked with her, we all planned to come in on the Friday though. We spoke to Ni about the possibility of her now showing up for the final performance and he gave told us about the Karaoke Version website that we might be able to use. But we have changed a couple things for some of the songs so it's not great.

  
  

  Friday 9/5/25 - Final Rehearsal

  We again booked a room for a few hours and it was a really good practice, once again without the drummer and we don't have time for another session before the gig. I felt (we all did) a lot more confident and relaxed about playing on Monday.

  
  

• Notes/minutes from meetings

  We discussed the length of our setlist and we realised that we were over the time given. We had to remove two songs. Alone and Missing, to ensure we stayed within the 20 minute limit.

• Tech specs and stage plans

  The stage inside Mash House is on the smaller side so for those of us that want to bring our own equipment we will need to be careful that we aren't taking up unnecessary space with things that we don't need. Large pedal boards for example.

• The Mash House has a range of equipment, however the college will bring their own equipment, four amps for guitars and a DI for bass, amongst other things for the other musicians.

• We have no personal plans for lighting but I'm sure that will be arranged for us as the event is being film and photographed for the students by staff.

  
  

• I researched our songs by finding various different interpretations from other musicians online, this was to see if I could add anything extra/more interesting as playing with three guitarists, things can get too crowded. I also practice with my guitar teacher at home

  
  

• How did research help or inform the development of your work?

  By not sticking to one Guitarist to learn from I found that some things worked better than others, someone had a better strumming pattern, another had a better chord placement. I was able to combine that and play something I felt happier with. If I had chosen to just stick to one source such as a book or someone's submission on Ultimate Guitar I would have been quite limited.

  
  

• What resources, materials and techniques did you use and apply, and why?

  My main resource was social media, I used Youtube to watch different people and their own interpretations of the same work. I made sure to write everything down/draw it, as a way of studying because I need a mixture of things to learn, such as someone demonstrating then I need to be able to look back on it so I can try it myself.

  I have really enjoyed the funk rhythms of Get Lucky and Play That Funky Music. It's something I have been trying to incorporate into my playing for a little while now as it makes everything more interesting. I'm finding it a bit confusing but I know it will click soon enough.

• How did resources, materials and techniques inform or help the development of your work?

  
  

• Did you have to change the way you approached any aspect of your project? If so, why? We were originally playing rock music for a little while but after we all had a discussion it was apparent that almost all of us weren't happy with that genre. More of us were interested in pop/funk, and after changing I personally found more enjoyment in rehearsals and my own practice because this was something that clicked more with me.

  One of our lecturers observed a rehearsal and with his feedback we realised our mix was very poor. There was no balance at all, the two lead guitarists were taking the spotlight by being far too loud, however their ability to create an incredible tone was noted.

  
  

• A year ago I struggled with most of the "advanced" chords, but now I'm glad that I took the time to learn them as it's made learning new material much easier. I started off with "Don't know why" By Norah Jones and "Girl from Ipanema" By Frank Sinatra. I now recognise these chords all the time, which has helped with any worries I have with picking up a new song, because I understand that a lot of songs use the same chords just shuffled around.

  
  

• I was originally going to learn the keyboard parts for Water by Tyla but I wasn't confident that I would be able to play it on stage, and then we dropped down to two guitarists, so trying to work around being overcrowded wasn't an issue anymore so I ended up staying with guitar. For the HND course I would love to continue with it but I don't have much theory knowledge. I have just watched videos online and learned what keys to press.

• Everyone has different strengths, I have taken that as a chance to learn from them. Even those that aren't in my band. 

What research and ideas will help us progress?  I could look at bands that have done a band performance as their final project and see what worked for them. 

What do I think will come of this? Ideally, I would like it if the performance led to me making connections (networking) with other musicians and getting more gigs in the future. I also haven’t done a live gig before so it would be an incredible experience. 

How will we complete and present the final project? The final project will be a weeklong event at the Mash House in Edinburgh, 20 bands will perform a 25-minute (roughly) set. 

The venue's website has very little information about anything other than accessibility (lack of)

It has a 250 capacity for live music events, a small raised stage, seated and standing options for the crowd.

One of the tips was a very simple "loop your lead through your guitar strap". Somehow I managed to forget this part and I had to be careful, so that I didn't stand on my lead, rookie mistake. The stage was tiny so it wasn't like I was going to be running around anyway but I would have felt more at ease if it was out of my way.

I also liked how they explained how simple it was to engage the audience. It's not an impossible task, really all you need to do is shimmy around a bit, clap your hands or throw some words out there.

For my next gig, I will ensure that my volume is up properly as I might as well have not been there. I could hear myself during Get Lucky but that was it. I liked that it was a small space as well, it's the most likely situation so getting used that from the start is important.

Hearing other musicians saying how they would be so nervous before their gigs and then feel it all wash away the second they started playing was getting quite tiring actually. I was a little sick of being told not to worry about it as all the what ifs were running around in my head. Due to the struggles I've had with the band I was a little detached from any thoughts and feelings you are supposed to have, I was just looking forward to getting it over with but when I went on stage with all of them I was really glad that we had all made it and were able to do it. It was a really nice ending to the year and I'm really excited to start the HND course and do it again.

I had to ask Daniel to open for Play that Funky Music as my sound was so low it wouldn't have had a great effect on the audience. But the rest of the songs went well, the crowd was cheering us on and we were all buzzing once the set was finished. I called my parents immediately after to tell them about it.