I then found samples from the ones available on Logic. I decided to use Hard rain, Noisy Vinyl FX, synth riser and Lobby conversation.

I will record the drums first with the MIDI keyboard straight into LOGIC, that way I have a solid beat to work with.

To add more rhythm I will add a Bass line just using the roots of the chords I came up with.

With rhythm now in place I will add the piano on top using the MIDI keyboard (plugged straight into the computer and then into Logic) with the chords I came up with, I will replicate with Pads and keyboards to add a real sense of atmosphere and variety.

I will then record a rhythm guitar playing soft chords replicating the piano and adding a few melodic features (doing this fingerstyle), I recorded the guitar by DIing it straight into the audio interface and selecting the input I was plugged into.

To finish it off, I will create a melody which will be played by a lead guitar using the same DI recording technique this time with a plectrum.

I recording everything to the same volume trying to get a healthy input by adjusting the gain levels on the interface. This way I could mix everything easier and there would be no distortion or popping.

I decided to start with samples a found which added more atmospheric features which were vinyl scratches and rain sounds. I then added the pianos and pad which acted as an introduction.

I used a white noise riser to transition into the main section which included all the recorded features.

This then transitions to a drop where it just includes the Lead melody, the firefly pad and samples.

This then builds to the final main chorus featuring everything again transitioning into the outro where it ends.

I used silververb to add more sustain to the piano.

For further research as to know what virtual instruments to use, what effects to use and how to EQ it all I used this Youtube video I found.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDSf-6j0PV0

This channel doesn't only explore Lofi but other types of genres all using Logic as a DAW which made following along really easy.

This video taught me what virtual instruments are good to use , how to EQ them and what effects to add which helped create that chill Lofi sound I wanted.

Through this I got the LoFi tone I wanted on the pianos

To also separation between the Piano and the electric piano I panned the electric piano right.

I found finding the instruments in the virtual library easy as I had a video to reference. I found it tedious at times trying to find the perfect sounding instrument for my project.

With using automation I found it hard to navigate, kept wondering how to automate panning or EQ so it took me a while to figure all of that out however I did manage to learn it all.

I wish I could've chose maybe a cover project to introduce more plugged in instruments, maybe I could've been more creative and experimentive by adding more live instruments. I felt that 2 guitars in the project was enough as it's quite a simple track and I didn't want to overpower the other features. Overall I'm happy with the final mix but felt I could've be more creative and more fluent in Logic.

For myself I felt confident in knowing how to play the different beats for each song and keeping the tempo of the song. At first it was quite difficult as drums aren't my 1st or 2nd study instrument so I didn't have that technical, playing knowledge. I knew the band relied on my part so they knew what the structure was so I used that as an incentive to do as well as I could.

The things that went well were the harmonies in each song, it added a lot to are overall performance, making each song more of our own. I also felt the communication within the band was good as well. The occasional glances as well as auditory cues worked really well helping us flow through the songs a lot smoother. I also felt the whole band enjoyed the performance and that we had a good time on stage.

As I said earlier I think the band could've had smoother transitions and have had better knowledge of the layout of the song. Also if Aidians strap didn't break during the performance. I think we rushed the tempo in some of our songs, definitely in the first one but that's more my fault.

For future performances I would make sure the band would know how many bars they need to count before the next phrase in the song just so it gets tighter and more confident and then practicing those transitions from one phrase to another.

Through all this research I tried to merge the 2 ideas into one track using a minor key, (D minor), having that repeats melody and including deep sudden sounds.

One of the songs chosen by our band was Stargirl written and performed by McFly.

Within the Band there are 4 members

• Danny Jones (Lead vocals and lead/rhythm guitarist)

• Tom Fletcher (Lead vocals and lead/rhythm guitarist)

• Dougie Poynter (Backing vocals and bass)

• Harry Judd (Drums and Percussion)

Structure and Character

The Genre of the song is Pop/Rock with the mood is very energetic and fast paced with a fast tempo, (BPM of 156 in 4/4) and has a solid straight forward beat. The instrumentation in the song is quite spaced out with guitars coming in and out, especially in the verses and the middle 8 however the sound becomes quite full in the chorus when the distortion guitars come in.

The structure of the song is layout like this:

Intro (Drum Fill) on the upbeat, 1 bar

Verse 1 (16 bars)

Pre Chorus (2 bars)

Chorus (16 bars)

Guitar instrumental (1 bar)

Verse 2 (16 bars)

Pre Chorus ( 2 bars)

Chorus (16 bars)

Bridge (16 bars)

instrumental (4 bars)

Trumpet solo (8 bars)

First half of verse 1 (4 bars)

pre chorus (4 bars)

Chorus (20)

Outro (4 bars)

Lyrics

The theme of the song is about liking a certain girl, its quite fantastical, comparing her to a star and having to go to space to get her with many references to space like mentioning the famous line from Apollo 13 "Houston we have a problem" or mentioning parts of the galaxy like Earth, or the Milky Way.

The song is written in the 1st person and has a lot of words to do the story telling within the song. There is a repetition in lyrics especially with the ending of verse 1 "I wonder why, I wonder why, You never asked me to stay", which is repeated again at the end of verse 2 as well.

The difference between the verse and chorus lyrically is throughout the verse, Mcfly write about fantasising the girl, and how to convince her to be with them. However in the Chorus Mcfly talk about the fun they would have together whilst in space.

Melody

The key of the song is in Eb and the rhythm of the vocal line in the verse is short and fast with a few quick phrases like "hey!". This fast pace in the melody stays consistent within the verses how ever in the bridge it slows down and the melody is a lot longer to slow the pace of the song before entering the solo part.

The range of the melody is close until the almost like a conversation until the end of the verse when the range jumps up into the chorus with the highest vocal note being Cb5 (sung at the start of the bridge) and the lowest being an Fb4( sung near the end of the bridge).

Hooks

The main hooks in the song is the guitar riff played at the start of the song in the verse and entering verse 2 from the chorus and the vocal ooooo's at the start of each chorus which occurs 9 times in the song.

Chords

The chords in the song are pretty complicated in the verse but the chorus its quite simple.

The chord sequence in the chorus would be,

Eb Ab Eb Bb Eb Ab Bb Eb Ab Eb Ab Fm Gm Abm Bb Eb

The complicated chords in the verse include Ebadd#11 Ebadd11 as there is a chromatic descending pattern in the chords.

The verse sequence looks like

Eb Ebadd#11 Ebadd11

Apart from that slight variation in the verse the chords are mostly major.

My own part

I am playing the Lead guitar part as well as backing vocals for the song. My main role is playing that guitar riff in the verse and playing a guitar solo instead of doing the trumpet solo. Through doing that I help with the rhythmic structure of the song from the riff and get to play the interesting melodic lines. Techniques I used in the guitar playing is muting strings when playing chords, string bends and hammer ons in the solo. When developing the song I helped by teaching the song structure to the band and how to count into certain sections. I also helped with giving out guitar parts to the other guitarists to make sure we all weren't playing the same thing.

At the start of the rehearsal we would all get warmed up and tuned up. After around 5 -10 minutes of doing that, we would have a discussion about what we wanted to achieve in the rehearsal. For example, "lets practice the transition between the songs and then play both songs together without stopping". From there we would practice the things that needed attention and attempt to achieve what we wanted which we would. Half way in the practice we typically had a 15 minute break, get fresh air or just a change of scenery as we would get overwhelmed by playing the same things over and over again and felt our ears could use a break. I found the breaks very useful and would feel very productive coming back into the rehearsals afterwards. After the break we would spend the remaining time just playing what we rehearsed and really fine tuning it before packing up.

The week we wrote the structure the band was void of lead singers which made the process easier as I felt we could focus more on the instrumental parts and how everything was going to work together instead of trying to write lyrics and melody. In that session we figured out the chords for the pre chorus, the chorus and the outro of the song. Since we had extra time I decided to write lyrics and melody for the chorus along side Ellie.

When we came back as a band after the holidays we were hit with illness and we were again void of any singers and what we needed was lyrics and a melody for the pre chorus. During this session we decided to spend half the the rehearsal just practicing the cover songs to prepare ourselves for the up coming performance. After our break I wrote out all the lyrics and a melody for the verses and the pre choruses with the band just playing the chords and beat on repeat for me and then we rehearsed the original song with everything now done. I also sent the lyrics to the band chat.

During the week before the performance we finally had a singer, so I taught the melody to Mason however the vocal line was too low for her voice so she was able to change the verse melody for us which sounded a lot better. From there we just rehearsed all the songs.

What's worth noting is during every performance we would record a voice note or video of what went on and that recording would be send to the band group chat. After I made the melody for the verses I recorded myself singing it and gave that to the group chat as well. that way, everyone in the band would be on the same page and decisions can still have input from everyone.

The rehearsals itself were very good. There was always a plan as to what to do, what we wanted to achieve and we actually set goals for ourselves to improve as a band. There were moments where we would leave the rehearsal rooms for a break and when we got back, some people, myself included, wouldn't come back but only a few times and when that did happen it was always when there was only 30-20 minutes left. As a band we always left notes on the chat and recordings so everyone was on the same page no matter if they were there or not.

The final performance was amazing. Me and the band had just a great time on stage performing. There was great stage presence, the transitions were great and the overall sound we managed to create was what we wanted. As a band we definitely achieved what we wanted. Things we could improve on is more stage communication. When we finished the first song I had to change guitars and I felt I didn't take long but the bad started the introduction before I was ready and no one checked to see if I was. There was also a bit of a hesitation at the start of the performance which could've been fixed if we looked at each other before starting. I also felt the time taken to prepare on stage was a little long, mostly my fault as I had to bring 2 guitars on stage and hook them both up as well as my pedal board. I should've asked a band member to help me. Not wanting to waste anytime I tried to do everything as fast as possible leading to me forgetting to adjust the settings on one of my pedals and turning the amp on which I had to do during the introduction of the second song and right before my solo. I also forgot the chords in Mr Blue Sky for the chorus so I decided to improvise and play the melody as well as imitating Mayson which actually turned out well but I should've learned the chords and memorised them fully. Overall I'm very happy with how the performance went and I can't wait for the next one.

I felt the performance went really well. I think for the future if I were to do one again to use a microphone as when I sung the lower part at the start of the song it came out really quiet. However the guitar strumming and playing came out really stron with the dynamics I put in so I was really happy about that. Overall I felt pretty confident and relaxed in the performance and apart from those things I mentioned I wouldn't change anything about. it.