https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e Made with a little mischief en-us 2016-09-28 19:32:56 UTC 2016-11-28 16:09:13 UTC hello@padlet.com crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/127102498
Our first stimulus was a Djembe drum. These drums are originally from Western Africa and were often used in instrumental music as well as in reggae music (Rastafarian's wanting to celebrate and worship their Ethiopian Emperor using traditional African instruments). Our first thoughts were about its African origin, making us think of African instrumental music and the idea of improvisation. Moreover we thought of slavery, how many African's were forcefully enslaved for the western world, which linked into Jamaica. From this we quickly created a chord progression- a simple I  IV  V sequence in A, therefore chords A, D and E. Lyrics were developed written about love, somebody wanting to have a relationship with someone else. As we chose a major key the lyrics went well with the chord sequence and a melody using the A major scale and the A major pentatonic scale was made. We decided to similar techniques from reggae; drums accented the 3rd beat (1 drop), the guitars were skanking (playing on the off beat with staccato upstrokes) and tempo of around 100 BPM. Also, during my performance I would add improvised ornaments on the guitar using the A major pentatonic scale- this is a feature again from both reggae and African music, although in African music it is more the idea of improvisation as they didn't have guitars. The tone of my guitar was also based of what I've heard in the reggae genre- quite trebly with a slight crunch. I would've used extra effects too like delay and a wah-wah pedal, however I hadn't brought them with me from home.
As it was our first week at college people were shy, so this was the only idea we all came up with during the rehearsal. When we performed this to the rest of the class in peer reviews people said that our song reflected the stimuli, they could see our inspiration and most importantly that they enjoyed it! It was simple, but quite effective. However the levels in the room were not 100%- one guitar was a lot louder than the other and you couldn't hear the vocals over the drums and bass. I think that the performance could be developed further as the song felt catchy and was enjoyable to listen to and to play to. But I would prefer to add more dynamics and structure to the song- we played the same chords and rhythm throughout the whole song, which for an audience could soon become boring as well as for the musicians playing it. This could be modulation, places where the song breaks down leaving vocals and bass or having a few extra chords for a chorus using theory knowledge.

I think that we have found some strengths and weaknesses. We all worked well in as a group, contributing ideas well and listening to each other. Everyone also demonstrated having a knowledge about genres, which made playing in a reggae style a lot easier as it didn't have to be explained to everyone. However there were some weaknesses- no one recognised that the volume levels for each instrument needed to be adjusted, which needs to be sorted. I also got the feeling that some people held back slightly; mostly because we'd never met anyone on the course before but to work properly as a team everyone needs to communicate exceptionally so at the end the performance will also be exceptional.

Djembe Drum:]]> 2016-09-28 19:54:08 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/127102498 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/127117072


The stimuli this week was a cartoon strip/storyboard as shown below. It showed a lorry following a lady in a car. My thoughts from this was that the woman was being followed by the lorry, and it inspired me to think of how you would feel in that situation- fear, curiosity or panic. From this I wrote a chord sequence and some lyrics about with the theme of fear and somebody on the run from something (either a physical object or even emotionally). This also lead me to think how small things in our minds can snowball and our emotions increase the more we think about the subject. Therefore I decided to experiment with tempo and texture of my composition; from the idea of fear snowballing out of control I increased the tempo and texture of the song during the opening bars. For example I started with a guitar riff, later adding high hats and bass, then a second guitar playing chords all of which gradually increasing in volume (simulating how the emotion can take over you). I used a minor key for my composition. I felt that it would portray the feeling of tension and worry better than using a major key.
When I brought my ideas to the rest of the group they were happy to use it as a potential idea to perform at the end of the session. We had 2 guitarists too, therefore parts of the structure of my song were adapted- on the intro having one guitar playing the opening riff and the other gradually coming in 'chugging' a B minor chord, a guitar improvising close to the melody during the verses. In the chorus I modulated to the relative major to Bm, which is D. Using chords I, V, vi and IV it gave the song a more pop feel and was written in this way for the listener to feel that the character was reflecting on their actions, that they could've avoided the situationif they'd acted differently. This Is why I said I was exploring how emotion can take over you, so this could link to someone having an argument or leaving a relationship and wishing they'd acted differently.
Also, as I'm not a drummer I didn't know exactly what to write for that part, so I asked for the help of James who was drumming for us. He improvised different beats and we as a group chose which one we thought sounded best (which you can hear on the video). He helped with dynamics too, by building up the volume hitting the high-hats louder with a triplet feel. James also added  special effects- a car being unlocked and starting its engine which helped it relate more to the stimulus. We incorporated everyone's ideas  from the rest of the group too, such as changes to lyrics, structure and melody. This is because I'm not a great lyricist or songwriter, and some parts didn't fit well with the rhythm of the song making it difficult for the singers. I wrote my guitar parts and vocal parts separately, and although it made sense to me, the vocalists found it hard to see where I was coming from as I hadn't managed to express my ideas on paper clearly. This lead to confusion, which I will have to learn from next time. This is why we cut the song short with me playing the vocal melody on my guitar and then ending with the a similar section as the intro. We decided to end the song by gradually increasing the volume once more and then ending all together, a dead stop- as if the character in the storyboard had come to a dead end etc to turn around and see the lorry.
I thought that the performance went well as a performer, nobody made any mistakes and we all communicated well- like when we finished the song after the slow build up. People commented on how they liked the dynamics of the song and how the layers built on each other, and our 'clean', all-together finish. The sound pad went down well too as it is something different, making the performance unique and our own. People also said they wished that the chorus would've had some lyrics over it and that we should develop it further. I do think we could develop this performance further and I would like to add more lyrics and get a finished product.
I think we all worked well as a group- communication was good, people got there ideas out and I was up for people wanting slight changes in what I had wrote. Also levels in the room were a lot better than last week, so we have improved. For weaknesses I think would mostly be my song writing skills, as it is the first time I have properly wrote something so there was bound to be some errors or timing issues. I did write the lyrics and guitar parts separate so next time I will write them both together, so I can see if the lyrics will fit in etc.



The Storyboard:

]]> 2016-09-28 21:21:39 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/127117072 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/127317803

The stimuli this week was a newspaper article about a girl from Syria and how war had affected her life and family.  My thoughts towards the stimuli were that the girls story was very saddening, quite a horrific and slightly depressing story. A Syrian girl had watched her father die and her home be destroyed for the conflicts happening in the area, and she will have to live with that memory for the rest of her life. Straight away I knew whatever was going to be played would likely be in a minor key, as these portray feelings of sadness or melancholy very well, which would fit in with the stimulus . My idea was a composition in a ballad style, using the girls story to influence the lyrics of the piece. The chord sequence was in the key of A minor and used chords i.(A minor), IV (D) and VI (F), with ornaments around the A minor chord. I only wrote down a few sentences for my lyrics, which were inspired and sometimes quoted from the stimulus as some of the things that the girl said had a huge emotional impact behind them. My ideas for tempo were that the song should be quite slow, allowing the listener to hear all the words and give them time to reflect on their meaning.
After collaborating with the other members of our group we agreed with my ideas about the minor key and the ballad style of song. Other people had brought forward their own lyrical ideas which involved looking at the situation from the mothers point of view, wanting her child to forget the terrible memory and remember the best ones with her father. We decided to play in the key of G minor, using chords Bb major (III) and F major (VII) too.
Moreover,  we had the idea that the texture of our piece as well as the volumes were influenced by the story from the article- the music builds in a Crescendo to signify the bomb in the article. We used this in the final performance- after a first verse the song was broken down to just keys and drums which gave a really deep and emotional feel to the song. The keys also reflected a part in the article where the girl's father is killed, and I linked the feeling of emptiness etc. with how suddenly our music stopped, leaving just the keys and drums. The keys played a similar chord sequence as the rest of the song but with more ornamentation (little trills and broken chords). After a few bars both the guitars and bass were introduced again. The guitars were used in two ways- to play the chords and keep the rhythm and to add ornaments through little licks and improvisations within the key of G minor.
Here are the pentatonic scales that I was using for my improvised ornaments:

On my guitar I had the Gain setting up, giving a crunch sound. I felt that it gave the song more bite emotionally, as well as making the bridge with just the keys and drums have more impact- basically a lot less volume and the feel of a slower tempo.

Feedback from the from the group said that people liked our response to the stimulus, getting a deep, emotional feel with the keyboard solo in the bridge adding to this- taking you away to a different place. They said the song had a good structure and gave feelings of tension and , melancholy which is what we wanted to achieve. The groups use of dynamics was also commented on too, which were very good. However we hadn't quite got the levels right this week- 2 people mentioned the vocals should've been a bit louder as the rest of the instruments over-powered the PA. Also, during the bridge as the keyboards were very syncopated our tutor suggested that the drums stay on the beat, just so people don't lose track and that the performance is tight.

Overall I think the performance was quite good and represented the stimulus well. The performance would work well for any situation where something sad or emotional is taking place- a gathering for remembrance, a funeral. If we were to develop it further personally I would like to modulate to a closely related chord, likely so you can take a break for the emotion so its not too depressing all the way through.
After this performance our strengths are the use of texture and dynamics during a performance- we showed today that we can do this fluidly with the music fading gradually, not just coming to an abrupt stop etc. Again, we all worked well together as performers, communicating when to drop the volume and pick it back up again. I think also as a group we strongly portrayed a feeling throughout the song well- a peer review did say the feelings they got from this weren't a cheesy type, but more serious and mature therefore closer to the feelings we feel.
Although levels have been a strong point I think this week they were a weakness for us- they could've been better which would've improved our performance. However this can be improved for next time- people are likely to make an effort to say "turn the guitars down" or "turn up your mic" etc]]> 2016-09-29 16:24:01 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/127317803 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/136183651
This weeks stimulus was a moving cartoon video showing a group of children or small humans fighting off an evil character with rainbows. My initial thoughts to the stimulus were that the video was quite happy and uplifting. From this I decided whatever I wrote would be in a major key to reflect the stimulus- a major key would sound a lot warmer and happier, which would be more fitting to the stimulus.
When I got into a rehearsal we all agreed on the idea of using a major key, and whilst the singers wrote down some lyrics the rest of us decided on a tempo, chord sequence and rhythm. From the video we used the idea of the rainbows as well as the children. The theme was to inspire, to aim high- an idea that we were giving the children in the cartoon advice. We decided to go for the key of A major, with a chord sequence using chords I (A major),  a flattened chord VII (G major) and chord ii (B minor). This sequence worked well using a major 3rd interval (G to B) as well as sounding good even though it wasn't diatonic. It had a quite happy feel and we decided to work on our strengths again- using changes in texture as well as in dynamics. We wanted to change the amount of instruments playing and the level they were playing at during the different verses and chorus'.
In the performance we used our ideas of changing the textures and dynamics well. This allowed the other people listening to hear a clear structure to the song, as well as making it more interesting to listen to. When I was playing during the verses I had the idea to play quite quietly playing broken chords, however at the chorus' using a stabby, staccato rhythm. My ideas behind this was that the lyrics were talking about a goal and becoming a "big star", therefore the broken chords signified working up to the goal, carrying on dreaming, whereas the staccato rhythm was louder and more noticeable to represent living the dream and reaching your goal- 'you're here, you're loud and you're proud'.
The keys had a quite dreamy effect- it was like an electric organ however when used in our song added quite well to reaching your dreams and becoming a "big star".
After the second chorus we decided to drop all the instruments except the keys and vocals, gradually bringing them back in for the final chorus.
Feedback from the group was overall good- people said that vocals were strong and the lyrics were well written, and that the harmonies between the two vocalists. Also one person commented on when I added natural harmonics on my guitar during an improvisation; this would again add the dreamy feel of the song. Our tutor said we used dynamics well during the performance and overall we had all performed well as a group. However people said that we hadn't quite got the levels right with the keys not being heard very well.
The performance could be used again however I didn't enjoy play this song as much as the other stimuli influenced performances, so personally I wouldn't really want to develop it further. However as it was a good performance it would be a good idea to develop the piece- possibly add more instruments like a harp or an acoustic guitar, to give the performance more depth and allow instruments like the keys or the electric guitar to improvise a few melodies.
Again our strengths lie with the use of dynamics- this performance had clear sections where instruments dropped out and gradually faded back in to add more emphasis to the chorus'. Also in my playing I liked how I didn't always play the exact same chords every bar- adding little fills and variations to chords to make the performance more intriguing for the listener.
Weaknesses could be the fact I didn't really enjoy the performance as much as the others, therefore it could be possible that I didn't put as much effort into my playing, which could've affected the performance. I should always give my full 100% even if I'm not enjoying it that much and I will definitely change my 'attitude' for next time.


]]> 2016-11-08 18:03:41 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/136183651 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137124455
This week was the first week that we chose our own stimulus, and we decided to take photos of graffiti around Nottingham as you can see (to the right). Looking at these pictures first made me think how spraying this paint is illegal, a rebellion against our countries laws. This in turn lead me to think about people going against the flow, not wanting to be controlled. These ideas are often used in punk and grunge genres, as the music they were playing was unprecedented and had a massive rebellious teenage following. To fit this genre my idea was a fast, repeated guitar riff or chord sequence using power chords (e.g G5 or A5)- these are chords where you don't play the 3rd of the chord therefore they don't have a major or minor feel.

When we got into a rehearsal other people had the similar ideas to me, however we actually decided to do something similar to indie rather than 'grungey punk'. I decided to turn up the amount of overdrive that was on the amp of my guitar, as this was common for indie artists like the Arctic Monkeys or the Strokes. The bass line was developed after the bassist was playing around on the fret board using hammer-ons and pull-offs whilst playing all the notes on one string. We thought this worked quite well and gave a quite beefy and full sound. Lyrics were written from our interpretation of the graffiti and reflect how the act of spraying paint is illegal- the lyrics are the young people talking to older generations saying we're not going to take it and we're not going to be controlled by you all. Lyrics are all on the right hand side ------>
The key of our song was E5. We chose a power chord as the key due to the reasons I've stated above- it has no major or minor qualities as the note that makes it this is missing. Moreover, I thought this would fit the stimulus really well; from the graffiti we got the feeling of rebellion, therefore by using a key that isn't normally used is sort of like a metaphor for how the indie and punk genres wanted to be seen as- pushing the limits, being out of your normal comfort zone and being independent.
For the chorus we decided to change the song around- modulating to G major for  one as well as slightly changing the rhythm/strumming pattern. Doing this gave our song structure as well as emphasising the chorus and getting its message across. So far throughout the song there have been only power chords like in the diagram above, therefore by adding that major 3rd in the chorus gives it meaning and something the listener could sing a long to. We also added structure to the song by making the chorus more melodic instrument wise. We were running out of ideas on how to fill out the rest of the song, therefore it was put forward that a solo should be added which I played. This incidentally is another common feature of indie music- having a guitar solo in a bridge or to end a song (usually playing something very similar to the melody line). Therefore I used the E pentatonic minor scale, which works very well over power chords (E5, A5 etc.). Moreover the chorus chords were played too, so this meant I could also add a little more melody to my solo- now using the E natural minor scale. However as E minor is the relative minor of G major, this still works as I'm playing the same notes from each scale however starting at a different point to get the major or minor feel (the modes).
I thought the final response to the stimulus in the performance reflected the stimulus well, as well as the performance itself. The drums were really tight and drove the use of dynamics well. We decided to add a much quieter instrumental break (by accident), acting as a bridge before the chorus was repeated for a third time which worked really well. This built on the songs structure and clearly separating the chorus'. Feedback from  peers was also good- people thought that it linked well with our stimulus and that overall it was a good performance- they liked the solo, the use of dynamics and the levels were very good too. The bass and drums went down well too at the bridge were the rest of the instruments dropped out, then faded back in to a big finish.
I would like to use this performance and develop it further, it had a good feel when we were playing it and most of our peers enjoyed listening to it therefore it is likely if played at a gig most people would enjoy listening to the song.
Strengths in this performance again lay with the use of dynamics, as well as improvisation and soloing from both guitars, the bass and drums. We all communicated well, ending the song all together perfectly and levels were very good. I also think working as a group together we have produced a decent quality song using good theory knowledge to help us write it, as well as good performance techniques.
Its hard to think of some weaknesses as neither could our peers. It did take us a bit longer than usual to write the song, due to lack of concentration so by the time we had to perform our idea to the rest of the group we weren't entirely ready. Therefore for next week we will have to 'crack on' and get something sorted as soon as possible, and leaving the talking etc. for when we all know what we're doing and will produce a good performance.]]> 2016-11-12 10:41:48 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137124455 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137124472 Our stimulus this week was a photo in a frame with a picture of a long road that appeared to go on forever, as you can see on the right hand side --->
We had another picture too of footprints in the sand with the caption, "You'll never walk alone" which helped reinforce the idea that we should go for the emotional side of the stimulus, as I'm about to explain.
My initial thoughts to the stimulus was the idea of hitchhiking and walking long distances on your own. So I could've gone two ways with developing ideas for the stimulus- following the emotional side of walking alone and wanting to be with someone whilst on this long journey (which would have been a slower tempo in a minor key idea) or the fun side to do this which would be exploring the world with the idea of having to come back to the real world a long way away, due to the length of the road (more upbeat, bluesy and in a major key). I decided to put forward the later idea to the group which was well received however a couple of other people had the similar idea to the first idea that I had- tempo of around 115 BPM but with a heavy use of minims and semibreves to give the idea of a slower tempo and adding in extra notes during the chorus to create a structure to the song, major key however plenty of relative minor usage, to get some of the nicest tones off our instruments that would reflect the mood of the stimulus. Moreover we didn't have a drummer today as he had swapped groups, but this really played to our advantage. It basically forced us to play 'acoustic' (2 electric guitars and a bass) which put our singers voice at the very front of the performance- were all the lyrics and melody being picked up straight away by the listener, adding to the performance. One guitar had lots of delay and reverb and played ornaments over the top of the chords which I was playing on a clean guitar. The lead guitar was also playing a volume swell- plucking the strings louder and quieter during the performance. I thought this reflected how feelings of loneliness can dawn on you and build up inside you, or that the idea that you're so close to finally getting home to the people you love but one thing stands in your way every time. We decided to use a popular chord sequence which was F major, C major, G major and A minor (IV, I, V and vi). Chord V-vi is actually an interrupted cadence, which gives our song more structure. Whilst I'm playing these chords I'm also adding in lots of extra open notes, for example turning an F major chord into a F# Major Add 4th Add 9th (this can be seen between 3:20 and 3:23) 
We also broke down the song which acted as a bridge and gave thee song even more structure- the bass and tambourine dropped out and left the 'swelling' guitar the rhythm guitar and vocals, again using semibreves and minims to give the idea the tempo had changed. This lead into a 'big finish' going back into the chorus, which resembled finally getting home after all the time away. 
Feedback from our peers and tutor was extremely good-  levels were all great, everyone's part all worked well together and complimented each other, they liked the use of dynamics and how we layered instruments in and out of the performance and it linked well to the stimulus.
This performance would definitely work well in a lot of other situations- live gigs it would especially work well thanks to the great structure and layers it has. I would definitely want to develop this further , this could be adding more vocals to act as backing for the lead singer, maybe swap my guitar for an acoustic to get a warmer feel, and if time and money was no object get instruments like harps, strings and pianos to play in the songs- I think this would work really well during the chorus' and give our performance an even better texture.
Sound levels have definitely come back up into our strengths again, as they were excellent and everyone was easily heard. Moreover an improvement from last week we got our idea sorted quickly, giving us plenty of time to polish a performance. Again, our use of theory knowledge came in handy with the use of cadences and the chord sequence, which really allowed the singer and lead guitar get so much more emotion into the performance.
No improvements or weaknesses were picked up on by our peers except for adding more of a performance to our performance... Basically performing as if you were on a live stage so that when you do get into that situation you aren't curled up in a ball at the back, but near thee front looking confident and ready to put on a good show.

]]> 2016-11-12 10:42:11 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137124472 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137124492 In this weeks stimulus we decided to use the world news. There was a lot of controversial things going on at the time, as well as the younger people not fitting in well to the old society. This made me think of the Who, the Kinks- and bands similar from the 60's who's genre of music represented the beginning of the teenager stereotype, finding out and showing who you want to be or who you really are compared to the rest of the world.
This idea also crops up in a lot of punk and grunge songs, which we decided was a good style to write our song in. For a guitar, this style of music has a heavy distortion and often played with more energy and attitude rather than accuracy. Dynamics of many songs in these genres were controlled by switching their amps onto a gain channel or switching off a distortion pedal, which can be seen in Nirvana's song Lithium. Therefore I turned the mid, bass and pre-amp volume up to get a growling tone which would help reflect the idea of a sort of rebellion. Furthermore I tuned my guitar to drop D, which means tuning the lowest E string down a tone. This helps put attitude into my performance due to the tonal qualities it adds to my sound, as well as making power chords (A5, E5 etc.) easier to play (another common feature of the genre). In the performance I used this string as a pedal note, to achieve a  droning sound. We were playing in the key of D therefore by repetitively playing this string it acts as a reminder for the listener and really thickens out the sound. Using drop D tuning also allowed me to add more ornaments to the song- again using the low string as a drone whilst I play the rest of the strings using D minor pentatonic scales.
In the verse chords we stayed on chord I (D major). I was playing the D5 chord and adding a couple of notes to run back to down D again. We thought that the listener would want to hear the lyrics during this part- the reasoning behind the teenage rebellion, linking it back to the stimulus. During the chorus we changed the chords slightly to a palm muted D5, F5, G5 and back to the D5 again. We decided to add some harmony here therefore instead of the rhythm guitar playing the G5 chord, it played C5 instead. The G5 chord is a perfect 5th above the C5, therefore worked well. We wanted to build the chorus to a climax, which is why I chose to move up the fret board when playing these chords. At the end of the chorus all the instruments except the voice dropped out, to make the 'punch line' stand out, reinforcing the message we were trying to put out- "we won't pipe down just cause you can't rest" linking back to the stimulus speaking to older generations about our intentions.
Popular to the genre we also added instrument solos to the piece- one on guitar and the other, which is slight more unusual, on the bass. We were again both using different shapes of the D pentatonic minor scale, as well as me using notes from the D minor scale and the D blues scale.

During the performance I think we definitely reflected the stimulus into it- feedback from the rest of the group suggests this and I felt like we made a good performance.
Feedback from our peers and tutor was good. After working on some of our weakness from the past the performance from the singer was noticed and praised, as well as the rest of the performers looking confident and playing the piece competently. The bass did well to carry the performance, especially without a drummer, and there were no timing issues which is an achievement again without the aid of a drummer. Lyrics were said to be relate-able, which means the listeners could make the connection between the stimulus and our performance.
I would like to do this performance again- I really enjoyed making and playing it with the other performers and it got a good reaction from our peers. Preferably I would prefer to have a drummer help put across our  'grungy' genre, as it was a key instrument to grunge bands when the genre kicked off in the mid 80's. Also it was commented on how we left a person out of the round of solo's- I always thought of solos to be playing scales and forgot a solo could be just playing the chords, so next time everyone would have a solo to make it fair.
This week we have all played very well as a group when missing key instruments, which could potentially go incredibly wrong, as there were no timing issues and the levels were all good- everyone could be clearly heard and had an exact role. Using different tunings also played to our strengths- it gave the performance much more tone and a thicker, darker feel.
Weaknesses could be like the singer said on the video that he forgot his lyrics- not always do you have them to look at on stage when performing so it is always best to learn them off by heart. However like our tutor said his performance made up for this mistake and it sempt to be part of the performance. Moreover, we tried to do like a live 'performance finish', holding the final chord and all ending together. It didn't work perfectly which could be down to not having a drummer, however communication would've been key so next time we will have to do it more.]]> 2016-11-12 10:42:44 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137124492 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137124516 Our stimulus this week was Remembrance Day (Armistice Day) and a picture of the Flanders Fields Poem. November 11th is an annual date were World War II ended and we remember all the people who have died fighting for our country. Flanders fields was a poem written in the first world war by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. This was a couple of days before we met for a rehearsal and we all thought that it would work well as a stimuli. First thoughts were of remembering and remembrance- although I've never had to experience war we should all be thankful of this, and remember how important their lives were and what they have done to change the course of history. Moreover, other thoughts about the stimulus were about the people they had left behind, who had to move on with their lives when they found out about their loved ones, and the grief they would experience.
With this in mind during rehearsal we decided to come up with a chord sequence for the guitar, in the key of C, using chords C, C major9/B, Am and F major. And also one for the piano which used chords I, V, vi and IV. We found that using the minor 6th chord especially for the melody line and solo (which I'll talk about soon) it allowed  more feeling to go into the notes, really adding to the performance. The minor chord also reflects the stimulus too- its like the 3 major chords represent us remembering all the good the dead have done for our country, and with the minor chord being a reminder that they had to sacrifice their lives for this.
The performance was fairly acoustic too- we had no drums or bass but this allowed the guitar and keys to play these parts, whilst adding ornaments and other melodies over the top. (We had a keyboard, guitar and vocals!).  As you can see the lyrics really do link back to the stimulus- key phrases like "we will remember them" and "too many tears were shed on those fields back then" clearly represent Armistice  day as well as the loss of life on the battlefields.
For the chorus we decided to change the chord sequence around to F major, G major, A minor, C major and G major. This sequence feels quite lifting, and worked well in the chorus as if the music was answering the rhetorical question "Will we remember them?".
We did unfortunately run out of ideas to finish the rest of the song, therefore it was suggested that I would play an outro solo, over the chords of the verse and the chorus. We thought that it would fit the genre well, as well as being a point where the listener could think about all the brave acts the soldiers carried out- in many remembrance services songs have long instrumental breaks with either pictures of videos of those who were lost, so our song was imitating this.
We decided to end the song with just the piano on its own, as it is a very dynamic instrument and would work well by softly playing the song out.
In the performance we had a lot of feedback from the mic- while we had been practising the song for over an hour there was none at all! However at some points it was quite unbearable, which you can't hear so well on the video (thankfully). However the performance was good- the keys covered the bass parts while playing delicate and soft chords, I also think the ornamentation I added during the verses sounded good too. No timing errors either and overall a good performance I would say.
Feedback from our peers and tutor brought back mixed reviews. Some people didn't like the genre we decided to play our music in, as it didn't 'capture' them. Levels were slightly out- the keys were turned up quite loud and so was the microphone, causing a lot of feedback when everyone entered the room to listen (as I say in the video it wasn't feeding back before!). Also had mixed reviews about the solo that I performed to finish off the song. We had ran out of ideas to use therefore it was suggested that I would solo over the chorus chords and verse chords, before dropping out and letting the more dynamic keys finish off the song. However although some people commented on how well this went and sounded others did say they felt it went on a bit too long. But we felt this did suit the song and the stimulus well, the reason why we added it into the performance.
I would like to take this performance further, possibly adding more instruments like some percussion or another acoustic guitar, so the electric could add a more ornamentation into the performance (during verses etc.). Also we would have to get our heads together and try to think of some extra lyrics or another chord sequence just so my solo doesn't start to bore people.
Unfortunately our ability to set the levels has dropped in standard compared to last week, however I wouldn't say it was the weakest weakness. Possibly our song writing skills drooped slightly too, which the only thing I'd say to that is that its sometimes hard just to sit down and switch on the 'creative tap' and flow with many musical ideas- some ideas take a long time to develop however we only have just over an hour. Then again our song writing skills, referring to writing chords sequences, was one of the strengths to our performance. It really made the song and really linked well with the idea of remembrance and loving your family. I would also say even though my solo didn't please everybody it was still a strength to the performance- instead of just using one scale I was using them at many points on the fret board, giving different tones and making it (slightly!) more interesting for the listener.

]]> 2016-11-12 10:43:06 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137124516 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137129481 2016-11-12 12:40:42 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137129481 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137129549 2016-11-12 12:42:39 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137129549 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137191176 Our performance]]> 2016-11-13 14:12:53 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137191176 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137731475 2016-11-15 14:33:27 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/137731475 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/138502945 2016-11-17 18:01:33 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/138502945 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/139963205

]]> 2016-11-26 11:36:04 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/139963205 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/140011643 "We're not coming to get you"
Is a lie we tell through gritted teeth
Pin smiles on our faces
We wait out for you on the street
 
Chorus
We're not the ones you should be afraid of,
The worst of us are more than your best,
We're the generation that won't quit screaming,
And we won't pipe down just cause you can't rest 

Respect is only earned
Just cause you're older don't mean you deserve it 
Well maybe we are coming to get you
We'll do better than you ever did

Chorus]]> 2016-11-27 11:25:44 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/140011643 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/140015354

]]> 2016-11-27 12:40:57 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/140015354 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/140131182 Will we remember them, 
When our earth has turned and forgotten their souls are still there 
Will we remember them, 
When we grow old and our children don't have a clue 

No we can't forget them,
Too many tears were shed on those fields back then 
Too many hearts were broken 

Will we remember them, 
When the sun sets and a new flower grows again 
Will we remember them, 
When our hearts can't take the pain and make ourselves forget 

Too many tears were shed on those fields back then 
Too many hearts were broken 
Will we remember them, 
When the sun sets and a new flower grows again 

Will we remember them, 
When our hearts can't take the pain and make ourselves forget 
No we can't forget them, 
Too many tears were shed on those fields back then 
Too many hearts were broken]]> 2016-11-28 11:28:13 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/140131182 crestofeagle https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/140184679 "We're not coming to get you" 
Is a lie we tell through gritted teeth 
Pin smiles on our faces 
We wait out for you on the street 

Chorus 
We're not the ones you should be afraid of, 
The worst of us are more than your best, 
We're the generation that won't quit screaming, 
And we won't pipe down just cause you can't rest 

Respect is only earned Just cause you're older don't mean you deserve it Well maybe we are coming to get you We'll do better than you ever did 

Chorus]]> 2016-11-28 14:38:26 UTC https://padlet.com/crestofeagle/wmnomd9o5g0e/wish/140184679