Bibliography

BBC (2014). The Choir: About Gareth. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sing/choir/gareth.shtml

(Accessed 6th November 2015)

‘The Naked Choir with Gareth Malone Final’ (2015) The Naked Choir with Gareth Malone. BBC 2. 29^th October. 

Brainy Quotes (2015) Music Quotes. Available at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_music.html

(Accessed November and December 2015)

Easy Ear Training (2015) How to achieve excellent tone, balance and blend in your choir. Available at: http://www.easyeartraining.com/learn/how-to-achieve-excellent-tone-balance-and-blend-in-your-choir/

(Accessed 21st November)

Hugo, V. (1982). Les Misérables (Denny,N.,Trans.) . London: Penguin Classics. (Original work published 1862).

Karolyi, O. (1991). Introducing Music. London: Penguin Books.

Levitin, D. (2006). This is your brain on Music: Understanding a human obsession. London: Atlantic Books.

Quotes Gram (2015) God Brings People Together Quotes. Available at:https://quotesgram.com/god-brings-people-together-quotes/

(Accessed 20th November)

Sapphyr (2015). Pearls of Wisdom: Inspirational Music Quotes and Sayings. Available at:http://www.sapphyr.net/songlyrics/quotes-music.htm

(Accessed 12th November 2015)

(2015). Sambassadors of Groove: History of Samba. Available at: http://www.sambassadorsofgroove.org.uk/history-of-samba.html 

(Accessed 20th October 2015)

Evaluation of Group Performance

 'Music is my life, it is a reflection of what I go through.'-Lenny Kravitz 

This week was our assessed group performances. My group did a country style version of 'Reflection' from Mulan and an acoustic style version of 'Man in the Mirror' by Michael Jackson.

I think a positive of our performance and rehearsal process was playing to each others strengths and showcasing everyone equally. I think the band enabled us to explore everyone's talents and it was clear this came across from feedback of the audience. It also meant we were able to add variety within the piece and constantly keep it musically interesting and engaging. because there were so many options with what we could do when arranging. I think another strength was that were were strong stylistically and I know this from audience feedback. The use of the viola in the country version of 'Reflection' was especially poignant as it immediately reflected the style alongside the tempo and the adaptation of the vocal timbre. In 'Man in the Mirror' I think use of me writing a rap to fit in not only kept the piece varied, but also added style and edge to the piece. I based the lyrics upon the second verse but focused on the idea of our theme of reflection to come up with these lyrics.

'I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love that's left me scarred.
And it's time that I realize that I'm falling apart.
That there are some with no home, and I guess I've always known,
That it's not only me pretending they're not alone.
And I'm seeing all around me that people are getting scared,
People are getting scared of the people who said they cared.
And I'm seeing on the news that things just ain't right,
Love turned into hate and hate turned into fight'

I think the first negative of our performance was that it wasn't tight and accurate because of not enough rehearsal and this was especially poignant in our first song 'Reflection'. Due to lack of rehearsal and lack of productive rehearsal, especially on the day of assessment, it sounded messy and not as clean as it should have been. This meant we didn't sound good as a unit although individually we were quite strong. I think sounding tight and together as a group is one of the key elements to a successful group performance and I think for various reasons we didn't reach this and were unsuccessful. Mainly because of lack of co-operation and teamwork off stage,especially before the performance, which then I felt reflected onstage. I also think accuracy needed improving because we weren't as sure in what we were doing which reflected in aspects such as tempo or pitch. I think another negative was that the performance wasn't aesthetically pleasing. Although we wanted it to be visually simplistic and minimalist I really think we could have added to it to make it a little more interesting and engaging to match the sound that we were producing. I think it needed to be simple so that it didn't detract from the singing, but at the same time if we were to improve on this performance next time I would definitely add a little more movement to make it more engaging visually.

Power of Silence- Solo rehearsal: Astonishing

'Music is the medicine of the mind' - John Logan'

When singing a song you never think about the power of silence within a piece but this is actually just as important as the notes within it. 'Music plays on not just what notes are sounded but which are not' (Levitin, D.(2006) 1:18) discusses the idea and shows that music is a lot cleverer than we might perhaps think. It shows it is well thought out and I have been learning about where to place silence for it to be most effective. I have been looking at doing this with rehearsal of a solo piece, 'Astonishing' from Little Women.

'The creation of the world,however it came about, must have been accompanied by motion - and therefore sound. Perhaps this is why Music has such magical importance for primitive peoples, often signifying life and death'. 

When reading I've found this quote very interesting for several reasons, and therefore has helped me with my piece. It discusses the idea of silence being the first thing that ever happened, just silence. It then looks at how sound came about and the balance between the two becoming important to conveying emotion and why Music is so important and very personal for so many people. This is why in 'Astonishing' I picked out the lines that were the most personal to me and that stuck out.

There's a life
That I am meant to lead
A life like nothing I have known
I can feel it
And it's far from here
I've got to find it on my own

I think this verse stuck out for me the most and therefore I sat for a while trying different places to put the silences yet still fitting with the Music and accompaniment. I think this was challenging but definitely enabled me to learn of how to place silence so that it conveys emotion and emphasizes personal areas of the song to become more real to the audience and build empathy for the character. However at the same time fitting with the rhythm and pace of the song to show her excitement and passion about what she is saying, which increases when the emotion builds. Although seemingly obvious, silence at the beginning and end of a piece is vital as it sets the atmosphere straight away and needs to captivate your audience almost immediately before you even start singing. 

First Group Rehearsal/Chat

'Music can change the world because it can change people' - Bono 

This week our groups were decided for our final assessment so today was our first rehearsal but first we needed to chat about what we wanted to do. We felt it was important to find one song we really wanted to do and then find something that links with this as it would be easier and more efficient then finding a link and struggling too find songs that fitted with this. Immediately we wanted to do a mashup but decided against this because we wanted to find something more musically and technically challenging so tried to head away from this direction. The discussion took place and after a while we realized that we needed to work to the strengths of individual members of the group. As we had Summer who played viola and Constantine who plays guitar we decided for one of our pieces we wanted to form a mini band and that due to Yahya picking up the drum pretty quickly he could do something simple on this. Also, as we all enjoyed working on acapella Music when we had previously done it, we kind wanted to look at this area as well so these are the two ideas we settled on. 

It was a slow start to the rehearsal but necessary as we just sang through different songs to exploring what to do and which worked with our voice's and what we made an immediate connection too or worked well as this would give us a good basis to start the piece upon instead of starting from complete scratch. I think I soon as we sung 'Man in the Mirror' we were drawn to it, naturally adding harmonies and different textures such as 'ooo's' and 'ahh's'. I think the main thing that made us decide on a song was because it was the first song where we actually smiled when trying it out. We do Music because we enjoy and this showed it as well as the song suiting us individually and as a group. Upon deciding on the song, we needed to think of a theme and quickly came up with the idea of reflection, and our other piece 'Reflection' from Mulan was decided on, however we knew that we wanted to do this in a different style and transform it. Because we felt it key to play to everyone's strengths, the genre we immediately thought to transfer it into was country/folk as this would mean that Summer could make her viola poignant .We started work first on 'Man in the Mirror' and we sung through it a couple of times to see whose voice suited what and arranged it that way. We then began to work through it, breaking down the chords to find notes for the 'ooo's' and 'ahh's' that we had fitted into natural points in the song. 

Blending with a Choir

'Music has the power to bring people together like no other art form'- Michael Franti

Being part of a choir is a totally different ball game to solo singing and this is why I feel it is really important to look at the power of blending voices and tones. This is also why I have based a section of my essay upon this.

In the University choir we have been looking at the song we are doing for the Christmas Carol service. For two of the songs we're doing Jazz versions of two well known Christmas songs, Jingle Bells and Carol of the Bells. I think within Jazz it is very important that you get a good blend and all sound in unison with each other because there are lots of aspects that need to be tight such as slides which are very common in Jazz and occur in both pieces. I've already mentioned this briefly in another blog, but when watching The Naked Choir (2015) a tip that Gareth Malone gave was too watch the other people's mouths when singing because you immediately and subconsciously copy what others are doing. 

I think it is also very important as a choir to focus on listening to help achieve good balance and tonal quality. For example, if your part is not singing the melody then you need to adjust your volume so that it is lower. This is extremely important because the main parts need to stick out and that the rest of it is accompaniment. A lot of the time during arrangements there is constant changing of parts as this makes a piece engaging and interesting, therefore it is important to be aware of other singers within the choir and changes within the Music so that you can make these changes as smoothly as possible. I have learnt that it is important to remember you're not the only one in the choir and you're not there to do a solo performance. I think this is an essential thing to know when doing choral work. 

'Listening to each other is not exclusively for improving the sound and blend either. Once you feel they are getting the hang of it, you can use this technique for rhythms, pitch, diction and many other aspects of music.'

Accapella Arrangements

 'Singing bonds people together, exercises a range of muscles and makes you feel happy.'
-Gareth Malone 

I have found it so interesting working on arranging an acapella piece for me and Meg as a duo and it has really challenged me and a musician. However I really enjoyed it and been very inspired by a programme called 'The Naked Choir' (2015) so in this blog I will analyse that programme and discuss what I've learnt from it, before going onto analyzing and explaining what we did.The Naked Choir was a competition with Gareth Malone in which acapella choirs competed form across the country to try and be the best acapella choir. I'm going to be mainly focusing on the final in which three choirs remained.

The Stratford East Singers were a community choir from East London who came third in the competition but were my personal favorites because they expressed so well the importance of music being a way of bringing people together. They had a strong bond and chemistry between them which I think really came across onstage. I have learnt from this that when you're performing as a group it is important to have good teamwork and get along as this will come across positively to an audience during a performance. This was clear in The Stratford East Singers because I felt they drew in the audience and included them the best out of the three choirs. However although they had energy and fun, they did lack in technique and this stood out against the other two choirs.

I think Choral Stimulation, a choir of students from the University of Glasgow, have improved the most through the process. Not only has there technique developed but also there performance style and creativity which is why I personally thought their performance in the finale was the best. It was varied and styled which meant the audience stayed engaged and felt included in the performance.

Not only did Son's of Pitches,a six piece, have brilliant and solid technique but they were insanely inventive and creative often taking a comedic approach to songs. I think although they weren't as strong as Choral Stimulation in the final performance, they have been the most consistent throughout and really deserved to win.

This week's task was to create an acapella arrangement of a song of our choice in groups and Me and Meg chose Britney Spears 'Toxic'. I think mine and Meg's chemistry really came across within our performance and this was our main strength. Because of that friendship and connection, it enabled us through the rehearsal process to create a good blend between our voices and tones. In the rehearsal process, and the actual performance, it helped us if we watched each other's mouths so that we could make it tight, such as the endings of phrases and words. This was also helped through a lot of rehearsal as we were able to keep practicing until it was tight and accurate.

Watching The Naked Choir, I have learnt the importance in staging and performance being a key element of making a good acapella piece. This is why I think to improve mine and Meg’s cover of ‘Toxic’ it would be important that we look at the staging of the piece. I think we still would take the minimalist approach but still have a bit more movement so that it wasn’t as simple to create a more engaging piece for the audience. I think also something I’d changed if we were to do it again would be to create more variety in the second chorus so that in contrasted more with the first. This would add more of a range within the piece and would create more of an interesting end for the piece and leave more of an impact on the audience.

I think something I want to take forward into group work for our assessment is the rehearsal method me and Meg took to the song. We broke the song down into sections and made sure each part was accurate and inventive before moving onto the next section of the song. It was a quick and effective way of rehearsing which is what we need when working on our assessment.

Samba

'Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.' - Jimi Hendrix

A few weeks ago we continued looking at rhythm. Rhythm creates music without needing melody. It can be the driving force behind the piece and different rhythms intertwined can create an interesting piece of music. I'm going to focus on looking at the Samba task I participated in towards the end of the session. Samba developed in Brazil, specifically Rio de Janerio, by the beginning of the 20th century and is heavily associated with carnivals (Sambassadors of Groove 2015).We were asked as a group to devise and perform a Samba piece based on the stimuli of some given rhythms which we then had to shape into a piece.

The first way we went about creating the piece was by appointing a conductor/lead composer which is important to give the group direction and focus and although no one wanted to do it, Amy eventually took on the role. I think during the next bit of the task where we were teaching each other the rhythms we showed good teamwork and chemistry as a group because we were able to use each other's strengths to help each other which enabled us to each pick up our rhythms quickly which meant that we were strong with these throughout the piece. I think this was a key element within our piece that was successful. Then we picked a leader who would also conduct the piece and this proved very difficult. Finally Amy was chosen but as we begun she lost confidence and enthusiasm and no longer wanted to do this. To overcome this obstacle I tried to encourage her to continue but upon realizing she wasn't going to do it so I said I would do it if that would make her feel more confident. I think this was important because if she wasn't confident or happy as the leader then this would have made the group feel nervous and uncertain also. 

I think from this task I realized that it is important to have good teamwork as a group as this creates a strong performance chemistry which I think was displayed within our Samba performance. Because of the pleasant, relaxed atmosphere it enabled us to do the piece with movement without people being scared or embarrassed. I think connection and chemistry between the group also helped musically because we were in sync with each other and were tight as a unit. I also learned about taking a leadership role. That although it is important to listen to other people ideas and incorporate them into the piece, it is equally as important to be decisive as otherwise not a lot will get done and you have to rely on improvisation too much in the actual performance, which I feel was shown in our piece. I thoroughly enjoyed this task because it was exploring a genre you wouldn't normally think of exploring.

 

Songwriting Task

'Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.' - Berthold Auerbach

Over the past week we were asked to write a song based on a given poem. I was given three poems to choose from and the one that stuck out to me the most was 'Clear Sky' by Gieuseppe Ungaretti yet my song in the end also had idea taken from 'I Rise'. The line that stuck out to me the most was 'I breath in the cool air'  as this is poignant to me at the moment which is where the rest of my song stemmed from.

To start with I knew that sitting at ProTools and composing each bit separately wasn't the way in which I was used to composing. I then sat down with a piano, re read the poem and then started to improvise at a slow tempo. I think emotion and story telling is key to composing and this was what focused my piece yet still withdrawing ideas and feelings from the poem. I created the piano part and vocals creating a pure vocal tone to sing the melody. Then after recording it into ProTools I decided I wanted a flute and violin in the piece as they are timbres that blend together well but also reflect the emotion of my song. I think this especially worked well in the instrumental where all the instruments were firstly added as it conveyed the desperation of the song through the increase in tempo and the busy texture. 

It was such a challenge for me to show my song to the rest of the group but  as I want to improve in confidence, especially in this area, it was very important for me to do this. It helped me gain feedback so I know where to improve. I think the main aspect I need to improve on is about learning how to set the different instruments  in time with each other. Therefore when putting in the drum beat, this would sound more in sync with everything else, even though I wanted it to be out slightly to convey the story of her emotions being all over the place. I think I'd also like to improve on the quality of the recordings, making sure they are all accurate and precise. 

How I want to develop my Musicianship

'Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which is impossible to be silent' - Victor Hugo

Music is, for me as a musician, a way of escapism. It talks where words fail and expresses emotion and feeling. I feel it is important for me to develop my musicianship to become an all-round musician.

The main aspect that I’d like to improve is my confidence. Generally, to be able to perform and rehearse in front of other people without letting nerves affect my musician ability. I would like to be more confident in performing on different instruments as well as doing a variety of styles which challenge me or that I haven’t looked at before to make me a confident versatile performer. I would also like to be more confident and have more faith in my pieces and songs that I compose and therefore be more open to sharing these with a wider audience. I will do this through gradually and regularly performing in front of people as well as getting involved in music groups outside the university to enable myself more performing opportunity and experience. I really want to push and challenge myself in performance but also aspects like composing and arranging.

I’d also like to develop by trying different instruments to become a more varied musician as well as looking at improving the current skills I may have. I will start by learning one instrument at a time, hopefully starting with Cello, but whilst still increasing my practice time for my other instruments – violin, vocals and piano. I think whilst it is important to learn new skills as a musician, it also important to do this alongside developing original skills and instruments as there is no point losing the skills you already possess. I need to remain focused and determined, as well as lots of practice, to reach this.