Re Arranging Song based on Workshop

As I was inspired by the arranging workshop I wanted to take a popular song and arrange it to make it different and so I chose Mr Brightside by The Killers (TheKillersVEVO 2009). This song is normally fast and upbeat, but similar to I Will Survive that we arranged during the workshop, it has quite serious lyrics and meaning behind them. I feel that the seriousness of the lyrics is often missed with the original song and because of the popularity of the song but I really wanted to emphasise the meaning behind them. I did this through slowing the song right down, and adapting my vocal tone, making it simplistic and pure. I also musically adapted the melody at points, going against the unexpected, for example going down in pitch where normally the song would go up. I felt it was important to make the piano not the important part, so for the majority of the song just played sustained chords and let it build slightly by playing broken chords and making the piano higher as this keeps in interesting and varied. I used this piano accompaniment  to enhance the lyrics and not detract from them.

Composing Workshop - Lesson 4

In today's session we looked at what makes a good song and decided that it is an expression of feelings that resounds with others which is why some people prefer and like different songs to others. People connect with different songs. We decided that we wanted to compose a sad song and therefore I automatically started to play a minor based chord sequence and just start improvising around broken chords up in the higher octave. When playing I asked how it made people felt and Yahya and he said it made him feel quite melancholy as it felt quite sad with re assurance. It related to a previous chorus I'd wrote in the past and didn't know what to do with it.

No one said that life's a paradise, tomorrow brings what tomorrow brings.

I know today has troubles of its own, but tomorrow brings what tomorrow brings.

Then from this we developed a middle eight and put harmonies with this. However after this we hit a bit of a block and therefore I suggested the idea of doing free writing for a minute to try and devise ideas. From the writing and pictures developed from this task we then managed to use these to form the verses and by having a verse each it enabled each person to really connect with what they were singing which conveyed the emotion and feeling. Then this helped decide the structure and then I added harmonies to make this more musically engaging. This then also helped me decide on more interesting piano parts to accompany the vocals but allowing the vocals to be the focus as this was more important. We used a male and a female voice to show two sides of a relationship and I think this worked really well as was really clear and suited the song.

Walking everyday through the door step.
Waiting for your friendly warmth but your not there.
I don't know how to feel no more.
People talking, can't hear what they say. 
But,

No one said that life's a paradise, tomorrow brings what tomorrow brings. 
I know today has troubles of its own, tomorrow brings what tomorrow brings.

I know I know, I know, I know, your heart is heavy.
But believe, believe, believe, believe me, temporary. 

No one said that life's a paradise, tomorrow brings what tomorrow brings. 
I know today has troubles of its own, tomorrow brings what tomorrow brings.

Sleepless nights and troubled throughts.
Tryna find the demons in your head.

No one said that lifes a paradise, tomorrow brings what tomorrow brings.
I know today has troubles of its own, tomorrow brings what tomorrow brings.

These are the lyrics of the song with who sung them. The pink represents the girl voice of the piece, the male voice is represented by the blue and both of them singing together is the green.

https://soundcloud.com/musicianship-1/tirangle (Musicianship-1 2016) 

Creating Own Song based on Meaning and Emotion Workshop

Upon being given the task to create a song based on the Meaning and Emotion workshop we started to write a serious song and something that we could all relate too. Therefore we started to develop the chorus about being a performer around a chorus that Amy had previously composed and decided that the genre would be Musical Theatre and like Glee and the upbeat tempo with the major key helps show this. However we then took how we were feeling that day which was quite annoyed and sassy and through me just playing through the chords developed lyrics over this. We created the relatable lyrics to connect with the audience, such as use of names, and a topic that we felt passion about so that we could express the emotion through the performance. The rap/speech was used to communicate this but to also keep the song musically engaged and using this alongside the pauses in the piano added comical effect. It was evident that this was successful from the audience's reaction as they understood the humour behind it and we got the desired reaction. To develop this piece further we could add extra harmonies especially due to there being three of us. We could also make the speech bit longer as this bit was very effective and there is a lot more that we would be able to passionately talk about. The final aspect that I could develop is the piano playing because this remained the same throughout the piece.

Our Song: https://www.facebook.com/groups/751682068277287/permalink/976401852471973/

Lyrics:

Monday morning 9am lectures, really get to me.
It's not just Monday infact it is any 9am start that makes me want to scream.
Shannon never brings her card, Yahya is always late,
Erin's never in because she's probably on some Tinder date.
I tell you what overwhelms me, that really pisses me off,
It's all the blogs, the essays, the deadlines, the people, the groupwork, the rehearsals, the tutorials not that I've ever had one.
The price of chicken Mayo sandwiches, the fact that I have to get the bus, Chevie and by the way Hayley we haven't done the reading, sorry we love you.

Breathe it in. Breathe it out.
Say the words and say them loud.
To the ones who always told us that we can't.
So come on, show them all,
Like a blazing star it is our turn,
Just forget what you've been told before,
Just smile and let your worries go away,
Today.

I'm always in, I'm always in, your never in it's always me.
I do my work, I do my work, I even wrote this song for Hayley.
And when I do my work, I always make sure it's on time.
Not like Yahya whose a skiver, and was late to his assessment. 

Break it down now.

We never have swivley chairs, no we only have the plastic ones,
Which really hurts her back and really pisses me off.
I can't even play the piano, because I don't even know the piano code.
God knows how we wrote this song, without a pissing piano what.
But hey ho it's still brilliant though, yeh this songs fab.
Abi when does it go back into the chorus? I don't know but I accidentally brought my kitten into uni yesterday.

Breathe it in. Breathe it out.
Say the words and say them loud.
To the ones who always told us that we can't.
So come on, show them all,
Like a blazing star it is our turn,
Just forget what you've been told before,
Just smile and let your worries go away,

Today.

REPEAT CHORUS

Meaning and Emotion - Lesson 3

Expression in Music Performance is extremely important because it 'shapes how listeners experience Music' (Juslin and Sboda 2001) ) and therefore connects you to your audience. Juslin and Sboda argue that there are two types of people when listening to Music and this is absolutist and referentialist. An absolutist is someone who analyses the theory behind the piece, the technical building blocks such as the key and dynamics and musical elements such as that. A referentialist focuses on the emotive state and how the piece makes you feel and what expediences it relates you back too. However this theory can be argued because it can depend on the piece of Music and can also overalp which is a problem of putting things into boxes like this theory does.  In this session we looked at three different pieces and explored what musical techniques allowed them to express the emotion in the song which I will then use to help with my Independent project of composing my own song. It has allowed me to understand how the building blocks can influence the emotion of a song such as key, dynamics, texture and so I will focus on these when composing my own piece. 

Arrangement Workshop - Lesson 2

In this session it was a workshop based around arranging a song of our choice. We were given the sheet music with chords and lyrics for a few songs and from this we picked I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. We chose this because it allowed a challenge as this is a very well known song that we wanted to adapt and change. Something that is clearly well known about the original is it is upbeat tempo and we wanted to change this to focus on the lyrics which upon reading without the music are actually quite sad. We took the tempo and made it slower, and even when the audience would expect it to get faster we remained it at the same tempo and just layered the texture. The emotion that I got from it was a weak reassurance that the person 'will survive' and therefore we also wanted to look at it from both angles of the relationship, thus using a female voice and a male voice at different parts during the song. A relationship is about two people and we wanted to convey this in our arrangement. Another musical technique we used to communicate a melancholy feel was sustaining notes in the vocal part that normally wouldn't be sustained in the song as this suggests a desperation. In the original there is quite a thick texture in terms of lots of instruments and this is something we also wanted to change and took a more simplistic approach instrument wise and just had the piano. Then as it approaches further on in the song the tempo picks up as the echoes in the vocals become apparent to layer the texture so that it makes it engaging for the audience but still keeps it quite simplistic. The final musical technique we used for the piano to express the emotion of the song was at the end I took it up the octave and played broken notes up there to give the piece a calmer, sadder atmosphere to end on to reflect the negative effect of the relationship and the situation.

Original:

                                                       (Wesley Tai 2007)

Our Arrangement: 

https://soundcloud.com/musicianship-1/i-will-survive (Musicianship-1 2016) 

2nd Year - Lesson 1 - Intro

In today's session we reflected on last year looking at the positives and the negatives so that we can then improve upon this and be encouraged by this. Last year I learnt how to accompany on piano and worked on my skills in this area by constantly putting this into practice and taking opportunity to accompany others. I've learnt how to compose within a group situation and with this has come learning how to adapt others ideas and combine them with my own such as When I last year which I composed and then brought to the group and adapted others suggestions to improve upon it. To improve upon last year I need to do a lot more practice so that this will hopefully enable me to not only expand and improve in my skill but also allow me to gain more confidence in my abilities. 

Today we also looked at creating a piece based around the Thunder Word - Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnereonntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnkuk. To begin with we each just chose a drum as we felt this was appropriate for thunder and then picked part of the word that we wanted to focus on. The first part of the word we did as a group and decided that this would be our motif that we'd play in unison with a beat underneath and structure the piece around this. We then each found a different part of the word and took it in turns to play this as a solo to create different sections thus then ending with us all playing are rhythms over each other to create a poly-rhythm affect. We then worked on layering the texture and adding dynamics to make it more interesting and engaging and to reflect a thunderstorm gradually building. To improve upon this if we were to do it again, I would suggest some aesthetic elements such as movement to make it more engaging.

(Hayley Jenkins 2016)

Bibliography 2

Bob Kingston (2010) Peter Grimes - Act 3 (Mr Swallow...who holds himself apart..Interlude VI) . Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P46aKimw2s

curlyfryz3181607 (2008). In Short. Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYcbG5vvOJg 

Decca Records Classical (2014). Vera Lynn (There'll Be Bluebirds Over )The White Cliffs of Dover .Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovfQjR3iU-A 

essgee007 (2010) Drink Drink Drink (The Drinking Song). Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI3Bcgh4Jko

Faculty of Washington (2014). The history of the moving picture. Avaliable at: http://faculty.washington.edu/baldasty/JAN13.htm 

IMDB (2016). The Jazz Singer (1927) .Avaliable at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018037/

Moma (2004). Walt Disney - Steamboat Willie. Avaliable at: http://www.moma.org/collection/works/89284 

New World Encyclopedia (2015). Operetta. Avaliable at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Operetta

Oliver, P (1960). BLUES FELL THIS MORNING: Meaning to the Blues. London: Cassell & Company Ltd. 

Sadie, S (1980) History of Opera. London: Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Teach-me-piano. (2009) Jazz Piano. Available at: http://www.teach-me-piano.com/jazz-piano.html 


The Chaplin Films (2014). Charlie Chaplin - The Birth of the Tramp Celebration (Trailer). Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djUOMxJ1rEM

Walt Disney Animation Studios (2009). Walt Disney Animation Studios' Steamboat Willie. Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBgghnQF6E4

warhalsoup100 (2011). Al Bowlly Ray Noble - Love is the Sweetest Thing 1932. Avaliable at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUXv0ezazXg

Evaluation

I think something that worked really well and came across to an audience was our connection with each other. Onstage our chemistry was good which had a positive affect onto the audience as it enabled them to relax and enjoy the performer. I think this connecting with the audience was definitely a personal strength as even though I was playing piano I still managed to look up by picking moments in the song where I can do this. I think another strength for the group was that the delivery of the comedy. I know this was successful from the reaction from the audience which shows me that the humor was clearly portrayed as we received the desired effect of laughter.

I think maybe to improve next time the first thing we could've done differently is instead of choosing two similar songs choosing contrasting ones, so choosing a slow ballad next to our comedic Musical Theatre piece just to give it a little more variety. I think something else that could have been improved was that it should've been better rehearsed as it wasn't as polished as it should've been which can make the pieces seem unprofessional to a paying audience. For example if it'd had been polished the harmonies would've been tighter and our voices completely blended. I also think in Well did you Evah, had we had tie, we could have added a few more harmonies. The main improvement though for me personally was to make the piano part more advanced. I think a lot of the time the pieces sounded empty due to us just relying on vocals and pianos which can sometimes be a bit disengaging which is why I should've added melodic patterns to fill it out a bit more so it had a fuller and more interesting layered texture.

Pro Tools - When I

To fit our brief of creating a comedic Musical Theatre number based on a couple coming to win their fortune and the girl winning the jackpot and dumping him, we decided it would be best to put the track into Protools so we could add other instruments so that it wouldn't sound as empty and would be more showy. First I just recorded in block chords to a clicker so that I would have a bass to work around with and add other parts too. Once this was done I recorded in the left hand walking bass part, reflecting the comping style of Jazz during this era. I then added the right hand, playing a Charleston rhythm to contrast with the bass part at to make it sound as part of the 1920's and 1930's rather then the 50's doo-wop  feel it had previously reflected. I then recorded the piano roll before the tap break and this is where I hit an issue. In response to the dancers requests, I'd made the metronome quicker meaning it was hard to play in the dance break. I then struggled as because a common feature of jazz songs in this style were stops and breaks of the music, and when trying to put these in it was hard to time. Therefore because I was hitting so many obstacles and wouldn't have time to finish the track I just decided that I would play the piano live and just try to fill it out with melodic patterns in the right and left hand, that changed throughout just to keep the texture interesting and engaging to reflect the scenario. The major chords also worked well in doing this, reflecting a happy and comedic atmosphere. Despite not being able to finish a track for us to use  I have benefited from learning how to work things on Protools ready for next time I need to us it to create a track or record something in.

Well did you Evah

Well did you Evah is the second song that we have chosen to do for our arrangement. Similarly to our other song it is a comedic based Musical theatre number but to make our arrangement we have used two different versions of the song to create our own piece, including the original from the Musical High Society. Meg has arranged the lyrics so that it is a mixture but also so that it fits and sounds right for two women singing it in comparison to the original which is a guy and a girl, and then the other version which is two guys. The adapted lyrics are humorous and will engage an audience. I have taken the sheet music for the piano from the original Musical but due to a lower skill level than the piece requires I have adapted the chords to create a characterful accompaniment piece also based on my research of playing in this style and genre. For our next rehearsal I need to decide how to fill out the piano part so that it doesn't sound empty with us having piano as the only instrument in this song. Amy and Meg both need to learn their words as it is quite a mouthful and to aid this in rehearsal we used the technique of repeating the song and them not looking at their words to see how much they could remember. This was also useful because it got them used to covering up when they went wrong a forgot the words which will be helpful for if things go wrong in the actual show. 

War Songs

I decided for my solo songs although I wanted to try and challenge myself and sing something new, I still wanted to pick something that I would be comfortable singing. For my theme I decided to pick war songs as not only do I have a passion for them and always loved them, but it is a genre I've never even tried before and thus allowing me to become a more versatile performer. 

(Decca Records Classical 2014)

(warholsoup100 2011)

During the war Music and Dancing was often used as an escape and distraction from the death and destruction going on in the world around them. The first song I've chosen to do is Vera Lynn's There'll Be Bluebirds over. It is important for me to connect with this song a work on forming the connection so that I can portray the emotion and feeling behind the song and not just through my voice but my face also. It is a challenge because of the vibrato and style but is made it easier because of the area it sits in my voice. The other song 'Love is the sweetest Thing' is aimed for an audience to enjoy, and bring about optimism in that sense rather than doing an emotional ballad. Instead this number is more upbeat and jazzier than before so which provides a contrast to my other song so that although they are linked by the theme of war songs, they are open.

Jazz Piano

For my essay question I'm going to be looking into and researching the techniques and common features of jazz piano playing. This will help with my two group pieces for the 1920s and 1930s show because this is the style that I will be required to play the piano for these pieces. The first being an original composition called 'When I' and the second being our arrangement of 'Well did you Evah' from the musical High Society.

Some common features of jazz piano are:

• Swing of jazz in right hand
• Bass left hand pattern
• Angular melodies with sevenths

(Teach-Me-Piano 2009)

Using this knowledge of different features of jazz piano in the era I can use these too adapt one of our group pieces that I composed, to make it sound more like jazz rather than straight up Musical Theatre. Jazz was influence from Blues and that's why I've based my left hand pattern on the walking bass  and made the right hand more chordal based to reflect the piece. When playing it into Protools I'll add another right hand thematically melody for the piano so that it makes the piano part more interesting and keeps it engaging and fresh, especially during the tap break although keeping this simple enough to not confuse the dancers.

Fitting Meg in

For this rehearsal we needed to teach Meg the new song so we used the rehearsal technique of breaking it down into sections to teacher her a bit at the time. I sung my ba dada's for her to sing over and experiment with. Once she found a harmony, I decided that I would slur mine to make it sound more jazzy whilst she still does hers staccato. This takes away the 50's feel and makes it sound interesting especially when the harmony comes in after being in unison. For the chorus we added her in a higher harmony, as this sits well within her voice, which crosses over my harmony at some points but this sounds strong and together due to practicing this a lot by look at each other to create a good blend with the tight harmonies. To add comedic affect, when Amy is singing the 'I lied' in the chorus Meg repeats this which also helps the story to be clearly communicated and for what Amy's character is saying to be re enforced. For the bridge I decided to give this to Meg for her to sing as it fitted her vocal style, allowing her to use the voice technique of belting whilst we go back to the chorus creating an interesting texture. Then we went on to deciding the ending of the song which we chose there to be an acapella chorus because this would sound nice with the tight harmonies. Then a run down the piano because this was a common feature of jazz whilst also sounding dramatic to fit with the Musical Theatre genre. The final acapella 'goodbye' not only fitted the Musical Theatre genre as Meg went up in pitch at the end to give a showy affect, but also fitted with the humorous story line. This was a successful rehearsal because a lot was achieved to make up for lack of previous rehearsal tie. To improve upon this song we just need to rehearse it so it is clean and tight.

When I - Amy and Abi rehearsal

To begin this rehearsal I played the song to Amy and Hayley to get their opinion on it to see if they wanted to take it forward. They agreed that we needed to adapt lyrics and shape it a bit more but that it was a good start and that we finally had something to work with. The first thing we did was adapt and write the lyrics so that they were appropriate to the scene we were given and so that they were more Musical Theatre. 

'When I look at you, 
All the things I could do,
If I didn't have you,
Now that we are through

When I,when I, when I first saw you.
When I, when I, when I said I loved you.
I lied, I lied, I lied I don't love you.
Don't cry, don't cry, I didn't want to hurt you.

Is this happening to us,
Can't believe our luck,
Now we've won the jackpot,
Sorry what?' 

INSTRUMENTAL

Now walk away, there is nothing to say,
Money's stolen her heart today.
No walk away, there is nothing to say,
Money's stolen her heart today.

When I,when I, when I first saw you.
When I, when I, when I said I loved you.
I lied, I lied, I lied I don't love you.
Don't cry, don't cry, I didn't want to hurt you.'

Coming up with the lyrics also allowed us to be able to form a clear structure of intro, verse,chorus, verse than an instrumental to provide a section for the dancers to do a tap dance and then lead on to the bridge and another chorus. This is a structure that fits the genre and also enables the dancers to have a clear structure to follow when choreographing and we have recorded a version of just the piano so that the dancers are able to start choreographing and practicing whilst we get a better recorded version for them with the lyrics when Meg gets back. It was important we kept rehearsing it by repeating it to make sure we knew it inside out so that when Meg came back we would be able to fit her in without it taking up too much time.

New Song! - My rehearsal

Due to us not getting far in rehearsals and having to keep changing our idea I thought I'd use initiative and have a rehearsal by myself to try and come up with a skeleton of a piece for us to work with and improve upon. I was unable to rehearse with the others due to illness and knew it'd be easier to come up with the bare bones by myself. I decided it'd be easier to go down the Charleston route due to the brief given as this would be easier to make comical and Musical Theatre style. I based the chord sequence on major chords to also give it the comical, cheesy, bright effect we were looking for to convey the story and then played the following the rhythm pattern of common Charleston songs, adapting it slightly to make it original. With this basic chord sequence and rhythm I began to come up with some basic lyrics and the melody that these would be sung to, keeping it quite simple so that we could either just keep it the same and focus on layering it with harmonies or changing the melody to make it more interesting and engaging. Or finding a balance between the two. This has been a really effective rehearsal because it now gives us something to work with where as before we didn't really have anything and kept fluttering between ideas. This has allowed us to have a basic idea to then expand upon. At the moment I am aware it has aspects of a 50's Doo-wop style so I'm hoping to look into jazz piano playing of the 20's and 30's so that I can hopefully add a left hand piano part that will make it sound more of this era. 

In Short and I've Got Rhythm

The original song that we were writing we decided that we didn't want to do anymore due to us feeling it wasn't appropriate to the brief enough and we didn't know what else to add or how to adapt it so it was fitting to the brief. Due to us struggling to compose our own song we decided to do a cover and change the song to 'In Short' from Edges which goes with our genre of Musical Theatre. 

(curlyfryz3181607 2008)

Meg adapted the lyrics so that they were more appropriate to our scenario and to the time period. For example referencing a 'motor car' as this was very new and an exciting prospect for the 20's and 30's and were very expensive so fits with her winning a lot of cash. The adapted lyrics also make it very comical and the rhythm already gives a Charleston theme which relates it also to the 20's and 30's time period. However to make it more of suitable for the time period we would have to adapt the chords adding in sevenths which would mean the melody would have to be adapted and changed. So we felt it'd be easiest to just change the song. 

'My love affair with you

It`s over, it`s through We loved and then you lost For you it came at quite a cost We`ve both had the chance to grow I`ve collected my cash And just before I go There`s just one thing I want you to know

`Yeah so I won a lot of cash, What? Don't come out in a rash! I Made a gamble I won, So I said we're done, guess that you're broke so will you pawn your gold? don't know what I'd do if the roles were reversed, You believe in luck right? Cos your luck has been cursed, Who knew, that one gal could be this rich, I'm pretty sure that God must be favouring this bitch! So back off... Because the money's fucking mine

Maybe it`s wrong to wish death on Someone you had so much love for But since I'd rather not share It makes me want to kill you more

I'd rather bury you alive Or Drown you in a pond I hope you didn't catch on I did something wrong Took all of the money, just call me James Bond! A car I think that is what I'll buy first, A Tiffany ring and a Cartier purse, Or! Maybe I'll get a pony! Won't lose any sleep although you call me a phony. (Spoken) share the cash? (Sung) I'd rather fucking die 😊

Okay, so maybe I`m getting ahead, Maybe I`m taking this way too far, Maybe I'm going a little crazy at the thought of buying a motor car, Cause obviously this whole rich life is new, And I'm dreaming about all the things I could do... Maybe we could give it one more try` Aw man it Sucks I'm too selfish and i'd rather die!

Die, die, I would rather die... Die, die I would rather you die

Tiffany's!

Die, die, die, die, die, die, die

Cartier!

Die, die, die, die, die, die, die

Vroom vroom!

Die, die, die, die, die, die, die

I'll Get new teeth and new hair, Joan Crawford beware I'll pass time in Fiji with no single care Aufweidersein, Aurevoir, Goodbye!

In short, I'm leaving you goodbyeeeee!

DIE!'

The song we decided to change to was 'I've Got Rhythm' by George Gershwin and yet again we would adapt the lyrics to be suitable for the scenario and time period. This worked better than the other one as the song itself was already a jazz song from the 1930's, alongside the rhythm being ideal for the dancers to work with. To make sure it is our own arrangement we are going to record each of the instruments in separately to create our own backing track which we then will sing along too. However we then decided against this song because

Music and Film - 1920's and 1930's

When film first began in the 1890's (Faculty Washington 2014), it was not a popular medium and didn't being to be so until the 20's and 30's. And during this period there were more films a year then there are now which could possibly be because they had no TV so going to watch a film was their equivalent. Early films were in black and white due to the technology not being advanced enough for color, this was to come in 1967. (BBC 2016) They were also silent due to sound and film together not being available and although sometimes live musicians played, this was not very practical. Therefore to communicate the story the actors used big gestures and were often very slapstick

Charlie Chaplin was famous for his silent comedy as he created a character called 'The Tramp' who wore a mustache and bowler hat, and he played off this character for many of his silent films. Then in 1919 he founded a company so that he could be in complete control and even when sound films began to advance, he refused to move to sound films. Although many of his films have been recreated with sound over the top. Below we can see he used exaggerated body language and facial expressions so that the audience can understand the plot and to add comedic value to the film.

(TheChaplinFilms 2014)

When films started coming out that weren't silent they were known as talkies. These disturbed a lot of people as they found it weird that people were talking out of a screen but they grew to be more popular as people got used to it. However there were only moments of sound due to the amplification and synchronization of sound still being difficult and expensive to produce.The first official talkie was The Jazz Singer released in 1927 (IMDB 2016) and it only  had small sections of dialogue and still relied on everything that silent films did to portray the story but it was an advancement in what had been seen before so people received it very well as something new and exciting.

Seeing the success that The Jazz Singer received Walt Disney decided to create the first synchronized soundtrack cartoon was Steamboat Willie in 1928 (Moma 2004). It explored the use of dietetic sound which is where the sound source is visible and then non dietetic sound which means that the sound source is not visible on screen nor as it been implied to be in on the action. For example narrator's commentary, mood music or sound affects for dramatic effect. This capture people's attention because although there was no dialogue the use of the catchy whistle followed by humor sounds of noises from the boat and elsewhere made it very comedic and engaging for an audience.

(Walt Disney Animation Studios 2009)

Opera and Operetta

Sadie (1980, p.6) would explain the Opera as 'perhaps the most elaborate of art forms' because it explores so many different elements to create a 'complete art work'. Opera's are of the classical genre and grew in popularity in the 1920's and 1930's and were often in theatrical settings. The Opera had high society connotations due to the audience the Opera would receive due to it being fairly expensive. It had themes similar to that found in Shakespeare's plays and to match this it had exaggerated characters and was very over dramatic in terms of plot,singing and acting. There are two different types of song in an Opera. The first being an recitative which is just part of telling the story and then an Aria which is there to make an important point and mark a moment but doesn't really move the plot forward. If you look at the song below, you can hear how much of a recitative mimics the speech through the rhythms used but just more melodic. It is especially clear in this song 'Mr Swallow' from the opera Peter Grimes as they talk over each other and also use the technique 'tilting the voice' to give a sob quality to the song. 

(Bob Kingston 2010)

Operetta's were also very popular in the 1920's and 1930's and were said to be the birth of Musical Theatre. It was a lighter version of genre not only in terms of the music but also in terms of subject matter. It was more humanistic and natural and explored everyday. Due to these being popular after the first World War they were often about hope,romance,nostalgia and adventure to help them dream about a better place. This took them from a sorrowful place after lots of death and destruction and allowed them an escape from this.Operetta's often were a fusion of lots of different styles.  Below you can see a song from the popular musical The Student Prince and here it communicates how Operetta's were more comedic and about everyday situations, issues or things.

 

(essgee007 2010)

Sometimes it can be difficult to differentiate between Operetta's and Opera's because they are often very similar. 'Most operettas can be described as light operas with acting, whereas most musicals are closer to being plays with singing.' (New World Encylopedia 2015)  and this is the difference between Operetta's and Musicals.

Mine and Amy's Rehearsal

To create the piano intro I played different chords, changing the chord if we felt it wasn't jazzy enough until we found a chord sequence we were both happy with but yet that still sounded sultry and was appropriate to the genre. Whilst playing these chords with my left hand, I then began to play a few notes with my right hand, changing notes each time until I came up with a piano solo that fitted the theme but wasn't too difficult for me to play. Improvisation was a key feature of jazz and therefore why I found it a good way too compose my piano part. We then used it to create the singing part by me just playing and then us trying to improvise melodies and lyrics over the top for the introduction.

For the piano part in the verse I decided to add a right hand part playing a constant B flat and D, quite high up the piano to contrast with the lower, bass chordal pattern I'd been following so far. This gave the piece more of a jazzy feel whilst also changing it up to keep the piece engaging and interesting. The verse for the singing focused on telling the story so far and explaining what she really wants and that is not love, especially with him. She's focus on money and fortune and through use of exaggerated lyrics and heightened emotion this aims to add comedic affect which will keep the audience engaged.

For the chorus we kept the chord sequence the same as previous so that this still reflected the genre. I decided that the piano part would only be minimal as too much would take away from the singing, which I can always do in other parts of the song like the instrumental. The focus of the chorus has to be the singing of the lyrics which is therefore why I just need to be accompaniment. It was important the chorus relates to a contemporary audience and adds elements of comedy so to do this we thought the best way would be through pickup lines. I think although this worked on the comedic and Musical Theatre side of things, we felt this took away a little from the 20's and 30's style that is essential to what we're meant to be creating.

Blues

Blues music originated back in the days of the slave trade where they would sing soulfully about the way they were treated and their day. It was a way of expressing feeling and bringing people together through a common experience and emotions. Oliver (1960, p. 2) states that 'attempts to commit the music to musical notation had been made' but this was not necessary for Blues music due to it being focused on emotion and having a lot more freedom then other genres of Music.  There are different key features of Blues music. The first of these being the 12 bar blues which is a chord progression and is based on the I-IV-V chords of a scale. From this chord sequence often a walking bass is created which often appears in Blues music. Another key feature is adaptation of the voice to create a soulful vocal tone to reflect the origins of what they were going through. There is also a lot of repetition involving call and response which is something we took forward as a group when composing our own Blues piece.

https://soundcloud.com/musicianship-1/playin-the-blues-1

To create our Blues piece at first we decided on the topic that we would explore. We decided on a person's everyday journey and what they'd come across, so we related it to us and our day so far. For example lyric wise we used 'Abi's hedgehog slippers, are missing an eye' as this related to our situation we were in. We used the key feature of repetition by following a an ABB structure throughout the song repeating certain phrases or certain words like 'slippers' and 'eye' which I thought was effective as this was similar to the call and response from original Blues and the idea of an current everyday situation which also helped us to compose. It also added a Blues Gospel feel when we'd echo alongside the claps to add a bit of percussion. A lot of our devising came from improvisation and people singing about what had happened to them and/or how they were feeling. This enabled us to have a verse each and made it appropriate to us as a group, which made it easier to come up with.

Structure Brainstorm

In this rehearsal we worked on coming up with a structure for our song that we are going to compose to fit our brief. For our brief we need to come up with either and arrangement or and original that would fit into the 1920s and 30s. For our group in particular, a comedic Musical Theatre number based around a couple who went to a casino to seek out their fortune and when the girl wins she doesn't want the boy anymore, but in the end she loses it all and he wins. We decided to focus on the point in the story where she has just won all the money and doesn't want the boy anymore as we thought this would be the point that we were most likely to be able to make funny and fit the brief.

We are wanting the first section of the song to be quite slow and sexy therefore we decided on having a piano solo at the beginning.Then to communicate the character we are going to have sultry singing where she is teasing the boy to set up the start of the story and to contrast with the next bit where the tempo will pick up into the chorus. This section needs to be quite tongue and cheek so we've decided to play off pick up line but changing them into insults which will add an element of comedy to fit the brief given. Throughout the song we are wanting to keep jumping between these two sections to keep the piece constantly engaging and still be appropriate to the genre given. The upbeat section is going to progress into comedic anger to give the song height and a change in emotion. The roles we will have is Abi will play the piano, Amy and Meg will sing the girl's part and Yahya will be the voice of the male.