Term 2 - Lesson 2 - 29th April 2015

Lesson 2                                                                                                           29th April 2015


Ensemble Rehearsal
In this session we focused on our new song, choosing and adapting another song. We have decided to do 'Apparently' as the main background track by J. Cole and mixed 'American Boy' lyrics from Estelle. This is because, as a group, we decided that American Boy consisted of high notes throughout and by mixing the lyrics with 'Apparently', has aloud us to change the tune. Another thing is that both these songs are sang by different genders consisting of high and low notes: this allowed us as a group to also adapt a male song to our individual voices.


 What we achieved today:
We organised all of the harmonies within the group using 'garage'. We included the chorus of American Boy in Apparently by adding harmony 'o' in between -This decision was made to erase the rap in Apparently (We also included verses from American Boy).


Overall, we are keeping to track with deciding our songs. We have also decided who is singing which verse. However, we didn't get a chance to go through our first chosen song to make sure that we are comfortable with it.


Next week:
-Learn both songs by heart
-Run through the first song making sure that everyone know there lines and harmonies
-Also go through the second song
-Adapt a choreography to the songs to make it more of a performance

-Chose the third song and organise who is singing which verse

Ensemble Presentation:

Peet Coombes (1952- 1997) - vocal and guitarist

As illustrated on the image, Peet (who is on the left hand side) is singing with Lennox (Who is on the right hands side) with a guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRBTRGM4lnE

In this clip Peet is singing and playing the guitar at the front of the stage with Annie Lennox.

He is accompanying Annie in harmony on the chorus and in some verses but doesn't have a single verse vocally which shows that he isn't the main singer.

David A. Stewart - guitar

David is playing the guitar on the right hand side in this image whilst Lennox is singing.

• Annie Lennox - vocal and keyboards
• Eddie Chin - bass guitar
• Jim Toomey - drums

Term 2 - Lesson 1 - 22th April 2015

Ensemble rehearsal 

So far, we are sticking to some points of the rehearsal plan; we've printed out the lyrics and annotated each sheet with the harmonies and other adaptations. This was useful so that we can learn the lyrics by heart. However, we did not do a run through without looking at the lyrics. This means we still have to practice the singing it without lyrics. 

One issue in our group was starting the first line of the song and the first line to the choruses as it comes in at a fast pace. 

We chose another song to work on 'American Boy' British rapper and sing Estelle. This song is great in terms of adapting harmonies and different melodies, especially in the chorus. It is a more upbeat music which creates a variety in the song choice. Although, I do think that this song is hard when it comes to the rapping. I think it is long, and the possible solution is to cut down the rapping section. I knew the chorus of this song, which was good as it meant that I was more confident in singing it. However, we haven't finished choosing who is going to sing which verse. 

As a feedback of the rehearsal today, I think that we spent too long on the first song. It is important for everyone to learn their parts and the lyrics by heart. I would have began choosing the singers for each verse and worked out the harmonies so that we had the second song sorted out. 

For next week, we need to ensure that everyone knows there lines and the song by heart. Decide who is singing which verse and add the harmonies. We also need to choose another final song. 

Ensemble for Presentation

The Tourists (1977 -1980) were a British rock and pop band

• Peet Coombes (1952- 1997) - vocal and guitarist 
• David A. Stewart - guitar
• Annie Lennox - vocal and keyboards
• Eddie Chin - bass guitar
• Jim Toomey - drums

Term 2 - Lesson 7 - 25th March 2015

Lesson 7                                                                                                      25th March 2015

Ensemble

I'm in a group of 5 with Caitlin, Molly, Nenei, Agatha and myself. Being in a group of 5 means that there is more people to fit in different harmonies. I think that the members in my groups have different styles of voices and tones which makes the whole ensemble more interesting and fun to work with.

In my group, we decided to list a range of songs to choose from and narrowed it down to what the group liked. We characterized our chosen songs: slow, faster and one which we could 'MASH' (mix another song). I liked our scheme of choosing songs because it meant that we were all working together and choosing songs which we liked. For me personally, I found that most of the chosen songs were unknown to me, and it means that I need to learn the lyrics. However, it was nice to listen other types of songs.

Our first chosen song is 'FortyFiveSecond' by Rihanna. We chose this because it is slow and we can adapt different harmonies.

What I need to do: I need to practice the high harmonies in the chorus and learn the lyrics.


Plan of rehearsal from now until the performance
Wednesday 25th March
- Practice first slow song by Rihanna and decide the who is singing which lines and the different harmonies
(taking into account that everyone has to have one line on their own singing a higher melody)  

Wednesday 22nd April
- Print lyrics and practice going through the song with the harmonies
- Learn song by heart and singing it without lyrics 
- Choose another song to begin practicing 
- Add harmonies and learn lyrics

Wednesday 29th April
- Practice song without lyrics
-Choose the last song to mix
- Practice new song and share ideas on another song to mix with it
- Learn the lyrics

Wednesday 6th May
- Organize who is singing each verse and the harmonies
- Practice going through the song and singing without lyrics