Our First Rehearsal:
Our first rehearsal was not very successful. This was due to multiple technical issues with the instruments we were using for rehearsal such as a broken drum kit and keyboard. We then spent a lot of rehearsal time changing these instruments and connecting wires to the sound desk which meant there was less time to work on the song. Also, during the performance Tom turned the volume of his amp down because he did not feel confident so he should improve on that for next week. At the start of our rehearsal, Jaydene and I worked on the chords and lyrics in a separate room so that we could make sure that we got our parts right without becoming a distraction for our band mates.
Personally, I need to work on learning the lyrics for the second and third verse as well as the tune for the outro. This will make our band more successful as we will be able to perform the full song and keep in time. In order to continue learning and achieve my goals, over the next week I will listen to the song and sing along with it. This will not only help me learn the lyrics but will also help me get the timing perfect and possibly even work out a harmony for Kabeer and I. I will continue to use https://genius.com/The-police-message-in-a-bottle-lyrics because it gives extra knowledge about the song as well as the full lyrics and an accompanying video of the original song.
One good thing about our rehearsal for me was that the lyrics that I did know were sung in perfect time and key. I aim to be able to do that throughout the entire song with better projection by the next rehearsal and also work out a harmony if possible. Another thing which would help me is watching covers or live versions of the song to see what other ways this song could be played and sung.
As a whole, our band needs to work on communicating. This is clear to see when Kabeer sings at random moments or sings the wrong lyrics which sometimes throws off the band and can lead to multiple mistakes. We rectified this issue during our live sound lesson on thursday afternoon when we had a few practices and we decided exactly which parts would be sung by which person. Due to our practice at home we were finally able to complete the song with all the lyrics for each verse and include the outro. This needs to be worked on still because not everyone in the band knows their part for the outro and we also need to work out at which point we would like to cut off.
I would like to work with other members of the band in separate situations to help improve communication also as it helps to know what lyrics are being sung at what point in the song whilst playing. I know this from a pianist’s perspective and hope that by doing so it will make our performance much more professional sounding.
Our Second Rehearsal:
This rehearsal was much more effective than our first one for many reasons. First of all, we knew all of the lyrics and timings apart from in the first when Kabeer left a large gap between lyrics. This made it successful because everyone knew what to do and when and caused much less confusion. However not everything went well. There were a lot of adaptations to the lyrics, for example saying “you” instead of “someone” in the chorus which does not really work well, so I will be informing Kabeer of this in our next performance in order to make it better. Another issue we had was that I set up the keyboard for the second song (Bohemian Like you) and forgot to change it back from organ to piano, which made the intro to the song sound strange. Luckily, half way through I realised and changed it.
Personally, I need to learn the chords and possibly add an accompanying root note in my left hand to further improve the song. As well as this, I should practice my timings for coming in on the chorus and decide whether I should join in with the outdo which can be discussed with the band at next rehearsal.
The band as a whole has definitely become much better at each of their parts and have even improved on their communication skills. This is clear in the fact that during this rehearsal, Tom was confident enough to turn his amp up and we were able to sing through the entire song with little to no mistakes.
This rehearsal was rather good. It was our first time listening carefully to the song together as a band. With Nic’s help, I learned the chords but unfortunately I could not get my head around the timing of the riff (B A F sharp). It didn’t take long for us to run through the entire song with well harmonised ‘oohs’ in the chorus. Since then, I have been listening to both the studio and live versions of this song to work out the exact timings of the piano riff and have worked on my confidence. I can now fade in the chords just like in the song.
This rehearsal was very good, despite the fact that James (our lead guitarist) was absent due to illness. This was good for the bad because we managed to work together, with no arguments and play through our entire song. This was a rare occasion where we enjoyed every single second and got to play around with the ways in which we ended the song and found out what the best way to communicate issues and work through them together.
For this song, I do not have to play any piano but that means that I have to solely focus on my vocals. This is a completely different challenge as there are lots of different things to be worked on. For example, staying in key is very important and sticking to the tempo set by Michael’s drumming so that the song is not too fast and I can breathe in the right places.
One thing I needed to work on at the beginning of this rehearsal was remembering the lyrics to the rap. However, by the end I knew them all by heart. So my target for next week is to hit the note sung on the word “breath” at the end of the second verse and project it when doing so. I will achieve this goal by practicing it on my own.
Our Rehearsal For Colour Blue:
I would say that this rehearsal is the best one we have done so far. We played a 3 song set of Seven Nation Army, Bohemian Like You and Burnin’ Up. First of all, Seven Nation Army was successful because most of us managed to get through it without any mistakes. I also hid my face for all of this This was mainly because the song is very repetitive however the volume of James’ guitar was too loud and we were therefore struggling to hear Kabeer’s vocals until he began to shout. In Bohemian Like You, we did much better. Everyone in the band was able to remember their parts. During the chorus, I mumbled the lyrics, unsure of I should sing them or not. As pointed out by Colour Blue in their feedback (see video below), it would actually make the song sound better if I sang those lyrics and possibly added harmonies. One other thing that went wrong and was actually quite comical was when James knocked over the acoustic guitar behind him and caused Tom to laugh and lose his place. Finally, we played Burnin’ Up and this went very well. No one made any mistakes but not everyone joined in with the “red dress” call and response.
In the feedback, it was recommended that we add harmonies because we have two singers. In fact there are three of us. I would like to try and fit some harmonies into the choruses of more songs and possibly in certain areas of the verses.
Our Final Rehearsal:
This rehearsal was difficult to evaluate because the camera was not in focus but listening purely to the music, I can still say that it went really well. In the first song, we didn’t do too badly. Most of us managed to get the chords and timings right but there were a few mistakes made in the final chorus. Our harmonies during the choruses and outro made the song sound a lot better just like Colour Blue said they would.
Unfortunately, we didn’t end the song well which then meant that we were unable to successfully “top and tail” Message In A Bottle and Bohemian Like You. I feel as though this was soon rectified when we got into it and regained some confidence. Especially when I got the riff’s timing perfect after hours of hard work at home trying to remember when to play it. Looking back, i don’t think that the organ voice that I was using on the keyboard sounded quite right. We did however manage to find a good harmony in the chorus and ended the song perfectly.
This then led to an almost immediate transition into Seven Nation Army. We have never really had any problems with this song due to its repetition and the fact that is a very well known song. This meant everyone kept in time with each other and made no obvious mistakes, if any. James did a guitar solo during the second verse which really added to the song and made it more like our own. There were quite a few dynamic changes but they need to be much clearer in order to have any real effect but we did end the song perfectly yet again and increased our confidence even more.
The next song in our set, is No Scrubs. This got off to a bad start because we have a change over in which I move away from the keyboard to the microphone to become the lead vocalist. This was poor as the band ended up talking amongst themselves and a lot of it was irrelevant. This time could have been used more effectively by addressing the audience or at least doing something to introduce the next song. At the start of the first verse, my pitch was off but I think I did well to find the right key and carry on. I took a tip from Colour Blue about how confidence can often hide your mistakes from the audience and I think that helped hide that brief issue. James and I harmonised very well during the choruses and even though I forgot to double the chorus at the end and came in slightly out of time, he backed me up so that it wasn’t as obvious. I held on the final note but it sounded a little bit awkward. To improve on this, I will hold it on for longer or cut it off.
Our final song was Burnin’ Up and this song was where our confidence reached it’s peak. Everyone enjoyed playing this song and that is very clear. When we began James shouted that he was out of tune on his guitar but carried on playing just so we were aware but knew that we didn’t have to stop the performance. This was good because it didn’t take up any time and although it wasn’t quite the right tune, it was still a fairly good performance. During the second verse, everyone did the “red dress” call and response but it made me laugh. This looked quite unprofessional and I should learn to stay composed. On a positive note though, it did make it look more like I was really enjoying what I was doing which always gets the crowd on your side because they enjoy it too. At the end of this verse there is a note which is slightly higher than the others on the word ‘breath’ and I didn’t manage to hit it. After the bridge, there is a chorus without rhythm guitar so Kabeer and I got the audience to clap along with us which improves our communication with them as we are able to physically see that they are happy to watch us perform our set. During the rap, I personalised the lyrics by changing “JB” which stand for Jonas Brothers to “5 Pence” our band name. I was actually really proud of this change as it fits so well. At the end Kabeer didn’t get the lyrics quite right but it was still the first time he had backed me on this song so it was understandable.
After the set was over, everyone in the band was extremely proud of themselves and each other due to the fact that this was probably our most successful rehearsals in the last 6 weeks and it was our first full set in front of an audience (Blue Ivy – the other band).