Somewhere Only We Know
Individual Reflection
This performance went very well however there is still much room for improvement before the final performance, which is rapidly approaching. However one strength shown in this performance was the memorisation of the sheet music, this shows great knowledge surrounding the sound as well as professionalism and organisation. I also played all the right chords throughout the song allowing for a smooth and pleasant rehearsal session for the band. A few areas that could be improved surround my stage presence, as during the rehearsal I was looking down at my instrument with no stage communication or stage presence. This made me appear as very shy and nervous on the stage, therefore to appear more confident in front of an audience I should look towards the audience and communicate with my band members more often, this will appear more professional and confident in front of an audience. The ending of this song could also be improved as I missed playing the final two chords, this was because I lagged behind and missed the final chords in the outro. Therefore in future I must make sure I play these chords as well as play the ritardando tempo on the final chord like in the original. To furthermore improve this rehearsal I need to be able to play the final chord in the song in time with the band, this is because in this rehearsal I can be heard playing this chord later which makes the song sound messy. Therefore in future it is crucial I play this chord in time. One more thing that could have been in this performance would be use of dynamics, this is because the dynamic level on the piano is very flat. Meaning it does not build up for the chorus or deliver any energy to the music, therefore in future I will make sure the dynamics of my instrument varies between parts of the song structure to make the song sound more interesting.
Band Reflection
One strength we showed as a band during this performance was the memorisation of the chords and song structure, this allowed us to perform the song without the aid of tabs from the start to finish. Knowing the song and song structure will allow us to focus on refining and sharpening the arrangement of the song in order to make it sound as best as possible for the audience. Around the 3 minute mark in the video you can hear one of the singers sing the wrong part of the song, which is a mistake very audible from the perspective of the audience. A mistake such as this makes the performance look unprofessional and unorganised, therefore it is important that the singer memorised the lyrics for the final performance. As it will allow them to present themselves as professional and organised from the perspective of the audience. In this rehearsal some of the band members were playing random songs in the session, to be more efficient we should only rehearse our own set list in rehearsals in order to improve. The final group improvement we could make would be to look up from our instrument more often in order to look more confident on stage, as well as improve our stage presence.
Rocking Around The Christmas Tree
Individual Rehearsals
This rehearsal went well however there is still many areas for improvement in order to make it sound as perfect as possible. One strong point of this rehearsal was being able to play all the chords in their inverted forms, this allows the chord changes in the song to sound more fluent overall making the song more pleasant to listen to. I also played all the correct chords in time with the music, which shows great knowledge surrounding the set list as well as great instrumental skill on the piano. In the descending line in the song we are meant to play (E, Eb, D, D) however in this rehearsal I played (E, Eb, D, Db) which made me go out of key. In future performances I will play a D instead of a Db to make the song sound more pleasant and professional for the audience. Another mistake I made in this performance was in the final build up where we all play (D, E, F, F#), in this section of the music I played all of these notes off time which made me lag behind in the performance. Overall making the song sound messy and unorganised, to avoid this issue in future I will rehearse the stabs at home to be able to play it in time with the band. The final improvement I would like to make on this song is when playing jingle bells at the end, this is because at the moment it sounds very basic making it negatively stand out from the rest of the song, by next performance I would like to add jazzy chords over the melody of jingle bells to make it sound more interesting to the audience. I will also add improvisations over the top of it for the same reason.
Band Rehearsal
As a whole during this rehearsal we did a very good job, one strength seen in this performance was the band being able to hit all the stabs in the song on beat with the drummer. This made the music sound very sharp, organised and professional. Another strength of this rehearsal was Millie’s use of percussion while singing, in this song she was hitting the instrument on every beat which reinforced the tempo and beat of the music. The chimes on the instrument also sounded like sleigh bells which reflects on the theme of the song as well as the holiday season. To improve this session everyone should have looked up from instrument more often and communicated as a band, this would help improve our stand presentation and confidence. As during this performance most of us were looking down at instruments which appears as shy and nervous. Another element which needs improving in this performance is organisation, as the bass player did not bring a strap he needed to sit down. In the final performance this would look very unprofessional to the audience. Therefore it is important he brings it for future rehearsals, he must also make sure he is comfortable with playing the bass while standing up ,which is another reason he must rehearse while standing up.
Do They Know It’s Christmas
Individual Reflection
For the feed the world rehearsal I was working on the same keyboard as Ellis, to share the keyboard I played the chords in the bass clef while he played the synth lead in the treble clef. One strength of this rehearsal was my memorisation of both the chords and the songs structure which allowed me to fluently play the song from start to finish. One area for improvement in this rehearsal would be to check if the keyboard is on the correct dynamic level for the rehearsal, this is because at the start of the performance our keyboard was too loud meaning it was difficult to hear the other instruments. To avoid problems like this in future I will sound check the keyboard before the song has begun. Due to us having to turn down the volume it made it very difficult for us both to hear ourselves on the keyboard, so throughout this rehearsal me and Ellis could not hear ourselves playing the instrument. Like I mentioned previously, in order to avoid problems like this in future I will test the keyboard prior to starting the song to see if the dynamics are correct. The final area for improvement in this performance would for me to learn the final three chords being played at the end of the son, this is because I did not know what to play when we approached the end of the song which lead me to playing nothing. As these final chords are not in the official version I will ask my tutor what is being played so that I can learn the chords and play them in the next run through.
Band Rehearsal
This rehearsal was the first the year 1 students had attempted to perform the song with us, meaning many where not familiar with the chords or the lyrics. Therefore for them to improve their performance they should learn the chords and lyrics for the song so that they do not need sheet music to help them perform. However one part everyone did very well was the bridge of the song, as we all played the stabs in sync with one another on the beat. This reinforced the rhythm of the music and made it sounds very sharp and professional. At the end of the performance Millie carried on singing in the outro, at this point in the music there is only instruments playing the final three chords with no vocals. This made Millie’s vocals stand out in the music, for Millie to improve this issue she should rehearse the song in her own time to learn how long she is singing for. Because the song repeats its self for so long it is hard to keep track, therefore Millie should focus on how many times she repeats the lyrics before dropping out in order to stop singing in time with everyone else.