Individual and group strengths:
This was one of the best times we played our set list. There weren’t that many mistakes, and it sounded good. The biggest improvement we have made is the performance side of it, as our singers Tom and Millie really embraced this during Somebody that I used to know. Isaac and ben are now standing up and they aren’t always looking down, and I look like I’m having more fun with the performance. We also have an intro to the performance that Tom and Millie do, which makes it feel more like a genuine performance. We also did an outro that has the same effect.
Our first song was Somebody that I used to know by Gotye featuring Kimbra, and it was a good run through of it. We had good tempo, as sometimes we went slower than we should’ve in rehearsal and that makes the song drag if it isn’t fast enough, but we played it at a good tempo that the song doesn’t drag but it doesn’t sound like it’s being rushed. Our dynamics we good during the build, which is at the end of the second verse. We structured the song the same as the original apart from at the start of the second verse we have 4 bars and not 8 bars, which makes the song a bit shorter and removes some bars the song doesn’t need. As an individual I think I did a pretty good job, I mostly kept in time and I didn’t make any errors. As a group I think we did an excellent job. Both our singers have really improved and they sound really good. As well they had to fill in on the keys, and Millie was playing the keyboard in this song, and she sounded really good to say that she had to learn her parts quickly. Isaac was playing bass for the first time, and he played this song really well. Ben has also improved his bar chords, and his playing in general. He also figured out better rhythms for Somebody that I used to know than he started off playing which sound really good. I figured out a better drum beat for this song, which sound better to what I started out playing. Tom also sounds really good as he sings the bulk of this song, and his voice really fits this song. Millie sings the second verse and it took her a while as it is a really difficult part to sing, but in the end she sounds good. On this song it took a while to make it sound good as it was the first song we all played together, and people having to play new instruments or not being able to play or figure out the right part for the song, but in the end I am proud of how this song turned out.
Our second song was Kids by MGMT, and again we had a good run through of it, one of the best we’ve done it. We had good tempo for most of the song, we had to cut some of the parts of the song off as the song would really drag if it had the original structure and length. People would get bored of it as a live performance. We played it to the second chorus and didn’t play anything after that, and we just did the ending at the end of the second chorus. I think that is a really good change as then the song doesn’t drag. Our dynamics were pretty good, especially at the end of the bridge, we crescendo and then stop and the dynamics sound good. I figured out a different drum beat to what is in the original as what is in the original is very basic and doesn’t sound very good, the audience would get a lot more bored. I think it sounds better than the original. Ben, me and Isaac all play in time and well together for most of the song. Tom has done really well on his keyboard part because he also had to fill in and didn’t have loads of time learning it and he sounds really good. He also sounds really good in the bridge as that is where he sings. Millie sings most of this song and her voice fits the song. I said for Somebody that I used to know, that it took a while to get all the parts down and to make it sound good. However this song was different, we all got the parts pretty quickly and sounded good, it was just a matter of practising it.
Things to improve as an individual and as a group:
For the performance side of it, me Ben and Isaac still should communicate more and look more engaged as still a lot of the time we are just looking at our instruments, we have improved but there is still areas to improve. If there was an audience there, it would’ve been better as we could’ve interacted with them.
For Somebody that I used to know, dynamics in the first verse are still an issue. As it should keep getting louder during the first verse, but it doesn’t it just either gets a tiny bit louder or stays the same. We also all need to start quieter. Sometimes the timing and tempo can drop, and that is my fault when it happens, as sometimes I switch off and don’t listen as much as I should, and I drop out with the timing and tempo.
For Kids, there aren’t much dynamics in the song, so adding some dynamics would sound nice. For the last chorus sometimes it can sound a bit off and the timing can be a bit off. Sometimes in the chorus Isaac can go a bit out of time as it is a different and more complicated bassline than the verse. Sometimes I can go a bit out of time as well during the song, as I switch off sometimes.
I think this final performance was a success, as it was one of the best times we’ve played the song, no major mistakes or issues and everything was good.