We have made 2 songs over the course of this project, “Last Days of our Lives” and “Let go”. We actually had 3 drafts for songs, however due to time constraints we only recorded 2. However the 2 we chose were the 2 strongest. For the recording of these tracks Ben H wasn’t able to be there, so the tutor Ben F had to play the tracks instead of him. This didn’t affect the tracks loads, however it is a shame that after all the work he put in, he couldn’t attend the recording. However the guitar parts were very similar to what Ben H made up, so the track isn’t different to what it should be.
Strengths
Individual – I am proud of the songs we made, as they are both quite good songs. I am disappointed we only got to record 2 of them, and that we only got to make 3 songs. However it is quality over quantity, as it is better we recorded 2 good songs instead of recording 6 ok songs. Individually, I think I did a good job with the drumming on these songs. They fit the songs and sound good. They aren’t simple beats, however as it is pop/rock it isn’t overly complicated and I didn’t want the drums to take over from any other instrument in the song. This is evident in the chorus of Let Go, as I play along to match the vocals, however as I didn’t want to take away from the vocals I didn’t play something that would do that. For the verse of Let Go, I do something similar where I play along with the guitar. As the guitar is at the forefront of thus song’s verse, I don’t over power it with a really loud and intense beat. I play along with it nicely. However for Last Days of Our Lives it is a bit different as the drums are leading the track a bit more. Especially in the chorus, as the drums lead what the other instruments do. Which I think makes the chorus sound really nice. For the verse, as the song starts off with just drums, the drumming is more at the forefront than in Let Go. The beat is nice and fits with all the other instruments. Overall the drumming is really god in these tracks, there are a few places where it sounds a bit messy, however for most of it, it doesn’t take away from any other instruments and sounds good.
Group – These two tracks sound really good, and everyone did a good job on them. Even though Ben couldn’t be at the recording, it was his parts that were being played, and they sound really good. Especially the verse for Last Days of Our Lives, the guitar part is the main focus and it sounds really good. Then in the chorus it works really well with the drums and bass. The guitar also leads the verse in Let Go, as it is at the forefront of the song, and he drums and bass play around it. In the chorus for Let Go, the guitar isn’t as good as the rest of the parts, as it is in the background compared to the drums and bass, apart from the last half bar. Overall the guitar is really nice in these tracks, and at some points is the best part of it. The piano for Let Go was the first thing that was made for the song, it set a chord progression and a good base for the song. It also fits well with the other instruments as it emphasises the first beat of most bars, which every other instrument does. In the chorus it also emphasises the same beats as all the other instruments do. The piano is simple, yet effective and fits with the song. The bass throughout both of the tracks is really good. It adds needed texture to the tracks, as without it, the tracks would sound a lot more empty. Especially in the verse of Last Days of Our Lives, without the bass-line it would sound a lot more empty as the bass fills in the gaps. The bass throughout this whole song just sounds really nice and works especially well with the drums. For Let Go, the bass follows the guitar, and it works well. It doesn’t sound as amazing as Last Days, however it still works, more so in the verse. All in all the bass is an important factor in these songs, and sounds great. The vocals and lyrics throughout the tracks are great. In Last Days of Our Lives, the lyrics are amazing. They have a lot of meaning behind them, and it takes a couple listens to understand it, which is really good for a debut song. The lyrics aren’t as meaningful in Let Go, however they still are great and tell a good story. The vocal performance is also great in both of the songs. As it switches between one and two singing at the same time, it sounds nice. Also as the last chorus of Last Days comes in, Tom holds a note while Millie sings the chorus, which sounds really good. Having two vocalists gave us a massive advantage as it gives us loads of new opportunities that a lot of bands wouldn’t have, we could’ve utilised this a bit more, however it still works brilliantly.
Songs
Last Days of our Lives – I think Last days of our lives is our best song, as it is really catchy. It has a very good hook, has a lot of meaning behind it. It has quite a simple structure to the song: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus x2. All the instruments work well together in the verse, especially the drums and bass. As they don’t play the same thing but work off each other. The guitar also sounds really nice in the verse. The chorus is also very nice, as all of the instruments emphasise together and it sounds really good. The chorus is short and catchy. The worst part of the song of the song is the bridge, as it is a bit of a mess compared to the rest of the song. The drums aren’t great, as the fills that I am playing don’t sound great, especially the last one. However the guitar sounds really nice, and the bass keeps the groove going. The last choruses also sound nice, as it gets stripped down, which makes the build up really nice then explode into the last chorus. If we were to do this again I would fix the bridge so that it sounds less messy and more tight. Also fix the fills as they are a big issue with it. All in all I think this is a very catchy and good song that if I didn’t make it, I would listen to.
Let Go – Let Go is a very catchy and nice song, however I don’t think it is on the same level as Last Days of our Lives. The song’s structure is: verse, chorus, verse, chorus x2. The structure isn’t that interesting, as there are only 2 parts to it. The verse’s instrumentals are very nice, as it is catchy and cause it is quite fast it sounds good. All the instruments work well together, especially the guitar and drums, as they play similar things and work well together. The vocals and lyrics are also good across the whole track. The chorus is quite interesting as it goes into half time. Which is a nice change for the track, as it slows it down and the feel of the track changes due to what the drums and guitar play. The vocals are also very catchy, and make it a memorable hook. However, the issue with this song is that when it gets to the last choruses, the song gets a bit repetitive, as it is quite slow and lasts quite a while. If we were to do this again we could make the last choruses more interesting, by doing something like building the first chorus up then the last one would explode or we speed up the 2nd one. However it is still a good sounding track.
Weaknesses
Individual – A weakness I had was with the production aspect of this. As I was meant to be producing these tracks, however Nic and Lewis (the tutors) ended up mixing and mastering them. This was due to time constraints as me and Ben only had a week to mix the, and it took a while for the tracks to get back to us. Then by the time we were going to start mixing, the decision had already been made. This was quite unfortunate as it would have been a good experience to learn how to mix and master. This also would have developed a new skill, which would have helped me with my career in the music industry. However I wasn’t able to which is a shame. Also during the tracks, there are a few mistakes on the drums. Such as an out of time fill in the bridge of Last Days of our Lives going into the last chorus; as well as some of the open hi-hats in the verses of Let Go are on wrong times. However these won’t be noticeable unless you analyse the track. Another thing I could’ve done is add more different fills into the tracks, especially in the bridge of Last Days of Our Lives. As I only play simple fills and the same one for most of it. Making more interesting fills is something that I should’ve done, as well as improving on the ones I have. Apart from these small issues, the drumming is in time and fits the songs.
Group – For Last Days of Our Lives, there was no piano in the song, which isn’t an issue for the track. However, it would’ve been nice if Millie made a piano part, as it could’ve added to the track and give it more texture. The piano piece for Let Go is quite simple as it just plays the chords of the song at the start of each bar. Which sounds good, however something a bit more interesting could’ve been nice. It is also quite difficult to hear, as all the other instruments overpower it , this could’ve been fixed in the mix or in the recording. With the songs, the vocals have the same structure of Millie singing the first verse, Tom the second verse and both for the chorus. This is a great structure and sounds great in the tracks, but it could’ve been nice if there was bit of variation in it. Such as in the verses, it isn’t just one singer singing, or in the chorus different lines are sung by different people. However this isn’t a major issue as it doesn’t affect the tracks very much. In general we could’ve utilised having two singers a bit more, as that is a great tool. For the bass in the tracks, they follow the drums or the guitar. This sounds great in the tracks, it adds texture and brings the tracks to the next level. However when we were making the tracks, Abi only started rehearsing with us later, so the bass was the last instrument to be in the songs. However next time what would be good is if the bass was less following, and playing more of its own thing. This couldn’t be done this time, however it would’ve sounded good.
If we did this again, I think we would do even better. As we have the experience of making songs. As well what we would do is use bass more creatively, utilise having two singers and improve upon drum fills. I think we gave a good go at creating original music, and we created some great songs.