Rehearsals

For our first rehearsal, we weren’t too bad. Everyone seemed to have the groove of the song, however there were a few wrong notes being hit on guitar cause by the fact we only just learnt the chords, and they aren’t the easiest of chords to play.

I feel like my guitaring could have been better but all i really need to do is practice more to achieve that. I found the chords easy to play and felt that i got the rhythm/groove quite quickly. However i still need to work on the head as i played a few wrong notes, i also realized i need to stop doing vibrato as it sounds like I’m playing a wrong note.

As a band the solo’s were very basic and we didn’t really know how to do a jazz solo. Robert did a lot of bending which is not very popular and common in Jazz at all, and we all need to work on listening to more jazz songs so we can get a feel for it more. My solo was also very basic and definitely needs to be worked on, which i will do at home. The end also could be a lot smoother, but again we just need more practice.

For our first time rehearsing Sunny we didn’t do too much of a bad job. We had the groove down quite quickly and Robert singing made it a lot nicer.

There were a lot of mistakes still but all will stop once we have practiced more. The main problem and mistake being made is Ollie’s drumming not staying in time as he isn’t used to playing jazz on the drums, this causes everyone to slightly mess up ad come out of time when he does this which is quite often through the song. Also, as a band our solo’s were still very basic meaning we all need to work on our solo’s. There were also times where we would mess up on stabs but practicing will stop that in time.

This rehearsal of Blue Bossa was definitely better than the last, we all understood more what we were suppose to be playing and when. I feel like the solo’s were slightly better than last time too.

There were still plenty of mistakes, Ollie is still messing up on the drums and out of time a lot, plus not staying in tempo, more practice to a backing track will fix this. Even though the solo’s were better, we still need to work on them and I also still need to work on the head more and I find myself forgetting where I am quite often. I also feel like Robert needs to listen to more Jazz so that he is able to understand how a jazz solo is meant to go as at the moment he is still doing a very blue’s solo and doing lots of bends, which is something I need to work on as well. We also as a group need to work on listening to each other more since at the moment we seem to be fighting each other to be the loudest and fighting each others rhythms and melodies.

For one of our first rehearsals of Al Blues, I think we did quite a good job. We did have to rely on Nic throughout the whole song so we knew the structure but we will get the structure quickly the more we practice it. The song as a whole was good, only a few mistakes being made which is really good at this stage.

I felt I played fairly well, I am doing the head for this song as well and I feel like I’ve done a good job at picking it up quickly even though its quite a hard part to play. The second time I went round the head I feel like I timed it slightly wrong which made it seem like I’m playing it wrong, I just need to practice it more to a backing track. My solo has definitely improved from the last solo’s I’ve been doing, I’ve been practicing noodling over a backing track at home and will continue doing that to improve. I feel all the other solo’s were fairly good too, still could do with more practice to get them all more fluent and smooth.

The only major mistake was when Ethan went straight to a C instead of staying on G for an extra 4 bars, he just needs to focus on learning the structure so he knows where he’s going. I also felt like the song was dragging and also the drums could do with a bit of variation because at the moment the song is really boring to listen to and could definitely do with some changes in rhythm, which is something ollie should work on.

For this song it started off a bit bad however once we got into the groove of it it started sounding really good. We no longer have Robert singing for us so Kaitlyn is playing the head and it sounds really good. For the solo’s, I did forget which key and scale to play which put me off so that’s definitely something I need to work on as the solo could have been so much better.

All the other solo’s were really good but after the solo’s there was a bit of confusion as to what we were playing next, so we really need to work on remembering the structure. Lastly, the end was atrocious and we really need to work on it, no one knew where they were and it sounded awful. We will definitely be practicing and working on that.

This rehearsal went fairly well, we added a new intro which sounds a lot better however needs a lot of improvement and practice to get it sounding intime and fluent. I need to keep practicing the head on this song as its still sounding not smooth enough so I will be working on getting that sounding lovely.

I felt my solo was really good, the practice we had before this I kept forgetting which key to play in so I need to work on remembering. Albert did the same as me before, and forgot which scale to use but once he figured it out his solo was good. Ethan’s solo was good as well and we did a good job at comping over it without it being too much.

The end wasn’t too smooth so we need to keep practicing the end to that, especially me as I’m not playing the last bit of the head in time and it sounds very off putting so I will work on that.

For our first time rehearsing this song its not bad at all, brings the festive mood in really well. We were also sight reading, meaning we were reading off of the paper to know where we were and which chords to play.

The solo’s were good and fit the mood really well, I think they need a bit of work but so does every solo for every song, so for our first time its not too bad. I like that it calms the vibe down and I think the people in the care home, when we do perform, will really enjoy it.

We need a bit more work on knowing the structure as we are relying on Nic for the structure. We only need to practice this one a bit before we’ve got it perfect.

Blue Bossa (the first song) is definitely one of our stronger songs we play, the head is good and we comp really well in the song. I did mess up by forgetting the key and scale to use however when i got into the groove of it my solo was quite good. All of the solo’s were good in this song and the vibes were there for this song. We do still rely on Nic to tell us where we are though which we need to work on. I forgot to play the second to last head, Albert played it instead which worked well. The end was alright too, could always be smoother.

Sunny is also one of our stronger songs, the head sounds really good and we get the vibe really right in this song. I feel like my solo could be better so I will work on that, everyone else’s solo’s were good, Albert messed up slightly at the start as he forgot the key he was in, but apart from that the solo’s weren’t too bad. The end was good as well, very in time and worked really well.

The start to Al Blues is really good, there was no mistakes except for Ethan changing to the next chord too quickly at one point which he keeps doing. When we re did the song it was a lot better, the solo’s were good as well with good comping. The end was good as well, this song is pretty much perfect.

As a whole we need to still work on all of them a lot more, however for what we have done, they sound really good. We do need to focus on knowing the structures as we are relying on Nic for all of them to tell us where to go but apart from that they’re really good so far.

For a first rehearsal it wasn’t too bad. I feel like my tone on the guitar for this song was far too sharp and trebly. I did mess up a few times on the head so i need to practice that. The intro was quite good when we eventually started playing. The end was also nice, though we do need to work on being able to do it without Nic’s input.

For our first time rehearsing Boogaloo Joe we didn’t to a bad job. I definitely struggled with this head more than the other heads because its a lot faster however i think i pulled it off quite well, as well as my solo. Albert struggled with this solo though, so he decided he didn’t want to do a solo. We messed up the drum break as we didn’t know when it came in so we really need to work on learning the structure. The end was good though, ending all at the same time which is always good.

This rehearsal wasn’t bad at all for our first practice of Coming home baby. I did mess up on the head slightly but it wasn’t too big of a mistake, could just work on learning it more. My solo wasn’t its best so I definitely need to practice soloing to this song. We need to work on learning the structure to this song too as we are heavily reliant on Nic. We also need to work on the ending as we kept missing the end.

This rehearsal of Coming Home Baby is much better except for the start where Ethan starts the song too fast. When he go the speed right though it all came together really well. We have the intro spot on however i feel like the song speeds up gradually from then. My solo still needs some work but is better than the last solo. The head sounds good also and lead into the end was smooth. However we messed the end up as we played it twice round instead of 3 times round then albert messed up when we tried it again so still need to work on the end.

Blue Bossa is still one of our strongest, we got the intro good once we properly started. The head was good and there’s not much more room for improving apart from getting it as smooth and fluent as i can. My solo is getting better for this song too which is good, everyone else’s solo’s are also improving. The tempo isn’t changing too drastically anymore either which is good. We aren’t needing that much help structurally wise from Nic in this song. The end was terrible however as everyone stopped too early but once we go the ending it sounded good.

Al Blues is another one of our strong songs. Ollie does keep playing the song far too fast and I came in at the wrong time with the head so we need to work on structure and timing. The tempo of the song kept speeding up throughout the song when the song is supposed to be a very slow song. I feel my solo could have been slightly better so I will practice soloing to this song. The ending was good to this song we did the fade out quite well.

Boogaloo Joe still needs some more work but since its a faster song and a newer song we’ve learnt I feel like we didn’t do too much of a bad job. The intro needs some work to be smoother but once we got into the groove of it we did a pretty good job. My solo was quite good too, still I can always practice more. The drum and bass break wasn’t too bad either we just need to learn when to bring the stabs in. I feel we did an good job at the end too, Ollie messed up slightly but it wasn’t too bad of an ending. The song could do with a bit more practice I feel like and I definitely need to focus on getting the head fluent and smooth.

Sunny is another of our strong ones and we have pretty much gotten this song spot on. I do feel like the comping on this song could be improved as my solo almost got washed out by the chords being played underneath. Albert forgot the key for this song as well so needs to work on remembering which key each songs are in, it is tricky when you have 7 songs being learnt at the same time though. There were a few messes up of drums throughout the song which need to be worked on so we aren’t having random jumps in the song. The end was great however which is really good.

White Christmas started off a bit rough as we couldn’t get the tempo right and then had to figure out who starts. Once we started it started sounding really good and will definitely be a crowd favourite. The head sounded really nice but still needs a bit more practice. My solo was really nice too except I played for a bit too long which put everyone off so I need to focus on sight reading so I don’t get lost. The was alright once we tried it again, could do with some more practice though.

Last Christmas sounds good too. The head could do with some work practice as well as the solo’s but so far it sounds very nice and Christmassy. The song could do with some more practice to getting it sounding perfect. Working on the ending mostly so we all know what we are doing for the end and getting it smooth and on time.

Coming home baby was definitely the best song choice for the first song, starting off strong. There weren’t any mistakes which is really good, the song as a whole sounding really good and well rehearsed and we pulled it off really well. Really not much to improve.

Blue Bossa also had a strong stance. The intro was really smooth and fluent. I do need to practice the head some more as I’m still messing up at times. My solo was good and fit the song really well, the same for Albert’s and Ethan’s solo’s. The song did speed up slightly throughout the song which Ollie needs to work on. The ending was also really good too, not too much more practice needed on this song.

Al Blue’s starts off really well but gradually the tempo speeds up by a lot. The start is really goof, the intro is smooth and the head sounds really nice. The solo’s are quite good too, I feel like mine could do with a bit more work however so I will work on that. Some people did miss Ethan’s solo and played over him at the start so we need to work on remembering when Ethan is coming in. I forgot to come in with the head straight away after this too as I thought we went round the riff before it so I need to remember not to do that. The end was good too we pulled off the fade out very well.

Boogaloo Joe went really well to begin with, I did really good job with the head even with how tricky it is. I did a good job with the solo as well but I’ve definitely had better solo’s. We did mess up massively as everyone forgot there was a drum break after my solo and then no one knew what was happening after that. Nic had to talk us through it and we eventually understood the structure of the ending. Once we got the ending it sounded really good. Needs a bit more practice.

Sunny sounds really good too, no major mistakes throughout the entire song. The solo’s are sounding really good on this song too, we really get into the feel of it. The end was messed up however since Ollie didn’t know when the ending was but after he figured it out it sounded good.

The intro to White Christmas is really good along with the head. My solo is also very good and fits the groove and Christmas vibe, The song as a whole is really good to say we’ve not had as much time on it.

Last Christmas starts off rocky but once we tried again it sounds much better. I definitely need to work on the head some more as I do mess up a few times. All of the solo’s were really good too. The ending was a bit badly timed and I played a wrong chord but apart from that it was a good song.

The intro to Coming home baby was alright, I did mess up slightly due to the pressure but it wasn’t too noticeable. The song its self was really good with no mistakes at all really however the end wasn’t good at all. This is because everyone forgot when we did the lick that goes round at the end which meant i was the only one doing it which sounded really wrong.

Blue bossa was really good, there were still a few mistakes but hardly noticeable. I missed a few notes on the head but again not noticeable at all. I think my solo was really good too, definitely my best so far. The other solo’s were also very good and really fit the song. I did forget to come in with the head at the end but it didn’t sound wrong so that’s okay but it definitely put me off as I made a few mistakes in the head after that. The ending was good though.

Al Blue’s really started off far too fast which put us all off. Apart from the fact that it was extremely fast it wasn’t too bad. The head was good and I didn’t mess up on it. The solo’s weren’t too bad however I think mine needs some more work. The end was good we did a good job at the fade out.

Boogaloo Joe starts off really well and ends really well, there’s some parts in the middle that could definitely be better though. I feel like the head was played really well as well as my solo but could still use some more practice to get it perfect, especially on the solo since I do play a few wrong notes in it. The change into the drum and bass break was a bit unsure and I think there was a bit of confusion there so we need to learn the structure.

Sunny was also good throughout the song is one that we really don’t need to practice that much more. I feel by this point I was running out of ideas for my solo’s meaning it was my best but it wasn’t too bad. The other solo’s were good too. The ending was very good too.

White Christmas doesn’t need much improvement, the intro was good, the head was good and my solo sounded alright, maybe could do with some more work though. The ending was also good.

Last Christmas definitely needs some work, especially me playing the head as i made more mistakes on the head which I could have prevented with more practice. The solo’s were really good though except for the fact that Ethan forgot that Luke was doing a solo in this song meaning we all ended up playing over each other and meant none of us knew when the ending was so we need to make sure we practice this song and learn the solo.