14/11/22
We came up with a chord progression based in G major and played it here, it’s as shown below with D,G and C being barre chords.
From there, we developed melodic ideas and a bass part. The drum part was temporary and was there to pull the band together in time.
We were only really in time between 0:36 and 1:06, but I think this is because we were just getting used to what we were playing and still developing ideas. I think we fell out of time at the end because we didn’t clarify how we were going to develop it so the band became confused and didn’t know when to stop. We need to focus on structure and communication to solve this. The melodic ideas aren’t complex but compliment each other well. I think the bass part could be added to in small ways, the rhythm guitar’s strumming pattern could be changed to be less intense and variated every so often to hold the listener’s attention. I didn’t think our roles in the band were going to stay the same as I still wanted to be on bass but it was good to experiment with new ideas and reach out of my comfort zone.
Our presentation to an audience was poorer than what we did in private rehearsal, likely because we didn’t expect to be performing and because we weren’t prepared to answer questions which knocked our confidence. Our initial ideas weren’t bad though, we were playing multiple different ideas all at the same time and I don’t realistically think it’ll be this busy in the end. From here we need to work on structure and developing ideas to fit Ashton’s part.
28/11/22
We edited the roles and developed parts, introducing a more complex drum beat and ideas for verses. It was obvious that we were more comfortable with our primary instruments to we decided so switch back.
As well as that, I added a new bass part in the chorus and we added some variation in the verse with the rhythm guitar. The chorus is completely new and is in half time, which nicely compliments a sung melody which I plan to do alongside playing bass. I’ll likely simplify what I’m playing on bass to make it easier to focus on vocals. Here’s how the chorus is sounding:
So we ended the day with a run-through of what we had altogether. Luke and Ashton wrote lyrics while we rehearsed individual parts and performed them in the video below.
Currently, we have Gideon on drums, Luke and Ashton and myself on vocals, Lukass and Jozef on guitar, me on bass and Tom missed this lesson but we could try to add keyboard parts, especially in the chorus to build up the texture.
We still need to figure out a bridge and the structure. I’m thinking:
A short introduction would be an interesting start, possibly consisting of only guitar followed by an introductory drum fill to signal the band to join following this, then Ashton’s verse could begin two bars after the whole band is playing, although this can be tested. Following this, a bridge and chorus can take place, then Luke’s verse. A bridge can be played, then the chorus again. I think an extended and developed chorus as an outro might work, or a chorus and a guitar solo before finishing off with a strong outro.
5/12/22
This was our first run-through that was properly structured with verses. It’s almost how the final composition will sound, except the chorus melody and vocals are still missing. Our timing throughout this was inconsistent at times due to not knowing the structure off by heart, but was overall much better than previous weeks since we have a consistent and fitting drum beat.
Tom, our keyboard player, hasn’t been in college for several weeks so we composed with the instrumentation that the band were comfortable with and didn’t worry too much about a keys part.
By now, our sections are clear and sound different enough to be recognised separately. Additionally, all lyrics in the verses are complete and both Ashton and Luke have had time to practice together and with the whole band multiple times.
Before this recording, me, Ashton and Luke sat in a small practice room with a recording of the chorus and began to create a fitting melody and develop some lyrics to the melodic ideas we had. We ended up scrapping the ideas since they sounded more like a verse, but that interaction meant I could develop ideas of my own after finding out what they’re aiming for and what themes they have written about in their verses.
This rehearsal was structural practice and making small changes to make it better in small ways. Our timing was a bit off here, I think Gideon was zoned out but overall it’s starting to come together. The verses sound excellent with the vocals and band together but we need to be more aware of how long the verses are so we can switch into the chorus without help.
Our outro might be staying as it is, it’s unexpected but sounds like a nice place to end opposed to a final chorus. Plus, the song is very long and we don’t need to extend it.
Final Composition (12/12/22)
Today we ran through our final song without vocals in its entirety. Since our last session, Lukass edited his guitar part slightly to have a brighter sound during the chorus and Gideon seems to have experimented with the drum beat and practiced the chorus to verse transition.
Before our final composition submission, we took some time to practice certain parts to ensure the whole band understands what’s happening when.
We spent some time repeating the bridge or transition section over and over again and seeing if both guitars and bass playing the same thing at the same time would give the section more of a punch.
In this first run through, our timing is off at times as we speed up and then re-adjust to the regular speed. Our understanding of structure as a band is good and we have thought deeply about how to travel from the verse to chorus and from the chorus to verse. I think the build up and pause after each chorus and for the outro is very effective at building energy and finalising the song with a strong outro. Some noticeable mistakes were made, such as Lukass missing a chord shift during a transition and Jozef missing a bar before the last chorus. I think our volume levels were unbalanced, I could have turned myself up a small bit and I think Jozef needed more volume, particularly in the chorus, but slightly less distortion during the verses.
I don’t think my performance was particularly good here, my rhythm was off quite often but I altered what I was playing right before the recording to make it fit better during the chorus and played every note with an acceptable duration. I could have spent more time practicing the change before performing or considered changing it earlier since it was annoying me that it didn’t sound right for a while. There was some hesitation from me regarding the switch from the verse to the chorus as I’d lost track of how many bars we had already played so in this situation I followed Lukass and listened closely to what he was playing in order to not confuse what I’m doing. As for what I’m playing, I think my parts fit the song and compliment the chords nicely, especially in the chorus.
In the second take, we rushed parts and then readjusted more often than the first take and it generally felt a bit sloppier and as though there was less enthusiasm. Some chords weren’t rung out with strength so the impact of the chorus was weakened but the transition from the first chorus to second verse was very strong and impactful as we all sounded in time. It feels like the chords were rushed during the first few bars but were corrected. Gideon’s consistency wobbled throughout the end of the last chorus to halfway through the last verse.
I think our timing has significantly improved from what it used to be in the first few weeks of development as we’re more confident with our structure and can communicate better as a band since we’ve discussed plans and changes both in person during lunches and online in a group chat. After recording both of these, we felt satisfied with the end result and immediately began discussing how we would develop it throughout next term in studio practice.
My performance here was potentially better than the first take as I’d just changed what I play during the chorus in the same afternoon. At this point, I didn’t feel the urge to revert back to what I was playing before and the change became comfortable. My rhythm was more consistent than in the first take in my opinion, although it is hard to hear.
The theory we applied to this composition is posted on the composition analysis page.
We included an ascending chord sequence from 3rd to 5th at the end of the chorus to build the energy back up for the energetic verses as the chorus is more emotional and gentle. It sounds this was due to the barre chords being placed higher and I’m not sure on this but I believe a major 3rd note is added to some, if not all, chords opposed to an octave note.
My part on bass followed the root notes of the chords during the verse and had a pattern of 4 notes in a bar, then three, three again with the guitar doing the same and then 2 drawn out notes, again at the same time as the guitar chords.
Here’s a video of what I’m playing on top of the rehearsal audio:
I made a few mistakes here. I thought the second chorus started a bar earlier than it did so I managed to play the right notes but in the wrong pattern in a state of panic. I also missed a note in the last bar of the verse, but this is otherwise an accurate example of what I played in both takes for the final composition.