https://youtu.be/1zjwvi7X1sw?si=_o-wd-ibc3GroEgi
Above is my initial assessment completed on 28/08/24 for my placement on the extended course. I have worked hard on this with my out ot college tutor, Danny, and I feature as the main vocals, bass, and drums. He offered a hand on electric guitar, and I’m pleased with the outcome.
Why the same piece as the first Initial Assessment?
I think Come Together by The Beatles is still a good song to show my capability on. I’m currently on my Pop & Rock Grade 5 book which is a step-up from the Grade 4 book that I used to play this from, and I decided to sing for once, and play the bass. Due to me not having much experience in either bass nor vocals, I wasn’t particularly confident in either (except my drumming), but I think this is a good production to use as a later example, if I do pursue something involving bass or vocals. My drums in this song are largely the same except for minor changes that I thought would give my own spin on the song (primarily adding snare hits in the final verse), and removing repetitive phrases/lyrics like “shoot me” in the intro of the song, and higher notes later on. I am still using the Jack Young version of this song to help with my work as it’s still much more distinguishable, and using the isolated vocals from his track, I get a much more fuller feeling out of the vocals by overlaying our two voices. My voice is still the predominant one, however, and I would have asked my tutor for assistance had we not been able to layer my vocals over Jack Young’s.
What went well?
Comparing this runthrough to my previous assessment above, I have a stronger grip on the beat than I did before. This took roughly three takes to do (not long at all in the scheme of things) and we got done mixing and mastering the drums alongside the other tracks in about 45 minutes. Thanks to having Danny at my side, I was shown the ropes- I used previous skills learnt in my course to figure out how to mix the different tracks and make each instrument heard amongst oneanother. Though I do have far more criticisms – they’ll come shortly.
Addressing my previous criticisms I’m happy to say that my improvisation skills are getting better as I’ve been more focused on my own things than pre-written sheets and playstyles. Despite me thinking my fills were lackluster or lifeless, to really encapsulate the feeling of Ringo Starr’s drumming, you don’t want to show off too bad- and it’s good that the fills I use aren’t simple, only simplified. I went with the flow and did what I felt was best, like adding a snare in the last verse as previously mentioned- which gives the song a bit more emphasis on coming to a close, like a build-up of sorts.
My posture has improved significantly, I don’t lean too far forward into the kit anymore and I angle myself in such a way that I don’t fall into the drums or make any problems- something I noticed and picked up on after a while.
The Criticisms
I have a couple pointers from myself and people that have watched the video. Primarily, my vocals are good, but there is room for improvement, and if I progress further with using my voice, I won’t have a need for the extra singer in the background. I don’t think I’ll be doing much singing in college, but in my free time and out of college lessons, I’ll definitely be trying to improve and expand my range.
With my bass, there is improvement to be had in learning scales and techniques to differ from what I already know- being able to form the bassline into something of my own making would be amazing to have, and a technique I would love to learn is passing notes, which if I had the skill for, I would have included them and more riffs nearing the end of the song which emphasises again, that build-up feel I wanted to create.