This is the first video we have for the rehearsals as a band and there is so much improvements to be made. We had practiced the song maybe two times before this and we had no lead vocalist or bassist, this is why I am playing bass and on vocals. After this session I really got a taste for bass and invested in one so I can learn to improve my skills at home. To start with the bad things the tone on Jacobs guitar is as bad as my bass playing, I feel the tone is important for this song as it has a nice aged feel to it and the tone is responsible for that in my opinion with some chords sounding really muffled like to tone knob on the guitar was at 0 or something. I notice looking back that I have some of the parts mixed up on the bass playing around the G note instead of the E for the section before the pre-chorus. I need to take some time at home to refresh my memory of the note order, I will look up the notation or watch a video to make sure I have it right. My vocals to say I am super familiar with this song are terrible right now, I struggle to be heard with the backing vocals and when it comes to the high section I sound completely tone deaf so I can either learn my parts vocally and possibly still struggle or I can give the higher parts to Maia as it would be easier for her to reach the notes as she as a higher range than me. Jacobs vocals could use work as well just to make sure he as familiar with the song as possible to get the vocals spot on with no rushes or drags. For Dennis on keys I think he just needs to practice his timing a lot more than he currently does, he could do with learning a few new chords for the song instead of just switching between the two and being off time I do think he will get it down but only if he practices if not then there is no chance. Alex on drums was not confident in his ability to play this song at first he found it very hard to play which is understandable Rick Buckler was a great drummer. For he is not doing bad sounds like he has the basic foundation of the song down so I feel he just needs to keep practicing and have a little more confidence in his self I believer he will do great in a weeks time. For the next session I think it would be helpful to go home have a practice at that one song for like half an hour for a few days and we will be fine after getting familiar with the song.
Things to focus on next time
- Both of the vocalists need to learn the note changes in the song as vocally we sound like we have never heard the song before
- Tone could be a lot more fitting to the song as it stands out and leaves a terrible sound that contrasts the sound we are going for
- The keys need to be more in time and half the notes in the bar.
The first thing that really stands out to me is the keys, Dennis could do with hitting the chord fewer times within the bar so instead of doing four beats every bar like he is doing, cut it down to two. one at the beginning of the bar and one in the middle, doing this and cleaning up the timing a little would help get the keys to sound smoother and fit in with the rest of the instruments instead of standing out so much. The bass sounds like its in its own world. What I am doing wrong is instead of hitting the notes in a rhythmic way that reflects the original bass line and bounces off the guitar, I am going off my own made up rhythm that sounds like I am just trying to fit in as many note hits as possible, not only this but after the first set of lyrics I start in the wrong section of the fretboard making me go off and sound very different to the rest of the band. I think the reason this is happening is because I am not very familiar with the bass at all which is resulting in a lack of confidence, even though I know the song so well I am still messing up the sections and getting confused. I plan to really practice this song and get it to a confident level where I don’t have to focus on the bass as much and can focus on the lyrics and singing as my singing in this video is as bad as my bass playing. Even if I don’t end up singing the song in the gig this will be beneficial to my bass playing and singing whilst playing. I really need to practice the singing if I am planning on singing on the Jam song. For Alex I think he is doing the best job out of all of us for Start he seems to have control of the beat and keeps it consistent the only thing I can say for this video is we need to take some time to practice the drum fill coming back into the chorus as when the drummer is a little weak with a fill it effects the entire band making us all sound out of time and confused for a few moments before staggering back on track. Liam is doing alright he could just do with remembering the chord progressions other than that he seems okay. Both Liam and Jacob have a better tone that fits the song better, don’t get me wrong it could be better but I can hear improvements so they will get there.
Things to focus on next time
- I need to hit the correct high note or give the job to someone else as its a big mistake that is very noticeable
- Jacob should take the time to learn the original solo first so if he wants to improvise he has a feel to go off.
- Dennis could use some more sessions with Pav or Morgan just to get him on time and not overly using the chords with little musical timing