Projet 5 Task 5

Songwriting Blog

Stimulus one

Lyric Themes

Within the stimulus, the lyrics had to be about a location. It could be about a journey physically or mentally or about a certain place etc, there is a lot of freedom with this storyline. Because the song is a Surf Rock style song, with the quick tempo drums, and fast bassline, we thought the theme of the ocean could come into consideration. Within the lyrics, they were inspired by The Beach Boys "Surfing USA". The song follows being about the joy of surfing and the beach culture in the USA. The song mentions different surfing spots across the country and captures the carefree spirit of riding the waves.

Our song follows a paradise location the beach "endless possibilities in the sand between our toes". The imagery is angelic and heaven-like, "Looking up to the sky, its painted a bright gold, dreams are taking shape, at least that's what we are told" At the end of this verse there is some juxtaposed bitterness in connotation with trouble in paradise.

Chord Progressions

While I was at home, within my own studies I looked through the chord progressions, looking at what songs and artists use those progressions.

On the bass, I chose the chord progression I, V, bVII, IV (C, G, Bb,F). I started with playing the progression forwards and backward, starting with C and then going to Bb to G and then to F. This progression fitted with being a chorus, while the verse went about as C, G, Bb, F; which followed the chord progression given to us in the stimulus.

Alive

Within stimulus one, we chose to create a rock song from the different genres that were suggested. The beginning of the song started with choosing the chord progression for the song. Were given a selection of chord progressions to choose from, the development was a slow start as I was not in the first lesson and the band was struggling to come up with a chord progression that suited everyone's needs.

Playing and Rhythm Techniques

My playing techniques in the beginning followed as improvisation, and playing out with the structure. Within our first rehearsal, we tried out the riff I created and Kyran, Josh, and Fin were quick to be on board with the guitar sequences as I gave them the chords and the way that I have been playing the chords.

The outcome of the song turned out to be very much Surf Rock genre, influenced by The Beach Boys sound as well as Mac DeMarco.

In the chorus, I switched the G and Bb chords around, as we wanted diversity in the main part of the song. As well as the drums, Josh's drumming pattern followed a 4/4 straight groove which is 1960s style based and gave us that Beach Boys sound. The bet consists of the snare, ride, and kick drum.

Evaluation

Working with the new group has been enjoyable, as we share similar styles of music. We are comfortable with each other to communicate and bring forward ideas. Within the first stimulus, the group struggled at the beginning with finding the right chord progression and creating a sound that fitted a particular genre as well as others liking it. I wanted to go down the funk and upbeat music route, that is fast pacing. We were all quick to create a beat and rhythm which can sometimes be challenging, but as we were proactive, it made the lyrics have more focus in creating. The lyrics were the hardest part and Izzy did a really good job, by listening to surf rock music and listening to what they were singing about, especially in 'Surfing USA' and Paradise Beach. When we did our first run-through with the lyrics, the song sounded really good as it all came together. I think we are a strong group and it is hard to pick out a negative, but to work on next time, would be finishing a song and transitions as they seem like a little bit of a weak spot actually, we all look at each other when different changes occur.

Stimulus Two

Wounded Heart

Within our second stimulus, it was a big jump from the first stimulus with new challenged such as the off-beat drum sequence and the character-building lyrics.

Chord Progression and Genre

Within the second stimulus, the criteria of this song include the use of syncopation within the pre-chorus. We incorporated the chords AM B, and C. We had to use a certain mode and scale within our piece, we chose the Dorian scale which is highly used in jazz and funk music and is a minor mode. As a group, we like to play funk and groovy music, for my part, I had the root note which is G and I used D, C, F, and slid to C on the G string. These are all passing notes in the time sequence of the guitar, in the count of 4 beats. I wanted to create a complex bass sequence while still respecting the Dorian scale and keeping in time with Kyran's guitar.

The Dorian scale consists of an E Dorian scale, which has the notes E, F Sharp, G, A, B, C Sharp, and D. Our structure is as follows Intro, verse, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, solo (guitar), pre-chorus, chorus.

These videos, show our rehearsal journey. We found out that we had more time to work on this song, while still staying in the E Dorian scale, as shown in the picture on the left. These videos show the progress and transition of our first chord progression to our final chord progression, while still being in the right mode.Through our video evidence, we decided that we did not like the chord progression that we chose and decided to change the verse to G and C. The chords made the song very much country with the strumming of the guitar, we still kept the pre-chorus the same as the chorus, but we felt like we didn't like the original chorus and Izzy was finding it difficult to create lyrics to the original song.

Playing Techniques

A main challenge was the drums using an off-beat tempo. Josh took inspiration from James Brown's 'Cold Sweat' with a displaced snare drum which is also accented. It was a challenge for everyone with the drum beat being off, as that was on the criteria for song 2, it was something new to experiment with and to create a song with. My bass playing techniques include sliding the lower G string within the verse as well as plucking the strings with my middle and index fingers. Fin improvised within his guitar solo and worked up the Dorian scale. Kyran the guitarist, used palm using and accents in his playing as well as incorporating the scale.

Lyric Themes

For our original composition, Izzy took inspiration from one of our earlier tracks, writing from the 1st and 2nd person. On the stimulus the lyrics should be based on character building and writing about someone, within our track is about discussing an arch-nemesis and a personal feeling towards someone.

This week's lyrics seemed challenging, due to the complex rhythms used in the song. Izzy our lead singer was the one lyricist and the most experienced writer to create lyrics, as I and the rest of the band tried to bring in our ideas but we believed that they were not up to the mark. The image on the left shows Izzy's lyric structure of the lyrics following verse, chorus, etc; mentioning strong themes such as shock and betrayal. A sense of deepening the meanings of emotions, and the effect that it has on others.

I think its a interesting juxtaposiiton between the melody of th song with the lyrics, a the verses and choruss' are very much happy chords and makes the whole meldoy go against the lyrics.A helpful habit for writing lyrics that we have adopted would be repeating certain parts and sections, which helps Izzy create the lyrics with the tempo. We repeat until creative material has been thought off, and we have lyrics.

Evaluation

Overall, this stimulus was the most challenging so far. It was a challenge to create lyrics and a chord sequence that went well with Josh's off-drum beat. We are all good at working together and putting forward creative material, we all get along well and help out with each other on anything that someone may be struggling with. I enjoyed creating my bassline within the Dorian scale and keeping intact with the other musicians, from our first rehearsal, at home I took away the root notes that we put together in class and I wanted to put them in a slide into my playing techniques; which fitted very well. Next time, I think proceed as normal with our way of structuring our rehearsal plans, which is normally playing the songs we've already created and confident in to refresh our memory. Then we would work on the next stimulus and break down the chords and challenges we need to include.

Stimulus 3

Drink Me

Within this stimulus, it was another major challenge, especially within creating lyris sing the cut up method. This week we aimed to film each other taking on leadership roles and leading a session, which was a target to complete.

Chord progressions and Genre

Within our third stimulus more challenges were set to expand our skills. For the chord progressions for our song w had to incorporate a pedal note, this consisted of a sustained note, typically in the bass, that are strongly used within intros. In the intro, I plucked the D chord twice and held the note, this really went well with the Kyran's guitar progression as he went from D, D# and D in the opening. For the verse, the progression changed to Dmaj7 and A, this sequence I was given the root notes and then I wanted to expand my progression by using the fifth of D note. For the A I used the G on the E string to run up to the root note, which I found added nice tone to the song. The inspiration for this song was very much the 'Teskey Bothers', their genre is rock blues. Through the strumming of the guitar and the 6/8 drumming beat, our song's genre definitely uses elements that date back to the blus in the 1950s.

For the chorus, I really liked these chords that went from F to G, I did not want to play the chords on their own but to work my way up the major scale form F to G. I really liked working my way up the scale, as I believed it added another layer to the song and to make my playing more complex.Originally, we had an after chorus progression where we went to AM, A#maj7,and Cmaj7. This progression came in after we repeated the chorus twice and then immediately went into it, but we felt in one our session that it did not fit and instead extened the chrus and made the AM,A#maj7 and Cmaj7 progression the bridge.

Playing techniques

We all varied with our playing tecniques, with Kyran's playing he played the quarter bass note and then "stabbed" the strings. For Fin on lead guitar, his paying techniques consisted of improvisation. Where he used pitch bends, hammer ons, and pull offs.

My playing techniques involved using the pedal note that is commonly used with bass guitars, it consists of a sustained note, which I used in the intro of the song and played a D chord, plucking the string twice. Additionally, to make my playing more interesting I found of fifths and octives to the root notes. I really enjoyed my bass progressions, especially in the chorus, I worked my way up the scale adding another layer that I believe fits with the tempo of the guitar and drums.

This video shows the first rehearsal where we created our chord progression and included the pedal note on the bass. Izzy was not present in this rehearsal so we took ahead to get the basic structure and then created lyrics to fit or edit.

This video on the left, shows our early rehearsal of song 3. We were developing the basic structure. As for my facial expressions, I relied on Kyran's and Josh's cues to move on to the verse and chorus, as I was not sure when to change yet. This video shows how far we have come with our song as well as our lyrics.

The photos below, show us all being involved with finding words and phrases that go well together to create a song. In the end, we wanted to scrap what we had done and wanted to create a song inspired by Alice in Wonderland from which we cut up the first chapter.

Lyrics Themes

For the lyrics, we underwent a challenge where we had to use a cut-up technique to create lyrics. This consisted of being given a newspaper article by our teacher and highlighting any key elements that we could make into lyrics. The article was about a volcano eruption and the President spreading his worries and how people were being affected. Me and the band highlighted any rhyming words or key lines that we could use for lyrics.

This was an interesting technique to use for creating lyrics, but it was a bonding exercise as well within the band to all get involved.

The New Lyrics

For the new lyrics, we wanted to look out for key themes in Alice in Wonderland. The themes included the infamous 'Drink Me' quote, where Alice shrinks after drinking a mysterious liquid. As well for falling down the rabbit hole after chasing the White Rabbit and entering the world of madness.We wanted to use a different text to expans our searching skills and using the child fairtytale and Below are photos of the lyrics so far that we have cut up and put together, we still have a way to go to get all the lyrics done, but i think Fin and Izzy have done a really good job with finding rhymes.

Evaluation

This week's stimulus was enjoyable which I liked the chord progression that Kyran had come up with, especially in the chorus I like the overall sound. Also, the lyrics, are currently underway and need developing, but during the weekend I've done research on the story Alice in Wonderland and the creative imagery that is displayed in the first chapter, which I can bring to the next session and have a discussion. We continued to work well as a group, it was difficult mainly with helping out with the lyrics as not everyone's specialty, but were all good at helping one another out and hopefully next week I will get the chance to take on a leadership role, and taking action on what I think needs to be worked on. I really enjoyed the outocme to this song and the blues genre that comes across,

Stimulus 4

Playing Techniques

Each of our playing techniques varied, for me in the intro I used a walking bassline which originally was introduced in the 1950s on the upright bass. My intro is slow and follows Josh's bass drum, I mimicked the hemiola rhythm.

Josh on the drums, uses the hemiola effect as well in the same places as Kyran's rhythm guitar which also means a lot of the song has syncopation. Additionally, within this song, he plays a fast tom beat that requires energy so it allows him to play much faster and reflects the energy the song gives off. Kyran's guitar playing techniques consisted of slides, bends, double stops, vibrato, and mainly downstrokes in verse and chorus. Kyran's rhythm guitar part is quite similar in some ways to Footloose By Kenny Rogers because of the strumming pattern that Kyran uses, with mainly downstrokes for the song and also a very similar chord progression in the intro parts of the song. Fin, who takes on the lead guitar part, uses ostinato for the verses because it's continuous and repeats a lot. For the intro, he uses the chords E and D and for the chorus, he plays a simple riff that fits the rhythm of Josh and Kyran.

Take It From Me

Within this stimulus, I enjoyed creating this song and its outcome was very successful. We all continued to work well in a group and during the week I took on my leader lesson where I was in charge of what we would do in the lesson. This week we were all very productive and got the song perfect and polished by Thursday were we performed our third and fourth songs. Along with completed lyrics. This blog breaks down the process we went through with creating this song, as well as different criteria that we had to include such as the hemiola rhythm and ostinato. For lyrics, we took on a fun challenge where we had to eavesdrop on people's conversations and make a song out of our findings.

Chord progressions and Genre

We all took on a different genre for our fourth song, this week we created a progressive rock song called 'Take It From Me'. At the beginning of the creation journey, we had to incorporate a hemiola rhythm and an ostinato. All our initial thoughts were that we were not confident with these terms so therefore we researched and found our answers. We received some major help from our teacher, who went through the rhythm beat and how we could make a catchy song that we all liked. The progression for the intro is Em and the verse follows Em, G, A, and then the chorus follows A, G, F, and E. The genre of the song is very much progressive rock, with our loud build-ups and quick strumming pattern on the guitar. I think the genre and style we picked are very different from our previous 3 songs part of this term. This stimulus has a much heavier rock genre and shows a different element to all our skills, for me my bassline ties in with the bass drum and Fin's guitar strum. It's key to keep my part tight and on the beat. The genre of our song is very much rock and the opening I found is similar to The Artcic Moneky's Brianstorm, especially in the opening. This song has a really quick tempo which shares with 'Take It From Me'. Both songs share similarities of high energy throughout the song, which does make it tiring to play, but it's a different genre from our last originals which makes our original selections diverse.

The overall song turned out highly successful as shown in the video on the left, as this was our first run-through rehearsal with lyrics and it was very much successful with keeping a simple structure and keeping strong power chords for the chorus and verses.

Lyrics

Our Covert Findings

For our lyric experience, I enjoyed going covertly with closely listening to people's conversations. It was enjoyable to get out of the classroom become active and go onto the high street to retrieve information. We all worked hard and tried to find places that were not too crowded but had enough people to eavesdrop on.

Creating the lyrics was a fun process, where we had to eavesdrop on people's conversations. I and the band split off in pairs and went out onto the high street. It was quiet at that time of the day, as it was the morning but we were all able to come back together and share our findings. After our lesson, we continued to listen to each others interesting conversations that we had picked , it was quite hard due to people speaking quietly in a busy train station and other loud areas.

Through the images on the left, is the amount of words w had found which put together was a lot and we had to pick out the best ones to make lyrics. Some of our findings were very weird and a lot of them were the start or in the middle of conversations. It makes you think about what were people on about in their conversations. Me and Izzy were together on finding words and we wanted to find as many phrases and words as possible so that we would have a variety to choose from when writing lyrics.

Final Lyrics

These are the final lyrics for our original, which we created by the end of Thursday's lesson. Izzy is the best at coming up with song melodies and we all repeated different parts of the song, for her to put lyrics together. These lyrics t are quite small and this is because a lot of the parts in the track are repeated. We have different types of sections in the song which include lyrics and these are the Verses and the Choruses, there are only 2 verses and 3 choruses. As well as intros which are repeated after each chorus, and rely heavily on the instruments to lead. Kyran opens the intro with his repetitive guitar strumming, which gives the rest of the band a cue when to start. I really like the structure of the opening as the instruemhts build and then Izzy starts to sing when the energy is high.

This song focuses on more the instruments than the lyrics, as we build the tempo that is carried out throughout the song. The lyrics are about how someone being in love with someone and they think that it's what they want as well but they were thinking completely differently.

Evaluation

As the rehearsal continued we did not get any more footage from the new song, because we all spent time with our teacher going through the hemiola. The time was very sacred as without help, we would be very stuck with where to go with the stimulus. It was early development for me to come up with a simple intro bassline but along with Josh and Kyran's tempo.

At the start of the week during our double Tuesday lesson, we mainly focused on our third song. This was my decision as I was taking the start of the lessons, and I wanted to fully finish the song before moving on to our next song. We got to a hurdle when we all didn't know what hemiola meant, so we all researched and found the answers.

This video shows our early development of coming up with a chord progression, as well as Izzy putting lyrics together. This is the foundation of the song, as later on in Thursday's session, we changed a few things around as well as changing Josh's drum rhythm to be more toms focused. This ealry process shows hw far we have come with the last stimulus, and how much we enjoyed making this song. This song we found very fitting for finishing a setlist because of the loud energy. Also I like how diverse each song is which makes them individual.

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