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The EEB3 Music Break
This spring, we restarted the so-called "EEB3 Music Break", which is, as the name already indicates, live music in the lunch breaks. We have done this only twice this year, because unfortunately the weather was not at its best this May and June, but that doesn't mean, that we didn't have the opportunity to enjoy it!
At first, I was quite hesitant about participating in the organizing process and performing, because I had no idea how the people passing by would react: I was scared that we would be performing without anyone really watching or paying attention and since we never had something like that in our school before, I had no idea what the people's feedback and opinions would be like. In the end I did decide to be part of this, because if we didn't try it out (even though this wasn't the first time this took place in our school), we wouldn't have the chance to develop it, popularize it and make it something regular at EEB3. I was also looking for a way to be a bit more active in school and try something new, so the Music Break was my perfect opportunity!
While preparing the Music Break, setting it up turned out to be quite a challenge with the time we had available. The first time we did it, we managed to set up everything almost punctually, but the second time it took us much longer, because of the running back-and-forth from the front of the canteen to the music rooms we had to do and because of us being unable to understand how technology works, since we were trying it out alone. This stole us a lot of performing time, so we didn't get to enjoy the Music Break as much as we wanted. However, the first time was very successful: A lot of people stopped, watched and seemed to like the whole concept quite a lot, the weather was amazing and all of the performers were happy too. For me, seeing everyone so supportive and delighted by the Music Break made me enjoy it even more. Personally, I felt that performing in front of the constantly changing audience was really fun and felt refreshing in a way (even though the performance itself didn't work out as planned), because of the wonderful weather, the cheerful people and the relaxed environment.
Overall, the Music Break is something everyone enjoys: The organizers, the performers and the audience. Looking back, the reasons for my hesitation to join seem ridiculous to me and I think the Music Break actually taught me a little something: I shouldn't overthink and worry about how people are going to react to what I want to do, because what really matters is that I enjoy it and that I should just go ahead and try it, because if I don't try it, I will never know what it's like. What I also observed, that isn't new to me but never fails to amaze me, is that music is something that everyone loves and enjoys and it's an opportunity for people to connect. There are many things that we need to improve, like our timing, but this project is a work in progress, which I would like to continue working on and maybe even find a way to continue it throughout the colder months, so that it's not limited only to the spring and summer seasons, which we don't get a lot of during the school-year here in Brussels. It takes a little courage, but the Music Break is definitely something that should be continued!
My Composition
Before doing this assignment, composing wasn't new to me, but new enough to make me completely torn and confused about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to start. First of all, I had no idea what genre I wanted to compose in, because I suddenly found the choice between all those genres incredibly overwhelming. Initially, I thought about composing an R&B song, but eventually I ended up drifting away from that idea. At the end I chose to compose a tango, because first of all it's not something I would ever compose or perform normally, and one of the initial instructions was to get out of our comfort zones. The second reason is that I had just 'found' a new melody while playing around on the piano and a tango accompaniment as its base fit perfectly, even though the melody with its various note lengths was quite hard to synchronize with the syncopated rhythm of the accompaniment at the beginning. Although it was difficult, it soon worked out and I actually liked the composition a lot, because it made me feel nostalgic in the same way as the actors in old Greek movies seemed to feel when they looked out to the blue Mediterranean Sea, that was illuminated by the sun, and reminisced about something long lost (I know that this is quite detailed, but that's what I felt). This all turned out almost easy at the end, however I have to admit that actually writing down the notes on a sheet was an annoying, time-consuming and sometimes even frustrating process. It helped me make my composition correct in terms of timing, but at some points I had to rethink and relearn the melody or accompaniment, because otherwise it didn't work out. Also, if I did a little mistake I sometimes had to delete everything up to that point, in order to correct it. The app I used is called "Flat", and even though I had my little problems, it was very helpful and easy to use, so I can't really complain. Now going back to the composition itself, the one thing I would've liked to change is the absence of an intro. I think that when listening to it, the voice coming in directly on the first note with the piano sounds very sudden, but that's my only big complain.
So, in general I'm quite content with how it ended up. When ignoring the abrupt start, I like the sound of it because the melody carries my mind away a little. What I also really enjoyed about this task is, that it gave me the opportunity to get out my comfort zone and experiment with a style of music I don't usually listen to. I also find it quite fascinating, that somehow through having these certain limitations, we all had no idea how to proceed, but the options were still infinite and therefore we all ended up composing completely different songs with the same lyrics, same key and same chords.
Gemma's Composition
I think, if I had to choose one composition that I liked the most out of all, I'd definitely pick Gemma's. First of all, I love that she chose blues as a genre, because I like the blues a lot in general, but especially because of the historical background they have. In my opinion, Gemma was very successful in delivering an original blues sound through her composition, not only by staying true to the typical rhythm of the blues, but also through the way she sang it. She really adapted her voice to the genre in the same way an actor adapts their character, attitude and behavior to their role. That is the most important thing with singing, because even if a voice is breathtaking, singing without any real expression of feelings sounds incomplete. The guitar sounded great as well, as I said before she achieved the blues sound with the standard blues rhythm, but I think she topped it off with a melody (if I remember correctly) and made it something original, something of her own. The number one reason why I was so impressed by Gemma's Composition is, that she chose to do something different, something that you don't hear or listen to in the daily life. It was unexpected, in a very positive way, and I think that it is outside of her comfort zone or at least not part of her repertoire, because she doesn't usually compose or perform music of that genre.
To conclude, I was a big fan of Gemma's composition from the moment I heard it. I think it was a great choice for her to compose a blues song, because it suits her voice very well and the composition itself was very creative. I definitely found it impressive and I think that she could do more in that genre, but I understand if she wouldn't, because it's not her usual genre and blues music is quite dated, also I probably won't compose another tango neither so that would make sense.
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