The
idea for my piece of music was to create something that I felt had a
lot of emotion and true feeling behind it, I wanted to perform it
live with my guitar and own vocals but I wasn't confident that my
guitar performance skills were good enough and I didn't want to take
away from the whole performance so I had it pre recorded.
I
wanted the meaning of the song to covary what I have been struggling
with and how my friends and family have helped me though. 'I
think songwriting is the ultimate form of being able to make anything
that happens in your life productive' (taylor Swift 2013) I
wanted this song to help people understand that even when they feel
at their worst they are not alone and they should carry on. I used 2
minor chords in this song and it was quite a slow tempo because I
wanted the people who listen and take in each word carefully. I think
in my recording my diction was not the best and if I were to do it
again I would ensure I had better equipment to pick up everything
more clearly.
I
wish I had experimented more with different instruments and harmonies
to make it sound more full and see if it would change the feeling of
the piece. I decided to write this song in my mid to high range
because I feel that is my strongest and most comfortable range but it
would have been interesting to experiment with my lower range to see
if this makes a difference to the feel of the song. I would liked to
of tried more strumming patterns as this may have changed the mood of
the song or the speed.
If
I were to develop this piece further I would try and add in another
instrument like piano after listening to Ed Sheeran 'Thinking Out
Loud' (Ed Sheeran 2014) I found that even if you had more then one
instrument it can still convey a lot of emotion and I was surprised
at how much emotion can be conveyed though an instrumental section
with only a simple hum or la over the top. If I were to develop my
song I would add another verse or a bridge or even an instrumental
break with humming instead of words so that the instrument could be
appreciated a little more it would also make the song feel a little
more full.
If
I had more time I would practice in front of other people to build up
my courage before performing it in front of a big group as having it
recorded took away the emotion that I worked hard to apply to this
song.
Vocally
it wasn’t my strongest performance to improve this I will have
become more confident with my performing skills by analysed what
exactly went wrong and performing in front of more people.
Over
all I am quite happy with my final song but I wish I had had more
time to build my confidence on the guitar so I could have performed
it live.
Ed
Sheeran 2014, 'Thinking out loud', on X (CD), asylum/atlantic
Taylor
Swift (2013). The
Hit Formular [online].
Available from:
<http://thehitformula.com/2013/03/19/songwriting-tips-use-personal-experiences-to-inspire-songs-says-taylor-swift-but-its-making-life-hell-for-one-directions-harry-styles/>.
[Accessed 06/01/15].
Friday 16 January 2015
Bibliography
JustinGuitar
(2009). The
D Chord (Guitar Lesson BC-111) Guitar for beginners Stage 1.
[online]. Available from:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh6sPqDEZCY>. [Accessed
29/12/2014].
RipTard
(2009). Guitar
Lesson: Learn THE 4 Chords.
[online]. Available from:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmChNlDknbM>. [Accessed
29/12/2014].
JustinGuitar
(2009). he
G Chord (Guitar Lesson BC-131) Guitar for beginners Stage 3.
[online]. Available from:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEzwpqmt2gc>. [Accessed
29/12/2014].
The
Axes Of Awesome (2011). 4
Chords.
[online]. Available from:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ>. [Accessed
28/12/2014].
The
Emin Chord (Guitar Lesson BC-122) Guitar for beginners Stage 2
(2009). JustinGuitar.
[online]. Available from:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfm4-yOI6oA>. [Accessed
29/12/14].
The
C Chord (Guitar Lesson BC-132) Guitar for beginners Stage 3
(2009). JustinGuitar.
[online]. Available from:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBYqdBqogo4>. [Accessed
29/12/14].
JustinGuitar
(2009). The
Amin Chord (Guitar Lesson BC-121) Guitar for beginners Stage 2.
[online]. Available from:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV_EABwevy4>. [Accessed
02/01/2015].
JustinGuitar
(2009). The
A Chord (Guitar Lesson BC-112) Guitar for beginners Stage 1.
[online]. Available from:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkkOFLouQDs>. [Accessed
02/01/2015].
Walk
In the Sun. (2006). [CD] Westmeath: Island.
Demi
Lovarto (2015). azlyrics [online]. Available from
<http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/demilovato/thisisme.html>.
[Accessed 5/01/2015].
Taylor
Swift (2013). The
Hit Formular [online].
Available from:
<http://thehitformula.com/2013/03/19/songwriting-tips-use-personal-experiences-to-inspire-songs-says-taylor-swift-but-its-making-life-hell-for-one-directions-harry-styles/>.
[Accessed 06/01/15].
recording myself singing
Listening to my own singing has always been a problem for me I don't like to her my own voice recorded so this makes it hard to analyse my vocal work, over this year I have started to work on getting used to listening to my own voice any developing my vocal skills and critical skills from what I hear.
At first it was hard not to just turn it off and say it was all terrible and pick it apart completely but after working on it and getting over the embarrassment I was able to improve my singing range and ability I found it really hard to not be overly critical of my singing as it is always said 'I'm my own worst critic' . gradually I was able to pick out things that I could work on pulling it back one layer at a time, the things like going out of tune or messing up the words is where I started. working on the big things until I got down to the tiny little things such as breathing in the wrong place for the song. this has really helped me improve my singing and confidence over all.
At first it was hard not to just turn it off and say it was all terrible and pick it apart completely but after working on it and getting over the embarrassment I was able to improve my singing range and ability I found it really hard to not be overly critical of my singing as it is always said 'I'm my own worst critic' . gradually I was able to pick out things that I could work on pulling it back one layer at a time, the things like going out of tune or messing up the words is where I started. working on the big things until I got down to the tiny little things such as breathing in the wrong place for the song. this has really helped me improve my singing and confidence over all.
key of G
While I was learning some chords on guitar I started to learn some basic theory this video gave me a basic idea of the key of g major
g major
a minor
b minor
c major
d major
e minor
I started learning the chord progressions I liked the sound of and these two were my favourites, these are the 2 chord progressions I am going to learn first.
1 six 3
g major
e minor
b minor
one six two five
g e minor, a minor d major
backing/ instrumental
This is the instrumental recording of my song, I explained to my friend how I wanted this to be played and I was there throughout the recording process and while she was learning it, I told her what chords I wanted to use and a basic melody of the song that I wanted to end up with and using trial and error we sat and created this tune. After it was easy to fit the words with the guitar and change what needed to be changed to fit it into a nice song.
My musical inspiration
While planning my song I looked into Artists that I found to be inspirational to me artists like Kate Nash really inspired me mainly because a lot of her songs tell a story in a simple way. Her lyrics are simple and easy to remember so they stay in your head a long time.
One of the main artists that inspired my song was Demi Lovarto, her songs' La La Land' and 'This is Me' are two songs I wanted to channel though my song. Each of these songs are about being yourself, finding out who you are, and not letting anything change you. This song tells you to be yourself and believe that you can do what you want.
'Do you know what it's like
To feel so in the dark
To dream about a life
Where you're the shining star
Even though it seems
Like it's too far away
I have to believe in myself
It's the only way' Demi Lovarto (2015)
When she brought out 'La La Land' it was just after she got her break with 'Sonny with a chance' and this song was a message saying she wasn't going to change who she was because of it she was going to keep her feet on the ground. 'Well, I'm not gonna change, In the la-la land machine' Demi Lovarto (2015)
Lyrically these songs had a massive impact on my song these helped me decide what I wanted to write about and what message I wanted to portray.
Mcfly's walk in the sun is a massive influence on my final song, the simplicity of the song really stuck with me the fact it was acoustic and it was heat felt and passionate. This song has stuck we me for a long time because the lyrics and the melody work so well together.I wanted my song to show this level of passion and Rawness. (Walk In the Sun, 2006)
One of my main Inspirations though was my own experiences, my individual piece reflex some of the things that I have been though and how I have struggled with it and dealt with it over the last few months. I find that songs written about personal experiences seem more passionate hard hitting and genuine then ones written about other scenarios.
'I think songwriting is the ultimate form of being able to make anything that happens in your life productive' (Taylor Swift 2013)
One of the main artists that inspired my song was Demi Lovarto, her songs' La La Land' and 'This is Me' are two songs I wanted to channel though my song. Each of these songs are about being yourself, finding out who you are, and not letting anything change you. This song tells you to be yourself and believe that you can do what you want.
'Do you know what it's like
To feel so in the dark
To dream about a life
Where you're the shining star
Even though it seems
Like it's too far away
I have to believe in myself
It's the only way' Demi Lovarto (2015)
When she brought out 'La La Land' it was just after she got her break with 'Sonny with a chance' and this song was a message saying she wasn't going to change who she was because of it she was going to keep her feet on the ground. 'Well, I'm not gonna change, In the la-la land machine' Demi Lovarto (2015)
Lyrically these songs had a massive impact on my song these helped me decide what I wanted to write about and what message I wanted to portray.
Mcfly's walk in the sun is a massive influence on my final song, the simplicity of the song really stuck with me the fact it was acoustic and it was heat felt and passionate. This song has stuck we me for a long time because the lyrics and the melody work so well together.I wanted my song to show this level of passion and Rawness. (Walk In the Sun, 2006)
One of my main Inspirations though was my own experiences, my individual piece reflex some of the things that I have been though and how I have struggled with it and dealt with it over the last few months. I find that songs written about personal experiences seem more passionate hard hitting and genuine then ones written about other scenarios.
'I think songwriting is the ultimate form of being able to make anything that happens in your life productive' (Taylor Swift 2013)
a and am
I decided to learn these two chords to help me add more variety to my song because although the other 4 chords I have learnt are a good starting point by learning more chords I have a stronger base to start on. (JustinGuitar 2009) |
| A and a minor were quite easy to learn and I didn't have too many problems with them. |
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