Funding Application

Open Music Funding

We wish to apply to the open music funding by PRS For Music Foundation to further our journey with our Sound 'Bashment's Backbone' over the years of performing in small venues, we've accumulated quite a loyal following base and the four of us (Jax, Tempo, Mod and myself) think it's about time we toured around the UK. Our fans are often mailing and emailing us that they would love to see us perform but since so far we've only been limited to London due to not having the funds to transport all our equipment with us to the other side of the country or even to Northern Ireland. We use drum pads, looping, vocals, synths, a range of instrumentd and pre-recorded tracks in our performances, which i believe makes us unique and has allowed us to grow as big as we have. All of us know how to use the equipment but we tend to have our separate favourites which encourages to work in sync better. Jax mainly acts as the producer for the pre-recorded tracks and for the sounds we use from the production softwares. Tempo is usually on the drum pads but surprise surprise can also play the drums, hence his name Tempo. Mod is usually in charge of looping and playing melodies whether thats on guitar, piano or a synth and i'll be on vocals and have my own synth. As i mentioned earlier my aim is to tour the UK, for this we would need roadies, vans to transport the equipment in, promotion (through social media and flyers etc..) and to have venues at the ready. We have our own pages on social media so promotion via social media shouldn't be an issue, the main issue is transporting our equipment, and having the venue prepared for us. This is what the funding would go towards we have already got quotes from roadies to achieve this and spoke to many venues across the country who would be willing to cater for us. We're also thinking of adding merchandise to our personal website and putting up a stand at the venues we'll perform at.

We're hoping for a funding of £10,000 we have planned budgets for each step of the way and think this plan will succeed.

4 Track Review

Persian Pugs

"Persian Pugs" was inspired from the chords from Persian Rugs by Party Next Door. I played the chords in and decided it was a unique sound that I liked. I wanted to remake the sound of the chords into my own sound, I used the EX 24 synth to conjure a sound that I liked. This version of Persian Pugs is missing some content as its an older version, I used this bounce so the development can be heard and my ideas for this track are clear. Throughout the development I plan to use panning techniques on only one bar of the synths, which will be when the synth is split into thirds. I plan to have Erykah sing on this track to finish it off.

https://soundcloud.com/milesedwardsfrancis/miles-persian-pugs

Tupac Do For Love Remix

Using the bass line from Tupac Do for love, I wanted to make a remix mainly formed of audio, we recorded. In the studio we recorded a fretless bass guitar and drums, I plan to add trumpets and synths to the track from recording, I already have midi versions of them both. But using the D.I box will make the track more interesting and completely recorded by me and peers. I added the synth to keep interest there rather than just the drum and bass line. The same with the trumpet.
https://soundcloud.com/milesedwardsfrancis/tupac-do-for-love-remix

What Do You Want

Starting off this track I wanted to start it with a kind of dark ambient feeling, with the drums changing after each bar, my plans for this track are to have a almost RnB/ drum & bass, bass line, to keep the ambient feeling, and add more interest to the song. With this track I was thinking of mainly keeping it midi and using most of my midi skills. The synth was made using alchemy, but the drums was just one of logics instruments.
https://soundcloud.com/milesedwardsfrancis/what-do-you-want

Crazy Tazy

Using the track from last year, I added a subby synth intro that fades and in and increases tempo as it goes along, and kept the vocals, with this song I planned to have Erykah sing on it to add to the vocals. Furthermore I would like to possibly replace the drum beats with a beat from ultra beat and improve the synth using an ESP or EX 24. I could possibly add chords to help develop the song.
https://soundcloud.com/milesedwardsfrancis/crazy-tazy

Classmate reviews

Ethnography

Ethnography - Contemporary R&B

Introduction

Throughout this Ethnography we will be exploring Contemporary R&B throughout the 1980's and its origins. We will be uncovering the several aspects that can help us understand the genre of music, the visual representation associated with that genre, what sounds to specifically listen for, where and how we interpret the music, (e,g, whether at a concert with friends dancing, or in your own company in your room, listening to the meaning of the song) And a few more factors. 

Sonic

In the 1980's there were multiple genres that were fused together to form R&B these genres included; Hip-Hop, Soul, Funk and Pop. Many popular artists in this genre at the time were The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson as a solo artist, Prince, Stevie wonder, Marvin Gaye and many other artists whom we may go over during the course of this Ethnography.
 One of the more interesting features in Contemporary R&B is that the drum beat can range from a fairly upbeat, fast tempo, to a slower relaxing speed and its mainly dependent on the artist on which of these the drums will follow. However one thing most Contemporary R&B tracks have in common, is that a lot of the time the drums will open the song followed by the bass or the other way round, then the vocals will kick in and hook the audience. Furthermore in the background there will more often than not be a synth that sounds like an alarm or phone ringing. From the prince song When Doves Cry at 25 seconds the synth kicks in and plays on and off throughout the song. Also in this song you hear the bass kick in first, followed by the vocals.

We can cross reference this with The Jackson 5's Can You Feel It. Where the drum and bass kick in at the same time starting off the song at 50 seconds. But there is a synth but not one simulating a ringing sound.
  
However as I said earlier, the 1980's was an early stage for Contemporary R&B so there are many different styles, which means ultimately the style you hear will depend on the artist, for example Can You Feel It and When Doves Cry sounded more towards the pop genre whereas if you listen to Did I Hear You Say You Love Me by Stevie Wonder the feel of blues is more than noticeable right from the start of the song. But the upbeat drums which is shared between all three tracks I have embedded so far is still in the mix.
 
Visual
The 1980's played a crucial part in the visual aspect of music as the first music video to be released on tv by MTV was released in 1981 and it was The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star. Even though This is not an R&B track yet alone a contemporary track, this paved the path for artists like Michael Jackson to start releasing his own music videos, because only a year after the first music video released, Michael Jackson released the world renown 'Thriller' music video. I believe both these two music videos to be a turning point in the music industry no matter what the genre is. Adding visuals to music means we can see what the artist wants us to see or possibly broadens our imagination to stimulate thoughts on current issues in the world or what the artist is addressing.  
Also an interesting aspect to consider when discussing the effect visuals hold within in music is clothing and hair, for example the Jackson 5 all had afros during their time in the group, and often wore similar coloured or styled clothing if not both. This is shown in the picture below.

Technological
The technological side of Contemporary R&B is interesting since the 1980's was known as a turning point for most genres. The use of synthesizers in most songs during this time is noticeable and as i touched on earlier the groove (the drum sounds and bass sounds) which may have been taken from neo soul, play a very interesting part as its almost a must for a song to be classed as R&B. The early 80's were known for the introduction of midi and recording digitally to music, which is a huge addition to the creation of music as it helps in plenty of ways. This is not to say that there were not ways to sequence without midi because there were but with midi the prices for midi sequencers dropped allowing it to be much more accessible to people with lower budgets and it made sequencing possibly easier. A lot of instruments were then replaced with synthesizers. Furthermore Cd's were released in early 1980's/late 1970's which makes listening to music a lot more accessible.

Mediatic
Since this was the 1980's most people would goto gigs or festivals to listen to music, however there were people who could afford record players, which weren't too expensive at the time but most families would tend to only have one and mainly in their family room. With the release of the Cd it meant that cd players would be more frequent in family homes as it was cheaper although the quality wasn't as good as record players or even live, it still was the most modern thing at the time, so families would listen to either cd players or record players together in the sitting room as a form of entertainment. However as i said earlier i think that the most popular way for listening to music would be by going to the concerts and tours and gigs as that way you're getting a live experience. I think the majority of R&B is meant to be danced to, with the exception that quite a few types of R&B encourage to deeply think about the song and the meaning behind it to possibly help deal with any hardships you could possibly be going to the the artist relates to.

Temporal
Generally the contemporary R&B songs last around of a maximum of 5 minutes and a minimum of just under 3, however when it comes to the music videos this can increase by double all more as their might be another message the artist is trying to get across which would make it all the more interesting and possibly even make you feel more intwined with the song. However with albums there may be extra tracks which can only be listened to our bought along with the album as a special edition and an incentive to buy the whole album rather than individual tracks you're interested in.

Corporeal
The majority of R&B does tend to have voice in it, however if we look into prince's original purple reign, that track had no vocals to begin with and that track was still popular, furthermore tracks which could have been influenced of Miles Davis who rarely had vocals if any on most of his tracks, wouldn't surprise me if the artist decided to follow the same route and leave the vocals out.

Discursive
Contemporary R&B was the after math of blues, neo soul and jazz, there will be underlying issues from these three which generally relate to black people being oppressed, however the majority of contemporary R&B barely mentions such subjects so for me personally I almost feel as if contemporary R&B is a celebration of freedom to be able to experiment with music as freely as the artist chooses to and to express themselves without the racial oppression motivating them.

Portfolio Assignment

Recording Drums

In todays recording studio, I recorded Josh playing drums for the track I am remixing, in employability called 'Do For Love' by 2pac. To start off we decided on a list of microphones we would need during the process, this included; 4 Sm57's and 2 NT5's. We chose these microphones so the Sm57's would be able to pick up individual sound whilst the two NT5's would act as overhead microphones to capture the drum sounds all together and give us the stereo image we desired, whilst one of the Sm57's were placed on the snare, another on the high toms, another on the floor tom, another on the hi hat and the last one on the kick drum. This was a successful idea as we were able to get a very clear, smooth sounding drum kit which gives me many options to chose from when editing. Below is the finished recording of the drums, with each track labelled of the positioning of the microphones.

Recording Bass Guitar

Recording the bass guitar was fairly simple, we set up 2 NT5's and placed them by the bass amp using a stereo axis positioning called ORTF to ensure the sound wouldn't clash, whilst brining out the best quality of the sound. We chose to use the amp rather than feed the bass directly into the D.I so we still had the ambience in the background rather than just purely the bass playing. We took multiple takes to deicide what bass track I would use on my track, furthermore we also added a titan as a room mic to add ambience to the sound. Below is a screenshot of the bass recording.

Recording Studio

Recording Drums

In todays recording studio, I recorded Josh playing drums for the track I am remixing, in employability called 'Do For Love' by 2pac. To start off we decided on a list of microphones we would need during the process, this included; 4 Sm57's and 2 NT5's. We chose these microphones so the Sm57's would be able to pick up individual sound whilst the two NT5's would act as overhead microphones to capture the drum sounds all together and give us the stereo image we desired, whilst one of the Sm57's were placed on the snare, another on the high toms, another on the floor tom, another on the hi hat and the last one on the kick drum. This was a successful idea as we were able to get a very clear, smooth sounding drum kit which gives me many options to chose from when editing. Below is the finished recording of the drums, with each track labelled of the positioning of the microphones.

Recording Bass Guitar

Recording the bass guitar was fairly simple, we set up 2 NT5's and placed them by the bass amp using bidirectional positioning to ensure the sound wouldn't clash. We took multiple takes to deicide what bass track I would use on my track, furthermore we also added a titan as a room mic to add ambience to the sound. Below is a screenshot of the bass recording.

Employability Task, Remixing

Tupac Do For Love

What makes this track stand out so much for me, would have to be the bassline and vocals. To start off I got stems for the bass and the drums, however whether I used the drums or not was yet to be decided. Using ultra beat I came up with a 90's sounding drum kit which i added mid way through the track, I used this to further develop the song into my own image. After listening to the original multiple times i decided that adding a synth under the drum beat was the way to go. Later on in one of our classes with Farz, I asked Josh to play the drums in audio, which was interesting because it gave the drums a realistic sound and can be improved further through the use of effects and equalising

Studio task

Still Brazy

The most recent album out now which I would have to call my favourite would be Still Brazy. The majority of the songs follow Yg's genuine style of early 90's rap. I find this very interesting as not many modern rappers are able to do this so it gives listeners a feel of what living a life in ghettos/dangerous neighbourhoods in LA would be like. In addition,theres a track on the song which holds some emotion, this is due to Yg being shot mid 2015 and making a song out of it called "Who Shot Me".

My favourite song on the album would have to be 'Why You Always Hatin?'. This is my favourite track as it differs from Ygs normal approach to his songs, by being more of a party song which he hadn't really done for a couple years. The fact the song differs from his traditional style tells me that he's able to switch styles of music and still be a success as we can tell from how much this song blew up.

Ready To Die

I have chosen Biggie Smalls' Ready To Die as my all time favourite. It speaks about death and just how close people living in the conditions Biggie was brought up in are close to it. Furthermore the whole album is almost a collection of stories the way Biggie Smalls' brings you through the tracks with his lyrics. My favourite track on the album is Suicidal Thoughts, this is due to the "conversation" he is having on the phone. Biggie brings the track to life by rapping in response to what we assume is his friend on the other end of the phone. In addition its almost like he's listing his sins to us through song.

Evaluation of FMP Project

Evaluation

Critical Analysis

Looking over my work I am very satisfied with my work and consider it to be at a professional level. Compared to artists who do work at a professional level I would say all the music I've produced and recorded is up to par, this is because I feel I have gone about my project, analysing every detail to the last key before making or beginning the creation of each track. Furthermore looking into each artist I planned on researching before I worked on the song I wanted to be influenced by them, really helped as I was able to pinpoint what aspect of their music I wanted to include or be the main focus of my work. The main issue I faced with my project is time management, I had really poor time management throughout the project as I would tend to spend too much time working on one song, which led to the next song or another aspect of my work not being how I visioned it, furthermore this is what led to the un-complete track which was supposed to be influenced by Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island. Moreover the amount of time I gave the group I was working with to record Keep Us Safe was not sufficient enough, I would give more time for this by letting my group be aware of my plans much earlier in the project. In addition working on the score was also quite challenging as although i had knowledge with music theory, I had never written a whole song for a range of different instruments which was why my teachers and logic was such a big help, but even so I had never used the logic score function so I learnt a new skill within logic. If I was to start this project from scratch, I would start off by researching the artists songs that I would be taking influence from so I could get started on the creation of each track much earlier and much more efficiently, rather than just doing notes for my research as I go along I would write all my research I had gathered at the end of the week rather than when I thought I had gathered enough notes. In the future I plan to improve by being much more aware of my time, I could do this by writing a detailed plan of what I wish to achieve by that week, and if one of the items on the checklist are in-complete they would then take priority over the next week. Moreover I would also like to be able to have enough time to mix my tracks more throughly as I feel this would have improved my songs and help them fit them image I had in my head.

Research

My research was based around, three artists, Nina Simone, Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock also my research includes the different types of modal jazz and modes within jazz. I looked into the keys they used in an individual song of theirs, and took an aspect of their work and changed it into a way that suited me and included it in my tracks. The research methods I used were, reading articles both online and paper copies, watching videos that explain how a track is made or explain more about the artist and reading other online websites that give a lot of information about scores, keys, modes and the artists themselves. I feel I completed an adequate amount of research apart from my research based on Herbie Hancock. I feel I should have researched more into Herbie Hancocks Cantaloupe Island and the creation of that song. Furthermore I should have researched throughly the style he plays and what makes him so unique and why he was chosen to play with Miles Davis. Through my research I have learnt a much better way to create songs using keys and changing the feel of music its self simply with the chords and how I play the chords.

Technical and Practical skills.

My research has helped my practical work by letting me understand modes and which modes I would be including in my tracks. This helped because I was able to get the aspect of music I wished. In addition from looking at the different scores the artists used I was able to have a better understanding on doing my own scores, which made the process a lot shorter than I originally thought it would be. There are a range of skills I used which helped me finish the project. Firstly, setting up a recording studio was a key skill, this was a skill I learnt in secondary school and I was able to set up the recording studio with the short time we had swiftly as, this was a regular occurrence. Furthermore, writing scores is a skill that I had developed over the course of this project as to be able to record the instruments I would need a score, although most of the score writing was done by logic I had to converse with the artists to see what kind of score would be best for the individual artist.

Project Management and Working Methods

During the FMP a few problems arose, my lack of knowledge on modal jazz and chords, proved to be a main factor as working on my tracks couldn't proceed without enough information on both of these subjects. To counter this i made it priority in my research to start researching this. This helped because once I had learnt these two subjects I was able to create and finish both of the tracks swiftly.
I have not completed all the work intended for my project, I missed out on my track which was to be influenced by Herbie Hancock and parts of research that was to be done to help with the Herbie Hancock track. To attemept to make up for missing out on Herbie Hancock I put more detail into both of my tracks Keep Us Safe and Conversement, and doubled the research I planned originally to do on them, this helped the success of both of these songs and taught me more about Jazz in general.
During the access time slots that were given to us i made use of these by attending all slots and working on my music as much as possible since I could do the majority of research and written work elsewhere.

Collaborations during the FMP

One of artists that I collaborated with during the project would be Eleanor. Eleanor was very useful to me as she helped write the lyrics to Keep Us Safe and allowed me to record her singing so that I could use her voice in the Keep Us Safe track. This was helpful because at the time I was unsure whether I would be getting any vocals on the tracks at that time. Furthermore I worked with Jack, Joshua, Alex and Monique, all of these artists helped me record the instruments of Keep Us Safe and they were very helpful as we had limited time in the studio to do this recording session.  

Literature Review

Literature Review

http://www.jazzstandards.com/theory/modal-jazz.htm

This first source was useful to me as it is very descriptive talking about the different types of modes in Jazz. This was an important aspect of my work since all three different artists used modal jazz or some type of influential jazz which one way or another revolved around these different modes. It explains in depth what different mode is similar to and what makes them unusual to your normal chords.

http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Kind_of_Blue.html

This source gives an insight into improvisational jazz. Furthermore it also looks at the creation and inspiration for Miles Davis' whole album 'Kind Of Blue', this was useful to me a I was able to get first hand information on why Miles Davis plays his style and what his style was. I could use this information in my track Conversement, for the chords and also use it to back up my research about Miles Davis.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/music/popular_music/jazz1.shtml

This source was useful to me as it speaks about the origins of Jazz, which wasn't necessarily an important aspect in my project  but it gave me a back drop on what i needed to learn and the different types of jazz that exist today and where they came from. Furthermore it also gives an insight into blue notes and the 12 bar form that will be commonly found within Miles Davis' work, i've included this in my Conversement track where it switches from A dorian to Bb dorian. Although I didn't use blue notes I was still able to touch on them and learn that they are usually found on the third fifth and seventh degree of a scale.

http://wkcjodiedonnelly-harding.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/analysing-jazz.html

This source was useful to me as I could rarely find much information about bebop jazz. Be-bop jazz is described in depth within this post and was helpful because Herbie Hancock was in between be-bop, modal and electronic fusion jazz. Since Herbie Hancock has such a unique style this blog helped me analyse his style and gave me insight into a similar style that he plays.

Final Product

All of my tracks can be found below, there are three I would like to be heard which are; Conversement, Keep Us Safe and Keep Us Safe Midi.
https://soundcloud.com/milesedwardsfrancis

Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island

Herbie Hancocks Cantaloupe island uses three main chords, which are Fm7, C#7 and  Dm7, many people may say it depends on what you depict a blue scales as. Below is the chord chart for Cantaloupe Island. So other people could say you could use the phrygian dominant mode. But from the chord chart the chords are Fm Bb and Fm5

Bibliography

Bibliography

Biography. com Editors (no date) Miles Davis Biography. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/miles-davis-9267992 (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Biography. com Editors (no date) Nina Simone Biography. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/nina-simone-9484532 (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

BBC (2006) GCSE Bitesize: Jazz origins. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/music/popular_music/jazz1.shtml (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Encyclopedia (2016) Encyclopedia.Com articles about Herbie Hancock. Available at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Herbie_Hancock.aspx (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Fordham, J. (2009) How Miles Davis’s kind of blue shaped 50 years of music. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/aug/20/miles-davis-kind-blue (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Harding, J. (2016) Analysing Jazz. Available at: http://wkcjodiedonnelly-harding.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/analysing-jazz.html (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Hughes, C. (2010) So what. Available at: https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/jazz-standards/so-what-with-miles-davis-solo-transcription/ (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Hunters, H. (2016) Herbie Hancock on iTunes iTunes.

Loudermilk, A. (2013) ‘Journal of international women’s studies’, Journal of International Women’s Studies, 14(3).

Modal jazz (no date) Available at: http://www.jazzstandards.com/theory/modal-jazz.htm (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Thelonious monk institute of jazz (no date) What is jazz? Available at: http://www.jazzinamerica.org/lessonplan/5/1/249 (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Ruhlmann, W. (2016) Miles Davis | biography & history. Available at: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/miles-davis-mn0000423829/biography (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Simone, N. and Unterberger, R. (1965) I put a spell on you - Nina Simone | songs, reviews, credits AllMusic.

Songfacts® (2016) Feeling good by Nina Simone Songfacts. Available at: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=8996 (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Sony Entertainment Inc (1997) Kind of blue. Available at: http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Kind_of_Blue.html (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Thomas, P. (2013) Improvising jazz: The use of modes in improvisation. Available at: https://tamingthesaxophone.com/jazz-modes (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

What chords are typically played by the pianist on modal jazz and what is the theory behind? (no date) Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-chords-are-typically-played-by-the-pianist-on-modal-jazz-and-what-is-the-theory-behind (Accessed: 7 June 2016).

Conversement Creation

The Creation of Conversement

The Beginning

Starting off with the creation of Conversement, i faced the issue of learning what modes such as Dorian, lydian, Phrygian, Ionian, Myxolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. I had to learn these because Miles Davis' So What used a dorian mode and my Conversement was influenced from So What. From the video below you can see Charlie Round-Turner giving a detailed explanation of modes.


Originally without the help of Charlie Round-Turner my track was already in A dorian without me being aware, this was helpful because that meant subconsciously I had a rough idea of the Miles Davis influence that I was going for.

Furthermore the chords used in Conversement were A dorian and Bb dorian. This was similar to the way Miles Davis' So What is played as the first two sections are D dorian then it drops to E dorian for one section then back to A dorian for two. This pattern is the same throughout Conversement, the main factor that changes is the horns.

The melody unlike Miles Davis' So What is only played by the trumpets where as in Miles Davis' So What the bass line is an important factor. I did this so the song didn't have too much of a change and had a calm mellow feel. Personally the melody in the Bb section is my favourite as it feels as if it's going to rise then drops back to the A dorian.

The tempo of this song is extremely slow, i started it off with 80 beats per minute on the time signature 4/4. I did this so the song had no rushing feel to it and was as calming as it could be, taking its time with each time the melody hits.

The loudest instrument in the song is the horns. This is done so that when the chords played by the keyboard is finished you can hear the horns loud and clear. Following Miles Davis' So What I wanted the consequent phrase to be obvious to even those who know nothing about the theory behind music.

The instruments used in Conversement are; the trumpet, keyboard, bass guitar and drums. The trumpet is the forefront of the mix, the keyboard is just behind so that the antecedent phrase, the base follows as it plays similar chords to the keyboard.  

FInal Collaborative Project Progress Week By Week

Week 1

In week 1 i started my proposal and came to the conclusion my ep would be jazz based, this is because I hadn't worked on jazz music in quite a well and wanted to show the skills i had developed and compare these jazz pieces to my previous tracks, although i hadn't finished my proposal, i began to research what artists i thought i might be interested with using this website http://www.biography.com/people/nina-simone-9484532, this was useful because it helped me find artists similar to Miles Davis whom I wanted my research to be the basis of. By doing this I was on track to be able to start my first track, Conversement the following week.

Week 2

In week 2 I had gathered more website links and articles I would be using for my research so I added that to the my research notes blog draft and finished off my proposal. Furthermore I roughly understood the type of chords Miles Davis used so I had an idea for what key my Conversement would be in, thus I started working on that track. The notes i had gathered would make it easier to write up my research when it came to it.

Week 3

In week 3 I began working on my research, using the website links i gathered from the other weeks of preparation, I think spending a couple weeks on preparation made it easier to actually do the research because in this week i got a thick piece of research done. Furthermore in week 3 I decided that it would be best to ask some of my teachers who have worked within Jazz for some help and insight into the genre. Charlie Round-Turner played a big role in assisting me as he taught me about the many different modes which i will explain in a later blog post.

Week 4

In week 4 due to the help with Charlie, my track Conversement was all but finished, I spoke to all the artists with the exception of Eleanor that I would like to perform the second track Keep Us Safe, I also started the midi version of the second track, only adding notes to my research which i would develop later on. This helped because the artists were aware that I would be needing their assistance and would be ready if I called on them to record for me.

Week 5   

In week 5, once again Charlie helped with Keep Us Safe by adding inspiration to come up with the Nina Simone type chords, this helped because i was able to develop the rest of the song with ease after finding out what key I was using and following the chords, furthermore i continued the process of creating Keep Us Safe whilst researching Nina Simone so I got more influence as i proceeded. In addition i also let all the artists who I wanted to take part in performing live and recording of my track.

Week 6  

In week 6 Conversement was completely finished and ready to be bounced, the midi version of Keep Us Safe was finished, all i had to do was turn it into a score so the artists i required to play instruments and or sing would be able to do so, but this had proven difficulty, I was new to writing scores so it would take some time. But with the help of my teachers I was able to figure it out and write a score suitable to all those that needed it.

Week 7

In week 7 I uploaded all of the songs to my blog with the exception of the Herbie Hancock based song, as that week we had finished the recording but had run out of time to do the live performance of any of the songs. Since i had finished all the music I had a week to focus all my efforts on research, this helped because I had made notes of research to do and notes of sources i could use for my research. Also i spoke to Eleanor about singing on Keep Us Safe and recorded it on the friday.

Week 8

In week 8 i finished off my research double checking along the way and added my bibliography, i uploaded the final bit of youtube videos to be used in my research onto my blog and double checked everything was in order. i ensured everything was labelled correctly on my play and published.

Keep Us Safe Creation

The creation of Keep Us Safe

The beginning

When i first started working on the Nina Simone based track Keep Us Safe, there was no structure to the song. I had just started to work on any aspect of music i chose to with no plan or even clue of what key i was going to use, it sounded like the track below.

This is because I just had an idea of what instruments I wanted to use and no other plans. Below is what the track looked like within Logic. As you can see there's no structure or any plan or idea to help guide me. Furthermore the only Jazz related sound within the track was the horns, which had no structure either and didn't fit the rest of the songs.

In addition with the help from one of my teacher Charlie's, who spoke in detail about the different modes within Jazz, and after deciding what aspects from Nina Simone's Feeling Good I would take influence from, my work would come to look like the screenshot below. On the right side of the page I wrote down the key I was playing in to help ensure I stuck to that path, I also wrote down notes that would help produce the song, by making vague points on how I want the song to sound. This was helpful to me because it acted as guidelines for my song.

Furthermore the chords I used for the chords section which was the main bit that took influence from 'Feeling Good' were G minor, the C7 chord, Bb and D7 chords. At it differentiates between G minor and the C7 chord for the first 5 bars then for two bars it differentiates between Bb and the D7. This routine is the same throughout the song.

The melody was originally led by the trumpets and the keyboard, and still is in the midi version of the song  which is below. Using the same kind of idea as the antecedent and consequent phrase in Miles Davis's So What, I led the melody which starts on the keyboard into the horns which hit hard, giving the trumpets its own space with the exception of the drums helped made the trumpets the main aspect of the melody. However In the audio version of Keep Us Safe, I swapped the trumpets for the vocals as there was an issue with the recording of the vocals and we only had short time left to record the track.

The tempo of the song originally started at 100 beats per minute (bpm), I thought this was suitable at first, however after giving the score to the bass guitarist of the Keep Us Safe track and writing slow as an indicator on the score I decided it sounded better at 80 bpm. Furthermore the rhythm is held by the bass and rarely changes throughout the track, I chose to do this so the bass was calming and relaxing as a Nina Simone based piece should be.

The loudest instrument in the song would have to be the vocals for the audio version and trumpets for the midi version, this is done so the main piece of the melody is the most audible. I did this so the lyrics can be heard and so that the trumpet solo piece is as effective as it is. I had the bass and drums stay fairly quiet in the mix so that the way they repeat and are rarely changing wouldn't be cause much of a disturbance in the track.

The instruments used were; trumpets, keyboard, drums, bass guitar and vocals. The trumpets, keyboard and vocals play the melody being the loudest three in the mix, the keyboard also plays the chords that play just behind the melody but always with the keyboard melody but allowing space for the trumpet solo. The drums and bass carry the rhythm, being the quietest two instruments in the mix and being the most calming, relaxed instruments on the track.

The structure of the song, mainly follows, chords, keyboard melody with bass and drums underlying, followed by a trumpet solo with the allowance of the drums hidden under them followed by a different keyboard melody but the same chords and bass notes. This is done so the song isn't to complicated and is as comfortable to the ears as can be.

The lyrics in Keep Us Safe is a reaction to the police brutality happening all over the world but with the most reported issues in America. They were written by Eleanor in the level 3 music performance class and myself.

Below is the Keep Us Safe recoding process.

Checklist for Recording Studio

Checklist & Why

When I used the studio to record Keep Us Safe, I made a checklist so setting up the recording would be a lot more time efficient, below is the checklist for each individual band player. This made it easier so we didn't have to run in and out of the studio looking for the odd piece of equipment which would just prolong the recording as we were on a schedule. Not only was this efficient but i felt this was a professional manner of doing things which I will take on. When using studios which have to be booked and paid for by the hour this will be a key way of making use of the time given .




For Jack - Bass Guitar - SM57 - Jack to jack - Amp - Score stand - mic stand - Headphones
For Alex - SM57 - XLR - Score stand - mic stand - Headphones
For Monique - SM57 - Jack to Jack - Score stand - keyboard - Headphones
For Josh - Hi-Hats - Snare - Kick Drum - SM57 x3 - Headphones
Below is the actual checklist of what I used to ensure I had the equipment I needed.

Song analysis of Miles Davis So What

Miles Davis So What Song Analysis

Chords

The chords used in Miles Davis So What, play in D dorian mode for eight bars then switching to e dorian then returns to D dorian after 4 bars. This sequence is repeated throughout the song. The song plays at a slow calming tempo, this is done because the music uses phrases such as as the antecedent phrase and the consequent phrase which makes the instruments sound as if there is a conversation taking place. From the score below we can see what chords are played in the song.

Melody

The melody is mainly played by the horns in the song however the piano also sometimes takes over on the 32nd bar. I think this is done due to the lack of vocals so the song has very powerful horns to control the song.

Tempo/Rhythm

The tempo of the song is very smooth, slow and relaxed, it has a slight rise and release feel to it as theres a short build up then the horns and repeats the phrase. This changes when the horns have their solo and whilst the hi-hats are continuous and the walking bass is the same. The chords play on top of the horns yet quieter since the horns are in control. Since the bass in the song is a walking type which means it's mainly going up and down the scale the rhythm doesn't change too much but each horn solo it changes for around 8 bars then continues to walk.

Mix

The horns are the loudest in the mix as that's where the melody and the influential feel of jazz comes from. Throughout the horn solo you can hear the chords, bass and hi-hats, the second thing you notice is most likely the chords as they aren't as consistent as the bass and hi-hats. Also the piano is most likely the second loudest in the mix since the song was created to make it as if the piano and horns we're having a conversation.  

Instrumentation

In the track the instruments used are a type of horn instrument most likely the saxophone, a piano which plays the chords, a bass guitar and a drum kit which the hi-hats is the most used part. The horns play the melody and an influential type which is done so we remember the horns as the main piece. the bass guitar plays the rhythm along side the drums as there is almost never a time where they aren't playing in the song.

Structure

Miles Davis' introduction was unique to the whole song, it was a slow build up with the keyboard, that eventually led to the bass guitar and horns taking over the song.

Lyrics

There are no lyrics in the song. Miles Davis keeps listeners interested for his renown antecedent and consequent phrases, this is effective because it allows the instruments to sound like they are having a conversation.

Modes Within Jazz

Modes Within Jazz

Different types of modes

The different types of modes mainly used in improvisational jazz are Ionian which starts on the first degree of the major scale if you are looking at the stave from C major scale, Dorian which starts on the second note of the major scale, Phrygian which is on the third note and so on from the Lydian, Myxoldian, Aeolian to the Locrian which starts on the seventh note.

Why modal jazz is used in improvisational jazz

Many musicians say that within modal jazz there's more space for your own input whereas in other types of jazz like bebop for example they feel the progression is a lot more unnatural. It's also said it can be played in almost any musical situation. Improvising with modal jazz makes the person playing to use melody, rhythm, timbre and emotion since modal makes the use of chords almost useless. Chords are still used but with less emphasise.

History of modal Jazz

Miles Davis is a key figure in modal jazz, In his single Milestones his A sections were played in the G dorian scale and his B sections played in the A aeolian scale, he was one of the first to do this and this was a crucial point in jazz alongside the release of his album Kind of Blue. 

Midpoint Evaluation & Notes

Midpoint Evaluation

Explain midpoint evaluation, e.g half way through we decided it would be good to present our research to recieve feedback from the class. from this midpoint presentation you could say. From my midpoint presentation I realised that quite a bit of what I was researching would mean nothing if I didn't research deeper. For example I am researching modal Jazz but it could be more useful to research the different modes so I have a better understanding of modal Jazz and all the different types of Jazz like bebop. Furthermore looking more into the different types of improvisational Jazz could also benefit me. In addition it was also brought to my attention that I could research more into electronic fusion Jazz as that's what one of the artists I am research; Herbie Hancock who is a main part of research focuses on.

Case Study on individual songs

Miles Davis So What

Miles Davis' So what starts off in D dorian mode which means it uses the notes of the C major scale but starting on D. After 8 bars it switches to E dorian which has 5 flats and returns to D dorian after 4 bars, this sequence replays throughout the song. Since Miles Davis' Kind of Blue album is mainly improvised, a lot of people doing covers or trying to replicate the song will have to add their own improvisation. Below is the chord sheet of Miles Davis' So What. Many people will say that the riff in So What, is what makes the improvisation so interesting, due to how harmonic it is. I think many people think the riff plays this role so well because between the bass and the rest of the instruments, even though they're not playing at the same time, it's almost like a conversation being led by the bass. So the bass plays what is known as the antecedent phrase, this phrase is followed by the consequent phrase which is played by the rest of the instruments. This is a really interesting aspect that Miles Davis added to the majority of his songs on Kind of Blue, i wish to add this idea to my own work and maybe slightly change the mode it's played in. It was reissue produced by Michael Cuscuna and the remix engineer was Mark Wilder. It is said that So What was recorded in two days and in one take even though the band were given little instructions and we're newly formed. His band for So What consisted of Julian Adderley who played the alto saxophone, John Coltrane who played the tenor saxophone, Bill Evans who played the piano, Paul Chambers on the bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. 

Nina Simone Feeling Good

Nina Simones feeling good doesn't change key, it plays in G minor as seen below, this pattern is the same throughout the song. I think this is done because the instrumental is fairly simple but the singing is what holds the thickness of the song. The song was written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse. It was produced by Hal Mooney. Furthermore in my piece which will be influenced by Feeling Good I plan to make sure the vocals play the key part they do in Feeling Good. I think this is important because without the vocals i don't think the song would be as powerful as it is or hold the smooth jazz feel it has. The other sheet of music below is  a look at how other people may try to play feeling good but in D minor which is quite interesting.

Herbie Hancock Cantaloupe Island
Much like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock's style is very improvised. However whilst Miles Davis uses a modal style of Jazz, Herbie Hancock uses a range between the bebop jazz and electronic fusion. He is said to be one of the most renown artist for electronic fusion as from early in his career he used a Rhodes electronic piano and continued to increase his collection of synthesizers.

Dj Set review 2

Second DJ set review

During my second Dj set, a lot of my songs stopped playing, were clipping and chopped the audio. This made me panic a bit during my performance so getting onto the next song took a bit longer than i had hoped but after watching my set i feel my recovery wasn't as long as I thought. I liked the way i used some of the effects however next time i will want you use a wider range within reason. Furthermore next time i will ensure the songs i play will work beforehand to prevent and mistakes in the set. In addition i will take on the advise and practice switching between songs to keep the energy and make the transitions smooth.
In my DJ set I used effects such as the flanger, the reverb polar and beat slicer, throughout my set I mainly used the flanger, however i did use the reverb on certain songs. In addition I also used the high, low and mid filters, i think this worked well however i think should use less of this during my sets.

Research Plan

Research Plan

What is your project?

My project is an E.P of three tracks which will individually based off of; Miles Davis for the first track, Nina Simone for the second and Herbie Hancock for the last. I will research these individual artist, the origins of jazz and how jazz has evolved.

What do you need to research and why? 

I will research Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Herbie Hancock, I will look into their chord progressions, bass lines and melodies and take influence from their songs and use it in my E.P. I will research the origins of Jazz so I know why it was so big with the previous generation, which artists made it the genre so big and how Jazz has evolved and changed to fit into the current generation. I will also look at how the artists had their songs mixed and how they structured their songs.

Where and How can you find this information?

I can find these resources, through articles both online and offline, books, interviews, album sheets, previous reviews on albums, biographies and research that has already been done.

Context Article - How I have been using technology in my work

How have I been using technology in music

Logic

I use the software Logic in my music, but there are many effects and inputs that originate from different technology. For example I use reverb, compression, equaliser and more. Since i'm not a performer It doesn't seem fit for me to use a looper, however we use pioneers for our Dj sets and I am very interested in drum pads and other sorts of pads and I wouldn't mind using that in my performance.

Dj'ing (Pioneers)

Whilst we are Dj'ing we use pioneers with a Mac, this allows us to load the songs of our choice onto the pioneers so we can mix them together. The Pioneers we use have effects so whilst we are mixing the decks we have the option to add different effects and sounds to our tracks that we added in. I have been influenced by different artists which change the way I perform my sets, I use some of the effects to make it sound like I'm using a drum pad. 

Drum Pads

I'm interested in the Alesis Samplepad Pro Percussion Pad. If there are any pads like this within the music department I would like to get my hands on them. I think there are multiple possibilities with drum pads