EXP- Progress Reports - Week 13

Week 13

Targets -  This week I plan to finish all research and literature review by Tuesday, then my bibliography will follow shortly as I'll have all the research done and won't need to add anymore to that. I plan to do this by the latest Thursday so I'm not leaving everything till the last day.

Summary - I was able to finish all my research and literature but I finished them on Wednesday, I left my bibliography till Thursday as I was still checking if there was anything I could add. I also added extra case studies.

EXP - Bibliography

Bibliography

References

AllMusic. (2017). Alternative R&B Music Genre Overview | AllMusic. [online] Available at: http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/alternative-r-b-ma0000013375 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Genius. (2017). Alternative R&B is the next chapter to a sleeping genre?. [online] Available at: https://genius.com/discussions/247498-Alternative-r-b-is-the-next-chapter-to-a-sleeping-genre [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Henry, J. (2017). Realizing R&B's Identity Crisis: An Analytical Research Paper. [online] Academia.edu. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/21506327/Realizing_R_and_Bs_Identity_Crisis_An_Analytical_Research_Paper [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Journals.sagepub.com. (2017). Resistant masculinities in alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd’s representations of genderEuropean Journal of Cultural Studies - Frederik Dhaenens, Sander De Ridder, 2015. [online] Available at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1367549414526730 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Mayer, E. (2017). When words fail: Alternative R&B, radical codes, and the power of language. [online] Kbia.org. Available at: http://kbia.org/post/when-words-fail-alternative-rb-radical-codes-and-power-language#stream/0 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

R&B, T. (2017). Trend of the Year: Alt R&B. [online] Spin. Available at: http://www.spin.com/2012/12/trend-of-the-year-alt-rb-2012-frank-ocean-weeknd-miguel/ [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Rubenstein, H. (2017). Alternative R&B: Much more than bump’n’grind. [online] The Independent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/alternative-rb-much-more-than-bump-n-grind-9142021.html [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Soul-patrol.com. (2017). "ALTERNATIVE R&B", "NEO SOUL", "RETRO SOUL" - WHAT DO THESE TERMS MEAN ?. [online] Available at: http://www.soul-patrol.com/funk/mike/alt.htm [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Tiki-toki.com. (2017). History of Alternative R&B. [online] Available at: http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/730116/History-of-Alternative-RB/ [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Wardy, F., Ikirmawi, S., Wardy, F., Akintoye, B., Qureshi, A., staff, g., Shutti, G., Cole, J. and Santos, V. (2017). The limits of the 'Alternative R&B' genre | gal-dem. [online] gal-dem. Available at: http://www.gal-dem.com/limits-of-the-alternative-rnb-genre/ [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

Wolfson, S. (2017). How R&B got its groove back. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/29/how-r-b-got-its-groove-back [Accessed 2 Jun. 2017].

EXP - Broader Contextualisation

Broader Contextualisation

One of the articles I found whilst only short relates to my work and sparks a lot of thought is this one:

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1367549414526730. Whilst my project is about the differences between Alternative and Contemporary R&B, this focuses purely on the issues facing masculinity when it comes to the sub-genres. The article talks about how Alternative R&B isn't the traditional macho male and that the artists they mention question what it is to be an male artists in the genre of their field.

Another article that was helpful to me would have to be this one http://kbia.org/post/when-words-fail-alternative-rb-radical-codes-and-power-language#stream/0/. It talks about race  being involved in the word R&B and in the 1950's and there being "no material musical difference between rock & roll and R&B. The distinction was almost purely racial. not musical" This refers to make research about indie rock. What if the only real difference is the name or if they opened up the name to Alternative R&B and Indie Rock would there be any noticeable difference like Contemporary R&B and Alternative R&B?

Whilst my project is based on Alternative & Contemporary R&B, this website helped me expand my view as some people refer to Alternative R&B as Indie R&B. http://fortune.com/2014/06/06/indie-r-b/. It talks about how Indie R&B and some Alternative R&B artists even though thought to be the same struggle to get the publicity they think they deserve purely because they classify themselves as Indie R&B. This could be due to people not caring for Indie R&B or just not hearing about it enough to want to research it.

Also this paper opened my eyes and allowed me to think about multiple possibilities. https://www.academia.edu/21506327/Realizing_R_and_Bs_Identity_Crisis_An_Analytical_Research_Paper. It talks about there being an identity crisis on R&B and why it keeps changing to meet popular demand. But that is its answer, R&B will keep evolving to meet peoples expectations so it will never truly die out.

EXP - Literature Review

Literature Review

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/alternative-rb-much-more-than-bump-n-grind-9142021.html

This article talks about the Alternative R&B and how it became such a big sub-genre, it also talks about possibly why the sub-genre started and who started in this movement. It was able to spark thoughts as to why the genres spilt and whether there were any major differences. As i struggled with finding differences this article helped in making me look for individual elements and events that the article talks about that could have possibly started the sub-genres dividing.

http://www.gal-dem.com/limits-of-the-alternative-rnb-genre/

This website was able to help me as it talks about the title of Alternative R&B and the title of R&B in general, it explains that some artists may not have claimed to be making Alternative R&B but people just decided for them. It also goes over the term "indie rock" which some artists feel more comfortable with but opens doors to another type of sound completely. It made me think of the possibilities that Alternative R&B got some of its influence from rock and that whilst many people think that Alternative R&B is a relatively new sub-genre that it could trace back further than we think.

http://www.spin.com/2012/12/trend-of-the-year-alt-rb-2012-frank-ocean-weeknd-miguel/

This article believes that R&B was not the same as it used to be during the 90's phase of R&B and that alternative R&B came to offer something new and brought back the spark in R&B. This article was good for challenging my own thoughts, it made me think about the effect alternative R&B has had over the past few years and how huge it has become in a short space or time. Whilst I don't believe R&B during the 90's phase was boring it is true that Alternative R&B wouldn't have been so popular without some people believing this.

http://www.stereogum.com/1225571/2012-in-review-the-new-wave-of-rb-comes-into-full-bloom/

This article played a key part in my research. It speaks about the type of R&B being around when my generation was growing up and a few years before that being popular and about the typical love song, then alternative R&B springing up surprising everyone and everyone loving it. This influenced my project my sharing the same views at me to begin with, this being the first article I found, it made me think about the reasons that cause these events to take place.

EXP - What Caused R&B To Split?

What Caused R&B To Split?

Introduction

It is said that R&B dates back to the 1960's, however there were always signs there would be a music of this creation during the 1800's when people who were enslaved felt they needed a way to express themselves through music. Over the years R&B has definitely changed in many ways and this could be due to the demand of R&B fans, it could be due to the world events or it could just be due to newer generations adding their touch to the music. However one question that we are faced with today, is why is there Alternative R&B and Contemporary R&B?

Alternative R&B

People mainly say that Alternative R&B is due to artists and fans alike being bored of Contemporary R&B, which is understandable but untrue. Whilst Alternative R&B is a newer concept of R&B and adds sounds most people thought had no place within R&B, Contemporary R&B is still what people see as classic R&B and can never be replaced, so why is there talk that Contemporary R&B is all but finished? This is because publishers like the Independent think "The girls and guns formula of traditional R&B has grown tired" and that "a new wave of talent has arrived to reinvent the form and challenge listeners." This statement is interesting as many of the artists who join in with Alternative R&B also have had or still have some investment to Contemporary R&B. Frank Ocean for example has different songs that fall in to either brackets. On the contrary most people believe that it is the younger people of today who find themselves enjoying Alternative R&B, so perhaps Alternative R&B is just something of the newer generation, however that doesn't mean there would be no more Contemporary R&B. The thought of Alternative R&B becoming the new "wave" is clearly affecting Contemporary R&B Artists as well, artists like Usher have begun changing their style so they aren't forgotten, by this I don't mean changing to the Alternative R&B side but attempting to connect with the younger generation, we can see this from the video below.

Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is seen as the older generations R&B and whilst it's true that music has changed quite a lot since the 90's when the "bump'n'grind" era was at its peak, many of the younger generation still find themselves listening to this music and would as go as far to wish for this type of music to come back. Even with all this talk about Alternative R&B eradicating Contemporary R&B, Contemporary R&B is still viewed as the mainstream sub-genre. Due to Contemporary R&B being older and having the history in the music industry, I believe it will always be a popular genre.

Conclusion
My conclusion is that R&B split into these two types of genres because the newer generation wanted a different kind of sound from the party anthems we were being bombarded with. Alternative R&B allows for more thinking as it has space in the song. Whilst Alternative R&B does still have many love songs it definitely doesn't have as many as Contemporary R&B, whether thats because Alternative R&B is older or because it's just not the younger generations style, Alternative R&B subjects can be about almost anything.

EXP- Electronic Drums

Making An Electronic Drum Kit

For my alternative R&B tracks I knew there would be a heavy use of electronic drums for example the hi-hats, kick drum and toms, plus percussion. Going on the trend of adding spaciness to the alternative tracks, I knew I would want them to sound distant, but punchy. For this I added flanger. The flanger did exactly what I wanted it to do but I wanted to add a twang to the hi-hats, for this I layered them with a percussive instrument and it was everything I could ask for. Below is a audio playlist of a preview with and without the percussion and as you can see it plays a huge role. I also added reverb to my hi-hats to add a almost echo like sound without using the echo effect as I feel that ruins the sound.

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 12

Week 12

Targets - I plan to finish my literature review, do my video deconstruction and bibliography. Also If I could find time I would try to work more on my fourth track to see whether I would be able to finish it before the deadline on Thursday.

 Summary - I was unable to finish my fourth track this week so I could only hand in three, this is due to my time management, I should have left the last week as a week to master my fourth track or just finish all my tracks a week before the deadline was due. Furthermore I managed to work more on my literature review and since I'm still finding more information to research, I will leave the bibliography to the last week as i'm certain how to do that.

Next Week -  Next week I plan to finish all research and literature review by Tuesday, then my bibliography will follow shortly as I'll have all the research done and won't need to add anymore to that. I plan to do this by the latest Thursday so I'm not leaving everything till the last day.

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 11

Week 11

Targets - I plan to finish my third track and develop my fourth track, since I was able to work on my fourth track so swiftly in just one week I believe I will make the deadline for the practical work. Furthermore whilst I'm not working on my practical I would be able to add more to my literature review. If all goes to plan my practical will be mastered for the deadline.

Summary - This week I managed to finish my third track by adding the electronic drums and acoustic drums, as that was all that I needed I didn't bother trying to be too much creative as I still had to work on my fourth track, with only one week left I tried to add drums and bass to it but time was running short, also our lesson slots had been changed and we were asked to set up a gig so I running out of time to do what I had planned, I added what I could but ultimately my fourth track wasn't finished. As I put all my effort into trying to finish the fourth track I didn't have time for my literature review.

Next Week - Next week I plan to finish my literature review, do my video deconstruction and bibliography. Also If I could find time I would try to work more on my fourth track to see whether I would be able to finish it before the deadline on Thursday.

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 10

Week 10

Targets - This week I plan to finish off my third track as I'm running short for time, this means adding the electronic drums and acoustic drums, once that is done I will just need to make sure the levels are correct and that track will be finished. I plan to do my literature review next week as well so hopefully I'm not packing too much into one week.

Summary - This week I was able to make a start on my literature review, I wasn't able to finish my third track as once again I was short on inspiration, I listened to more alternative R&B songs to try and jolt an idea to mind for the drums so hopefully by next week I will have the inspiration to finish the third track. Rather than finish my third track I decided to make a start on my fourth track, I was already running out of time so another week without at least starting my fourth track would be very risky. For my fourth track I was able to get the chords done very swiftly, I added a few tom hits but nothing special.

Next Week - Next week I plan 100% finish my third track and develop my fourth track, since I was able to work on my fourth track so swiftly in just one week I believe I will make the deadline for the practical work. Furthermore whilst I'm not working on my practical I would be able to add more to my literature review. If all goes to plan my practical will be mastered for the deadline.

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 9

Week 9

Targets - My targets for this week are to do another couple case studies, preferably on the creation of synths that ended up being the back bone of the first alternative R&B track. Furthermore I also hope to work on the third track more, I plan to develop the electronic drums and possibly add acoustic drums I also plan to add more to the melody, whether that means layering it with another instrument or developing it so there's more information in it.

Summary - This week I managed to layer the melody with another instrument, since there was just a synth playing the melody before I decided to add a flute type instrument to make the sound less harsh, but I wasn't able to add any acoustic drums and I only added a small amount of electronic drums as I was low on inspiration this week. However I was able to do both case studies, these case studies will be going towards my research had helped me figure out what I could do with the skill on creating synths. Since there are so many routes you can take when it comes to creating a synth. Furthermore I learnt how to read into the circle of fifths better as I had to when sorting out the melody. As I had hoped to work more on the elctronic and acoustic drums this means I will have to work on that next week which could hinder the progress of working on my fourth track.

Next Week - Next week I plan to finish off my third track as I'm running short for time, this means adding the electronic drums and acoustic drums, once that is done I will just need to make sure the levels are correct and that track will be finished. I plan to do my literature review next week as well so hopefully I'm not packing too much into one week. 

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 8

Week 8

Targets - My targets for this week are to make a case study for the differences in musical elements between contemporary and alternative R&B, I plan to do this by listing the songs I listened to and pointing out the elements I find are similar and those that differ and why I think they differ in the ways they do and why the similar elements are unchanged.  I also plan to make a start on my third track, this track will by the second alternative R&B track. I will start off with the chords using the Persian Rugs inspired synth I created, then I plan to add electronic drums.

Summary - This week I got more done than I had originally planned, I had the chords and electronic drums for the third track ready, I also managed to play in the melody for the third track. I wasn't sure whether I would have time for that so for practical worked this played out well. I also finished the case study for the musical differences between alternative and contemporary R&B. I listened to numerous songs from the two types of sub-genres then chose 3 for each I could best use as an example to break down.

Next Week - Next week I plan to do another couple case studies, preferably on the creation of synths that ended up being the back bone of the first alternative R&B track. Furthermore I also hope to work on the third track more, I plan to develop the electronic drums and possibly add acoustic drums I also plan to add more to the melody, whether that means layering it with another instrument or developing it so there's more information in it.

EXP - Creating A Synth For A Melody

Creating A Synth For Melody

Creating a synth for melody was more difficult for me as I wasn't too sure what kind of sound to aim for. As I was mainly creating the synth for my alternative tracks. And since i was creating the melody I couldn't rely on chord trigger so much. This meant I had to research the chords that we're being played through chord trigger and look into the circle of fifths.  I came to the conclusion that the kind of synth I was looking for would also have a lot of space as thats a common pattern within alternative R&B, for this reason I named the synth Breathe. I started off with the effect sculpture, this is similar to the other synth creators like the EX24 and ES2 but for me it helped build a better melody type of synth.  I also added a flanger to give it more of a punch without moving the attack on the ADSR tool. The compressor was just so it didn't stand above the chords and reverb to top off the sound.

EXP - Creating a synth for chords

Persian Rug Synth

Towards the beginning of my project and the beginning of my first track, I was looking for a sound that was commonly found within alternative R&B, after listening to a range of alternative R&B songs I found that a synthesiser playing the chords was the sound I wanted. PARTYNEXTDOOR had a range of songs with a synthesiser playing chords throughout the song but my favourite was from his song Persian Rugs. This made me want to make a synthesiser with a similar feel and spaciness.

To start off in the creation of this synth I first put the midi effect chord trigger on, chord trigger allows you to play one note on the midi keyboard but Logic will play the chord that starts on that note. Since I'm not too great on the piano this allows me to save time figuring out what chords exactly I want to play. I then added the ES2 synth, I added this synth as it allows me to precisely make the synth I want down to the last detail.Using the ADSR (Attack, Delay, Sustain and Release) tool, it allows you to make a synth from a bass synth, lead synth and pad synth. I was aiming for a lead synth, this meant I would want virtually no attack, a long sustain, not too much delay but It would still need to be apparent as much sustain as we can get and the smallest bit of release. The type of synth I was using is called a sine wave. I chose this synth wave because, to me it is the most smooth synth, unlike the other synths there are no jumps or sharp edges. Furthermore since the sound I was influenced by was relaxing I wanted mine to be just as calm. To finish off the sound of the synth I added reverb a much needed effect.

EXP - What are the differences between Alternative and Contemporary R&B when it comes to musical elements?

What are the differences between Alternative and Contemporary R&B when it comes to musical elements?

Aspects of Contemporary R&B

R. Kelly - Ignition: In R. Kelly's Ignition from the beginning of the song and playing throughout there is a background synth (a wah synth) which has inspired me to add a background synth to my second track, the synth is fairly quiet compared to the rest of the mix, however since it played at the beginning of the song when there wasn't too many musical elements going on and it was clearer to hear, you can now hear it consistently in the song. Furthermore the chords played by the piano are fairly simple and bass only plays with the piano until every other drum break occurs, by this I mean what's happening in the mix at (0:26) - (0:31) this is a common occurrence throughout the song. The vocals are a key part in the song, the revolves around the vocals, and the harmonies with the vocals also play a big part as just with vocals they are using antecedent and consequent phrases, this is done when R. Kelly solo is singing and the back in vocals answer what he has sung. This also happens throughout the song but the best example would be the chorus (1:06)-(1:10). Furthermore the drums tend to be an acoustic kick drum and clap however in the background there is electronic hi-hats being played.



Nelly - Dilemma ft. Kelly Rowland: The song starts off with chords which seem to be from an electronic piano, they are very simple chords and are played throughout the song, this trait is shared with most contemporary R&B songs. Furthermore the bell synth following Kelly Rowland's chorus vocals, is similar to the synth played continuously throughout R. Kelly's Ignition. In addition the drums again seem to be acoustic drums with a clap, the use of drums in this track isn't too heavy, but there is almost always a noticeable hi-hat pattern and clap being played.



Jodeci - Freek'N You: The song starts off with a very twangy synth, quiet vocals and bells and percussion. There are also quiet drums being played at the beginning but very softly and only at the beginning of every barThe song drops once the crash hits. Similar to other contemporary R&B songs the synth that was played at the beginning. Throughout the song theres a very simple drum pattern being played which is an acoustic kit that consists of; hi-hats, a snare, clap, kick drum and toms. 

Aspects of Alternative R&B

PARTYNEXTDOOR - Persian Rugs: The song starts off with an electronic piano that plays the same sequence of chords throughout the song. The vocals follow after the chords, they aren't very powerful vocals but they add to the mix by filling the melody. After the vocals comes the electronic drums, at first it is hi-hats and a click, then snare and finally a kick. Electronic drums is a much more common trait in Alternative R&B however its not unheard of to hear electronic drums in Contemporary R&B. The track in general is quite simple, there are very few musical elements giving the song a lot of space. Although the song has a lot of space it's still a good song. 


Frank Ocean - Thinkin' Bout' You: The song starts off quite strong, lyrics going in straight away with a synth playing chords in the background which are played throughout the song. The drums also start at the beginning, they have a muffled kind of sound with echo. Similar to PND's Persian Rugs there is a lot of space in the song as there aren't too many musical elements however the vocals are a lot more prominent in this song. The vocals are the melody in the song as there aren't too many musical elements.



Post Malone - White Iverson: The song starts off with a almost like choir sound in the back ground, the main vocals then come in and a clap in the background. After a bar the electronic drums comes in.(Hi-Hats, kick drums, clap and cymbals). The hi-hats are a constant occurrence throughout the song alongside the choir like sound from the beginning which is always in the background. Furthermore in this song there aren't too many musical elements yet the song sounds full, if anymore were to be added it could potentially ruin the song as it makes use of what instruments it has.

Similarities
Between the two sub-genres, I would say the similarities would be there is always some sort of constant chord being played, In White Iverson it wasn't so much a a piano or synthesiser but a choir like sound. Furthermore both genres make use of electronic drums and acoustic drums however I would say alternative music make more use of electronic Hi-hats which I will talk about in the differences section. In addition the use of claps is also quite similar and other types of percussion, both genres use percussion in the background in some way, shape or form.

Differences
Between the two sub-genres, some of the main differences would be the heavier use of electronic drums in alternative music, since alternative music tends to use acoustic drums less there is a much bigger presence of electronic hi-hats being played a lot faster than acoustic drums, kick and tom drums being muffled with effects to give it a more spacey feel. Moreover alternative tracks tend to have more space in the song for musical elements, by this I mean there isn't as many instruments/musical elements in the song as their might be in a contemporary R&B track, whilst their is more space in the song, it doesn't ruin the song the track then just tends to emphasise on one or two particular elements for example In PnD's Persian Rugs the chords play a huge role.

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 7

Week 7

Targets - My targets for this week are to compare a new set of songs to use in my research and further develop the melody in my second track, add a bass line and add a few more instrumental elements which would finish the track.

Summary - This week I managed to get the second track finished, as planned i added the bass line and developed the melody the way I had hoped, I added more percussion and a mixture of both electronic and acoustic drums although due to my time management I feel I rushed the creation of this song. I still aim to work to 4 tracks but if any problems occur I might have to settle with 3 tracks and put a lot of detail into the third track, at the very least with 3 tracks I can still compare the differences and similarities between alternative and contemporary R&B. I also found more similarities and differences when listening to the set of music I had planned to listen to this week, which I will include in a different post dedicated to the comparison of the genres.

Next Week - Next week since I have been gathering the information on the differences between alternative and contemporary R&B I would like to put it into a case study, I have most the information spread across notes so all I need to do is type the information onto blogger. In addition I would also like to make a start on my third track, I plan to use the same synth I created based off the track Persian rugs as I feel that is my goto alternative synth for chords.

EXP - Practical For EXP

Final Product For EXP

 The final track "Exploration" this track was still in progress. I hoped to have finish this a week or two  before the deadline was finished but I ran out of time as the around this time our lesson slots were swapped for setting up gigs. Below is the chords and the percussions/drums for the song.

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 6

Week 6

Targets - My targets for this week are to listen to both alternative and contemporary R&B songs and compare the two genres, this would help me with musical ideas on the creation of my own version of the genres and give me a clear understanding of the differences. I also want to work on a background synth for my second track, so hopefully comparing the genres will give me some inspiration.

Summary - This week I managed to listen to a variety of different alternative and contemporary R&B songs and compare them, one of the two songs I will be using as my example I listened to is PARTYNEXTDOOR - Persian Rugs and the other being R. Kelly Ignition. I compared the two songs to find out the difference between alternative and contemporary, I also did this with a range of the different songs. In PARTYNEXTDOOR's Persian Rugs I found the chords being played had a two bar loop and were slightly out of time, they were the same throughout without variation. Musically the contemporary track Persian Rugs had a lot of space musically, the drums were fairly simple, they were electronic drums and the hi-hats were in semi quavers with effects that actively changes the rhythm. With R. Kelly Ignition, musically there wasn't much space for anymore elements to be added, the drums tended to be acoustic drums but were similar as they were quite simple drums, just a kick drum, clap and soft hi-hats in the background. Also R. Kelly's Ignition's chord sound like a piano rather than a synth that is playing in Persian Rugs, this is also the same for the bass line, which in Persian rugs seems to follow a similar pattern to the keys. This week I didn't manage to do as much on my second track as I planned however I was able to make a background synth.

Next Week - I plan to finish the second track by adding more drums to the arrangement, both electronic and acoustic, a bit more percussion and develop the melody further. I also plan to listen to another set of songs to compare and use as research which will help in finishing my next two tracks.

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 5

Week 5

Targets - My targets for this week are to make a start on my second track which will be a contemporary R&B track, I would like to make a start on the chords as that's how I find it easiest to start a track, furthermore I also plan to work on the drums for the track, I plan for the drums to be mainly acoustic drums as that's how I picture Contemporary R&B tracks and the tracks I have researched mainly follow this trend. Whilst I will be focusing on acoustic drums I also plan to have a small part of electronic drums as thats my style.

Summary - This week I managed to get the chords for the first track done, below is a preview of the chords. I've made a start on the drums but I doubt they will be the drums I include in the final mix of my track.  I didn't get much done this week due to being unwell.

EXP - Progress Report - Week 4

Week 4

Targets - This week i aimed to finish the first track completely, and make a start on my second track. For the first track all that needed to be done was the last section of hi-hats and kick drums. For the second track I aimed to start the chords and melody.

Summary - I finished the first track and below is a preview of the song. This track is to be one of the songs classified as alternative R&B, I'm classing it as alternative R&B due to the synthesiser playing the chords and use of electronic drums. Both contemporary and alternative R&B can have electronic drums, however I think most alternative songs will have electronic drums. I wasn't able to make a start on my second track as I was still researching traits that contemporary R&B contains.

EXP - Progress Reports - Week 3

Week 3

Targets - My targets for this week are to gather more research on peoples views on alternative and contemporary R&B, for example what people may think triggered R&B splitting into two genres. I aimed to look at online articles and other websites I could use.

Summary - I was able to find articles, one of which I found on the independent website and it explains there's more to alternative R&B than what meets the eyes or ears, below is a screenshot of the title. I found there was a trend the quite a few articles felt the need to explain that alternative R&B is a lot more complex than people might have originally thought, this may be because many people think alternative R&B is just the younger generations version of R&B, whilst in some ways this is correct, alternative R&B is a lot more intricate than that.