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[dannsmith95]

No Plan B – Creative Ideas

When I was writing this song, I wanted it to be a Rock ballad style song with catchy melodies and a big ending. My vocals tend to be very gentle and pop in style so not really suited to a rock song so I must try and find the balance using melodies that will be pleasing for the listener and accessible to people who listen to a wide variety of genres. To prevent the song being to much toward the Pop genre the Chorus is a very minor style rock Chorus played using the bridge pickup of my strat through my Marshall to give a classic rock tone to the part and taking it away from the Verse’s vocal style, I did try with the vocals to make the more Rock sounding by adding a lower pitched harmony as a doubled up vocal to blend in with my Vocals to help take them away from the more gentle style in the Verses. I am a massive Bruce Springsteen fan as his songs are Rock but have great melodies that stick in your head. I wanted a big ending with a melody to match like Bruce provides in Thunder Road (Springsteen, 1975). To drive the melody home, I wanted the guitar solo (which was inevitably going to be there) to start with the melody of the Chords just hitting the single notes, I hit the notes along with some of the other strings which are muted as it gives a better attack and sound rather than a plucking sound you get from just hitting one string hard. The outro changes halfway through to give a more swing feel which was something I came up with naturally when playing the song, but I think it really helps keep the listener engaged and bring the song to a satisfying end, the guitar solo also adapts in feel moving up the neck with a riff accompanied by the bass guitar playing the same thing to drive the song into the swing feel. I have always regretted not sticking with music in my early teens as I was struggling to be myself and trying to hard to fit in to groups in my school and local area and ended up in all sorts of trouble just because I was too scared to be myself. I think music is very much a dream to most people except the ones who make it a reality, you are told to ‘Get a real job’ ‘Always have a plan b’ and I feel this is what sets you up to fail from the start and disheartens you to carry on, those who make it do nothing but music until it is there life and there living and this song is my advice to those starting out being told the same things I was, and is a reflection of my experience. The songs name ‘No Plan B’ is something I wish I never gave myself because I know I would be earning a living doing what I love by now. I want the songs melodies to be stuck in peoples head to draw attention to the lyrics so they can say no to convention and chase their dreams as being stuck in the 9-5 is taught to you and we are taught to be caught in the trap so I want to tell people to keep fighting on and chase their dreams because like me you will look back with nothing but regret. The drums I wanted a big snare sound in the style of Max Weingburg (Springsteens drummer), something that was reminiscent of the track ‘Glory Days’ which was the first Springsteen track I heard and I always remember the part where the song drops down to the beat and in the music video Max throws his stick in the air and hits the snare as Bruce follows with a cheeky ‘Woo’ haha (Springsteen, 1985). Basically, this song is my ‘Springsteenesque’ track with the rebellious lyrics to match.

Springsteen, B., 1975. Thunder Road. New York City: Columbia Records.

Springsteen, B., 1985. Glory Days. New York City: Columbia Records.

[dannsmith95]

Tired – Creative Ideas

When I was recording the lead guitar parts for this song I knew they had to convey emotion and I wanted a call and response style for them so in between vocal lines the lead would play or sometimes support the vocal melody itself. I have always enjoyed this style of lead playing which is common in Blues, I first heard this in a B.B. King track Sweet Little Angel (King, 2014). The mindset of conveying the emotion of the word and the topic of the song got me to think about the bigger picture sonically, I was thinking about loneliness and the state of the world today and how that could be portrayed in sound. I just so happened to be plugged into my guitar amp and stood near my computer, I rolled up the volume on my guitar to try and play something and this digital static feedback started coming through and I thought that could be it. An uncertainty, a static thing going nowhere and not very pleasant, an endless sound representing a lonely feeling like a dead radio station. So, I decided to hit record and capture it and have this begin the song, fade up to where the song comes in. I am a massive fan of Jimi Hendrix as a lot of people are, Foxey Lady was one of the first songs I heard of Hendrix and the way the song starts always captured my attention. The guitar fades in with Jimi holding two notes with added vibrato getting louder and the vibrato more aggressive as it comes into a slide down to the main riff (Hendrix, 1967). I decided to tip the hat to my idol on this song and do something similar but with less aggression as Tired is far smoother and softer a song than Foxey Lady so I wanted the idea in, but it had to suit the song. To end the song, I wanted to pick up the lead guitar to bring the song to a kind of peak just before it ends, I tipped the hat again to another idol of mine John Frusciante. The lick at towards the end of the solo in Dani California (which was the first song I learnt when I bought an electric guitar in my recent years of starting guitar). The lick is a fast-moving lick with a wah accompanying it (Frusciante, 2006) and it was a spur of the moment thing when I hit record to get the outro solo down, the lick has always stuck with me since learning it as it is a way to express aggression and play fast with the wah adding extra dynamic. The drums I wanted to really capture the groove as it is a groove based song that swings, I left it to my brother to come up with the beat (he is the drummer after all) however I knew I wanted some nice snare work and he didn’t disappoint using the rim of the snare in the first 2 verses then moving to the straight snare in the last verse to create a new dynamic and drive the song home.

Frusciante, J., 2006. Dani California. [CD] Los Angeles: Warner Bros.

Hendrix, J., 1967. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Foxey Lady. [Vinyl] London: Track Records.

King, B., 2014. B.B. King - Sweet Little Angel (Live). [video] Available at: <https://youtu.be/dNr_eIgP0tI> [Accessed 16 April 2021].

[dannsmith95]

Practice Routine – Critical Analysis

My initial idea for my practice routine was to focus on techniques and theory, learning intervals, the CAGED system and a different mode daily and then look to learn part of a new song each day. This quickly shifted to focusing on improving my speed when playing so my focus was working through the 3 Note Per String Major Scale and using a technique which Sam shown me to help speed up when moving through the scale. Then the Formative assignment was coming up and I needed to get lyrics down for both songs along with an idea of structure and arrangements, so my focus again shifted towards this. Proceeding this I was reminded of my goal to get 5 songs I was happy with enough to release as an EP by the end of the year and since then really this has been my focus. Moving forward I know I need to continue to implement my practice routine daily to grow as a guitar player to set myself up for my aims within a portfolio career, so I need to find a balance of work, practice, song writing and personal life and really stick at it. When practicing I do tend to struggle to note stray away from the formal routine and try to create music and this will impact my ability to carry out my portfolio career with succession. If I can get half an hour practice each day 5 days a week and at night on weekends when I have my daughter and really stick at this using my initial routine but taking away the song learning element and replacing it with the 3 Note Per String technique I can develop my skills, theory knowledge and speed to a point where in 12 months I will see major improvement and be on my way to supporting the achievement of my career goals which is going to be my main source of income which can by me back my time to pursue my ambitions as an artists and work on social media. I know now I need to be mindful of distracting myself with things that yes are important but that do not contribute directly to my career goals as this is where my income will come from and that is the more immediate goal.

[dannsmith95]

Practice Routine

My practice has shifted recently to focusing more on writing songs and trying to come up with riffs or chord progressions and writing lyrics to piece together into songs as I want to release an EP by the end of this year consisting of 5 songs. I have uploaded a few videos below of some new tracks I have wrote along with their lyrics. Combined with the 2 I am submitting for this term’s Summative I feel they will piece together a diverse EP, I am still trying to find my sound and working the songs out as they come to me as they do seem to be differ in style and genre between each track.

Idea 1: https://youtu.be/EkK5REl2Wl0

Idea 2: https://youtu.be/FalGaYXZxhc

Idea 3: https://youtu.be/ZBT4JA5Q6OI

[dannsmith95]

Gibbs Reflective Cycle – Timeline & Recording Process

Description

This recording process did not go as planned, I had taken on many extra shifts to help put some money away to cover me for when my contract ends. Due to this my time has been taken up between working, having my daughter and trying to get the two tracks arranged ready to record and so that I can play them comfortably enough to get the recording takes down to a good standard. I did try to get some posts for my Instagram recorded and posted as it is one of my aims to develop an online presence. I then proceeded to re-record my guitar tracks from my formative submission as I had just got a new amp and the sound from it was a lot better in my opinion than my previous set ups sound.

Feelings

I lost a lot of time during this process and ended up a couple of weeks behind due to extra work and loosing track of time focusing to much on recording Instagram posts. At the time I was not even thinking about the recording of my songs as they were not fully structured yet and I knew I could not get to my dad’s to record until later in the month. Once I got to my dad’s I was ready to get to work, I got the rhythm guitar tracks done fairly quick and began to get the drums miked up and let my brother get a good sound on his kit and I played with the mics to capture the sound as best I could. Once we got going on the drums it was a good feeling as I could hear the song coming together and a how big a difference to the tracks the drums make. Working under stricter time restraints the added pressure made sure I was as productive as I could be day by day and seemed to improve my performance when playing and when capturing the sounds and arranging the recording process.

Evaluation

During the start of the month, I spent to much time on trying to make a start on my Instagram profile and falling into the trap of doing nothing due to long more frequent work hours which put me behind with my allocated recording time. However, working under the pressure taught me this can be a benefit in some cases as I was very productive during this time and found I can get a lot done quickly working under these conditions.

Analysis

Moving forward I will ensure I make better use of my team and not let myself procrastinate due to additional work loads and personal life problems, I need to stay motivated as the more you do, the more you do, and I need to keep that mantra in my head. I also need to focus on prioritising my activities based on my more immediate goals to ensure I have as much time as possible to get the task done.

Conclusion

In hindsight I should have cut the posts down on Instragram and focused on the arrangement of the tracks to the move onto practising them ready to record. I could have also got some lead guitar ideas for track 2 after the formative submission to get at least a structure for them to get myself ahead. Also, I should have started to record the rhythm guitar parts whilst at home for the first two days before going to my dads just to get as much done as I could in advance.

Action Plan

I will make sure I get ahead as much as possible for my next recording process. I want the recordings to be as good as I can deliver as I do want to put these songs on an EP to release before the end of the year so the less I have to re-record the better in the long run.

[dannsmith95]

Action Plan Timeline UPDATED

https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/773911711/00a8a0a37e9dec02508904bbb3652a28/WB03_Action_Plan___Timeline_Template_UPDATED.pdf

[dannsmith95]

Week 9 - Active Listening Track 2

https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/773911711/434d1b4806b7dd14d7ae0a177aedef08/Active_Listening_Week_9_Tired.pdf

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Week 9 - Active Listening Track 1

https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/773911711/27e028b7a5fc8e388cd865faeeb55b40/Active_Listening_Week_9_No_Plan_B.pdf

[dannsmith95]

Week 8 - Progress Review

I have had to take on extra shifts at work recently for financial reasons, due to this it has taken up my free time and set me back a week with regards to my action plan as I must plan recording around my working weeks where I am not working weekends and have a couple of days off in the week as this gives me 2 full days of recording. I must record at my dad’s due to noise issues at my new house so this all must be arranged carefully. However, in my plans I do always give myself more time than I need to compensate for any unforeseen circumstances, so my action plan is technically now a week behind I still have more than enough time to get everything done and I do have the song’s part recorded so I do not have to record all the tracks from scratch.

I was happy with my Formative feedback, it was noted the tracks both had great guitar tones and interesting rhythm playing so I am happy with the tones and the playing of the guitar on both tracks, I will be re-recording the chorus section of the second track to get this tighter and cleaner as I did feel it was a little sloppy playing wise. I will have to record the bass again in those parts also. The addition of vocals needs to be added to the second track and drums to both tracks which should bring the tracks to life and show the direction of them which was noted in the feedback as something they would need.

I have been struggling to stick to my practice routine recently due to extra work hours and building my Instagram account. However, I am seeing a development in my speed using the practice routine outlined my previous post that was given to me by Sam and my lead vocabulary using new scales. I am putting into practice the CAGED system daily when coming up with ideas trying find better voicing suitable for the songs, I am writing to put towards my EP I want to release by the end of the year. I may not be sitting down everyday for half an hour and working through the practice routine as I planned, it more like 3 or 4 times a week however, I am using the elements of my practice routing in practical situation like song writing.

Regarding my SMART targets, I noticed with the Formative recordings that I kept in time a lot better when recording and seemed to get this quickly playing to the click which I think is experienced gained from my first Summative assignment. I have developed a solid practice routine which I wanted to do and have been following it generally however I still need to improve on my consistency with this however it has been difficult times with me working basically every day and then having my daughter, I will continue to work on this to get it done daily.

[dannsmith95]

Working on the 3 note per string scale. Also moving up 4 notes at a time which is helping me make better use of the scales notes and build up my speed, I am noticing a difference already!

[dannsmith95]

Week 7 - Summative Track 1 Idea

Had some lyrics for the chorus section come to me for my first track (in the middle of the night while trying to sleep as usual). 

They say they only want the best

Live like me and acquiesce

Wonder on until your blessed.

I also came up with a melody for them to fit with the chorus part again I will add a video shortly along with my practice routine.

[dannsmith95]

Week 7 - Practice Routine

I have been struggling recenlty keeping up with this as per my laid out routine as I have been working extra shifts to keep some money aside for when my work contract ends, I am still working on my speed using the 3 Note per string scale which I will video and add on here shortly. I have also in my spare time been building my instagram @dannsmithmusic up filiming, editing and posting content trying to build a platform for me to use to promote my music so content for this along with editing and work have taken most of my time this past month. 

[dannsmith95]

Week 7 – The Procrastination Quiz

To start with I know I am a bit of a perfectionist, I do not like to do things half-heartedly I never have. If I am motivated to do something and I commit myself to it then I will do it to the best of my ability, my dad always said “If you’re going to do something, do it right” and that message has patronised my thought all of my life and it either has 2 effects, I either smash it out and get it done or I don’t bother until I know I have the right mindset to do it right. I am anxious to show people anything because in my mind nothing I do is ever done, it is just done to the best of my ability which in my head is not always good enough however, during this course I have had to try to let go of that mindset and do my best and leave it there. If it is an assignment, then get it done and submit without thinking just submit it and then use any feedback that comes from it to improve. If it is a song of mine then write it, record it, and submit it. I have had to tell myself I am new to this, I have the tools to do it and show it to people within the industry who are qualified to give me feedback on it and let me know where I can improve which is all going to better my ability, if I don’t just take the plunge without thinking to much then I will be recording the same song for the rest of my life, doing the same assignment until it’s no longer relevant. So, moving forward throughout the course I will be sticking to this (hopefully) without being complacent and sacrificing on the quality I know I can deliver.

I need to stick with the tedious tasks that I know are ultimately beneficial for me in the long run, now this is scales. I find it so easy to stop and start jamming because I can and it is musical however deep down, I know the boring and tedious is where the work is and the things that will blossom into the fun aspects once you get through it, so I need to be more resilient and stick to my plan and the guidance I am given.

I need to stop considering other people’s thoughts and judgements when making decisions that will benefit me or just generally doing things I want to do. You think I would have learnt giving the fact I have put off being a musician from 14-22 years old. However, I still worry about what others will think if I post this online or play them one of my songs, I am working on letting go of the fear and realising that you are not doing it for them you are doing it for yourself and if you are happy and you are not hurting anybody then go for it. I have since starting an Instagram page @dannsmithmusic where I am trying to post regularly and hopefully build an online presence for myself and to draw attention to my music. I will continue to remind myself of this mentality throughout the course.

Lastly, it turns out I am a bit of a rebel (who knew?) pretty sure my teachers would have a field day with this one. I do not do this purposely, more of a defence mechanism out of fear of failure or embarrassment. If I do not think I will succeed at something, then I am scared to throw myself into it and show my vulnerability to then fail for all to see. Recording and releasing music is a big part of this for me and I will be releasing my music when I have 5 songs recorded for an EP so I will have to let go of this mentality as this is ultimately what I want to do throughout the course.

[dannsmith95]

Week 7 – WHY

Pursuing my career as a musician my whys are passion, happiness, and my daughter.

I love playing guitar, creating music and now since joining the course recording music and the idea of releasing my own tracks to the world. I want to make a sustainable living from being a musician, I have had many jobs in my life, and they are exactly that, jobs. I want to make a living whilst being happy in what I am doing, I want to feel a sense of achievement and desire to do more whilst earning money so that I can provide for my daughter. My happiness is something I have never really focused on; I have always got a job anywhere that would take me to make money to provide for my daughter and to live. Now I know this is an essential part of life and many people (pretty much all of whom are around me, family friends etc.) do this, however I have always wanted more. I want to be happy whilst earning money, I want to do something I love everyday and monetise it so I can continue to do so and live-in today’s world. I want my daughter to see that she can chase her dreams and earn a living doing the things she loves without any compromises. I have always been told “you need a plan b” “you need something to fall back on” “you need a real job” and I think when you are told this at a young age you are already destined to fail, and the messages normally come from people who have fell into the trap themselves and live for the weekend. I do not want to spend 90% of my life in a place I do not want to be just to have money to spend in the remaining 10%.

As a person I am creative, but I can only be creative when I am committed to what it is, I am doing. If I have no love for it then my mind wonders, wishes and I get so down and I have lived my life like this since I was 18 years old. I want to do what makes me happy and show my daughter she can do the same because if you are not out there doing it you will spend a lifetime wishing and that I will never do again.

So to summarise, my why is to be happy, to sustain a living and most importantly to show my daughter she can do the same.

[dannsmith95]

Week 6 - Exploring & Identifying Your Genre for WB03

My first track I would say is pop rock, I feel the rock element comes from the guitar sounds and band arrangements. The guitar sound for the verses is just on the edge of breakup with the bridge pickup pushing a bit more gain into the sound during the chorus parts also the guitar solo has a classic rock style distorted tone which adds to the rock element along with the fact there us a guitar solo to begin with. The solo itself is derived from the A minor Pentatonic scale with added 6th notes and other notes derived from the Lydian mode, both scales are used heavily in rock music Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” (Zeppelin, 1969) (I play the song in Eb tuning so it is easier for me to sing to as I tend to sing in falsetto however the song examples and scales will be spoken of as if in Standard tuning as the concept remains the same) and Joe Satriani’s “Flying in a Blue Dream” being a good example of the Lydian mode used within a rock song (Satriani, 1989). The song itself is melody focused and has a catchy melody especially in the outro which the lead guitar follows which adds the pop style, also the vocals are soft and melodic again a vocal style used heavily in pop vocals (Caswell and Hester, 2019). Pop Rock emerged in the early 1950’s amid the Rock ‘n’ Roll craze Pop Rock carried some of the elements of Rock but delivered it in a slightly smoother more melodic manner, Buddy Holly, The Beach Boys being some of the most notable examples however, a lot of The Beatles’ music was considered Pop at the time and definitely carried traces of Rock ‘n’ Roll so it is a bit of an open genre to say the least. Pop Rock was influenced by what was know as Beat Music, again The Beatles being a great example of this more specifically “I Saw Her Standing There” (Beatles, 1963). Beat music was an extension of Rock ‘n’ Roll with influences of Skiffle and Pop, a genre The Beatles basically coined. Pop Rock has continued throughout the years taking influence from various genres with the base combination being Rock ‘n’ Roll with catchy melodies.

My second track I think is Blues Rock with a Soul feel. I liken it to B.B Kings’ “The Thrill is Gone” in the way the song swings and basically repeats itself throughout (King, 1969). I am still developing the vocal style for this song however I basically sing in falsetto most of the time something that is seen throughout Soul Music, Curtis Mayfield being an example of this if you listen to “Move on Up” this is apparent (Mayfield, 1970). The guitar sound in the verses is bright and ‘spanky’ again similar to that of B.B Kings’ “The Thrill is Gone” however in the lead guitar there is distortion and compression added to the guitar tone along with the guitar being on the all 3 pickups position a mod which was popular on Dave Gilmour’s strat something I have referenced in previous posts. This gives the tone a slightly microphonic tone in likeness to Peter Greens guitar parts in Fletwood Mac’s version of “Need Your Love So Bad” (Mac, 1969) but with a lot more gain. Blues music can be traced back to the early 1900’s most notably was Robert Johnson who recorded 29 songs between 1936 and 1937 titles such as “Cross Road Blues,” “Love In Vain,” “Hellhound On My Trail,” “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom,” “Walking Blues,” “Sweet Home Chicago.” Still remain to this day anthems of the blues and an inspiration to most major blues artists there are and have been since their release. Blues was created initially within the ‘African-American’ community during the times of The Great Depression telling stories of the tragedy and struggles they went through simply because of their skin colour (Blues Foundation, 2021). I feel the Rock element comes from the lead guitar tone and the chorus parts which has an A minor rock style opening riff. This song as well the my first track does focus on melody to catch the ear of the listener which you could say adds a Pop element however I feel it is to basic to declare it as so as all good songs have a nice melody.

Beatles, T., 1963. I Saw Her Standing There. [Online] London: Capitol. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxwAB3SECtc> [Accessed 7 March 2021].

Blues Foundation, R., 2021. Robert Johnson Biography. [online] Robert Johnson Blues Foundation. Available at: <https://robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/biography/> [Accessed 7 March 2021].

Caswell, E. and Hester, T., 2019. We measured pop music’s falsetto obsession. [online] Vox. Available at: <https://www.vox.com/2019/8/13/20801974/we-charted-pop-music-falsetto> [Accessed 7 March 2021].

King, B., 1969. The Thrill is Gone. [Online] New York City: Bluesway/ABC Records. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpC69qIe02E> [Accessed 7 March 2021].

Mac, F., 1969. Need Your Love So Bad. [Online] United Kingdom: Blue Horizon. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNrRk-cuhn0> [Accessed 7 March 2021].

Mayfield, C., 1970. Move On Up. [Online] Chicago: Curtom Records. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z66wVo7uNw> [Accessed 7 March 2021].

Satriani, J., 1989. Flying in a Blue Dream. [Online] New York City: Relativity. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeTPPIyXb48> [Accessed 7 March 2021].

Zeppelin, L., 1969. Heartbreaker. [Online] New York City: Atlantic. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5O4073zCKA> [Accessed 7 March 2021].