Bibliography

BBC Radio 2, Songwriting guides, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/guide/song_lyrics.shtml#comment
Buzz Magazine, 2010, Gabrielle Aplin Live Review, http://www.buzzmag.co.uk/uncategorized/gabrielle-aplin-live-review

Cherie Yurco, 12 Improvisation tips, 2013, http://makingmusicmag.com/12-improvisation-tips/  

diegodobini2, Ella Fitzgerald : One note Samba (scat singing) 1969, 2012, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbL9vr4Q2LU

Dorit, Guitar world, 2013, http://www.guitarworld.com/acoustic-nation-turning-cover-song-your-own

HolyLoowis, Lewis Watson & Gabrielle Aplin - Droplets (Live at Exeter Chapel, Oxford), 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZzXXbufSZQ

JacksGap, Introducing Shed Sessions, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3135dVm2QY 

Meribeth Bunch Daye, The Performer’s Voice, 2005

shoestringconcerts, Colbie Calliat and Jason Reeves "Droplets", 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_aAMGl8rEA

ukulele for beginners, 2010, http://www.ukuleleforbeginners.com/

Ukulele Hunt, 2011, Ukulele review Felt Picks, http://ukulelehunt.com/buy-ukulele/accessories/felt-picks/

Ukulele Tricks, 5 Effective Strumming Patterns for Beginners [Ukulele Lesson]

, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAScCO3Mb-w

Ukulele Underground, Uke minutes 100- How to play the ukulele in 5 minutes, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad4MpwnZFdY

"Valentine" by Carol Ann Duffy, 2013, http://emilyspoetryblog.com/2013/03/08/valentine-by-carol-ann-duffy/

Vocalist.org, Diction for singers, 2001, http://www.vocalist.org.uk/diction.html

Critical Evaluation

For my individual composing task, I decided to pick up a new instrument. The instrument I used for my composition was the ukulele. I chose to teach myself an instrument as I felt I was at a disadvantage in creating a song without an instrument. I chose the ukulele as it creates a different sound to the guitar which is something I wanted to create within my song.

The chords I decided to use are C, Am, F and G. These chords fit together and sound whole, as they create a chord progression which forms a good foundation for my song. As I had only started to play the ukulele, I decided to use these simple chords to create my music. I also worked on my strumming patterns to use in my composition by looking at different youtube videos. I also used a felt pick as this helped me with strumming. “For people who want to use a pick. A felt pick will create a better sound. If you have to use a plastic pick-up make it a very thin one.” (ukulele hunt, 2011). My lyrics weren’t particularly based on anything or influenced from anyone. I took a different approach to writing my lyrics. I wrote my lyrics to the music, rather than creating music for my lyrics. I found this very helpful, “It is often a good idea to write your lyric as you progress through the song. If you usually hum or 'la la la' along to a strummed guitar, you will find that improvising words or even just vowel sounds can be very helpful in starting your lyric off.” (bbc radio 2). Throughout my song I repeated the phrase “I’m all alone, Alone, Alone in this room”. I decided to have a repeated phrase as it brought the song together and had a running theme throughout.

I chose to record my song as I didn't feel comfortable or confident enough to perform using the ukulele, as I was still struggling with certain aspects, such as changing chords and simply making errors. If I had performed my piece I would have recorded my backing track and sang over the top. In my previous post about my influences I said that I would have conveyed the performance aspects that Aplin and Saunders bring to their live performances; such as connecting with the audience and expressing feelings and emotions through lyrics.

I also could have added some harmony lines into my recording to make it sound more whole and complete. To make my recording sound more professional, I could have used a programme such as garage band to create the backing track for my song. This would have created a much more professional sound to the track, rather than simply recording my own voice and my instrument. In any future compositions I would also try to use some more complex strumming patterns and chords.

Bibliography

BBC Radio 2, Songwriting guides, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/guide/song_lyrics.shtml#comment
Ukulele Hunt, 2011, Ukulele review Felt Picks, http://ukulelehunt.com/buy-ukulele/accessories/felt-picks/

Musical Influences

A musical influence I am particularly interested in is Gabrielle Aplin "As well as captivating he crowd with her powerful pitch-perfect pipes and gifted guitar playing, the singer also impressed with her beautiful self-taught piano skills. Serving up a selection of songs from her Acoustic EP, including Reverse and Ghosts, along with covers of Kings of Leon's Use Somebody and Cee Lo Green's Fuck You, Aplin dynamically delivered an entertaining and eloquent set" (Buzz Magazine, 2010). Her performacers are always full of passion and commitment. Although my piece wasn't going to be performed live, I would definitely draw on the aspects of Aplin's performance.

She creates a laid back sound to her music with her effortless voice. A collaboration she perfomed with Lewis Watson is a particular favourite as the acoustics from the Chapel sound amazing, and their harmonies together create an incredibly natural and mellow feel.

Shannon Saunders creates a different kind of feel to her music, as it’s a bit more out there and creative. Her lyrics are very creative, and always make me feel something. I always imagine that she has a picture in her head of what she wants to create through her lyrics and how she wants her audience or listeners to feel. I have taken this and used it in my own work. I have tried to capture an emotion like Saunders does to make my listeners feel a certain way. This is one of her original songs called Creatures. Although in my original piece I haven’t exactly used her as inspiration, I definitely feel that in the future I would like to create a piece  with this kind of feel.

 

Buzz Magazine, 2010, Gabrielle Aplin Live Review, http://www.buzzmag.co.uk/uncategorized/gabrielle-aplin-live-review

HolyLoowis, Lewis Watson & Gabrielle Aplin - Droplets (Live at Exeter Chapel, Oxford), 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZzXXbufSZQ 

JacksGap, Introducing Shed Sessions, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3135dVm2QY 

My lyrics

Alone in this room

I never see you anymore, Now you shut the door

And nothing seems to happen now you’re gone
I’m all alone, Alone, Alone in this room

 I don’t know how this came about, But all you did was shout
And nothing ever happens now you’re gone
I’m all alone, Alone, Alone in this room

When you left I felt so sure, That you'd be back this time,
But all that you’ve done
Is left me here alone, Alone, Alone in this room

I just wanted to be yours
Just to mean something, be something

When you left I felt so sure, That you'd be back this time

But all that you’ve done
Is left me here alone, Alone, Alone in this room


I struggled writing my lyrics as I have never created an original piece myself. Writing lyrics proved a struggle. I originally wanted to base my lyrics on something important to me so they had meaning and something behind them but I felt doing that became even more difficult as I was thinking about a specific area or subject.
Although it isn't the normal approach to song writing, I began with the music first. Beginning with the simple chords I have talked about in an earlier post, I wrote lyrics  to the music. “It is often a good idea to write your lyric as you progress through the song. If you usually hum or 'la la la' along to a strummed guitar, you will find that improvising words or even just vowel sounds can be very helpful in starting your lyric off.” (bbc radio 2) I began deciding that I wanted a recurring phrase, so there would be something that would hold the song together and a starting point. The phrase I came up with was "Alone, Alone in this room". This is repeated in my verses and chorus', however there is still a distinct difference between the two as the strumming pattern in the chorus changes the dynamic of the piece and creates a different pace that will allow listeners to differentiate between verse and chorus. 
I feel the lyrics are simple, yet effective as they create and emotion that I want listeners to feel. A lot of songs are written to connect with an audience. I want the listeners to connect with the piece by feeling how they imagine the voice behind the song would be feeling. It's all about being in the shoes of someone else. The song is about being left alone and waiting for everything to go back to the way it was which is discussed in the line "I felt so sure that you'd be back this time". The feeling of being betrayed and left hanging is something I want listeners to feel as they listen to the song. 



BBC Radio 2, Songwriting guides, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/guide/song_lyrics.shtml#comment 

Ukulele strumming patterns

Still getting to grips with the ukulele, I decided to look at strumming patterns using my felt pick. I have been using some YouTube videos such as this one. It helped me figure out some simple and easy strumming patterns which are helping me with my composition. 

Ukulele Tricks, 5 Effective Strumming Patterns for Beginners [Ukulele Lesson]

, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAScCO3Mb-w

Creating my music

My original piece was discussed with Hayley, and we discussed what kind of piece I was going to create. She suggested to go down a folky route as a piece I have posted further down has that kind of feel (Gabrielle Aplin and Lewis Watson-Droplets cover). I originally wanted to create a piece on the ukelele, however I don't think I'll be up to the standard I'd like to be when the performance comes around. We discussed creating a layered harmony piece on audacity. I think this will be effective as I can record my voice with different harmonies, and layer it up on audacity.

The droplets cover by Gabrielle Aplin and Lewis Watson has a real laid back feel to it, and the fact it was performed in a chapel allowed the voices to have a nice quality to them.

For my original piece I wanted to create something with my ukulele and my voice. As the ukulele is a new instrument to me, I decided to keep it simple and use easy chords to create my song. I decided to use the chords C, Am, F and G. For the strumming pattern, I used a down up down up down up pattern.

Vocal Techniques

I looked at “The Performer’s Voice” by Meribeth Bunch Dayme. This book discusses different vocal techniques and the ways in which you can potentially improve you vocals. Not only does it look at the vocals, but it explores the performance side and what makes and creates a good performance. Dayme gives us several different techniques and exercises to try for ourselves and I feel this a good way to reflect on our own skills as a vocalist and performer.

Looking at creating poor vocal and performance technique allows me to understand what is critical to be able to produce something good. Dayme tells us to try a phrase or sentence using “poor posture”, “so much abdominal pressure that the vocal folds are thrust apart at the onset of sound”, “by means of poor breathing patterns such as pulling the chest down” “by deliberately producing a breathy sound”, “ holding the breath before beginning the tone”. She gives us these areas so we are able to immediately realise what not to do. I think good posture is such an important part of singing and performing. The way you hold yourself and carry yourself not only helps the vocals flow and sound better, but it also portrays a much more confident and proud performance. Whereas poor posture displays an attitude of not wanting to be there and it most definitely does not allow for the vocals to sound to the best of their ability. After applying these bad techniques to a short phrase I found that my sound and vocals sound breathy and under pronounced. Working on these bad techniques and changing them, definitely showed a big difference. I could definitely hear how much my vocals sounded after changing my stance and my breathiness.

She also talks about phonation and how it generally comes natural to professional singers, however, to inexperienced performers, it’s something that tends to need to be worked on and nurtured. I feel that phonation is definitely something that vocalists need to pay attention to as pronunciation is important to a vocal piece. I have always found that certain words or letters I find difficult to pronounce well and clearly for an audience to understand. Working on pronouncing will definitely improve my performance.

I think after looking at Dayme’s ideas and work I have found it helpful towards my future work and skills. Understanding different techniques and the right and wrong ways to perform a piece will definitely be incorporated into my solo work or piece.

 

I have also been looking at diction and pronunciation with my vocal development as this is something I deem extremely important. "Although both music and lyrics are important for the musical accompaniment. if the words cannot be understood, the song can become meaningless.". (Diction for singers, 2001) If the words are clear and pronounced correctly it makes a lot of difference to the listeners as they feel much more included.

 

Meribeth Bunch Daye, The Performer’s Voice, 2005
Vocalist.org, Diction for singers, 2001, http://www.vocalist.org.uk/diction.html