evaluation of the 4th december performance – i was really pleased with how the performance went, aaron and i played as a pair and were successful in our venture, seeing as we were both highly satisfied with how we did. neither of us made any notable errors and played our respective parts with fluency. at one specific point, i attempted a vocal run in the spur of the moment which i’d not tried to sing before and i’m not entirely convinced it sounded very good – however that is the only aspect of the performance which i was disappointed about. we’d only managed to play the song in its entirety the night before our performance, so all things considered we did a really good job on the day. our communication with the sound engineer was fine and we were easily able to quickly and effectively balance sound just prior to performing. i took on board feedback from previous assessed performances and tried to act on them, visually engaging with the audience and focusing on keeping my guitar playing tight and accurate. i would, however, given the opportunity to do this assessment again, allow myself and aaron more time to rehearse before the day of the performance.

three SMART goals for my development: 

1. always leave myself at least 7 days (1 week) to learn and rehearse any song for performance to maximise my knowledge of the track and thereby give myself the best chance of performing to the best of my ability
2. complete any and all songwriting tasks set during the course of the module
3. engage in every aspect of the module to boost my knowledge and thereby my confidence when it comes to being assessed

comments on the perwell task – i personally find it difficult to identify with this style of thinking and self-analysis. i don’t find these kind of methods constructive or useful, although i can understand and appreciate why, in principle, they appear to be an effective way of thinking. as a result, i have struggled to engage with the different parts of the perwell task. i personally benefit more from a hands-on attitude whereby students write and perform as much as possible, allowing them more experience in two of the most valuable and enjoyable aspects of music as a whole. if perwell was ran again, i personally would apply myself to it more in order to absolutely maximise what i get out of it, however i don’t believe it to be the kind of method i’d swear by.

for this brief, we were instructed to write a song considering the fundamental elements of early african american music but in response to contemporary issues. the topic was to be political or societal issues – perhaps child poverty in britain, the refugee crisis or a story in the news. i chose to collaborate with my coursemate, aaron eagles, to write this song. we quickly decided on the misuse and glamourisation of drugs in modern pop culture as our topic and began writing. aaron was to write two verses of lyrics for him to rap, whilst my job was to work on the instrumentation and write a melodic chorus.

 

(verse 1 – aaron)

 

we’re living in the age of experiments,

man are on a different page and it’s evident,

taking trips on the flake or the ketamine,

or base or amphetamine,

i pray it’s not heroin,

i could never judge someone cos they snort a line,

when their favourite artists sing about it all the time,

but when are we gonna draw the line,

take these words as a message don’t wait for a sign,

drug culture is glamourised but trust me it can kill you,

nearly lost my dad to it and brudda that’s the real truth,

i could never judge you i don’t know what you’ve been through,

just don’t encourage others to get on that buzz with you,

we lost mac miller, whitney and winehouse,

all that talent but that talent went and died out,

there ain’t never no one there when the light’s out,

there ain’t ever no one there when the light’s out.

 

(chorus – adam)

 

and now the situation’s dire for people we admire,

you glamourise a lifestyle, we know that you’re a liar, we know,

we know,

and your words they mean nothing because we know you’re bluffing,

why can’t you open up your mouth and just say something useful instead,

cos then you, then you, you might not end up dead,

then you might not end up dead.

 

(verse 2 – aaron)

 

i’m not tryna preach, believe me i’m not innocent,

but surely there’s some steps that maybe we can try and implement,

i just think celebrities with people who they influence,

should think about the consequence as death begins to increment,

we’re all the same but in different situations,

most of us work and live life from a pay slip,

and wait all day to hear an artist on a station,

so of course you get jealous when you hear them getting wasted,

cos your boss has been a prick,

or your partner’s been a wanker,

believe me when i say it drug abuse is not the answer,

people think it’s funny, joke about it like it’s banter,

but it takes real strength to admit and hold your hands up,

i respect you if you can, i won’t blame you if you can’t,

i know shit gets tough and life hits you hard,

but if we all help each other, everyone play their part,

maybe we can intervene and make a stop before it starts.

 

(chorus – adam)

 

and now the situation’s dire for people we admire,

you glamourise a lifestyle, we know that you’re a liar, we know,

we know,

and your words they mean nothing because we know you’re bluffing,

why can’t you open up your mouth and just say something useful instead,

cos then you, then you, you might not end up dead,

then you might not end up dead.

 

(outro – adam)

 

(softer) and now the situation’s dire for people we admire,

you glamourise a lifestyle, we know that you’re a liar,

we know.

 

the track is titled ‘glamourise’ and it came out better than i had expected. it has a great guitar hook, teamed with meaningful lyrics and a powerful chorus, evoking emotion and expressing the frustration that aaron and i feel in regard to the subject of the song. we feel we met the brief and wrote a powerful track in protest of the prevalent attitudes to drugs in modern pop culture.

 

above is the co-write agreement signed by myself and aaron, stating the possession of the track is equal between the pair of us as writers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMn9rLJkf2I&feature=youtu.be – a link to a video in which aaron himself outlines the roles within the songwriting process, justly crediting the relevant parties and thus confirming ownership of the song as equal between the two of us as writers.

 

 

 

 

 

for this brief, we were told to write a ‘location song’, meaning the subject of the song should be places, buildings, objects, people, situations. in response to this, i wrote ‘motivation’, a song i wrote in my bed, about sleeping away my time and not using my time to focus on my music versus all of the aspirations i have and how badly i want to make them a reality. the location of the song is my bed and the subject is my occasional inability to leave it’s safety and warmth, ironically to chase down my dreams.

(verse 1)

sometimes i think that i dream too much, 

and consequently don’t sleep enough,

when it seems i’m just riding my luck,

i assure myself it’s all part of growing up,

 

should i worry if my head is in the clouds,

should i brace myself to sink down and out?

 

(chorus)

 

it’s hard to know what to say and what to think,

when all i wanna do is sit back and have a drink,

but it won’t happen for you so live life on the brink,

and find that motivation,

some days it’s hard for me to get out of this bed,

while all these songs swim deep inside my head,

but today i’m choosing to write them down instead,

i’m gonna realise my aspiration

 

(verse 2)

 

i’m dying to live an extraordinary life,

cos we’re all worth so much more than just being born to die,

but if my days are hazy and i’m always high,

how can i expect to reach up one day and touch the sky?

 

should i worry if my head is in the clouds,

should i brace myself to sink down and out?

 

(chorus)

 

it’s hard to know what to say and what to think,

when all i wanna do is sit back and have a drink,

but it won’t happen for you so live life on the brink,

and find that motivation,

some days it’s hard for me to get out of this bed,

while all these songs swim deep inside my head

but today i’m choosing to write them down instead,

i’m gonna realise my aspiration

 

i was satisfied with how this song ended up, i was able to express the difficulty i sometimes experience when it comes to staying motivated and producing original music through the medium of song. i was able to make a song using my occasional inability to write as inspiration, thereby overcoming exactly what sometimes inhibits me. i feel like i wrote well in response to the brief and produced a song with substance to a good degree of quality.

below is my full lead sheet for this track.

Lead Sheet

Song: Motivation

Artist: Adam Thorn

 

Time Signature: 4/4

 

Tuning: EAGBD

Chords Used: G(add9), Em(add9),  D(add9), C(add9)

 

(Verse One)

 

G(add9)                            C(add9)

Sometimes I think that I dream too much,

 

G(add9)                            C(add9)

And consequently don’t sleep enough,

 

G(add9)                            C(add9)

When it seems I’m just riding my luck,

 

G(add9)                        C(add9)

I assure myself it’s all part of growing up,

 

D(add9)                      C(add9)

Should I worry if my head is in the clouds?

 

D(add9)                                     C(add9)

Should I brace myself to sink down and out?

 

(Chorus)

 

             G(add9)

Cos it’s hard to know what to say and what to think,

 

           C(add9)

When all I wanna do is sit back and have a drink,

 

      Em(add9)                                   D(add9)

But it won’t happen for you so live life on the brink,

       C(add9)

And find that motivation,

 

G(add9)

Some days it’s hard for me to get out of this bed,

 

           C(add9)

While all these songs swim deep inside my head,

 

           Em(add9)                 D(add9)

But today I’m choosing to write them down instead,

 

                  C(add9)

I’m gonna realise my aspirations,

 

G(add9)

Ohh,

 

C(add9)

Ohh,

 

G(add9)              C(add9)

Ooooooooooooooooooh,

 

(Verse Two)

 

G(add9)                           C(add9)

I’m dying to live an extraordinary life,

 

G(add9)                                                                           C(add9)

Cos we’re all worth so much more than just being born to die,

 

G(add9)                                          C(add9)

But if my days are hazy and I’m always high,

 

G(add9)                                 C(add9)

How can I expect to reach up one day and touch the sky?

 

D(add9)                      C(add9)

Should I worry if my head is in the clouds?

 

D(add9)                                     C(add9)

Should I brace myself to sink down and out?

 

(Chorus)

 

(Instrumental Break)

 

(Chorus)

link to video analysis

link to audio recording

two performers i admire & why

lewis watson – probably my biggest inspiration, a man whose music made me want to pick up a guitar and have a go myself. writes insightful and meaningful songs, both in terms of lyricism and instrumentation. elements of lewis’ music shine through in my own and without it, i would not be the musician i am today. he has achieved what he has achieved using his natural ability of course, but also through his dedication, persistence and hard work. these are traits which, if exercised by myself, could allow me to access the same kind of qualities as he has, for example writing and recording music as frequently as possible in order to practice the process and to get better at it. once i’ve released well-received original music and had the chance to play it live to people who have paid to watch, then i will know that i have been successful in acquiring the same qualities as lewis possesses.

nick mulvey – a very versatile and very skilled musician who has been successful in multiple disciplines within music. i don’t know a whole lot about nick mulvey’s personal life but a quick google search helped me to discover that at the age of 19 he moved to havana in cuba to study music and art and also studied ethnomusicology here in the uk. evidently somewhat of a scholar in music, nick incorporates musical elements from a range of different cultures into his work which i believe is what makes it so unique. to obtain nick mulvey’s qualities as a musician, i’d need to open up my mind to different, more exotic music cultures than my own and go on a journey of discovery to find out what i like, how to take inspiration and how to incorporate it into my own work. i will know when i’ve done this once i’m able to pinpoint specific component(s) of my songs which have been inspired by a differing music culture to my own.