top of page

Unit 6 - 00s Band

Band members:

Tia (vocals)

Emily (vocals and guitar)

Dane (bass)

Session 1 - 14/01/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

As a band, we want to pick a few songs that we'll try in future sessions and start playing through one of the songs that we pick.

 

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

Today, I need to learn the chords for Figure It Out - Royal Blood and pick which parts I'm doing in the song (verse/chorus).

 

What went well in this session and why?

We played through Figure It Out fully so we can definitely move on to another song in the next session - after we add drums to it - and we can improve it more since we have more time for it. It's easier in this band than in the other 2 because there's only 4 members and we all have similar music tastes so picking out songs to play that we all like is easier.

 

What went wrong and why?

However, we don't have a drummer in the band which made it harder to know when we were coming in or if we were playing in time. We're going to get either a music tech or Lee (tutor) to sit in on drums for us so we don't have this issue next time.

 

What are your targets for next week?

I want to go over the chords and structure for Figure It Out for the next session and also learn the chords for Cocoon - Catfish And The Bottlemen so we can start it straight away next week.

Session 2 - 21/01/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

This week we want to go through the chords/structure for I'm A Mess by Ed Sheeran and look at the lyrics as well.

​

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

Personally I would like to look at the chords and use them to make little riffs that go over the rhythm guitar to make the song more structurally interesting (for example - use broken chords or the vocal melody)

 

What went well in this session and why?

We learned the structure of the song fairly quickly and Tia and Emily had good intonation for the chorus so their projection was really good. We also managed to play through the entire song so we can move on to our third song but we need to work on the ending a bit more.

 

What went wrong and why?

The song sounded more like a busking song because we didn't have bass or drums behind it and it was simple in terms of structure - we can fix this by using a loop pedal, for example, so we can build on the structure and layer certain parts.

​

What are your targets for next week?

I'm going to use a loop pedal next week for this song to improve the structure of I'm A Mess and we're going to go through Cocoon by Catfish & The Bottlemen. We're also going to add some harmonies to I'm A Mess and add in the kajon (percussion) to give the song more of a full sound.

Session 3 - 28/01/19

Targets:

  • Make sure that the bridge/outro section sounds smooth with all of the pull-offs and hammer ons.

  • Learn the lyrics for the chorus so I don't mess them up/get them the wrong way around.

  • Make sure the volume levels are higher.

Targets:

  • Work on volume levels so they're not too low with everyone else; make sure that I don't get drowned out by everyone else.

  • Practise diction so people can clearly hear what I'm saying.

  • Make sure that I keep the strumming style the same when I sing the pre-chorus.

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

Today, we would like to go through Cocoon by Catfish And The Bottlemen and go over I'm A Mess again to add harmonies to it and see what it sounds like with the loop pedal.

​

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I want to learn the lyrics for the second verse of Cocoon and the little guitar part that comes in after the solo and before the last chorus.

​

What went well in this session and why?

We learned Cocoon so now we can go over the 3 songs we've learned so far to improve them and make sure we know what we're doing.

​

What went wrong and why?

I couldn't find a loop pedal that worked so most of the session was spent on trying to find one that worked; I'll bring my own pedal in next week so I don't have to waste any time looking for one and then trying to get it to work. However, this meant that we couldn't go through I'm A Mess so we're going to have to do it next week instead.

​

What are your targets for next week?

I'm going to practise using the loop pedal for I'm A Mess, work on diction for Cocoon and also find a harmony for the chorus of Cocoon.

Session 4 - 04/02/19

Targets:

  • Practise the song with drums so we stay in time/have the right tempo throughout.

  • Make sure that the second solo is right/add in the few notes that were missing.

  • Work on the phrasing for the lines just before the chorus - 'I don't care for sand and lights/lighting a fuse might result in a bang with a bang-o'

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

Practice all the songs we've learned and maybe learn I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor - Arctic Monkeys. Also, we want to tighten the transitions in Cocoon and add some harmonies into the chorus.

​

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I want to put the solos into I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor and learn the first verse. I also want to get the chords/structure for Cocoon right so I don't accidentally play a wrong chord.

 

What went well in this session and why?

We learned another song; the solos were in time for IBTYLGOTDF so we don't need to go over those sections much more; and we added drums which lifted the songs - it made them sound full rather than having the feeling that something was missing, especially since we were using electric instruments.

 

What went wrong and why?

We couldn't go through Emily's parts in I'm A Mess because she wasn't in, so this will have to be done in the next session. The songs also sounded empty because they didn't have the rhythm guitar (Emily) behind them. IBTYLGOTDF took a while to sort out as well because we forgot how long the section before the 2nd solo was.

​

What are your targets for next week?

For next week, I want to get the structure for I'm A Mess sorted - for example, deciding where the riffs are going to be put in and when each part comes in for the bridge so it builds on top of each other. I also need to learn the lyrics for all of these songs so I can work on diction for each.

Session 5 - 11/02/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We hope to learn our final song - Naive by The Kooks - and add a harmony into the chorus. We also need to go over all the songs we've already learned to make sure we haven't forgotten anything and that they still sound strong. 

​

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I want to play the main guitar part for Naive and add the higher harmony into the chorus. I also want to look at different guitar tones for each song (different pickups on the guitar itself, using a distortion pedal, etc).

​

What went well in this session and why?

We learned all of Naive so we can spend our last few sessions improving each song. The guitar for I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor also sounded better with more gain.

 

What went wrong and why?

We couldn't go through every song because Emily went out to record again during the session; we only went through 4 of our songs properly and didn't get a chance to go through I'm A Mess much.

​

What are your targets for next week?

Now that we have all of the songs for our set, we just need to keep going back through all of them, specifically I'm A Mess because we haven't really practised it for a few sessions now and we need to get it to the same level as the other songs.

Targets:

  • Keep rehearsing the intro riff to make sure I play it correctly.

  • Work on the ending - decide how many 'just don't let me down's we're doing.

  • Make sure that the guitar riff after the second chorus is in time.

Session 6 - 26/02/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We want to go through the bridge of I'm A Mess to start using the loop pedal in it/figure out how to layer each track. We also need to go through all of our songs so far so we can add the rhythm guitar part (Emily) to I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor.

​

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I would like to make a structure for the bridge of I'm A Mess; I want to decide what each track will be and then decide the order of tracks since they'll be layered on top of each other.

​

What went well in this session and why?

We managed to decide on the structure for the bridge of I'm A Mess - this means that next week we can go through the whole song to see how well it works with it. Also, I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor has a more full sound with it now that we've put the rhythm guitar in it.

​

What went wrong and why?

We spent so long sorting out the bridge for I'm A Mess that we couldn't go back through the whole song with it. Also, on some songs we kept going out of time without a drummer.

​

What are your targets for next week?

We want to go back through I'm A Mess with the new structure for the bridge and keep practising our other songs to make sure we know them without the lyric sheets.

Targets:

  • Work on the lower harmony in the chorus to make sure it all works with the main melody.

  • Make sure my guitar's properly in tune when I'm playing the song - maybe buy a clip-on tuner (they're more accurate and I don't have to tune up in a quiet room).

  • Make sure I go to the right chord when transitioning between sections (verse to pre-chorus mainly).

Targets:

  • Try using this in the full song next week so I can see if this order would work.

  • Make sure I know my lyrics for next week so I don't need a lyric sheet.

Extra session - 07/03/19

Targets:

  • Make sure that the chords that I'm playing in the bridge are right or just play one chord behind the bass.

  • Check the lyrics for the chorus so that the lyrics that me and Tia are singing are correct.

Targets:

  • Check the tuning of my guitar before we start going through our set.

  • Work on the phrasing for the last few lines before the chorus.

Targets:

  • Work on the structure for the bridge so I don't have to use a pre-recorded track that'll most likely not match the tempo used when we play.

  • Make sure my guitar isn't too loud when paired with the acoustic guitar.

Targets:

  • Check the tuning in the song.

  • Keep working on the harmony and phrasing in the chorus.

Targets:

  • Remember where I come in (second verse)

  • Use a pedal for the guitar part after the bridge so it's obvious that I'm playing it.

  • Like the other songs - check the tuning before I go on stage.

bottom of page