50s/60s Band | Alyssa

Unit 6 - 50s/60s Band

Band members:

Dane (bass)

James (lead guitar)

Angel (acoustic guitar)

Emily R (keys)

Logan (bass)

Taylor (guitar)

Hazel (saxophone)

India (vocals)

Mikael (vocals)

Sam (piano)

Tia (vocals)

Erin (vocals)

Emily W (vocals)

Matt (vocals)

Ross (vocals)

Session 1 - 10/01/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We want to learn the songs Tutti Frutti - Little Richard, and A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke.

We also hope to learn the structure and lyrics so no-one gets lost while playing.

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

For myself, I want to learn the chords for the songs and then change them slightly to add a bit of variation to both.

What went well in this session and why?

We managed to play through both songs with only a few minor errors and no-one forgot where they were in Tutti Frutti.

What went wrong and why?

On the other hand, in A Change Is Gonna Come the structure was a bit more complex so people either got lost with/played the wrong chords or dropped out/came back in when they weren't supposed to.

What are your targets for next week?

For next week, I need to go over the chords and the slight changes I made to them so I don't get lost again with A Change Is Gonna Come.

Session 2 - 17/01/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We want to learn Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry and go through the other 2 songs we learned last week.

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I want to learn the chords and then move them up an octave to add more to the structure of the song. I also want to learn the last verse of the song (my part) so I'm not constantly relying on the lyric sheet.

What went well in this session and why?

We played through the song a few times in full with only a few minor mistakes which we can get rid of next week and then move on to a new song.

What went wrong and why?

Despite this, when we went through A Change Is Gonna Come a few of the singers hadn't learned their parts and kept dropping out of the song so it took a lot longer than it should've just to play through the song once.

What are your targets for next week?

For next week I'm going to go through the chords and structure of all the songs learned so far so I don't make any mistakes when transitioning between the chorus and the bridge, for example.

Session 3 - 24/01/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We are going to go back through all 3 songs that we have learned so far to make sure we all know our parts and we come in/drop out.

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I would like to go through the structure of each song so I don't mess up when we transition between sections (for example, transitioning from a chorus to the bridge).

What went well in this session and why?

The singers were more confident with their lyrics than they were last week for A Change Is Gonna Come so we didn't have to keep starting over each verse.

What went wrong and why?

The instrumentalists forgot about the stabs in the intro for Johnny B. Goode so we had to spend more time going through that one part which meant we had less time to go over everything else.

What are your targets for next week?

Keep practising Tutti Frutti, A Change Is Gonna Come and Johnny B. Goode.

Session 4 - 31/01/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We need to go back through all 3 songs we've learned to make sure they still sound okay and so we know where all of the chord changes are without having to constantly go back through them.

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I want to make sure that I remember all of the chords and the structures of each song, so that we can get through them all quickly and reduce any potential errors such as playing a wrong chord or getting the timing wrong.

What went well in this session and why?

We went through each song enough so there were only a few minor mistakes; we can move on to our 4th song now and then work on getting it up to the same level as the first 3.

What went wrong and why?

The instrumentalists forgot about the stabs in A Change Is Gonna Come and Johnny B. Goode which meant that it took longer than it should've to get through both songs and people kept forgetting where we were in the songs.

What are your targets for next week?

Keep practising Tutti Frutti, A Change Is Gonna Come and Johnny B. Goode so when we do them again next week, they'll sound even better.

Targets:

Practise the stabs in the verses so I don't miss them out when playing through the song and have to quickly correct it.
Go through the structure of the song in general - the solo, the verses and all of the stab sections.
Make sure my volume is at the same level as the other instrumentalists; not too high or too low.

Session 5 - 07/02/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We want to learn Help by The Beatles so we have 4 songs for the show and we need to go back through A Change Is Gonna Come and Johnny B. Goode to improve the stab sections in both (especially A Change Is Gonna Come).

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I would like to learn the chords for Help (verses and choruses) and make sure that I transition smoothly from one section to the other.

What went well in this session and why?

We learned Help so now we can go through that and improve it in our last few sections. The stabs in Johnny B. Goode also sound better now that everyone knows where they come in/are more comfortable with it.

What went wrong and why?

However, we kept forgetting about the stabs (which verse they came in at specifically) in A Change Is Gonna Come so it took longer to get through it than it did for the other songs.

What are your targets for next week?

Our main target is to work on A Change Is Gonna Come so we don't keep forgetting where it is they come in. Also, I need to go through the chords for Help to get the muscle memory so I don't forget about any chord changes.

Targets:

Go through transitions between sections so they're smoother.
Look more at the structure - there's one verse that's quieter than the others because most of the instruments drop out that I kept forgetting about.
Make sure all the chords I'm playing are right/work with the normal chords (they're all an octave above the original chords).

Session 6 - 14/02/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We want to go through all 4 songs we've done so far, especially A Change Is Gonna Come and Help.

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I want to be able to sing my verse in Johnny B. Goode without having to rely on a lyric sheet. I also want to make sure that I know the structures of all the songs to reduce any possible mistakes I could make.

What went well in this session and why?

A Change Is Gonna Come sounds a lot better now because we remembered about the stabs without having to go back through it much. We also managed to go through Johnny B. Goode without having to go back through it repeatedly so we can focus on other songs more (A Change Is Gonna Come and Help, mainly).

What went wrong and why?

Although we got through the stab section in A Change Is Gonna Come, the bridge still needs some work because the transition doesn't sound as smooth as the rest of the song and some people kept forgetting the chord progression for it.

What are your targets for next week?

For the next session, I'm going to look at the chords for Shallow from the 'A Star Is Born' soundtrack - this is our closing song for the show. I'm also going to go back through all of the songs we've done so far to make sure they sound strong and so we'll have more time to go through the new song that we're going to start in the next session.

Targets:

Go through stab sections - look for which verse they come in at so I don't keep missing it.
Make sure chords are right for each section and I don't forget where they are.
Look at the guitar tone used in the song so it doesn't sound too heavy or too clean.

Session 7 - 28/02/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

We want to go through Shallow to decide who's doing what part; we need to decide when instruments come in or if parts are switched between people.

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I want to be able to play the intro for Shallow on guitar fluently.

What went well in this session and why?

We didn't struggle with Shallow - we got through it quickly without making a lot of mistakes and all of the other songs sound stronger.

What went wrong and why?

Sam had to move to drums because Will left so now we only have one keyboard player (Emily R); we had to readjust a bit so we could all get used to a different drummer.

What are your targets for next week?

I want to rehearse all of the songs (especially A Change Is Gonna Come so I don't forget about the stab section) so they're performance ready.

Session 8 - 07/03/19

What do you hope to achieve as a band today?

Today we're going through our weakest songs (Shallow and Help) to sort the vocals out in Help and to sort out where instruments come in to make the transitions tighter in Shallow.

What do you hope to achieve individually today?

I want to make sure the chord progressions in Help are smooth and I don't forget about the transitions between sections. I also want to make sure that the intro for Shallow is in time with the vocals.

What went well in this session and why?

Help sounds better now that everyone remembers about the quiet section and it doesn't sound messy.

What went wrong and why?

We kept getting the timing for the bridge section wrong because the sax (Hazel) kept coming in too early so we just went straight into the bridge section instead of having a pause like the original.

What are your targets for next week?

I need to go through our other 3 songs ready for next Tuesday so I don't forget about any timings, stab sections or chord changes.

Targets:

Keep going through structure - stabs come in on the 3rd verse, the bridge section comes after that etc.
Make sure that the chords I'm playing for the bridge are the correct chords (check with other guitarists).

Targets:

Make sure I'm in the right key - F - so I don't start on the wrong chord or go to a chord in a different key.
Work on stage presence a bit more - try to ensure that I don't look miserable or rigid while playing.

Targets:

Look at the structure to make sure that I'm coming in at the right place and I'm ready for when I come in.
Try to ensure that I don't stop playing the guitar in my verse - I want to keep the guitar the same while I'm singing so it doesn't sound weird when compared to the verses I'm not singing on.

Targets:

Check the tuning of my guitar - I need to tune up/check that my guitar is in tune before each set (for the 00s, make sure that the guitar is in tune for the 90s and then tune it back up when I go off before our final song, Shallow)
Make sure that my guitar part is the same as what Angel is playing - we're playing the same part but one of us does it for one verse before the other comes in and does the second so it should sound exactly the same.