Music Rehearsal Skills

Rehearsal Skills: Demonstrate the skills to rehearse effectively for a specific music performance and identify strengths and areas for development.

1.1   Your Goals: What are your personal goals, in relation to the effective rehearsal of your fifteen minute set? Describe your goals. You must include in your goals consideration of:

methods for effective preparation for each rehearsal;

I just need to practice at home as well as at school to ensure the music is perfect. I should also record myself and listen back every so often. By listening back, I can know where I am making mistakes and which parts or which songs I need to focus on in particular. Once I have listened back, I will practice the parts I wasn't happy with more intently.

For each rehearsal, I need to ensure I have all necessary music and lyrics because otherwise I cannot practice effectively. I must also stay focused as if not, I will waste practice time. Over each week, I will practice every song at home. This is because otherwise I will start to forget the general shape of the song. Practicing at home will assist with my muscle memory.

methods for ongoing refinement of personal instrumental and/or vocal part(s) throughout the process;

To exercise my voice, I really need to keep singing scales, especially in the lower and higher areas of my voice to ensure I keep a good range. I can also practice tongue twisters to help with diction. I can also practice holding a single note for as long as possible to help with breathing and breath control.

For my viola, I can work on my scales every day for a warm up to improve tuning. I can also work on my vibrato by making the movement with all different fingers and positions but not playing. Finally, I can practice different rhythms, like a scale in semi quavers, demi-semi quavers and hemi-demi-semi quavers. (Or I can at least try)

refinement of own image as an artist/ performer;

To refine my musical image, I hope to find a niche. For a long time, I've been obsessed with and only performed music theatre songs, however recently I have been more into alternative music. To refine my acting image, I need to do the exact opposite and try to stay away from a typecast so that I can continue to act any character. Along the way, I will check that the songs I am doing are from a variety of genres, but I will use my personal style to make them all slightly more similar, so I have more of a niche sound.

impact of consistent punctuality and attendance;

If I don't attend rehearsals, it means I practice less and the piece is less polished. It can also cause issues if I am working on a group piece as the others cannot practice properly without, say, a pianist or lead singer. Therefore, I will ensure I attend every rehearsal. If it is unavoidable for me to miss a day, I will inform anyone I plan to work with beforehand, so they can plan to practice separate songs that I am not involved in.

impact of active engagement with other musicians or peers.

If I don't attend rehearsals, it means I practice less and the piece is less polished. It can also cause issues if I am working on a group piece as the others cannot practice properly without, say, a pianist or lead singer. Therefore, I will ensure I attend every rehearsal. If it is unavoidable for me to miss a day, I will inform anyone I plan to work with beforehand, so they can plan to practice separate songs that I am not involved in.

Working with other musicians can teach you new techniques and can often improve the sound of a piece, for example, by adding in harmonies. This can give the music a fuller sound. Therefore, I will work with other people and ensure we use new techniques instead of singing the strong straight. For example, one of my songs is On My Own. I will sing this as a duet with Amber and we will add in some harmonies.

On top of this, we need to work with others in other aspects of life, so this can help us gain people skills. Therefore, I will work with others and ensure I don't take over, but that we all contribute equally!

Strengths and Weaknesses:

My main strengths are:

·         projection

·         stage presence

·         musicality/sensitivity

·         expression

·         confidence

·         pitching

The skills I most need to work on are:

·         sight singing

·         repertoire

·         rhythm, especially on viola

·         improvisation

I will do this by working with my teachers on these skills. I will also try to listen to a variety of genres to extend my repertoire, and will therefore perform at least two genres in my showcase at the end of this module. I hope that these skills will have improved by the end of year eleven.

To extend my repertoire, I need to listen to more genres of music, so over the next half term, I will try and listen to different genres of music each week. I will add my favourites to a playlist and then keep listening to them so I can extend my repertoire.

I also want to become more organized so I have all resources I need for every lesson, including lyrics, chords, music and if necessary, my viola. This will ensure an effective rehearsal as I won't have to faff about trying to find lyrics online and scrolling etc.

My overall goals for this course are to gain a distinction, learn some new techniques and improve my skills in piano, singing and viola. I also want to extend my repertoire- which has already started happening! I listen to music with a much less judgemental ear and will listen to many more genres, even if in the past I haven't liked them.

I want to produce a 15 minute set of good, well polished pieces. To achieve this I need to effectively practice in and out of lessons and ensure I attend all my music lessons. I need to record my performances and listen back so I know what I need to improve on.

1.1 DISTINCTION: Define and take ownership of a set of realistic and achievable personal goals in relation to their aspirations and expectations of the rehearsal process, having identified their reasons for undertaking the rehearsal process. There will be little or no tutor input into this undertaking.

MERIT: Define a set of realistic and achievable personal goals in relation to their aspirations and expectations of the rehearsal process, having identified their reasons for undertaking the rehearsal process. There will be nominal tutor input into this undertaking.

PASS: Define a set of personal goals in relation to their aspirations and expectations of the rehearsal process, having identified their reasons for undertaking the rehearsal process. There will be some tutor input into this undertaking.

1.2. The Plan - In your booklet or on your blog answer the following questions about your rehearsal plan (you may wish to type your notes from your booklet onto your blog to keep all your evidence in one place):

Equipment needed:

3 microphones.

a piano

an amp and lead to connect the laptop or iPad with backing tracks

an iPad to record.

My Plan for the actual performance:

I will need to talk to miss and organise carefully with Amber and Jenny so it's at an appropriate time for all three of us.

I plan to do my dress rehearsal 09/02 and I believe Amber will as well. We just need Jenny to come through to go through our trio and a duet she is doing with Amber. I need to set up the microphones and a piano with a mic. We will also need to attach a laptop and an amp, probably through a mini sound desk thing that Jenny used 02/02. We may need help setting up from Miss or a sixth former.

a. What is the purpose of your rehearsal process? (rationale)

I am completing the Rehearsal Skills Unit in order to improve my performance skills, as well as learn techniques for more effective rehearsal. These skills will be transferrable to revision and working effectively in the workplace, as well as more obvious areas such as theatre rehearsals. Overall, I want to create a repertoire that is successful and well-rehearsed.

b. Describe the repertoire that you will use in rehearsal and why you have chosen this repertoire.

My set list is:

1)      America- Imagine Dragons (solo)

2)      Bleeding Out- Imagine Dragons (solo)

3)      On My Own- Les Miserables (duet)

4)      All That Matters- Finding Neverland (trio)

5)      Think of Me- Phantom of the Opera (solo)

These are five songs that I really love. I've loved On My Own for years, ever since I watched Les Mis at school. All That Matters is really pretty, as is Think Of Me. While it's a quite difficult song, I chose it because its so lovely. America is one of  my favourite songs as it embodies the relationship between one of my favourite fictional couples. Bleeding Out is my favourite song at the moment, I just love it!

I love these songs because they are well written and beautiful.

Also, these songs are really suitable for my voice. Being a mezzo-soprano with a large range means that the songs fit my voice well. I can sing them all and as I have most practice singing theatre songs, I understand the style and I'm used to singing in a particular way that fits the style.

c. How will you record your developments and document ideas? e.g. recording; why will you use this method? what impact might it have?

I will try to regularly record rehearsals of songs so that I can listen back. This will allow me to hear errors more accurately so I know where I need to practice most. I will keep a weekly blog of my progress so that I can set myself clear targets to improve and reflect on what I have achieved in each session. This allows me to ensure I am continuing to work to the best of my ability. I will read my blog every two months to check I am really improving, as opposed to repeating exactly the same and expecting different results.

d. How will you ensure and collect peer/tutor feedback along the way? What impact will this have on the rehearsal process?

As there are limited rehearsal spaces, I will share a practice room with Amber. As such, we will both be able to give each other feedback every week, and Miss Rotchell can come to listen to both of us at the same time. This will also enable us to work on duets.

e. What are the Health & Safety implications of rehearsing your chosen repertoire in your rehearsal space?

As our practice room is fairly small, it could easily get very messy, meaning that we could easily trip over wires, amps etc. But honestly, I think our area is pretty safe. The only other issues are if other students break equipment. For example, someone broke the plastic coating of the piano key off and it became rather sharp.

For my backing tacks, I will use the iPads connected to an amplifier. I will check any cables before use to ensure there are no live wires exposed. This is to reduce risk of injury. As for the amplifier, I will ensure it is turned down to begin with, and adjust the volume later, to decrease the risk of hurting our ears. Similarly, I will keep equipment apart to reduce risk of feedback.

I will check the room before I use it and if anything is unsafe I will report it to my teacher so that it can be sorted out. Using electrical equipment always carries some risks. Noise can carry a risk to the ears so I will ensure that amplifiers are turned down before switching them on and I will avoid feedback sounds by keeping equipment far enough apart.

1.2 DISTINCTION: Evidence clear understanding of what the rehearsal process will look and feel like and how they will engage with it. Within this there will be strong evidence of clear understanding of where potential issues may lie. Strategies for how these may be overcome effectively will be in place. Clear understanding of the relevant health and safety implications associated with rehearsing music in context will be evident, with clear understanding of where issues may occur and how they may be avoided.

MERIT: Evidence clear understanding of what the rehearsal process will look and feel like and how they will engage with it. Within this there will be evidence of some understanding of where potential issues may lie and some thought as to how these might be overcome. Clear understanding of the relevant health and safety implications associated with rehearsing music in context will be evident.

PASS: Based on their personal goals, evidence understanding of what the rehearsal process will look and feel like and how they will engage with it in order to refine their performance effectively. Learners must also evidence understanding of health and safety implications associated with rehearsing music, relevant to the context in which the rehearsals are taking place.

1.3 Follow your plan for rehearsal that you just described in 1.2 in order to refine your 15 minute set - Keep your blog updated, include teacher and peer comments and reflect on recordings along the way. Keep looking back to the plan!

1.3DISTINCTION: Evidence excellent musical, technical, self-management, interpersonal and safe practice skills relevant to, and throughout, the rehearsal process.

MERIT: Evidence good musical, technical, self-management, interpersonal and safe practice skills relevant to, and throughout, the rehearsal process.

PASS: Evidence of competent musical, technical, self-management, interpersonal and safe practice skills relevant to, and throughout, the rehearsal process.

1.4 Evaluate – this is at the bottom of my blog.

1.4 DISTINCTION: Evidence clarity and realism in evaluating the degree of success of the rehearsal process as a whole and of their role within it. Strengths and areas for development are defined clearly. Strategies for the ongoing refinement of the rehearsal process will be in place.

MERIT: Evidence clear understanding of the degree of success of the rehearsal process as a whole and of their role within it. Strengths and areas for development are defined clearly.

PASS: Evidence understanding of the degree of success of the rehearsal process as a whole and of their role within it. As part of this, learners are expected to assess their strengths and areas for development.

22 September 2015

Today we had our first rehearsal for our smaller 15 minute set. Amber and I will be working together on one song and will each be doing two solo songs separately. Currently, we are deciding which songs to do, but we ran through a few possible choices, for example, I will probably be doing Think of Me from Phantom Of The Opera and a duet version of On My Own from Les Misérables with Amber. I might do America by Imagine Dragons for my third song.

I hope to achieve a really well polished and well presented set of songs to perform to a small audience, so next week, we will knuckle down much more and over the week, I will try and learn the lyrics to America and practise the other two.

29 September 2015

1)Over the week, I printed out chords and lyrics that I decided on last week. I also arranged On My Own for two people and practised all my songs a few times.

2)Today, I decided I was going to run through all three of my songs completely.

3)I did go through all three, just not all of Think Of Me as I'm unsure of the tune in places and Amber didn't know a lot of the chords (they're all difficult chords). I also realised that my three songs would not fill 15 minutes so have decided to do a fourth song with Jenny and Amber. I think we will be doing All That Matters Now from Finding Neverland.

4) Over the week, I'm going to practise all my songs, print out chords and lyrics for All That Matters Now and arrange that for three people. I will also check that the four songs fill 15 minutes, otherwise I may have to do a fifth, although I have a shorter one in mind that I could do. I will also talk to my vocal teacher about some of the higher notes to see if I can extend my belting range and try and strengthen my low notes more (we are already working on this).

Music Lessons:

Today I practiced I'm Not That Girl and Think of Me. We decided that as I'm doing Think of Me for my certificate, I should focus on that because the vocal ranges are so different! Think of Me is a very soprano song, whereas I'm Not That Girl is so low, I'm struggling a bit even having transposed it up to B major, instead of A major.

I worked on the Intermezzo and I really like it. It's a beautiful piece and I think that once I can play the piece properly, it will sound very good, as both my mum and viola teacher agree that I can play expressively. I might play it in my showcase or for my recorded performance. I also started a new piece called Siciliana, and while it's probably the easiest piece in the book, I don't like it as much and can't play it as nicely. However, I will keep practicing until I can play it well.

5 October 2015

1)This week, I quickly arranged All That Matters Now and in my vocal lessons I have been working on extending my range; I have recently started working on I'm Not that Girl in the vain hope that I can regain my alto.

2)This lesson, I wanted to see if my belting range had improved to some of the high belts in All That Matters Now (I have) and practise my songs. I also wanted to improve my chord patterns for America, so I talked to my teacher and she has given me some advice. She also is getting piano sheet music for Think Of Me so that Amber can accompany me better.

3)As usual, I ran through my songs a few times. I also learnt All That Matters Now (all parts)

Yesterday (Monday 4th October), Amber, Jenny and I ran through All That Matters Now together for the first time. While there were a few (a lot) of cracked belts and missed notes, it actually sounded quite good. Today, We ran through All That Matters Now again, Jenny and Amber having practised and learnt it overnight and it was much better.

4)Next rehearsal, I want to run through all my songs again and record them so I can listen back and see how I can improve. I also want to specifically work on Think Of Me so that Amber can learn the music.

Music Lessons:

In my vocal lessons, I have been working on Beauty and The Beast and I have just started learning I'm Not That Girl. However, because I'm Not That Girl is so low, we have been singing it up a tone so that I can make the low notes with any semblance of volume. And we are putting the last note up an octave (like Emma Hatton does). We have been working on developing my range and volume of low notes, as well as my posture.

I have recently started two new pieces, but I'm working most on Intermezzo Sinfonico by Pietro Mascagni. It's quite difficult and some of the fingerings are more advanced than I'm used to, so I think it’s helping me improve.

13 October 2015

1)This week, I haven't had much time to practice at home, however as I was working in Music at Open Evening, I had time to practice then.

2)This lesson, I was aiming to record my pieces but we didn't even get around to running through them all, mostly because Amber is struggling with Think Of Me. Also, I've been struggling with synchronizing the chords and lyrics in America and I'm unhappy with the way it sounds. However, I have another song that I have been working on separately which I may replace it with.

3)However, we have been practicing On My Own and have some really nice harmonies which we just need to practice.

4)Next rehearsal, we're having our first proper recording so I need to make sure that I decide on my final set list and practice my solo song so it doesn't go badly.

Music Lessons:

I practiced my new song, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from POTO. I didn't practice Think Of Me because Amber has the music for the key I'm doing it in, but I will photocopy it from her so we can practice.

We worked on the Intermezzo again but that's basically it we did. I've decided that I am very likely to do it as one of my other modules, either Live or Recorded Music Performance.

20 October 2015

1)Over the week I briefly practiced all my pieces.

2)I set out to practice all my pieces and finally decide on my set list.

3)Monday's lesson clashed with my vocal lesson, so I was only there for about 20 minutes. Also, there aren't enough practice rooms on a Monday so Amber, Jenny and I were all in the same room so there really wasn't much time to practice. However, I have finally decided on my setlist because I asked Amber and Jenny which song they thought I should do. They both agreed on America so I'm doing that as my solo.

This lesson, I ran through most of my songs and taught Amber Raoul's part of Think of Me. She still needs to learn the piano part as well though! 

4)Next rehearsal, we have to actually practice On my Own rehearse our harmonies in On My Own and practice Think Of Me.

Music Lessons:

My vocal teacher wasn't in, so I practiced for an extra hour at home, focusing on warming up properly and not straining for top not

Today, Miss and I played through Intermezzo Sinfonica and she decided that I needed a new piece, so I'm starting the Intermezzo from Carmen. (I don't like it, it's too hard)

10 November 2015

1) I have been very busy this week as rehearsals for panto are more often and longer as we get closer to the show.

2)Today, both Amber and I were feeling very ill. She was off school this morning and I have a really bad cough and sore throat. However, we practiced Think of Me and she got quite a way through it and is going to practice over the week. Miss is going to photocopy the music so I can take it to my vocal teacher.

3)We also practiced On My Own as it is quite low so it's not too hard for us when we have a bad voice. I ran through America at the beginning and end and was really pleased with my first result. However, the second attempt was not so good.

4)Next rehearsal I want to go through Think Of Me and All That Matters. I have told Amber that if she doesn't learn it, I will get a music student who plays piano to accompany me instead (I know about 3 or 4 grade 5 pianists).

9 November - vocal

We decided to practice All That Matters, although as Amber and Jenny weren’t there, I had to do it with a normal track.

13 November - viola

In Orchestra, we are doing Toreador's Song and Habanera from Carmen. The viola parts are both grade 4-5, although the Toreador is considerably harder. The only difficult parts of Habanera are the (1/16 note long) transitions between plucking and bowing (and the high Fs, but they're not so bad.) Miss gave me the music for Greensleeves which is quite difficult and is in a disgusting key (4 flats).

17 November 2015

1) I ran through all my songs in detail, ensuring I hit every note well. If I missed any note, 

2) We set out to practice everything over and over until they were perfect.

3)Today we decided that Amber isn't going to play Think of Me after all. Not because she hasn't practiced (she actually did!), but because in my vocal lesson, my teacher realised that it was badly written and changed to the wrong key. So I will find a backing track and Amber will play the easy piano version as a solo. I also recorded America.

We also ran through most of On My Own but I didn't bring my iPod so we struggled with pitching. But I think it's coming on well.

4)Next rehearsal, I need to find a backing track for Think Of Me and On My Own.

America evaluation:  

I wasn't particularly happy with this recording. The chords were messy throughout, and my pitching was inaccurate at the start. In the chorus especially, I played some wrong chords and the timings were off, so I played a chord pattern which was different to what I'd rehearsed. I was also very uncertain in places and sang with a weird accent in the chorus especially. The transition to head voice for "your mind will set you free" was kind of weird and sloppy- I need to work on the strength of my upper register. The ending was also messy- I held the notes for too long and forgot the chords.

However, I was quite pleased with the tone of my singing. Pitching was mostly accurate throughout and my vibrato was good, when I used it.

16 November - vocal

Unfortunately, we discovered that Think Of Me had a messed up key change but tried that out in a few different keys. We decided I should buy the proper version in C (but I don't really want to in case it's another badly written one. So I'm going to use a backing track or use the version in her book.)

19 November - viola

Today we practiced Intermezzo Sinfonico and I didn't like the Intermezzo from Carmen so I began another piece, Traümeri. However we decided it was too easy and I started Melodie (which is also probably a bit too easy).

23 November 2015

1)I practised all my pieces.

2) We set out to time our work.

3)Today we ran through all my pieces and then timed it. However, it only came to 11:36, so I decided to do Pompeii by Bastille as well because Amber and I did it in our music lesson last year so it would be an easy piece to bump up my time to the 15 minute requirement.

4) I want to practice Pompeii tomorrow.

24 November 2015

1) see yesterday's entry.

2)I set out to at least manage America.

3)Today I just practiced all my pieces on my own. I'm not entirely sure I practiced Think Of Me in the right key though. I was planning to find a backing track for On My Own but I haven't as yet. Over the week, I didn't practice much but I did practice Think Of Me.

4)Next week, I need to ask Jenny if she actually wants to do All that Matters because she hasn't come to practice with us for a while and it's nearly our performance. If she's not going to do it, we need to change the arrangement so it's a completed piece.

23 November- vocal

We decided that the version of Think of Me that miss has is okay for my voice so I'm going to use that and I think Miss Rotchell is going to play it for me in my performance. We're also going to cut the ending (the ahahahahahahahahah bit) so it sounds better.

1 December 2015

As I am in both the school orchestra and choir, I could not make the lesson today as I was in the community concert. However, so were both my teachers so I doubt I missed much! I filled out a few pages in my booklet as well as practicing for an extra hour at home.

30 November -vocal

We practiced Think of Me, which is really coming along, and began working on a few breathing and technical exercises and warm ups. Miss said she'd photocopy me the music for Think of Me and a Christmas song, although that has yet to happen. She also gave me music for White Christmas which I will work on.

3 December- viola

Today, I'll be honest, I didn't play a right lot. We decided that I should begin work on the speed I can play at, for example switching position or just simple first position but FAST. Unfortunately, we ran out of time so I didn't actually play any of the technical exercises but I will practice some simple music at home using some of the techniques we discussed.

7 December

I didn't like Pompeii so decided to do Keep Up With My Love by Carrie Hope Fletcher.

Basically I didn't practice a lot, was in a room with two others so had very little time, and was generally uninspired to do music. Keep Up With My Love was just a piece I liked when Carrie sang it but it didn't work very well when I did. I needed to choose a piece, though, as it was very close to the recording date.

8 December

1)I practiced all my pieces.

2)I set out to decide on a fifth song.

3)I didn't like Keep Up With My Love because I felt my pitching was off. I tried Adored by Him by Dodie Clark, Quiet from Matilda and eventually ran through Let Her Go. It's not great, I don't know the words perfectly but Amber and I might do it because we have some pretty AWESOME harmonies. I have to practice that to death this week if I'm actually doing it!

I ran through America (which, according to Amber was the best I've done yet) and All That Matters (although I feel that we have some pitching issues). Miss Rotchell came into our practice room to rehearse Think of Me. I then recorded Bleeding Out.

Now I’m a little nervous because I haven't got a 15 minute set and I don't know how much I have got. Depending on how my rehearsal goes, I may just play a simple piece on my viola.

4)I need to practice a lot for next week and decide on a song to practice.

Bleeding Out Evaluation:

The majority of the song was played too fast, and my chords were inaccurate a few times as a result. I played a few wrong notes and a few wrong chords and some of the high notes were strained. The ending was also too slow. I also changed the tune a lot, and I'm not sure how well that worked.

On the other hand, I really liked my tone and the a capella bit at the end worked really well. My pitching was accurate- even though I changed parts of the tune, it did fit with the music.




7 December - vocal

We practiced Think of Me several times, working on my breath control.

10 December- viola

We decided that for the performance, I will play Jupiter. We practiced this in detail, but I kept messing up in the same place, even though we went over it many times.

15 December

Today I practiced and practiced and practiced Jupiter and then we recorded!!!

Full evaluation of first dress rehearsal:

My first song was America. On the whole, this was better than I had previously thought, although I did make a mess of my chords in several places. For example, at the end of the first verse, due to my not having the lyrics and chords out (clever, I know), I forgot a chord, which sounded very sloppy. I also played the wrong chord or root note on a few occasions. The balance in this song is very bad and I could hardly be heard over the piano, but I could hear enough to realise that in the bridge, I went out of tune. Thankfully, most of my pitching was pretty accurate. I also felt like there was not enough variation of chord patterns, although this was due to nerves and my forgetting which chord patterns I had practiced. The ending, to me, felt rather disjointed, and I repeated the chorus too many times. the fade out effect worked at the end, which I was pleased with.

My second piece was Jupiter. To be fair, I hadn't practiced it a lot as I chose it in a last ditch attempt to increase my time to 15 minutes. I kept accidentally double stopping (I do this a lot and I can't help it, although I'm working very hard on it) and my bowing was scratchy, bouncy and messy. I hadn't previously heard this in my pieces before, but my viola teacher mentioned this (only once, but still...). A few of my notes sounded wrong (mostly too sharp) and as I mentioned in my quick evaluation earlier, I messed up the same place twice, although this was not too noticeable. However, on a happier note, I really liked my vibrato, especially on my lower notes. My viola teacher agrees that this is definitely one of my strong points in viola. I liked the allargando at the end, which I emphasised a lot! However, this lead to my final note being far too long and needing two bows, which ruined the smooth sound and diminuendo to finish.

My third piece, Think of Me, was accompanied by my class teacher, Miss Rotchell. I was very pleased with my performance in this song, overall, as I managed all the octave jumps, had some vibrato in there and there was a good balance. My pitching was correct, although I struggled with a few high notes. My final note worked well, which I'm pleased with. However, in the instrumental sections, miss struggled with a few sections and she couldn't read the music properly at the end so briefly stopped playing. This confused me, and you can hear my voice wavering slightly as I unintentionally have a complete solo! However, overall, this piece was my favourite and was my best performance.

On my own- what can I say?! In a few sections (second verse), I loved this. Our harmonies were perfect, our pitching was accurate and I felt that it could be taken onto a stage. But that was only verse two. The intro was awful. We were out of time with each other: I held notes, whereas Amber cut them off quickly. We were out of time with the backing track. I was probably out of tune and our balance was awful: you could hear me loudly and you could hear Amber quietly singing to a different rhythm. The first verse started well with Amber’s vibrato and her voice just being amazing and brilliant. And then I forgot to come in, sang out of time (slightly) and out of tune. Verse two, as I mentioned before, was great. From the bridge through to the end, my pitching was out, my timing was out. Our balance didn't work. In the final verse, I took a lower part and belted those harmonies (out of tune, no less), whereas Amber took the tune and sang it very well- in her head voice. As a result, you could hear my (not quite) harmonies loudly and you could barely hear Amber's fabulous, tuneful melody line.

My final piece was with Jenny and Amber. It's a song from Finding Neverland called All That Matters and is honestly lovely. I think the way I arranged it suited our individual voices quite well. However, at the start of verse one, Jenny sang her entire part out of tune. However, her verse two was very good, very in tune and very emotive. She has a really nice voice and a strong vibrato, but that first verse really was very flat. I think this is because she doesn't know the song very well and has not practiced it very much with us. Amber's parts were all emotive and fabulous and again, her voice is incredible! I don't have anything wrong with any of her performances, if I'm honest. Again, my timings were not great, and it felt sloppy due to this. I struggled with my high part, the second half of the second verse. All of us tried too hard (maybe not Amber so much but I don't really want to listen again), resulting in out notes feeling pushed. This doesn't sound nice at all. Honestly, I think a lot of it was mostly us trying to out sing each other. Again, Amber's vibrato is beautiful. Finally, the end harmony worked really well- then we king of lost the note, I had to breathe and I ended up singing the wrong note at the end. It was good and then it was not, which is a real shame, if I'm honest.

11 January

1) I prepared for the lesson by practicing my new song. As I made a very rushed decision on my final song, it was not very good. I also don't particularly want to bring my viola to school three days a week! Therefore, I have decided to do another Imagine Dragons song, Bleeding Out, as it is one of my favourite songs (and has quite easy chords!).

2) I set out to practice Bleeding Out and On My Own.

3) I actually did practice both pieces. I ran through Bleeding Out several times and we tried to run through On My Own. Unfortunately, one iPad would not turn on and the other only had 5% battery and wouldn’t connect to YouTube for the backing track. Therefore, we searched up music online, but it was about a semi-tone, maybe a tone, too low. It was also really messy again.

4) Next week, I need to run through Bleeding Out until I have learnt ALL THE WORDS. I also need to print the lyrics and chords off over the week so I don't use Amber's phone again.

7 January- Viola

We ran through the Intermezzo again but I was too tired to play anything properly. I was also trying to conserve energy for my show that night. Miss told me to choose a new piece for next week (talking of which, I should probably do that).

8th January - voice

Given that we came back to school on Tuesday, I had my lesson on Friday, not Monday. Miss said she wants to enter me for my grade five so we looked through the curriculum and practiced one song I might be doing. It's called "I Could Have Danced All Night" and is from My Fair Lady. It's such a pretty song and the story is really cute.

19 January

1) Over the week, I printed off lyrics to Bleeding Out and practiced it a lot, at home, at church, everywhere. I also practiced America.

2) This lesson, I planned to run through All That Matters to smooth out the harmonies, timing and pitching issues. We also planned to do the same for On My Own.

3) We did run through All That Matters, several times, and Miss Harris helped us fix some of our harmonies (or rather, swapped Amber and my parts around because it fits better). We briefly practiced On My Own using Jenny's track as the iPad didn't connect to YouTube. I also ran through Bleeding Out and Jenny said she liked it.

4) Next week, I have to run through Think of Me with miss or find a good backing track. I don't sing so well with a backing track but I may have to make do because I'm not comfortable only singing with her playing on the actual performance.

18 January - vocal

We ran through I Could Have Danced All Night and I have actually nearly memorised it all already. Miss suggested a song called Little Buttercup from HMS Pinafore for my pre-1920 song and I listened to it after my lesson. I don't actually like the song much but it's a nice routine.

21 January - viola

I practiced Greensleeves, which is coming on nicely, and that was about it, really, as my viola teacher misremembered the time of my lesson and came in ten minutes late.

26 January

1) Over the week, I practiced Bleeding Out several times and I am working on a first recording of it. I also plan to do it in House Music as it's one of my favourite songs and I think it's quite good.

2) This lesson, I had another appointment halfway through the session so I didn't plan to do all my pieces. I wanted to run through Bleeding Out, America, All That Matters and Think of Me.

3) I managed to practice Bleeding Out, America and All That Matters. However, I couldn't find Miss Rotchell ANYWHERE so I couldn't do Think of Me. I also couldn't find a backing track as YouTube is blocked at school. 

4) Next week, I have to run through Think of Me with miss or find a good backing track. I don't sing so well with a backing track but I may have to make do because I'm not comfortable only singing with her playing on the actual performance.

2 February

1) Over the week, I practiced Bleeding Out many times (very loudly) to try and learn my lyrics completely.

2) I wanted to practice Bleeding Out and Think of Me before my dress rehearsal next week.

3) However, I actually ended up spending the lesson helping Jenny and Amber record their dress rehearsal: many of our songs cross over and they needed someone to play the backing tracks.

4) Next week, I need to do my dress rehearsal, and Amber wants to rerecord hers. I need to practice Think of Me with a backing track and On My Own several times this week.

I did record two songs with Jenny and Amber so I will evaluate them:

On My Own

I was not pleased with my performance in this song. I didn't sing many of my harmonies and I forgot to sing at all in some parts. I also forgot the lyrics to the fourth verse (I love him, but when the night is over/ He is gone, the river's just a river/Without him, the world around me changes/The trees are bare and everywhere/The streets are full of strangers), as did Amber- despite having the lyrics and arrangement in front of me.

All That Matters

This was slightly better but I could hear myself going out of tune in several places. I am literally so exhausted at the moment that it is having an impact on my voice and I'm struggling to project, let alone sing to the range I could before. However, this was mostly okay, I suppose.

1 February- vocal

We ran through I Could Have Danced All Night several times and began incorporating some choreography. Unfortunately, the portacabin room is tiny so there's hardly any room for choreography. I haven't yet decided on my post 1970 song, although I was considering Home (Beauty and The Beast), I Dreamed a Dream (Les Mis), My House (Matilda), or I Know Things Now (Into The Woods).

4 February- viola

We practiced Greensleeves. I also stayed through the next student's lesson and half the lesson after that. This is because one year seven has decided to start viola, so miss asked me to help tutor her. The next pupil was a little late so I had a fifty minute lesson!

9 February

1) Over the week, I practiced Bleeding Out a LOT for House Music but not a lot else...

2)I wanted to practice Think of Me with a backing track. We asked Miss Rotchell for an iPad but she never gave us one. I had been planning to do my dress rehearsal but there was a PE group in the hall so I couldn't. I have to do it on the first Monday after half term instead.

3) I practiced Bleeding Out and America. I did practice Think of Me but I couldn't use a backing track. I used my score and played my cue notes but it didn't work as well as I'd hoped. However, I did hit all my notes, which was good.

4)I have to practice all my pieces over half term. I'm performing the first day back so I have to practice!!!

8 February- voice

I spoke to Miss about organizing my grade 5 as my mum hadn't managed to do it online. She called my mum at lunch to talk about it.

We practiced Little Buttercup (I got the notes right, despite not finding time to practice over the week) and decided on my modern song, I Know Things Now from Into The Woods. We also ran through this.

When I got home, we eventually decided that I wasn't going to do the grade after all. My mum (despite spending all week trying to tell me I should do it) thought I shouldn't do it as I was too stressed. However, I still want to do all the work as if I were doing the exam.

11 February- viola

Miss decided that I could share my lesson (without asking me) so invited the two year seven girls. She gave us some music for an orchestra in which violas had the tune. The others played viola 2 and I played the tune, but it was so easy, it wasn't a challenge.

 Monday 22 February

1) Over half term, I both slept and practiced. I came back to school and my voice was much happier and rested and I knew my songs. My timing and pitching had improved enormously and I was ready for my dress rehearsal.

2) I wanted to achieve a good dress rehearsal.

3) I feel my dress rehearsal was very good, actually.

4) Next week, we have to plan for our real performance?!

Dress Rehearsal:

Equipment

To set up our equipment, we plugged the amp into a plug socket below the stage. Using the built in lead, plug the mic into the female connector below the stage. This connects to the amp more securely. The wire can be twisted around the mic stand to hold excess wire out of the way. The iPad used for the backing track can connect to the amp with a jack-lead.

The piano was already set up on stage for another event within school.

Think of Me (Phantom of the Opera) solo - unable to be performed on stage due to equipment complications.

https://youtu.be/iydl42JKRXc

https://youtu.be/zhWSw-MGihk

https://youtu.be/3mgVPJeQV-4

https://youtu.be/G_s9BT2sFjI

Teacher comments:

Think of Me

Lovely tone for the majority of the piece, you really convey the emotion of the piece well - well done Ella.

Changing into head voice needs some more security of technique. How could you further improve this?

Think about your performance - where will you look to? Any movement? How will you change this performance for the stage? See if you can get Ms Colligan to record this with you on stage at another time.

Sustain - is your sustain on notes correct throughout the piece? Are there any places where you think the note could be rounded off more cleanly?

All that Matters

Confident tuning, despite a small slip towards the end, harmonies are secure.

Good level of balance between each other and the backing.

Excellent attention to the emotion of the song, nice use of dynamics and expression.

Entries lack some confidence when they are shared with others - how could this be improved?

Ensemble - think about stage presence and communication with the others singers.

On My Own

Good balance between you both.

The title of this song makes it an unusual duet so maybe think about how you make this more convincing e.g. singing solo for verses where you are currently singing in unison?

There are a few places where you need to listen more carefully to the backing in order to sync it correctly.

Last note tuning slips.

Ella- be careful of the rhythm in faster moving passages.

Bleeding Out and America

Good tuning and emotion.

Lovely change to head voice in America.

Try to keep the music going throughout, there were a couple of places where you hesitate, make sure you don't lose the beat later on or let the music rush, the piano should keep the piece steady throughout.

The piece is quite repetitive, how could you add further interest to the piece?

Think about the angle of the piano - what will the audience want to see? How can you show interaction with the piano? How can the piano better express the emotion of the voice?

The rehearsal process as a whole

Your rehearsals have been focused and productive. You were organised and prepared for rehearsals. You have made good progress in developing your vocal skills lesson on lesson and have effectively learned your repertoire. You have demonstrated excellent attention to the detail of the music working hard to give a technically secure but also musical performance. You have also shown capability with setting up the equipment promptly and safely in all rehearsal sessions. Attention should be paid to how you present your performance, especially when using the piano - use your drama experience here to improve your presentation of songs.

Evaluation of Final Performance:

Today, we listened back to the recording of our dress rehearsal. Overall, I was really happy with the results, as I think it was the best I've performed many of the songs, although both Imagine Dragons songs were, to put it kindly, awful.

My first song was Think of Me. I performed this in a side room while Amber and Jenny were setting up, during my lesson, as I still had a few minutes left, and it works much better with Miss Colligan accompanying me. Honestly, I was impressed by my performance, and I feel it was the best I have performed it yet. I started off strongly and I was in time throughout the piece. My vibrato was strong and I ended strongly. Although I felt while recording that my voice had cracked a couple of times or that I'd slipped out of tune, this was not actually true. While my voice did crack once, it was practically unnoticeable. I only noticed it because I was expecting it! The final issue I had with it was that in places, my transitions between head and chest voice were quite sloppy and very noticeable. However, given that miss tends to give Think of Me to her grade 7 or 8 students, I can't be too upset at that!

Changing into head voice needs some more security of technique. How could you further improve this?

To improve, I need to practice! As I continue lessons, I will learn better technique and learn to use my mix-voice, which will act as a transition. This will mean that the distinct dynamic differences will be less distinguishable.

Think about your performance - where will you look to? Any movement? How will you change this performance for the stage? See if you can get Ms Colligan to record this with you on stage at another time.

During Think of Me, Christine is singing in an opera. She is looking out into the audience, so I will look up and out as well. She uses very little movement, so I will probably stay mostly still. For the stage, I will try and keep it fairly similar, although when I sing into a microphone, it will strain my voice less as I won't have to project so much. This will also help with the transitions between head and chest voice, as I won't sing as loudly in my chest voice, so it will be easier to match the volume from my head voice.

Sustain - is your sustain on notes correct throughout the piece? Are there any places where you think the note could be rounded off more cleanly?

I think that in all my pieces, polishing will be needed, but to be fair, I will never be satisfied with my own performance. The notes could almost certainly end more clearly, but I am, not used to this, as many of the notes last a long time, and I run out of breath. This leads to a shaky ending.

Then, I did my two Imagine Dragons songs. I started with Bleeding Out, which was an awful idea. Bleeding Out is incredibly low song, and Think Of Me is... incredibly high. Therefore, my lower register was not yet warmed up and I barely made a noise in the very lowest parts. In one part, I forgot my words and chords, which was noticeable as I just stopped. My chords were messy in several places, for example, in the second verse, I stopped looking at the piano and so made a mess of my chords. Very clever! I also felt like I was speeding up throughout the song. My chord patterns were sloppy and improvised and I was really upset at the outcome as it was no where near my best performance. I needed to end the song earlier as I sang the chorus three times at the end and improvised the bridge. For the final performance, I will sing the last chorus only once and be done with it! Finally, and this is a problem I get a lot, I forgot to breathe in places and my voice became strained. I am working on this with my vocal teacher, so I will hopefully rid myself of that issue soon.

My next song was America and again, I was underwhelmed by my performance of this. Again, my chords were a mess, in several places, mostly because I kept not looking at the keyboard! However, despite the mess of chords, the bridge was the strongest I've done it yet and the ending was strong.

The piece is quite repetitive, how could you add further interest to the piece?

Quite honestly, I kept the song as simple as possible, because I was not very confident on the piano. I feel like I could experiment more with chord patterns- maybe broken chords, or chords over two octaves, as opposed to chords and a bass note. As I mentioned above, in Bleeding Out, I kept repeating the final chorus far too many times, as I forgot what I was doing. Only singing this final chorus once will shorten the song, but it will also prevent it becoming so repetitive!

Think about the angle of the piano - what will the audience want to see? How can you show interaction with the piano? How can the piano better express the emotion of the voice?

During this performance, the piano was set up at the back of the stage, under the assumption that we would have separate pianists. However, this was not the case. In another performance, it would be better to have the piano centre stage, and closer to the front. This means the audience can see me better, and I can project towards the audience.

On My Own was fabulous. It was honestly the best we've done it. The introduction was not great, as we both knew different versions of the lyrics and our voices clashed a little. However, from the start of the tune proper, it was brilliant! Our voices were strong and our vibrato was clear. Our voices complimented each other and our pitching was perfect. Unlike last time, our harmonies worked and our timing was accurate. We put lots of emotion into our performance and it came out well. Our ending was strong and emotional- until the final note. I think we held this for too long as we didn't have enough oxygen to hold the note for long enough and it kind of went out of tune. However, I still feel like it was the best we have done it.

The title of this song makes it an unusual duet so maybe think about how you make this more convincing e.g. singing solo for verses where you are currently singing in unison?

At the start of the song, we did have solos. However, the whole premise for the song is the idea that two people can like/love each other without realising their feelings are reciprocated. That's why we made it into a duet, and perhaps we should have explained it better at the start of the piece. We also mostly sing different parts (one harmony, one melody), so it wasn't just a flat duet.

All That Matters, while good, was not brilliant. As before, Jenny's starting note was a lot out of tune for the first verse. Unfortunately, she was also flat, although to a lesser extent, for the second one. However, I feel like she's getting better, pitching wise. In her second verse, she was also out of time, which was a shame, as she threw me a little as well. By this stage, my voice was kind of dying, as I had been singing for nearly 15 minutes for the recording, as well as 25 minutes of my singing lesson. Therefore, I was considerably quieter than usual and in most of the chorus, I was the only one singing in my head voice, and often, you couldn't hear me. The ending was... awful. Amber's voice cracked and we were all out of tune. It was not something I could be pleased about.

In conclusion, I was quite pleased with my overall performance. Although I'm very annoyed at some parts, I'm very pleased with others and some of these are the best I've done yet.

However, my weaknesses were mostly in stamina. My voice was tired by the end of the set, which made it sound worse than usual. We also needed to improve on stage presence.

Entries lack some confidence when they are shared with others - how could this be improved?

Once again, this needed a hell of a lot of practice. It was messy. If we had practiced this song more, instead of losing focus and practicing unrelated songs, I feel like it could have been a lot better.

Attention should be paid to how you present your performance, especially when using the piano - use your drama experience here to improve your presentation of songs.

Honestly, none of us really considered how we would act the songs. Think of Me is sung without much movement in the show, and the two Imagine Dragons songs couldn't have had any movement while I sat behind the piano. However, I could have improved my stage presence; I didn't even face the audience!

For On My Own, I feel like we should have been on completely different sides of the stage, to emphasise the fact that we weren't playing characters standing together! We could also have included some degree of movement, such as walking around slightly on lines that mention walking with "him". We could also have choreographed some movement for the bridge, as it is the most powerful and passionate part.

For All That Matters, we could have incorporated some movement to show that we were either the same person or talking to each other, whichever perspective we decided to go for.

In this performance, I feel like my strengths were in knowing my harmonies and parts completely. The balance between us was also good, most likely because we all have a similar style and tone. The tuning was also mostly good, and my belt is strong.

For my worst songs, I honestly just forgot to warm up. This was a mistake, and I could have improved by rearranging my set list so that it was a more gradual change into my lower or higher regions of my voice.

On stage, we needed to be aware of our stage presence-- which we weren't, in all honesty. We obviously needed to face the audience, but we should have been in character, especially as our songs were from theatre.