Having been off for the last two weeks since the end of the holidays with a fabulous phlegm chest infection this is me just getting back into the swing of things. Deadlines are again creeping up on us and the stress is piling on...
Dissertation.
I have had very little time to consider my dissertation over the past while. Something I shouldn’t really be admitting! However, I have been thinking about directions in which it could go. I recently saw a Horizon programme which talked about the phenomenon of synesthesia; a condition where a person can hear smells or taste sounds etc. I intend to do more research into this as the programme stated that it is thought that we all to some extent possess certain elements of this ability or some might call it a condition and that it may perhaps be a trait that most of us loose as we grow older but that children are more likely to possess. If this is the case it may have a bearing on musical perception, especially in young children, and I feel this idea is worth more exploration.
Whilst in London a friend told me about his friend, Kilford, who is known as ‘The Music Painter’. He produces paintings alongside live music and has worked with people such as Damon Albarn, Black Eyed Peas and The Charlatans to name but a few. The idea of music inspiring visual art is very relevant to the subject of musical perception and perhaps ties in with the idea of synesthesia. Anyway, I’ve been in touch through my friend, and when I’ve got more of a handle on the main thrust of the dissertation he’s happy to sit down and talk about how he interprets music in to visual art.
Therefore, the problem with this dissertation is not lack of source material but picking out what is relevant and what is not! I need to be quite focussed on what I am trying to say but, as I am currently finding, musical perception is a very hard thing to pin down. However, as far as conducting my own study goes, I have had the go ahead from the school to use their children. I have to submit a proposal to them but they don’t seem to think that it will be a problem. So I think that for now, I need to do a little more research into the methods that have been used to ascertain things such as synesthesia in children as these are certain to be geared specifically towards age and ability to communicate in order to develop my own study. Once I have conducted this, then I will be able to discuss the findings and pose some theories as to what these findings might mean and if they will allow us to move towards or dismiss the idea of accepting music as a universal language, which keeps within the remits of the original question and makes for a good structure. (I hope).
Ensemble
The bane of my life at the moment is ensemble. Although, this week has been more productive. Before the holidays I did an arrangement of Sing Sing Sing on Sibelius trying to share the horn parts out between the two guitars. This proved to be a bit of a nightmare in practice at first. However, this week I feel we’re finally starting to get a handle on it. This is going to be the big number of the set so it has to be as close to damned perfect as we can get it. Especially as, as much as anything, we’re out to prove our dissenters wrong. The downside to this realisation is that we are tending to focus so much on this track that other songs are falling by the wayside.
I think that there is definitely the issue of members of the band not being as familiar with the tracks as might be liked. So I’ve ripped all the audio from videos so everyone can have a copy of the tracks. Even if we are rearranging the songs knowing the tracks inside-out is going to be really beneficial and make rehearsals so much easier and productive. I also feel that if everyone immerses themselves in the style and gets a feeling for jazz chord progressions etc (which are so different in so many ways to pop) then we’ll be able to approach our interpretation of the tracks at the very least from the perspective people who know what they’re talking about to some extent. I’m also hoping that by providing everyone with the audio it might negate me having to provide the sheet music every week too. At the moment I feel that some are more involved in the ensemble than others and that the project would very much benefit from EVERYONE’S input, ideas and most of all preparation before we come to rehearse.
One of the tracks that we’re working on is “Why Don’t You Do Right” and I’ve become obsessed with the piano on the Amy Irving version. As far as authenticity is concerned I’m probably about 10 years out with the style but right now I don’t care (!). The piano is immense on this version and I’m sure that although this style of jazz is more 40’s it has been built upon conventions of the 20’s and 30’s and in that way I feel that it won’t be too out of kilter to incorporate elements of it into our interpretation. I’m having trouble with working out the voicings and some of the very complicated runs. Unfortunately and surprisingly, no one seems to have transcribed the piano part for this track. So it’s back to the keyboard for more bleeding fingers.
We have a meeting regarding out research for the Ensemble project with Marlisa on Monday morning so I’ve made sure that everyone has a copy of the proposal in order for them to find source materials. It’s easy to forget when you’re so focussed on the performance aspect that we’ve also got to write about it as well....
Individual Project.
Finally I feel like I’ve made steps towards getting my individual project moving. I’m going to have a meeting with Marlisa tomorrow and I actually have an acceptable plot outline and a firm idea of the songs that we’re going to include in the musical. I now need to arrange auditions for the cast. I’m hoping to have posters up on Monday for sign-up and after speaking to Marlisa tomorrow I’ll be able to go around the classes on Monday and tell everyone about the production to see who’s interested in taking part.
This is actually really scary for me. After months of talking about it this is the step that will actually make it start happening which means that I can’t get cold feet and back out now. I’m not sure if it’s normal to feel panicky about stuff like this but it does really feel like I’m putting my head on a platter. In retrospect I think that this is the one thing that I’ve not really done a lot of during my time at college. I’ve written songs for my group work and I’ve played as part of a band but perhaps I’ve not always been comfortable to put myself forward as a creative person. I think that this is down to fear of criticism. Well perhaps not criticism. I can accept criticism for my playing but to put something forward that you’ve created such as a song or the idea for this musical – it leaves you feeling exposed – like it’s not WHAT you are doing that’s being judged but WHO you really are. It’s like exposing your soul or something (which sounds a little dramatic) but I’m quite happy with my soul snuggled away happily safe and warm where no one can poke at it thank you very much.
Anyway, I’m not sure if this really is the forum for discussing things like this but I suppose the blog is meant to be for self-reflection and that was pretty self-reflective. I’m going to go and throw up now!
Promotion.
Finished my case-study for class this week. It wasn’t exactly what Helen had asked for but I fear that in my old age I’m struggling to devote 2000 words to an inspiring artist! Of course I could probably have written about Blur again but I fear that there might be a restraining order in the post. So, I came across a study conducted by PRS which talked about band branding. It provided lots of interesting issues to discuss in respect of promotion of oneself as a musician so I’ve discussed these instead of focussing on just one “inspiring” act.
Having been at deaths door for the last couple of weeks I’ve not had a chance to catch up with my designer so it was good to have a chat and see what she’s been working on. She’d come up with some interesting designs for logos drawing on some of the ideas we’d discussed previously. My favourite was the union jack umbrella logo; the umbrella being an idea that Robyn suggested when we were brainstorming and that I liked so much that I intend to use as a recurring motif in the actual performance. So I was really pleased that she seized upon this and used it as a logo. I feel if this appears on the promotional material it will really give the whole project a sense of unity.
As part her own side of the project Robyn has had to produce a portrait of me (!) I wasn’t sure that with the focus of my project being a musical rather than a gig showcasing me as a performer or my own material that a portrait would really be something I could use. However, Robyn has gone away and had the most fantastic idea of rendering a picture of me in the style of Julian Opie who provided the artwork for the Blur ‘Best Of’ album; a picture which now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. I love it! It really keeps with the theme of Britpop and I suppose that as part of my pack that will be handed in to showcase the work I’ve done for my degree I’ll have to write a bit about me and what I do. As I really want this year to feel like a culmination of work towards an entire product this picture as an accompaniment to that biography will really tie everything together.
We’ve decided that once I’ve auditioned and cast the main characters for the show we will be able to start working on the photographic artwork for the promotional material, which again will include the umbrella motif. Onwards and upwards!
Production
Have been really stressing about production. Studio time, getting the band together, EVERYTHING.... is a hassle. However, I have a band together now kind of so we shall be rehearsing tomorrow. Had a meeting with Dave McFarlane in how we should approach this recording and he’s been very keen to record in the theatre which hooks up to the Eastlake 3 Studio. This required speaking with Andy Wardle who is in-charge of all things live and happening so off I trotted to the production base. This proved to be an excellent occurrence. Andy was really really helpful and has suggested that if I rehearse the band that it might be viable to do the songs as a lunchtime gig and have it recorded that way. I need to speak to Marlisa about this as it doesn’t give us a lot of time to rehearse but at the moment with the time restraints I see this as the best way forward. This lead on to a discussion about whether the project tied in with my individual project, which it does. Andy took the word musical a lot better than I expected. Phew. I had been hoping that I would be able to stage the performance in Perth Theatre but in reality I’m not so sure how viable this will be so it’s good to find that Andy felt it was a plausible project to be held at college and the fact that I had started planning for it now would make it easier than leaving to the last minute. (Goes without saying really but....)
In Other News ....
I eagerly await the grade 5 theory results of my first student to sit an exam. Much excitement!
