Practise and Preparation

Before my solo performance I had to make sure I was well prepared. My main focus was rehearsal; making sure I practised with the backing tracks as much as possible. Plenty of practise means that I could give a slick performance without worry. However I didn't rehearse the gaps in between the change over of the tracks. To do this I should of played the whole set  preparing what I was going to say in between. This meant that my performance wasn't as solid a it could be because I was improvising what I was saying which ruined the performance slightly as I wasn't fully prepared meaning I wan't as confident. To prepare myself before the performance I also made sure my voice was well warmed up using various vocal warm ups. I also sung through the set just before I started allowing myself to be fully confident that the songs were firmly in my head. I should of prepared more though with my mic technique as that was the one thing I didn't practise so I didn't really give much of a performance.

Final Performance

 Overall I think it went well however I am disappointed in myself that I forgot a few lyrics which didn't make the performance as good as it could of been. I am also disappointed that I didn't perform to the best of my ability as my fear of performing alone overtook me and had forgotten what I had practised. If I did it again I would make sure I worked harder on my stage confidence as in my opinion I didn't focus enough on the actual performance. I also would consider a different song as I feel Beauty and the Beast was still very weak compared to my other songs. However after receiving feedback from the audience I feel the performance was a success with a few minor mistakes which I managed to carry on from.

Amazed Second Attempt

This is my second attempt at Amazed. I am confident with this song as this song is close to my heart. I know need to work on making sure the emotions are coming through as I sing. Again I can do this by singing to myself in the mirror focusing on the emotions on my face.

Beauty And The Beast Second Attempt

This is my second attempt at Beauty And The Beast. In my opinion this is my weakest song so this is the one I will be working the most on. I am still not sure of the lyrics so need to keep going over them until I learn them. Once I have learnt the lyrics I then need to make sure I am supporting the higher notes and also make sure I am breathing in the right place. An technique to do this is laying flat on the floor with my tummy on the floor. This allows makes me work harder when I sing supporting myself more with the high notes.

Electricity Second Attempt

This is my second attempt of Electricity. I feel confident with this song however to improve the song I need to work on the dynamics making sure I make the song vocally interesting. I would have the verses quite which builds up to a strong chorus following the lyrics off the song.

Runaway Baby Second Attempt

This is my second attempt at Runaway Baby. I feel confident with this song however I also need to make sure I perform the song as it is a feel good upbeat song that people can enjoy. I need to practise on entertaining the audience as it isn't a very enjoyable performance right now.

Gambling Man Second Attempt

This is my second attempt at Gambling Man. I need to practise in a mirror making sure I look like I'm enjoying myself as it is an upbeat song however in this video I look miserable. Practising in front of the mirror is a good way for me to watch my facial expressions learning the different faces I pull as I sing.

Put Your Records On Second Attempt

This is my second attempt at Put Your Records On. I feel much more confident with this song after performing it in front of a crowd. I am confident with the lyrics I can now focus on performing the song instead of just singing I can interact with the audience engaging them with the lyrics. I need to show the audience I am confident as it would be boring to watch a song being sung without a performance.

Vocal Training

To train my voice and to help strengthen my vocal chords I am using a channel on youtube called EricArceneaux. He has step by step guides to help train my voice. This allows me to break down the training in simple steps to prepare for the solo project. Below is a screenshot of the youtube page as well as an example of one the videos.

Performance Location

This is a picture of the location where I have chosen to do my solo project. It is a music live room in the college which has been sound proofed meaning I wouldn't get distracted by the sounds of outside the room.  It is a small room which allows me to connect easily with the audience engaging them in my performance. I also choose to perform in front of my class mates as they are familiar with me performing and feel confident performing to them. For me performing is easier to people who are familiar with me instead of too strangers. This is because I am a very conscious person and always worry what people will think of me however performing to my class means they are used to me and I don't feel as conscious. Because I have chosen to perform in front of my music class each member has been in the place of solo performance so they know how it feels so wouldn't judge me on my performance. I also choose to perform in front of my music class as I can ask for feedback on my songs before the solo project allowing me to gain musical knowledge feedback as well as general feedback from other members outside the class.

Rehearsal Schedule

First performance of Put Your Records On

 
This is a video of the first performance I did of Put Your Records On. Recording myself allows me to work on what I need to improve on for my solo project. In my opinion the main thing I need to focus on is my confidence as I look to the floor a lot not focusing on the audience. To improve my confidence I need to perform in front of people more so I am used to people watching me as this is my main fear; I'm very conscious and feel vunerable when it is just myself performing.

First Try Of Amazed

This is my first try of Amazed. This song is the one I most familiar with. Although I am confident with the melody and the lyrics now I need to work on making the song my own. This creates a more interesting experience for the audience as the song is more original if I change it slightly. I also need to decide how to perform this song to show the audience the emotion in the song. For me to perform this song showing emotion I need to work on my confidence so I am able to perform the different genres comfortably without feeling shy or nervous in front of the audience. Performing on my own is a fear off mine it makes me feel uncomfortable, to help me improve this fear I need to perform to people on a regular basis allowing me to build my confidence as a soloist.

First Try Of Beauty And The Beast

This is my first try of Beauty And The Beast. This is the song I am least familiar with and is also the song that needs the most work. The main problem with this song is how high the song gets. I can reach these notes however I need to be able to support these notes confidently. When warming up my voice I need to make sure I warm up the higher parts of my vocal chords, making sure I breath correctly to support them. I need to be able to support the notes in the song so I need to go through the song working out when to breath.

First Try Of Electricity

This is my first try of Electricity. To improve this song I first need to decide if I am going to sing it as a character. If I was singing as a character it would be a cockney accent as Billy Elliot is set in London. In my first try certain words I sing have a slight accent compared to the rest so I need to decide how I am going to sing it. Once I have decided this I then need to work on my timing within the song as a couple of points I missed my cue to do this I would need to focus on the points I lose track and and keep practising them starting from a few bars before to get the right timing.

First Try Of Runaway Baby

This is my first try of Runaway Baby. I know this song well as i have performed it before so this song is my safety blanket. However to improve this song I need to make sure that every word is clear. Where the tempo of the song is fast I need to make sure all the lyrics are heard by the audience as it is a well known song. I can do this by saying the lyrics making sure I over exaggerate each word making sure you can clearly hear all the T's etc then I can apply this to the song so the words become clearer.

First Try Of Gambling Man

This is my first try of Gambling Man. Although I am quite familiar with this song the main thing I need to work on for this song is my tuning. I need to focus on the melody as at certain points I go out of key. Once I have sorted the tuning out I can then focus on learning the lyrics. A good way for me to do this is saying the lyrics whilst I'm doing something else e.g washing up. This way I know the lyrics so I don't have to think what the next word is which allows me to focus on my performance instead of what I am singing.

First Try Of Put Your Records On

This is my first attempt at singing put your records on. To improve on this song I need to work on the bridge section as this is part of the song I don't really know that well. To help me with this I would first learn the lyrics to the section. I then would need to keep singing the song over so my vocal chords learn the melody line. This way I could sing the bridge section without having to think about what I was about to sing. Once I have learnt this section I then need to make sure I am confident with the song. I can do this by practising this song as well as performing it to different people to gain different opinions on how to improve the song. Once I am confident with the song I can then enjoy it as it is a feel good song.

Set List

Corinne Bailey Rae- Put Your Records On   

The Overtones- Gambling Man

Bruno Mars- Runaway Baby

Billy Elliot- Electricity

Beauty And The Beast- (skip to 1.25)

Lonestar- Amazed

Total: 23 minutes and 38 seconds

Ideas for Performance

Billy Elliot- Electricity. I think this would be a good song to perform as it would show my vocal talent as well as being a different genre of music, which allows me to show that I can sing different kinds of song making me more of a versatile performer. 

The Overtones- Gambling Man. This is an interesting son to perform as it is usually performed by a five part harmony group, so would be interesting for me to become the main singer with the harmonies to back me. However it isn't a very well known song so the audience could lose interest quickly in the performance.

 Coldplay- Fix You. I really like this song and think it would be a good song to perform as it allows me to show my vocal range. It is a well known song so the audience would be able to relate to the song as well as join in. However it has a very long instrumental in the middle so if I choose to perform this song, I would either have to cut the instrumental down as it would be awkward for the audience if i just stood there, as I don't really know what to do in the instrumental.