Dec 2018 – Page 2 – Ellie Thornton Music

Monday the 17th of December 2018

This morning I started my day off within the library which was fun, purely because i was locked out of my account all weekend (including Wednesday through to Friday). So I got that sorted out and then I proceeded to word process my Stylistic Analysis for Jason which I set a task of getting it to him today no matter what, which I am proud.

Then I got over to music and we started our day off in the mac suite talking about all the work we need to get done within the next 3 days which I am concerned about my peers, as I’m more than definite some of them aren’t doing well work wise, but that isn’t my burden in reality.

I started off my Gig Evaluation today and finished it around half three gone which isn’t too bad considering how much detail I put into it. We were mean’t to have rehearsal at some point during today to write an original but that concept got scrapped very quickly after I had to keep correcting our guitarist on his “chord structure” which didn’t work theoretically in anyway at all so I had to keep correcting him which was comical, I don’t mean to be brutal; I’d rather we do things right the first time instead of going back to fix our mistakes in a second take.

I spent my lunch with Dean as he was having a rough time this morning which was completely understandable, it was a nice change to sitting round with the others as Dean is a lot more down to earth I wanna say. He has asked me to play bass in his band project thing outside of college which I will take a look at as I do to little practically in my own time.

I then proceeded to spend the rest of the day in the mac suite, I have a couple pages left in my theory book which has been a blast. Almost everything is perfect that I remembered from when Ben taught me, and I now know how intervals work properly as before I only knew what they were and why’d you use them which I think is an achievement in itself.

Grade 3 Theory will be my on going project over Christmas, along with Grade 6 Guitar and then hopefully Grade 4 Bass if I ask Chris nicely…

A Summary of this terms work…

Over the span of September, October, November and December we composed a few 30 second pieces to get us used to Logic in preparation for next year.

I have got to say everything I produced was absolute garbage, I know for well that composition is my weakest aspect and that I need to work upon it heavily to improve as musician.

I understand completely all of the aspects that are needed to be put into composing and songwriting, but when it comes to getting ideas it takes a while for me to come up with something worth listening to and not some half finished garbage.

Within preparation for the new term I have made a soundcloud which I will be uploading my finished works to, you can check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/elliethorntonmusic .

But if you were wondering what our first pieces were about and or consisted of here they are in no specific order.

Fareham News
How you see yourself
Happiness
Ringtone
Washing Machine

I have an idea of what to do next term but I will post about it later on!

Four Foot Shack – Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang

Four Foot Shack is the debut album of Duo de Twang, they’re country music duo formed by my favourite bassist and vocalist Les Claypool and M.I.R.V. guitarist Bryan Kehoe.

The album contains one original song and fourteen cover songs (although many of the covers are Primus or Les Claypool songs which is a bonus).

It was released on the 4th February 2014 by ATO Records. The genre of the album is Country and Bluegrass. The album lasts for 57 minutes roughly, and it’s definitely worth your time if you’re a fan of Claypool or Primus, or looking for something new to get into or to get some work done.

The aptly named twosome features Claypool’s signature bass playing and guitarist Bryan Kehoe’s guitar work coloring in and out of the lines of some good ol’ chicken-fried, well, twang paired with sparse percussion.

A bluegrass version of the Bee Gee’s ‘Stayin’ Alive’ is one thing. It is epic to hear an era-defining classic with belching slap bass and Claypool affecting a swamp-drenched vocal style. But naturally, we’ve come to expect this from Les, a man who takes “not to be taken seriously” more seriously than anyone else in music.

The “ah-ah-ah-ah”’s from the original become “howh-howh-howh-howh” in Claypool’s hands while Kehoe unleashes a funky guitar solo in place of the original’s bridge. Then there’s their take on “Man in the Box.” Here, the grunge anthem is turned into a chugging, Tennessee Three-sounding jamboree, over which Claypool – with his tongue embedded into his cheek at this point – takes Layne Staley’s vocal melody into cartoonishly operatic territory. Elsewhere, their amazing take on a fairly accurate (relatively speaking, of course) recreation of “Battle of New Orleans,” turn Primus’s “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” into a surprisingly serpentine sprint, and somehow manage to translate the definitive surf-rock track “Pipeline” into a coherent, Western—style soundtrack. You can see the tumbleweeds drift by as Claypool sings the song’s melody with as much satirical gusto as anything he’s recorded.

The album isn’t any kind of milestone or career-defining collection; then again, it isn’t supposed to be, either. I enjoy it greatly as it is a new take on some of my favourite tracks. But in reality it’s simply Les Claypool dicking around with other people’s songs. And, you know what? It’s still more fun than most of the Top 40!

Now That’s What I Call Fareham Music! Wednesday the 12th of December 2018

Before I go on I’d like to thank everyone that took part in last nights show, you all did well and it couldn’t have went smoother to the eyes of the audience.

On a more personal note, I enjoyed all of the performances I stuck around for, my most memorable moment was after we came upstairs to the backstage part with Chris running upstairs with a cheeky pint, that was hilarious honestly it’s such a vivid image.

Even though everybody I invited and sold tickets too didn’t all turn up; it was reassuring to have Chris, Jason and Dan on the floor. There were a few mistakes per each band which were noticeable to me, when it came to our band the mistakes were from our guitarist and then me missing some during ‘I Want You Back’ because of how fast we played it on stage. With it being our first song on the stretch for me whilst playing the bass line is immense along side not warming up for as long as I would before a rehearsal session as we were too busy watching the other bands.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the evening.

Aural Perception, Tuesday the 11th of December 2018

Here are the songs we went over in today’s lesson!

‘Love Rears Its Ugly Head’ by Living Colour

Time Signature – 4/4
Tempo – 166bpm (Allegro)
Timbre
Style – Funk/Soul/Jazz
Instrumentation – Strings, Drums, Bass, Distorted Electric Guitar, Male Soul Vocals, Synthetic Trumpet (Keys/Synth) and Male Backing Vocals.
Structure
Pitch
Dynamics

God knows why Chris put us through this but here is ‘Beautiful’ by Christina Aguilera.

Time Signature – 4/4
Tempo – 76bpm (Andante)
Timbre
Style – Pop
Instrumentation – Piano, (Synth), Female Vocals, Bass, Violin (Strings) and Drums (Processed, Drum Machine).
Structure
Pitch
Dynamics

One of my favourites from today’s lesson is ‘Cut the Cake’ by Average White Band.

Time Signature – 4/4
Tempo – 111bpm (Allegro)
Timbre
Style – Funk
Instrumentation – Electric Guitars, Male Vocals, Brass (Trumpet/Saxophone), Bass, Drums, Male Backing Vocals, Tambourine and Hand Claps.
Structure
Pitch
Dynamics

The final song is called ‘Carry On / Questions’ by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Time Signature – 4/4
Tempo – 138bpm (Vivace)
Timbre
Style – Folk Rock
Instrumentation – Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Male Vocals (four to five) , Electric Guitar, Snare Drum, (Bongos), Chruch Organ, Whole Drum Kit and a Cowbell.
Structure
Pitch
Dynamics

Tuesday the 11th of December 2018

How did we start this lovely day then, well we had one of our second to last rehearsals this morning which was tiring none the least. Our set went very well considering how rowdy our guitarist is being towards me, I don’t think he likes living under my shadow or that’s what I have heard at least…

These last two weeks are definitely going to be the slowest period this year, my patients for everyone around me is diminishing as I am slowly releasing how most people on the course are inferior to me in a sense because all they go on about is sex and drugs (and rock and roll) relationships, all of that jive. It doesn’t interest me at the moment, purely as of my age and I think it is fairly childish they way most people are getting at such things on my course.

Anyway, next up was composition, well instead of that we had Aural Perception because we don’t actually start composing until next year in which I may have previously mentioned. I am going to be going into fine detail with the elements of music and Aural Perception within its own section so keep an eye out for that!

Right listen here, afterwards we had Stylistic Analysis with Jason, always fun, never boring. I finished up typing my notes from Aural Perception, I had finished my work for Jason a while back so I have had the hour with him on Tuesdays to catch up with everything else.

Lunch time, the best time, I am joking I highly dislike it now; eating is fun but socialising with others on the course is not a thing I desire at all. I used to spend my lunches talking to Ben who was an adult, or I was in charge of the rehearsal rooms, etc whilst he went for lunch which was great, so being round people my age again to talk to is not something I am fond of.

I think I get along with Chris, Jason and Dan more than I do the students which is funny, I tolerate everyone else but I know for well I am not interesting to most and I am not like most teenagers as I have a more adult approach to life.

Rehearsal after lunch was so heated, our last rehearsal as a band before we get segregated next year, I felt a bit sad to be losing Millie as a vocalist because she is very talented and lovely to get along well with but apart from that I felt nothing.

Tutor was pretty basic this week we went over reflection and evaluation, but we will be doing that next week considering how we have to round all our work together! Afterwards Chris checked out my bass to see if he could use it for the gig tomorrow if he didn’t feel like carrying his around, that went well.

Spent the rest of my day with Jason which was something I look forward to because we have some mutual interests, unlike all the over students. He gave me some pointers on how to finish up my Stylistic Analysis which will be done by Friday which is relieving, I think it is going to be the first piece of work I have done in a while which I am really proud of.

This evening I am going to finish up Jason’s Christmas present, he truly deserves it after everything he has gone through this term and for helping me out with my miniature catastrophe recently.

Monday the 10th of December 2018

Woah, I am pretty tired. Our day mainly consisted of two rehearsals, the rest of the scheduled sessions were D.I.S.

Rehearsal was fine considering it was the first time we had worked together in about two weeks, our guitarist was pretty rude with me last night over the phone so that set a lovely mood for the day which will carry on until the rest of the term, but I won’t let it effect the gig no matter what.

T’was refreshing to see Chris and Jason after a long hard week, I got a bit of work done, but I mainly took my time to look at things with a wider perspective. I went back into school last week to speak to Ben about it all which was the final push I needed to carry on and realise that I’m doing alright, and that I don’t need to dwell in the dark as I have him, Jason, Tom and many others.

I finished my peer evaluation work up at the end of the day after rehearsal as after that session I always feel determined to do more which I did so with pride. I am going to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training tonight which I am looking forward to it because everyone misses me, my sarcasm and my wit..

Migration – Bonobo

Migration is the sixth studio album by British record producer and DJ Bonobo.

It was released on the 13th January 2017 under the ‘Ninja Tune’ label. On November 28, 2017 Migration was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards; the single “Bambro Koyo Ganda” (Feat. Innov Gnawa) was nominated for Best Dance Recording.

The genre of the album would be considered all of the three in which being Electronic, down-tempo and experimental. The album lasts for 63 minutes roughly, and it’s definitely worth your time if you’re trying to get some work done and or chugged out.

Migration is a fairly impressive improvement over their other album, The North Borders, and easily the most listenable record of Bonobo’s fifteen-plus year career. It’s a record with equal appeal for electronic music fans and general listeners, something you could put on anywhere. Essentially, it rejuvenates down-tempo as a genre with more potential than party music which is pretty naff anyway.

I’m pretty sure that it might not be the best music that our world is looking for, but it helps eliminate background noise which is a major distraction for me at least as my ears have to be doing something whilst I work otherwise I go off task.

The opening track, “Migration,” is a lovely, wholesome piece. The song slowly builds up on an ghost like mid-range keyboard and piano. Eventually, some distant drum sequences begin to form up and make up a solid foreground, the arrangement lets the drummer play before soaring into a vast and epic finish.

“Break Apart” uses a wide range of percussive tracks that blend and groove together as one. The marching snare finds itself in the distance behind many hand claps, finger cymbals, and a consistent bell rhythm. The vocalist Michael Milosh provides an ambient, melancholy melody, thus the listener begins to see why the theme of the album is so deeply rooted in travel, distance, movement, and shape shifting.

To me the overall theme is very moving, when I do go an travel or take long walks it makes me think about how open and free we can all be if we take a step back from technology and the rest of the rubbish that has kept us in shackles for an awful long time.

The album is worth to put on in the background if you’re looking to unwind after a long hard day which is how I was introduced to it. If you want me being brutally honest, you wouldn’t catch me listening to this album making daily commutes as I don’t think it fits my mood.

Wednesday the 5th of December 2018

The only major event that went down today were our instrumental exams which were surprisingly well organised. I completely messed up and forgot everything on the spot which wasn’t the best thing that could have happened. I am going to ask Chris for a do over on Monday which will hopefully take place before we break up for Christmas!

I spent the rest of the day sitting round feeling pretty mediocre, speaking to Jason helped a lot considering I thought hell was breaking lose in reality, but it was honestly the best feeling ever after I was told straight up as now I know how to move on and be the best I can be.

Theory was interesting, forgot my book because having a little cry last night was a priority over most things. I took in everything Chris was saying as a weekly recap which was nice, afterwards a handful of us went over the subjects at a much faster pace, someone kept getting some parts wrong which they called out but hey ho they’re learning.

I thought why not be very nice and cheer myself by helping Tom out with his theory work, we went up to the section Chris wanted and beyond. I made sure that Tom understood how it worked and tried my best to explain it to him, I think this will be great practice for in the future if I am aspiring to become like Ben, Chris and Jason!

Tuesday the 4th of December 2018

Well, well, well. It looks like NONE of my band mates were in today which was excellent considering what I had ahead of me. I’m going to cut it short but it wasn’t pleasant but I am happy (in a way) of the overall outcome, I feel like absolute garbage but I want to be better very, very soon because I don’t want stuff like this getting in the way of my dream/aspiration.

I got to say, I did enjoy the time away from everyone else as it gave me way more time than usual to ‘reflect’ or as Jason would like to put it (which is well said I have to hand him that) “dwell in the dark”. I did end up getting some Stylistic Analysis done with Jason whilst he taught the rest of his class, working seems to get my mind off of a lot which is quality.

Essentially I spent my whole day alongside Jason which was very kind of him, this included coming with me to student support which wasn’t pleasant but him being there made it ten times easier, tolerable so to speak.

I tried my hardest not to waste the time I had being absolutely upset and I did my best, all that there is to do is move on and work hard with help from the best lecturers around!