Evaluation Of Project

I believe the main stages/ types of activities in putting on a live music event are the song choices/rehearsals, the advertising of the show, the preparation of the performances for the show and the show its self.

Song Choices/Rehearsals

Song Choices are an important part of the process as these song would be what we are performing and we as a group need to start rehearsing it as soon as possible in order to maximise the amount of creativity we could add into each song. Rehearsals are important as we can't go on stage unprepared as it wouldn't make us look good and would potentially make the audience feel like the wasted their time preventing them from coming to other shows.

The songs were chosen by the singers themselves with the band having little but not all input. This was because the singers had to be comfortable and confident in what they were going to sing, this creates a sense of aesthetic appreciation. However with Lyssa, she didn't know what song she could pick so our fellow bad member Fabrianna chose one for her as she knew what her vocal capabilities were and could understand what she would enjoy performing. This showed that our group had enough chemistry that we could potentially suggest a song for singer and they would most probably like the song. 

What was less successful with the singers choosing their own songs is that if care isn't taken they could take weeks trying to find a song they'd like to sing. This situation happened to Shanade as she didn't know what to sing until she was forced to pick one which she didn't really like. She later changed her song to something which she and the instrumentalists would enjoy playing.

All vocalists were able to have songs which they could perform in about 2 weeks, excluding Shanade who later changed hers. I would've preferred this to be done in a week as we were short for time and many people had A levels which meant their attention could be directed there so we had to maximise the time we had for rehearsals. Taking 2 weeks to choose songs wasn't time effective. I believe, due to the chemistry in our group, that each member could've gone home and researched a song or 2 for each vocalists which they felt they could perform and share it with them. Then the vocalists could pick out of the options given by the others in the group. I believe this would've worked better as now they have less choice of songs to pick from and due to our chemistry the vocalists would've at least liked 1 choice from their group member. If we were to do this again I would implement this method of song choices.

For rehearsals, we had a rehearsal manager which was me. The times and dates of the rehearsals were already set as we did them during our initial lesson times. However I mainly picked what was to be rehearsed during those dates and I informed the group on a group chat which included us all. What went well here is that there was always a final decision made about what we were to practice on our rehearsal days. If there wasn't a final voice, it's possible for us to turn up to rehearsals still not knowing what we would practice that day. Also when I informed the group, people sometimes informed me back that they may not be available on that day which allowed me time to re-schedule what would be rehearsed. I normally informed the group a day before the rehearsal, sometimes I did it on the morning of the rehearsal. What I could've done instead would be to create a timetable for each day of our practice leading up to the show and write down who's song we would be rehearsing. This would create less stress for me over the weeks and also allow the group members to plan accordingly.

What could've went better was if the group members would let me know if they would be late because there were many cases when people were late without informing the group which would disrupt the rehearsals and cases where people didn't turn up at all without reason. For example on Monday 13th of May, there was supposed to be a split up plan which i informed the group on Saturday 10th of May. However, many people were late that day and some didn't even turn up which caused heavy disruptions to my plan. I feel like Individually, everyone including myself, could have done better to reduce the amount of disruptions to plans caused in rehearsals. The only way this could have gone better is if the group members simply informed me.

Advertising the Show

Advertising the show is important as this is how we gain audience for the shows. Without the audience, there is no show. Also advertising the show lets us give information to the public who will be able to plan how they'll be able to make their way to the venue and about costs.

This part of the process was mainly handled by the Marketing and Promoting group. 

The first thing they did was to schedule a photo shoot for posters and flyers for the show. These were posted on and around the college and in public places. We were also able to get a soft copy of the posters and flyers allowing all the group members to share it on the social media platforms in order to generate more awareness of the show. The end product was of good quality. However they didn't do this till Wednesday 15th of May and it clashed with our rehearsal time. Also the quality in printing the flyers and posters could've been done better. We could have went to a professional who focuses on printing these type of poster and flyers however it may have cost some money. The benefit of this is that the product would've been of high quality. However, our show wasn't really a major show so it wouldn't have been as cost effective to spend a high amount on this.

Preparation of the Performance

The preparation of the performance is important as it is what we will be selling to the audience. This preparation includes Lighting & Projection and Choreography. The group won't just be singing and playing but we have to create a performance which makes our set stand out in the show.

This was handled by the Lighting & Projection group and Choreography group.

Lighting and projection was evident in each of the singers songs and we had a range of lights, from still lights to flashing lights to black outs. The execution of the lights were also brilliant making this part of the preparation successful. These were mainly sorted out on Wednesday 20th of June when the group was practising in the venue with all the equipment we were to use on the actual night.

There was a sense of tolerance for the vocalists choice shown as others understood it's what they wanted for their song. For example Diana just wanted a spotlight on her with hardly any lights on the band, personally I felt my effort in the song was being pushed into the dark however i understood that there was no reason quarrelling over it as we would be eating into our rehearsal time and it would cause the group to lose rapport and respect.

Individual Contribution involved the vocalists already having an idea on what they wanted for lighting and projection. For example Janelle wanted a projection to be shown during her performance and she had sent the soft copy to the lighting engineer so their was no fuss in retrieving the file.

However, the plan for this to have been done by the Lighting and Projection group was supposed to be done since May 10th. The Lighting & Projection group had said during the meeting on the 8th of May that they would have asked each vocalist what lighting they wanted by May 10th. When doing the lighting on the 20th of June it was cutting into our rehearsal time which we could've spent better rehearsing and rectifying mistakes. Although we only did it on the day, due to the professionalism of the Lighting engineer, we were able to complete all lightnings during that rehearsal.

It would've been better if the Lighting and Projection group had previously liaised with the lighting engineer before 20 of June as it would've been easier to just rehearse without having to stop during every single section. They should've also made a more realistic deadline for collecting all the lighting information from the vocalists as this made them seem un-serious.

Choreography was only heavily evident in Janelle's song in which she had a dancer performing with hr on stage and also had the bv's doing a couple of moves on stage. However, there was also movements in other songs. For example, Fabrianna's song involved her doing some solo moves as the lead vocalist but also the bv's were moving which made them involved in the song and also gave the song the energy it needed. This also encouraged the crowd to dance and move along to the song making them feel involved in the performance.

Except for Fabrianna and Janelle's performance, no one else had actual choreography or movement in their song as a lead singer. Some songs wouldn't suit it but it was the job of the choreographers to try and put choreo into most songs. This wasn't done. The Choreography crew mostly focused on their own songs having choreographers as lead vocalists. This showed a sense of selfishness on their part. It is possible other singers didn't want Choreo but I do not recollect knowledge of that.

Although the choreo we had in the performance was good, it would've been lovely to have a dance crew performing alongside the songs. There are many dance crews available inside the college and some of our group members have access to other dance groups outside the college. This would've created an even bigger reaction than we got.

Individually, everyone did their best in terms of movement, no lead vocalists stood absolutely still during their performance which made them look confident and prepared. Also in rehearsals, we encouraged the lead vocalists to move during their songs, this shows Team work as without this, some people wouldn't have the courage to dance or move on the stage.

I believe the advertising , lighting & projection and choreography could've have been mandated better if we had consistent meeting like we ere supposed to. Our meetings were supposed to run ever Wednesday for 10 mins after rehearsing. however we only did this twice that I know about. If we had these meeting more regularly we would've been able to question each group on what they promised and why it hadn't been done, this would make them do their jobs.

The Show

The show is an important part of the process as it is what we have been practising for and we had to showcase our product to our audience. This part of the process is where we as performers give it our all in hope of the best reaction from the audience.

The show it's self was a success in my point of view as we were able to execute the performance of all songs completely and to receive a standing ovation at the end. Personally, I may have made a few slip ups but due to rehearsals and me understanding the songs, I was able to rectify them without it being evident to the audience.

I believe what we could've done to introduce ourselves could be changed. I did a spoken intro for the band by introducing us and communicating with the audience. However, I believe we could've started off with a intro music produced and performed by the instrumentalists to introduce the group.Also we could've had a projection of our group name in the form a of a logo during this intro. Then after this the vocalists can come one and start their songs straight away with and let our music would do the talking for us.

Concerning the appropriacy of the show, i believe our songs were appropriate, none of them included any profanity as such making our performance available for the younger audiences to listen to safely. I believe we could've been cautious of how the lighting may affect the audience as in the last song we had a lot of flashing lights which may have disturbed the audience, however the feedback i received was that the lighting brought out the performance even more. The pricing was also relatively cheap for the performance. £5 for adults and £3 for Concessions and children. What could've gone better would be the involvement of the crowd more. Lyssa's song included a lot of crowd involvement which made the performance exciting, this would make the audience feel more involved in the show.

Commercially it looked like a success, most of the seats were full which means we sold at least 100 tickets. It would've been great to have a full house, I think this could be achieved if we broadened out the way we advertised our show. For example this could be done via giving it to a social famous person from the area who could share it, this may cost a fee but it would help us gain more audience.

Conclusion

The process coming up to the show could've been better dealt with and I've mentioned a few methods which I think could work if we did this project again. However the actual show it's self was received positively by the audience and us as performers felt really happy after performing. We showed closeness with one another by praying together, taking pictures together and afterwards celebrating together. 

Individual Preparation

The songs which the vocalists picked are from a variety of genres, this meant I would have to play in different styles and understand the stylistic features of the genre. This meant I had to do some research in order to understand the role the drum plays in each genre.

Janelle and Hafusat's songs are both from the Afro beats style of music. I listened to D'Banj - Oliver Twist and Wande Coal - Iskaba, as well as the songs which Janelle and Hafusat chose, in order to highlight some key features in the rhythm. There's is frequent use of syncopation and complex rhythmic features. To input this I made sure I understood the ostinato played in the songs the singers chose in order to have the same Afro beats vibe.

Shanade's first song choice was Rihanna - What Now which was a Pop song. I listened to Rehab another one of Rihanna's songs featuring Justin Timberlake. They both had similar rhythmic patterns and helped me understand how it is used. The beat wasn't too complicated however timing is very crucial in order for the song to have that strong pop feel.

However she later changed it to Jorja Smith's version of Luther Vandross - Never too much. This was a R&B song. 

Fabrianna's song was Jazmine Sulivan - I Need You Bad which was a Reggae/ Soul song. Preiviously, I had performed as a drummer a reggae song for a singer which was Beres Hammond - I Feel Good. This made me more confident about playing the song as I gained some knowledge then when trying to understand reggae music. Still, I listened to Bob Marley - No Women No Cry as the song is a famous reggae song. The rhythmic features I learnt about reggae music is that the snare and kick both play simultaneously on beats 2 and 4. Also I was able to gain some knowledge about fills in reggae from the Bob Marley song which I implemented in Fabrianna's song. We later added Pressure - Love & Affection at the end of the song to add our own stamp to the performance.

Lyssa’s song was Jorja Smith - On My Mind which is a fusion of R&B with UK Garage music. I only listened to the original song by Preditah to gain some inspiration. The song was very up-beat and the tempo is key for the success of the song.

Diana's song was Charlotte - Dirty Dirty which was a Pop Ballad. These songs are very expressive due to the nature of the style. So in order to portray this same expressiveness I would need to exercise dynamic contrasts. 

1. I practised Janelle's song Gbona in order to get the rhythm right and to understand what I could do during the song.

I also practised Adeipena as those two songs were going to go together in one performance

2. I practised Hafusat's songs Case and Ye in order to familiarise my self with them, this would make me feel more confident about playing fills once I understood the basics.

3. I went through Fabrianna's song Need you bad in order to understand the beat of the song and it's features. Although I had played reggae songs before I felt i could do with practice as I hadn't played on in quite sometime.

Budget

The Oxford Dictionary says that income is, "Money Received, especially on a regular basis, for work or through investments. Income is money you gain creating the inflow of money. This can be gained though salaries and profits over time.

Expenditure means spending money or the amount of money spent on something. Cambridge Dictionary says expenditure is, "the total amount of money that a government or person spends"

The allocated budget which we received from the college was £1000 to spend on our show. This would be spent on instruments and equipment which will be needed for the show.

I did some research into where we could hire instruments and found that Music Room London had the equipment we would need and in high quality.

The equipment for hire are as follows:

Keyboard x2
Bass Guitar x1
Drums x 1
Drum mics 5 set x1
Congas x1
Wireless Microphones x6
Hand held Microphones x5
D.I. Box x2
Mic Stand x11
Lighting x1

This all equates to £830











The next thing that needs to be hired is a venue. The hall I looked at was Harmony Hall in Walthamstow. I looked at their pricings and for what we would do it seemed the Melody Room on weekdays for community/ charity would be the best for us. This cost £25 per hour and our set is about 45 mins so this would be cost effective. Also the hall is located in a local area which all the group members know.



I researched the cost of printing posters and found PrintExpert gave one of the best prices and were also a local service in Walthamstow. The shop does 50 A3 posters for £45 which is relatively cheap and fits our budget.

In total the amount being spent is £900 and my budget was £1000 so I have and extra £100 to spend. This could be used to provide food for the group on the day of the performance.

Our show won't cost this much as most of the money being spent is going towards instruments and this will be provided for us by LSC. Also our venue is being given to us by LSC for free as we are students in the college. 

Organisational Process

This is a meeting was held on the 8th of May. The discussion included talks about how each role was doing and any developments.

Lighting & Projection: The people mandating this role are Kwaha and Diana. They said they had no ideas yet however by Friday 10th of May they would've spoken to every vocalist and got an idea of the lighting they want. 

Rehearsal Manager: I am mandating this role. I mentioned how I made a group chat including all members in order for communication to be easy. I also mentioned that I would be creating chord charts for each song by Monday 13th of May so that the instrumentalists would be able to know what chords to play for each song. I also mentioned that we need to focus on the structure of the songs which I made a deadline for on Friday 17th of May. 

Promotion & Marketing: The people mandating this role are Shanade and Edson.They mentioned that they've been thinking of ways to promote the concert e.g. Posters, Broadcast messages, and the use of various social media outlets. The main focus was for making posters which could be distributed and shown in public, this would involve the group having a photoshoot for the posters. They planned for this to be done on Wednesday 15th of May.

Backing Vocalists Leader: This role is mandated by Fabrianna. She spoke on the previous songs which she had sorted out the Bv's for and also the ones she is currently doing. She mentioned that she couldn't do Janelle's song as she's still figuring out the pronunciation of the language it is in. She gave the deadline of Monday 13th of May for all Bv's for each song to be done. 

Choreographer: This role is mandated by Janelle. She mentioned how she was in the process of doing the dancing for her song. However she hasn't started on anyone else's choreography was she's not sure who wants dancers and who doesn't. She said she would ask everyone who wants dancers and that it would be done by the end of May.

Our next meeting was held on the 15th of May. The discussion included talks about our last meeting and catching up on each others roles. Hafusat took notes of the meeting down and sent it to each member of the group.

My Role

My role for this music project is the Rehearsal Manager. I will be taking charge of what the band will be doing during rehearsal and when these rehearsals will be taking place. This includes the songs we will be practising, how long each song will be practised and making sure the band have previous knowledge of the upcoming rehearsal. In order to enable ease of access to all members of the band, I made a group chat on WhatsApp with all members so that information could go around easily.

The main idea of our rehearsal plans included having 3 rehearsals during the week. These days included; Monday 10:20 - 11:30, Tuesday 11:40 - 12:50 & Wednesday 1:20 - 2:30. We weren't able to do a practice on Thursdays as everyone was busy on those days as most of us have A level exams coming up. Fridays were dedicated to doing some music related work for our upcoming show.

1. On the 6th of May I made known to the band what songs we would be practising for the 7th of May. I suggested we practised Shanade Song & Diana's Song, If there was time I planned to touch on Lyssa's song. My reason behind choosing to rehearse these songs were because; Diana had changed her song from  to Dirty Dirty and we as a band hadn't gone through it so it was important we familiarised ourselves with it. Shanade hadn't been 100% sure of what song she would do until she picked Rihanna - What Now. Similarly we had to familiarise ourselves with the song as a band, also she made mention that she wanted to change the key as it was too high for her. Lyssa picked her song on the same day as the rehearsal and I didn't want to wait too long till we touched on the song as it could cause her to start changing her song. So I decided we would hear the song and attempt to find the chords and at least run through the chorus.

2. On the morning 8th of May I informed the band what we'll be practising Janelle and Hafusat's Songs. I decided to do these songs as they had some transitions which we as the band needed to work on. Also although we were familiar and confident with the styles and aspect of the songs, we needed to get the structures of the song down. Both singers chose to do a compilation of 2 songs for their sets and in order to make this compilation of a high standard, it was important that the transitions were smooth. 

However, we couldn't practise that day as I had forgot we had no rehearsals on Friday's, So instead I planned to do the songs for the rehearsal that upcoming Monday being the 13th.

3. I made sure to remind the band that outside practice of the songs are important for the development of our pieces. It was important that I made this known as most of the band do have exams and they may not focus much on the show ahead as they may feel overwhelmed by exams.

4. For the week ahead I planned to split the band into instrumentalists and vocalists with the vocalists having Kwaha to assist them by playing keys for each song they practice whilst us instrumentalist will have the Dele playing keys for us. I believe this would help the songs get better overall as it would be easier to focus differently on the instrumental aspect and vocal aspect separately. Some people mentioned that their songs didn't get much focus due to how short we rehearsed their songs for. So I made sure for the following rehearsals I made sure each song had equal rehearsal time.

4. I reminded the group the plan for the week on the morning of Monday 13th of May so everyone was sure of our plans. I also mentioned that no one be late so we can utilise our time efficiently.

Unfortunately, there was a serious lack of attendance so we couldn't do the split up plan during the rehearsal. This caused a serious set back to the rehearsal and the rehearsal plan. I made sure to express my frustration to the group just after our rehearsal time.

5. The following day, after informing the group what we will be practising, I told them all to mention on the group chat if anyone would be late to any rehearsal. Due to lateness issues again I decided to not do the plan this rehearsal as members crucial to the rehearsal informed me they'd be absent. Instead we used the time to go through some other members songs who were present. Although not part of my plan, it was better than to do nothing.

6. On Wednesday 15th of May I had planned to do Fabrianna's song as it was the only one we hadn't really dug deep into yet . However the Promoting and Marketing people wanted to do a photo shoot that day as well for the show's posters. I mentioned that I didnt advise we do them both on the same day and time as it is crucial that our rehearsal time be used more effectively. Seeing as it was the only day people were available to do it on, I mentioned that we would do it at the beginning of the practise but for no more than 30 mins as I only planned to do one song that day anyway.

When it got to the time of the rehearsal we had to start with Fabriannas song as there was some issues with booking a photo studio. We were able to do the split rehearsal idea but not exactly as I had planned. As Shanade was sorting out the photo studio the band rehearsed the song with Fabrianna, after about 13 mins of rehearsing we were called to do the pictures in the studio. Once that finished we had about 20 minutes to continue the rehearsal. The Bv's went over their parts with Fabrianna before joining the instrumentalists for a full group rehearsal.

        

7. On Friday 17th of May,  I informed the group that I wouldn't be available during the rehearsal on Monday as I had an A level exam which would clash with our rehearsal time. In order to make sure the rehearsal was going to run, I mentioned that I would deliberate with the deputy Rehearsal manager and he would inform the group on Sunday 19th of what the rehearsal would include. 

8. Unfortunately I couldn't get in touch with the deputy so I made the decision of doing Fabrianna and Shanade's songs. I chose to do these 2 songs as they were the only songs the group hadn't really got to grips with. I also mentiomed they should go over Lyssa song as it didnt need much practice as the others, it was our strongest piece at the time.

However I was informed that Shanade and Fabrianna also had an exam that day. I was then given the idea that the group should do Diana and Hafusat's songs. I took this on board as it was a good idea and also I didn't want to abuse my role by having every single rehearsal decision made by me without any input from the group.

9. After my exam I queried the group on the rehearsal in order to make sure things went according to plan. I was giving the response that they did Diana, Hafusat and Lyssa's songs. This made me feel a lot less stressed about me not being in rehearsals due to exams because i now know that they are still able to function without me being there. I also used that opportunity to ask Fabrianna if we could do her song the next day alongside Shanade's.

10. On Tuesday 21st of May, there was a lack of attendance without notice, however Shanade mentioned she'd be late. We were able to go through Shanade's song in the beginning. However after a discussion she decided she would change the song. People did start turning up later during the rehearsal so we had some time left to do Fabrianna's when she arrived.

At the end of Tuesday's rehearsal we planned to run through Shanade's song, becuase she was doing a new song and we needed to learn it as quickly as possible, whilst the Bv's went through Fabrianna and Janelle's songs. I made sure to mention this again on the group chat. After going through Shanade's song and the Bv's had finished, we came together to practise those 3 songs.

11. On the 17th of June I informed the group about the busy week we had ahead. On that Wednesday, we were going to be performing Lyssa's song for Battle of the Bands and I felt that was of the upmost importance. so our rehearsal that day was going to be focused on her song. 

Members of the group informed me they would have an exam. However once the Keyboardist said he wasn't coming, people started dropping out of rehersals which I wasn't happy with. In this mood I sent a paragraph expressing my unhappiness and trying o motivate the group to come in. Our teacher Dele also assisted me in this by sending voice notes into the group chat. People eventually turned up although they were a bit late. 

However during the actual rehearsal, once we finished rehearsing her song we decided to do a run through of the other songs in order to highlight any possible mistakes which needed to be rectified in time for the show which was this Friday. 

Preparation Of Venue

The Venue which we chose to do our performance in was Leyton Sixth Form College, The Theatre. This is mostly due to past experience and suitability.

In the past, as a group,  we have done about 5 performances in this same venue. With these 5 performances we were able to build a fan base at Leyton Sixth Form College, to suddenly change our performance venue could reduce the turn out which we normally have. This venue is easy for each member to get to as it's not to far from any of our homes. This allows us to invite our friends and family further increasing the turn out. Also, our rehearsals were done around the same area so it brings a sense of comfortability for us. There is also access for any disabled members of the audience allowing them ease of access into the venue.

Leyton Sixth Form College has a lot of good quality equipment which we could use for the show. This would be really convenient for us as we wouldn't need to be transporting instruments from location to location. The most we would have to worry about is moving the instruments from one room into the theatre. Also other equipment such as mic, mic stands, monitors, PA systems etc will be provided for us in the venue so we wouldn't need to transport our own or purchase any of these.

Also the venue has high quality sound and lighting rigs. The sound engineer, Dele Awojobi, would be able to help maximise the quality of our playing so that the audience can hear us clearly. We could also ask for some effects on vocals such as reverb, delay..etc in order to decorate the sound. The lighting would be controlled by Tyler Dew. Our Lighting & Projection crew will be able to liaise with him letting him know what kind of lighting each singer wants for their performance. This helps beautify the stage and highlight a difference in each singers songs.

The venue also has a in house security team and a front desk team. The security team can assure security for people going in and out, also they'll be able to take care of any possible disruptions to the show. The front desk team are very dedicated in their work. Previously the team have proved to be helpful to audiences trying to find their way into the performance venue, toilets, and other things they may be queried about. There is no doubt they will be able to provide this same attitude for the show. Both security team and front desk team show professionalism in what they do.

There is also ease of access to tickets for the show. Via the college website, their is availability to purchase a ticket online before the date and on the date of the show. This allows people to have a guaranteed seat for the show and won't have to worry about space on the night. Also people can still buy tickets via the front desk on the night of the show. This doesn't limit the audience to one way of paying for their ticket.

Spacing is really important when thinking of a venue for the show. The venue seating capacity is approximately 150 people, however there is space for them around the edges of the seats for people who don't get to sit. The venue also has enough space to fit the instruments and other equipment we will be needing for our show. We will be having 2 keyboards, a lead mic with 5 Bv mic, a 2 part brass section, 2 sets of African percussion and a Bass guitar. The venue will be able to hold all of this. Also with the spacing for parking, the college has approximately 90 spaces for vehicles however there are also some off road parking surrounding the streets.

Concerning food and drinks for the audience, the venue has vending machines which serves crisps, food bars and drinks. Also there are some street shops 5 minutes from the college so there is availability for hot food.

Selection Of Material / Rehearsal

1. Shanade's first song choice was Rihanna - What Now. She picked this song as it was the only song she could think about that she could perform confidently at the time. However, she changed her song on the 22nd of May because she felt the Rihanna song didn't show off her skills enough and she couldn't really perform it to the level that she would enjoy it. So she changed her song to Jorja Smith's version of Never Too Much by Luther Vandross.

Fabrianna's song choice was Jazmine Sullivan - Need You Bad. Due to the nature of the song we were able to combine it with Pressure - Love & Affection. Both songs were from the Reggae genre so it allowed transitions to be smooth. We first rehearsed Need You Bad before adding Love & Affection which we placed at the end of Need You Bad.

Lyssa's song choice was Jorja Smith - On My Mind. This song was a fusion of genres which were, UK Garage, Soul and R&B. The song was suggested by fellow group member Fabrianna as Lyssa didn't know what to perform. This song was also to be picked for Battle of The Bands which we were going to perform in.

Diana had a song choice which she changed as she felt it didn't have enough emotion. She changed the song to Charlotte - Dirty Dirty. This song was a Pop Ballad which included lyrics about love.

Hafusat's song choice was a combination of two afrobeats songs which were Teni - Case & Burna Boy - Ye. We first practiced Case and Ye differently before including a transition to make performing them both smooth.

Janelle's song choice was also a combination of two afrobeats songs. These were Kidi - Adeipena and Burna Boy - Gbona. 

1. This is the video of our first rehearsal on Monday 6th of May. We were practicing Shanade's first choice song. We worked on getting the correct key, chords and beat of the songs. We did this as we needed these things in order to actually practice the structure and additional musicality of the song. The objective of this rehearsal was to get the basics of Shanade's song down. This took a lot of trial and error but in the end we were able to play the basic. We were able to communicate with each other saying what sounded correct and what sounded incorrect in order to speed up the process. I believe the rehearsal could've been better as the bad previously knew what we would be recording so the finding of chords and keys could've been done before the actual rehearsal. Shanade, after the rehearsal mentioned that she wasn't confident with her song choice and would prefer to change this. However this would be hard to do as we were short of time and didn't want to risk having to practice different songs every week for her. Everyone was on time for this rehearsal which allowed us to maximise our rehearsal time. However, we had planned to do Diana's song as well but she didn't turn up for one reason or the other. The target for this song in the next rehearsal was to get down the structure.

2. On the 13th of May we were supposed to practice Janelle and Hafusat's song which was the target for the rehearsal. However Janelle didn't turn up to the rehearsal so we only focused on Hafusat's for the first 30 mins. We were all already familiar to the key, chords and beat of the songs so we practiced structuring it. After Hafusat, instead of wasting time, we practiced Lyssa's song instead. We got down the basic structure and key of her song. We weren't able to complete our target but we were able to utilise the time we had sensibly. 

3. On the 15th of May we practiced only Fabrianna's song as the Marketing and Promotion crew were holding a photo shoot on that day. The target was to get the key, chords and beat of the song. I had previously made a chord chart which I gave to the other musicians to speed up this process instead of spending the whole rehearsal on just finding the key, chords and beat. People turned up quite late for this rehearsal so it reduced the time we had for rehearsal So I used this opportunity to do a sectional with just the band and the lead singer whilst the bv's practiced elsewhere. Fabrianna was confident about singing this song, however she cautioned me on the tempo after the rehearsal that I should make it slower. Our target for the next rehearsal for this song is to get down the structure and also include some additional musical features to decorate the songs.

After the photoshoot, we were able to rehearse the song with the bv's which brought the song together.

4. On the 20th May, I wasn't available to attend rehearsals as I had an A level exam. However I made sure the group knew what they were practicing which was to be Hafusat, Diana and Lyssa's songs. The feedback I gained was that the rehearsal went well. I informed the group that i wouldn't attend on Friday the 17th so i feel like I gave them enough notice and was a good example to what everyone else should do.

5. On Tuesday the 21st there was again a lack of attendance. However we were able to do Shanade's song. She feedback to us during the rehearsal that she wanted to change her song which we planned to do for the next rehearsal. When people turned up we were able to do Janelles song however we could only focus on the transition from Adeipena to Gbona.

6. On the 17th of June we were going to practise Lyssa song. Our target was to get it poslished in time for Batlle of the Bands. However people were being unreliable again and turned up late, this wasted time. Once we did do Lyssa song we were able to do a run through of all the other songs. This was a good use of our time as the show is this Friday. We were able to meet the target set and do more which was a great success. The feedback on this rehearsal was that everyone was ready and excited for Battle of the Bands.