Over the last year I feel that I have improved a lot as a singer and as a musician. My singing lessons with Taylor have definitely played a major role in my vocal development. One of the things that we have worked a lot on was the preparation, breathing, resonation and keeping a focused sound until the end of each phrase.

Taylor spoke to me about support and has given me exercises to strengthen the muscles involved in the abdominal area, lower back and pelvis. When I warm up I usually incorporate this exercise as I feel that it warms up the muscles involved in the breathing process and support.

I have had a lot of difficulties in terms of creating the space and making the sound resonate in the right place. It was only after a few very frustrating months that I realised what I was doing wrong. I was creating the space and lifting my soft palate but once I started singing or making a sound I wouldn’t keep the space. It took me a long time to be able to feel and identify the correct way to do it.

We worked a lot on Vaccai’s practical method for singing, which I really enjoyed. I felt that my technique got better and I would come out of the lessons feeling like I had learnt something new that was really valuable. I just wish I had had more time to work on it and practice more. That was the first time that I started approaching a song in a different way, working on it in sections. Learning the melody and taking each phrase slowly, singing it with the right rhythm. Then, we would analyse the words and the way to pronounce them. Only after that we would put both melody and words together. This has also improved my sight- reading and I think that I became more aware of the intervals between the notes. Working on my technique and on Vaccai is definitely one of my goals for the summer holidays.

Another major problem that I had was engaging in everything I sing, being focused in what I am doing. By the end of this term I think I was getting better at it and I feel like I am starting to apply it in my singing as well. One of the things I am trying to correct is singing every note until the very end of it, not loosing focus as I usually get slightly out of tune when I do so.

I noticed a major development as a performer. I feel like I overcame the psychological barrier that was stopping me from going for it. I am more aware now of the importance of knowing a song inside out and finding the emotional connection with the lyrics. Another important aspect in a performance is the facial expression and the body language; I have started practicing in front of a mirror so that I can see what I am doing wrong; I can see my facial expression, body movement and most important how convincing I am being.

I also think that I have developed a lot since I was chosen by Music For Scotland. It has been hard work but a very rewarding experience. The main difficulty I found was singing for longer periods of time than I was used to. I have been more careful in terms of the volume I sing and the importance of using my technique properly when singing. I am also more aware of how to look after myself and my voice.

The pieces that I decided to do on my Solo Performance assessment were The Girl From Ipanema by Vinicius de Morais and Antonio Carlos Jobim, and All These Things That I've Done by The Killers. The way I approached both songs was very similar. I started by learning buying the sheet music for both of the so that I could learn the parts properly and I analysed the lyrical content of both songs. Although I had sung both of these songs before I wanted to correct possible mistakes I was doing and really work in the way I sang them.

The Girl From Ipanema
I decided to do my own arrangement of the song. In the Solo Performance Class I had performed this song accompanying myself on the guitar. In order to focus on the vocals and really work on my technique I bought a few backing tracks for this song, edited each instrument so that it fitted the genre and the feel that I was looking for, and mixed the track. As the original song is in my mother language - Portuguese, I decided that I would start singing in English, then I would repeat the verse and chorus but singing it in portuguese, then I would improvise during the verse and finish with the chorus. Although it is the same song, singing it in both languages was quite hard. First, it was like learning two different songs as the phrasing is different from the English version and the Brazilian accent is really different from the Portuguese. Because I speak fluent English and Portuguese it is quite hard to switch from one language to the other during the song. I recorded myself singing the song a few times so that I could listen back and correct possible mistakes. I have also practiced soloing during the verse by recording myself and listening back to it. I worked on this song with Taylor who gave me some tips in terms of my technique, performance and improvisation. 
I listened to a lot of different versions of this song that inspired my performance such as Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso & Roberto Carlos, Frank Sinatra, Amy Winehouse.
In my interpretation of the song I pictured myself at the beach in Portugal having a drink watching a tanned girl passing in front of me. During the verses I wanted to give an idea of confidence and a cool guy that usually gets all the girls, and in the chorus I wanted to change the mood as the lyrics change to a much sadder, lonely and almost heartbreaking situation. I found it particularly hard to sing the chorus in tune because of all the chromatic notes and key changes but I think that I managed to do it in the end.

All These Things That I've Done
All These Things That I've Done is a rock song by the Killers. I had performed this song in the Solo Performance Class and some of the feedback I got included the lack of energy in my performance and some technical aspects in my singing in terms of the high notes and singing until the end of the phrase. I worked on these aspects with Taylor but I think that i still need to work more on my technique. I think that I go out of tune slightly when I don't support enough and don't sing the phrases until the very end. 
In my feedback I was also told that it would be a good idea to get a band to play with me as it would probably make it easier and it would be much more comfortable for me to perform. I asked a few people and we had one rehearsal. The rehearsal went really well and everyone knew their parts but we needed a few more rehearsals. I wanted to be sure no one would make any mistakes and that it was really tight. I booked three further rehearsals but people ended up cancelling which meant that the only rehearsing time that everyone could make was on the day of the assessment. I decided that I didn't want to take the risk and would rather sing with a backing track. I bought a backing track, changed the tempo of the intro and brought down the volume of the backing vocals in the mix. 
In terms of the performance I wanted to connect with the song in a more intimate way therefore I tried to link the lyrics to some experiences I had in my life. I have watched a lot of The Killers live performances so that I could get an idea of their stage presence and Brandom Flowers movements. Here are some of the videos I watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y08SYui2ZLU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm5n1aimznE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_Wi_MDYiVw

I knew that it would be really hard to perform it without a band but I told myself I would do it. I had to picture a big crowd in front of me and think that I was in a massive stage. I think that I managed to sing the song with the right feel and I was really happy with the mark I got. 

According to Oxford Music Online, Ska is a musical genre original from Jamaica. Between 1961 and 1965 it was the predominant style in the country, which consisted of an amalgam of African-Cuban and New Orleans influences, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues and Rastafarian rhythms. This genre originated with the Skatalites who provided ska’s main musicians. The band’s line-up consisted of piano, played by Jackie Mitto; guitars that were played by Ernest Ranglin, Lyn and Jah Jerry; bass guitar played by Lloyd Brevett; Lloyd Knibbs on drums; and a horn section that included Lester Sterling (alto saxophone), Tommy McCook, ‘Ska’ Campbell and Roland Alphonso (tenor saxophones), Karl Bryan (baritone saxophone), ‘Dizzy’ Johnny Moore and Baba Brooks (trumpets) and Don Drummond (trombone).

Other Ska’s ealy stars included artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, Prince Buster, Joe Higgs and Roy Wilson, Alton Ellis, Carlos Malcolm, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, and early Bob Marley and the Wailers. 
Musically Ska is usually played in 4/4 and it uses a staccato guitar to accentuate the off beats. In order to get the crisp guitar sound used in ska, the guitars should be played using only upwards strums across the top strings, mutting them straight away. There are usually no guitar solos and the guitar plays a rhythmic role using a clean sound. 


Ska evolved into rocksteady, influenced by the change in American Soul music that had become slower and smoother. In terms of the development of Ska three main waves can be considered: original ska (mentioned previously), Two-Tone and Ska-Core (a fusion of metal, punk and ska pioneered by bands like No Doubt and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones).

The Two-Tone movement originated in England, Coventry, in the late 1970s. When compared to the original Ska, Two-tone music presented fuller instrumentation, faster tempos and a harder edge. It was a fusion of Jamaican rhythms and melodies with punk rock’s more aggressive chords and lyrics. Some of the most famous Two-tone bands were The Specials, Madness, The Beat and The Selecter.

Performing Baggy Trousers by Madness
We had decided that we would like to play a Two-Tone song, as we were looking for more aggressive songs with a lot more energy than the ones we picked in the previous genre - Jazz. We chose two songs that we would like to play: Baggy Trousers by Madness and Too Much Too Young by the Specials. As there was already a band playing a song by the Specials we decided to do Baggy Trousers.

Serena missed the first rehearsals and as she had some difficulties in terms of diction we decided that I would sing the main parts and she would do the harmonies. We approached this song in the same way as we approach every other song in terms of the rehearsal process. Everyone knew their parts before going into the first rehearsal therefore it was easy to get a general feel for the song on the first rehearsal. In the following rehearsals we tried to add keyboard and I started working on the performing element of it. During the rehearsals I was singing as if it was the actual performance and I think that made everyone more confortable when we went on stage. I watched some videos on YouTube of their live performances which helped me getting some ideas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLgR3L_wGEc 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txF3M833dK0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBWjkshzf_M

During the performance there were a few things that went wrong. I forgot the lyrics during a verse and I only managed to get back on track in the chorus, as it is such a fast song. I think the harmonies need to be tighter as well as the whole band. It would also really help if someone else could play the keyboard so that I can focus on the vocals and on the performance. I think that I still need to work on my diction and on my technique so that I can control the breathing better, while performing. Apart from that I think it was a good effort from everyone.

In our final group performance we performed three songs: Autumn Leaves composed by Joseph Kosma (music) and Jacques Prevert (lyrics); September by Earth Wind and Fire; and Baggy Trousers by Madness. In order to be ready for our performance I booked five extra rehearsals so that we could get all the songs really tight and really work on the performance side of it. One of the difficulties we had was getting everyone together. Not having a drummer from our class made it harder in terms of flexibility. Also, some people missed a few rehearsals which made it difficult to get a solid set and a strong connection with every member in the band. We only had one full rehearsal with everyone. We also decided to wear black and white as we though this could possibly suit all three genres and wear sunglasses in Baggy Trousers.

Autumn Leaves
As this was the first song we performed I think that the nerves didn’t help and it took me a while to relax. I didn’t feel very confortable at the beginning of the song and I had minor tuning issues. Although everyone knew the structure of the song really well (we haven’t changed it) I think that if we had rehearsed all together we would have performed it with a lot more confidence. Although I tried to communicate and interact with Serena I felt that I didn’t connect with her. In terms of my technique I should have sung “through the whole phrase” and supported more. I realized that I didn’t do this in a few parts of the song. I practiced some scat singing and some scales for improvising. I noticed a great improvement since we last performed Autumn Leaves.

September
As mentioned before we started to relax more during our set. I think there were some tuning issues especially after the chorus and I think our harmonies should have been a bit tighter. When I watched our performance I noticed that although there is some more interaction with this is not very obvious. I think that I should have interacted a bit more with the rest of the band. I tried to guide the band and I have communicated the musicians when we were about to end the song. In terms of our performance there is room for improvement. If everyone was really into the song, dancing and having a great time, I think we could have taken the performance to a higher level.

Baggy Trousers

In Baggy Trousers everyone went a bit crazy. The whole idea was to bring the chaos and madness to the stage. I watched Madness performing the song and I tried to use some of their movement and body expression. I think it worked really well and the band felt much more connected in this song and with the song. I found it really tiring to sing and dance at the same time as well as sing into the mic properly (only noticed this on the video of our performance). With all the movement during the keyboard solo, I nearly fell on the lead of the bass guitar and ended up disconnecting it. I think that it didn’t influence the performance that much as we dealt with it quite well. Out of all the songs I think that this was probably the best performance of our set.

The Analogue Era

The idea of recording sounds and music became a reality at the end of the 19th century. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the first sound-recording mechanism practical for commercial use. Edison's device consisted of a phonograph that used a wax cylinder, about five to six inches long, and utilized a recording technique called hill-and-dale. In the decade that followed the invention of the phonograph, other recording devices were created such as a flat recording disc of wax-coated cardboard by Alexander Bell, Chichester Bell and Charles Tainter, and the disc phonograph by Emile Berliner (Mumma et al [no date]).

The first recording devices were used mainly for communications, business, stenography, telegraphy and entertainment to some extent. Berliner was the first to use his recording device for entertainment and cultural purposes.
Berliner's machine would become the standard method of commercial disc recording until the introduction of the stereophonic recording in the 1950s (Ibidem).

In 1898, Valdemar Poulsen demonstrated the principle for magnetic recording in his telegraphone. However, it wasn't until the advent of electronic amplification that the musical potential of this technique could be realised. In 1947, the Ampex Corporation, produced the first high quality magnetic recorder for studio use in the USA. The main advantages of tape over the disc phonograph were the relative ease of editing and the substantially lower cost (Ibidem). 

Around this time, some important changes occurred in the area of disc recording with the development of polyester plastics, called polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or "vinyl", which had a smaller grain structure than shellac (of which 78 r.p.m. discs were commonly made). Vinyl discs allowed the recording of a wider range of frequencies and dynamics, and suffered considerably less from surface noise. The new discs gave better fidelity and were less fragile than the previous ones (Ibidem).

The arrival of the vinyl led to the fixing of new standard speeds for recording and playback. In 1948 Columbia introduced the 331/3 r.p.m. “long-playing” disc which allowed up to 25 minutes of music on each side. The 12 inch, 331/3 r.p.m, quickly became standard replacing multiple-disc albums of 78 r.p.m. The 45 r.p.m., 7-inch “single”, replaced the 78 r.p.m. “single” disc (with a similar playing time of two to four minutes). Two variants of the 45 r.p.m. disc would be introduced such as the 7-inch EP (two tracks on each side, running for twice as long as single) and the 12-inch single that had a playing time of 12 minutes per side (Ibidem).

A decrease in the cost of materials, manufacturing, and distribution made these discs more affordable than before. The use of easily edited magnetic tape also improved the efficiency of the record companies’ operations. These factors led to the expansion of the recording industry.

In 1957 the recording industry introduced stereophonic discs. The technique of stereophonic (stereo) recording and playback produces the effect of sound coming from different directions in a three-dimensional space. 
This technique could only be developed after the invention of the two-track magnetic tape. The reason behind it is that in order to create this effect, two channels have to be recorded and played independently. On a microgroove disc the two channels are recorded as independent variations in the left and right walls of a V-shaped groove (Picture on the right). Although some stereo recordings were made in the 1930s, this technique only became relevant with the introduction of the vinyl discs (Mumma et al [no date]; Ghassaei 2012) .

Two-track tape introduced a new recording practice that became know as multitrack recording. This process involves the simultaneous or consecutive synchronized recording of multiple tracks. Each track usually carries a single instrument. At first, recording a song using this technique used to take a lot of time. Once the two-track tape was introduced, two tracks could be recorded in one tape; these two tracks could then be bounced into one track of a second two-track tape; the process could then be repeated until the song was finished. New types of magnetic tape that could support more tracks and new analogue mixing console would then be introduced. Up to 24 tracks could then be recorded on tape, up to two inches wide. Some studios were able to offer 48-track recording by linking two 24-track consoles (Sound City 2013; Mumma et al [no date]). Multitrack recording allowed the artist to record in one of the tracks while listening to some of the tracks previously recorded. 



One of the great advantages that recording on tape brought was the possibility to manipulate audio as a physical entity; this could be done by cutting the tape at the required point and rejoining it to another section of tape, using adhesive tape or sometimes glue. This technique was called splice and in order to avoid any unwanted noise, the cut should be made at an angle so that any click introduced by the cut was spread over a few milliseconds (Mumma et al [no date]). 



One of the most famous analogue mixing consoles is the Neve 8078 and is considered by many experts unique. The characteristic Neve sound has featured in numerous hit records including Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Cheap Trick, Fear, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Santana, Rick Springfield, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Queens of the Stone Age, Metallica, Johnny Cash, Kings of Leon. All these artists recorded some of their albums in Sound City Studios located in LA, California (Sound City 2013).

In 1966, Philips introduced the stereophonic compact cassette and the machine on which it could be used. The compact cassette consisted of a sealed case containing a miniature reel-to-reel tape. By 1980 albums were issued in two formats: disc and cassette (Mumma et al [no date]).

The Digital Era

In the mid-1970s the recording industry started to employ digital technology for recording. Digital recording techniques use digital technology in combination with analogue techniques or instead of these. In the early 1980 a new format was introduced, the compact disc. This medium was based entirely on digital recording and playback technology. Discs recorded by analogue methods were unable to reproduce the sound with accuracy at the extremes of the frequency range and the contact between the surface and the stylus created surface noise during playback. Digital recording aimed to solve these problems. By the mid-1980s music had started to be released in compact disc and a few years later the compact disc would end up replacing the 12-inch disc (Ibidem).

The full range of human hearing is between 20Hz and 20kHz therefore, according to the sampling theorem, the minimum sample rate that satisfies these conditions is 40kHz. That is why a digital recorder sampled the sound signal 44,100 times per second (frequency of 44,1 kHz). Nowadays technology already allows recording at higher sample rates. The most common ones in digital audio are 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96kHz and 192kHz (Self, D. 2012; Ellert).

In its first years the compact disc used 16-digit codes for recording and playback. 16-bit technology allowed nearly 66,000 possible timbres. The industry later on introduced 20-bit recording (more than 1 million possible timbres) and 24-bit recording. These recording formats would then have to be translated into 16-bit format for playback (Mumma et al [no date]; anon. [no date]).

One of the advantages of the compact disc and digital formats is that the stored signal never loses its original sound quality and can be copied many times with no audible change. A compact disc allows a standard playing time of 74 minutes but discs with a maximum playing time of 81 minutes can be issued. In 1999 two formats emerged: the DVD, used for digital video, with the capacity to support surround sound; and the Super Audio CD, that utilizes a faster and simplified type of sampling which more closely approximates an analogue sound wave and offer a maximum playing time of 110 minutes (ibidem).

There are different formats in which a song can be saved on our computers. Some of the most common formats are WAV, AIFF and MP3 (compressed format). iTunes and similar platforms that sell music online allow people to purchase music in a digital format, where people no longer have a physical copy of the album. In the last few years, platforms like YouTube and more recently Spotify introduced streaming. Streaming means listening to music or watching video in ‘real time’ instead of downloading a file into the computer and watching it later (WebWise Team 2012). Spotify allows the user to pay a monthly subscription that gives him permission to listen to unlimited music (spotify website).

Digital technology has brought changes not only in terms of the formats but also in terms of mixing consoles. Digital mixing desks were introduced and computers started to replace magnetic tape for recording. At first the computers were slow and the simple process of bouncing a song could take a couple of hours (Sound City 2013). Nowadays this is not a problem any more and software like Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic Pro made things much easier. It is now possible to edit and mix a song much more quickly and small imperfections in songs can be easily fixed. With the introduction of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) recording a song is no longer a problem and creating a “home studio” is something accessible to a lot of people.  Editing also became a non-destructive process, as computers should retain a copy of the original recording (Inglis 2011; Anon. [no date]). Pro Tools also made possible quantizing sound with its Elastic Audio tool.

Digital technology revolutionized the recording industry and introduced new ways of recording. An artist no longer needs to be a good musician and be ready to go into a recording session in order to record a song. One of the advantages of Analogue Recording is the need for a band to be tight and ready to record a song. Analogue methods made a musician interact and play with other creative minds, developing their music and skills. Then they would go in the studio and there was something magical when a band was getting recorded and managed to play the whole song for the first time. The feel captured in these situations by tape is something extraordinary. Analogue mixing desks have their own sound because of their components and the way they are built, and there is no doubt that a mixing desk can be responsible for the sound in an album (Sound City 2013).

One of the disadvantages of tape is the price. Because the demand has gone down, the prices have gone up. Maintaining an analogue console can be quite expensive. What a lot of people that love the analogue sound might do is record some elements, like drums, and then transfer it to digital (Liljeblad [no date]).

A lot of people, engineers and musicians still love the imperfections associated with analogue signal processing and the bleeding generated by some analogue components (Cooper 2004). These factors associated with the human feel, passion and skill are some of the reasons why we still find early recordings from the 50s, 60s and 70s so exciting and inspiring.

 
References

-    Anon. [No date]. [Online]. Available from:
     http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/recording-sound-analogue-vs-digital/5977.html
     [Accessed 3 May 2013].

-    Cooper, P. 2004. Is analogue mixing superior to digital summing?. [Online]. Available from:
     http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun04/articles/qa0604-5.htm
     [Accessed 3 May 2013]

-    Elert, G. [No date]. [Online]. Available from:
     http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/ChrisDAmbrose.shtml
     [Accessed 3 May 2013].

-    Ghassaei, A. 2012. 3D Printed Record. [Online]. Available from:
     http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Record/
     [Accessed 5 May 2013].

-    Ghassaei, A. 2012. Step 1: How does a record work?. [Online]. Available from:
     http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Record/
     [Accessed 5 May 2013].

-    Mumma, G., et al. [No date]. Recording. In: Kernfeld, B, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd ed. 
     Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. [Accessed 29 April 2013].

-     Inglis, S. 2011. Audio Editing in DAWs. [Online]. Availble from:
      http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb11/articles/editing-1.htm
      [Accessed 3 May 2013].

-     Liljeblad, U. [No date]. Digital vs. Analogue – Recording. [Online]. Available from:
      http://www.mix-engineer.com/audio-philosophy/digital-vs-analog-recording/
      [Accessed 26 April 2013].

-     Self, D. 2012. Audio Engineering Explained. Taylor & Francis US.

-     Sound City. 2013. Music Documentary. Directed by Dave Grohl. Roswell Films.

-     WebWise Team. 2012. What is streaming?. [Online] Available from:
      http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-streaming
      [Accessed 3 May 2013].