What did I ever do wrong (feat. Gabrielle)

 

New song recording!

 

You can download the track here What did I ever do wrong.

Or stream it from my web site at Dog-on-blues, or from Soundcloud.

Every song has a story. This song has a bit of a winded story behind it. It started off when I wrote the songs for my musical in progress, Wake not the dead. This is a horror / love story musical with some twists. The story goes that Walter, a rich baron from some weird place just south of Transilvania revived his childhood lover from the grave. He then sat with the little problem of his newly-revived-from-the-grave-ex-lover-and-now-new-girl-friend was in no mood to share him and his house with his wife. So, Walter had to tell his wife to get out.

Swanhilda, Walter's wife, answered him with this lament.

The story of the song does not end there. Originally it was written as a rather showtunes song. And waited on the rack for further attention. I started writing songs for Annemie since the start of this year and record her songs in my studio. Up,to now, I wrote about ten songs for her. One of the songs she wanted was a sad blues, with a piano triplets track, similar to what can be heard in the Guns and roses song, Since you've been gone.

After about the third attempt of writing lyrics, I dug the lyrics of this song out from the grave and showed it to her. Happy with what she read, but not happy with the music, we decided to change the song to a blues song. She then came up with a beautifull tune from Zaz as a reference.

With these four things in mind I reworked the song. The Zaz song for the beginning, Guns and roses in the background, the blues tune and the lyrics from Wake not the dead all came together in this song.

Not long, and well, Annemie decided to drop this song from her repertoir, leaving me with what I considdered to be a very beautiful tune. Not wantng to let it die on the rack, I sent the song in to Studio Pros to see what I can do and asked Gabrielle to do the vocals.

The results are now ready for your enjoyment!

I want to add lead guitars, but decided that I will have to leave some space for future surprise! What do you think? Does it need a lead guitar?

Those who followed my blog from the start will recognize Gabrielle's lovely voice in the role of Cathy in the musical, The exile, where she is featured on the songs, I have never and Prisoner of your spell.

 

St Albans college Copacabana

Last night I saw St Albans college's production of Copacabana. I go watch their productions every year. Maybe, the fact that I am great friends with the events director and musical director has a lot to do with it, but I'd like to think that the fact that their productions are always of top quality also plays a big role here.

St Albans believe in minimalistic stage setups. Their production does not have any backdrops, flats or scenery of any kind that can not be carried on by the actors. For this show they mainly used a projector showing images on a big screen. For the nightclub scenes, the cast members carry a few tables and chairs unto the stage. That is the totality of their scenery.

This approach has many obvious advantages.

• It is cheap. Many productions spend a significant part of their budget on building extensive sets which will be destroyed and thrown into the bin after the show. St Albans believe in spending money where it matters (in their view).
• It saves time. Building sets takes time. With many productions, the set building starts even long before cast rehearsals start.
• It is flexible. Having extensive sets that takes a long time to build makes it impossible for the director to change his mind - or scenes - close to the opening night.
• No setup time for scene changes. Let's face it. One way of killing the magic for an audience is to make them sit in the dark for 5 minutes while you change the sets.
• And most important of all. The audience buys it. The show sold out. The audience do not need to see a very elaborate set that looks like a airport to know that the cast is taking a flight to Cuba. A simple image of an airport and airplane projected against the backwall convince them.

 

I am sure many of you will give us many reasons why elaborate set designs are important. Protea Stage (where I am involved with the production of Aladdin), prides them on their set designs. For Bottoms Up we've build a whole flat on the stage, complete with walls, doors, decor, front door, bathroom door, kitchen door, etc, etc. It looked good and we were proud of it. For Aladdin, we are going a lot further. Just come and see. Many of the people have the opinion that it will be the best we have done so far.

Point is, some production companies put a lot of effort into set designs. If you have the skills and the resources available, there is no reason not to. It adds a lot to the show. However, sometimes you can get away with a lot less.

The music, singing, acting and choreography all is top class. After the event, I had the honor to chat to Rainer von Schlichting, the musical director. I learned a few interesting things from him.

• Even though it is an amateur production, they hire professional musicians. Rainer believes that it is money well spend. Working with amateur musicians adds considerable problems and stresses and needs significantly more time for rehearsals.
• They make use of a professional theatre. Even though they have a school hall large enough to house the production, they stage their annual musical in the Atterbury theatre. That takes a lot of stress out of the process, including the ticket sales. The theatre provides professional sound and lighting, including headset microphones. They do not need to spend a lot of money on sound equipment and lighting, worry about finding qualified light and sound engineers, and is always assured of having the latest technology available. Off course this will only work if there are any professional theaters in town!
• They only do one show a year. Rehearsals started in February. That is a total of ten months of rehearsal. That might be an overkill. Most amateur productions do just fine with only three months rehearsals, making two or three shows a year possible.

If you are in town (Pretoria) this weekend, go watch Copacabana at the Atterbury theatre. It will be a great experience.

 

Gloomy songs

Last week I looked at the analysis of some motivational songs. We have seen that the song form for these kind of songs leans very strongly towards the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus form.

I wrote my motivational song with verses and chorusses and added a bridge and refrain. Unfortunately for those interested, as the song was written under commission, I can only publish the song once recorded and published by the commissioner. Hopefully, that will be soon.

As a test, I looked at the opposite of the motivational songs, i.e. gloomy songs. There is no better examples of the songs of gloom as those from the fathers of gloom rock, Black Sabbath.

I have to confess to being a great fan of Sabbath, especially of the Ozzy era. So happy that they are back together and recording again.

So, I took a few of Sabbath's greatest early songs and analysed the basic song form to see if we can learn anything about gloom songs. I was surprised about what I have found.

Firstly, many of Sabbath's song do not have a chorus at all. Their songs mainly follow the AAA song form, i.e. only a number of verses where the basic chord structures and melody is repeated, but not the words.

The second striking thing about their songs is the almost absence of the song title in the song. Many of their songs will use the song title only once during the whole song (e.g. War pigs, Sabbath bloody sabbath, etc), or sometimes not at all (e.g. Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Sweat leaf, Wizzard).

A third noticable factor about Black Sabbath's songs is the use of easilly recognizable riffs. In classical music, it would be called motifs, I guess. Iommi is a master at the guitar riffs. Very important about his riffs, or themes, is that most of the songs have more than one riff. War pigs is the best example (ever?) on how to use riffs, variations on the riffs, and mix them up.

Going with the above, is Sabath's use of the breakdown in their songs. Many classic rock and heavy metal bands are to lazy to spend the same amount of time working on the song arrangements. A tip for songwriters and band all over the world to take home from Black Sabbath's teachings: everybody does not have to play all of the time. Mix it up. Change the tempo. Change the feel. Break the song down and build it up again. That is how you can keep your songs interesting to listen to - and no, just a guitar solo does not count.

Many have followed the Black Sabbath recipe for gloom to some extend, especially in the heavy metal genre (e.g. Slayer, Sepultura).

 

The motivational song

I was asked to write a motivational song. Easy enough. There is not much trickery to it. I just have to write something about how great things will turn out if you keep on believing in yourself.

As homework, I decided to do a bit of song analysis. Let's see what song forms other popular motivational songs take on and see if there is something in these songs that made them popular. It is not difficult to find motivational songs. There has been many of them throughout the history of pop music. To choose the songs to analyze, I googled for inspirational songs, and came up with 13 songs, many from the list at lifehacks.

You may come up with a list of your own favorite inspirational songs. Feel free to add your list and analysis in the comments below.

Looking at the song form, one thing became very clear, i.e. each song is structured a bit different, but there is no definite thing in the song form that will make an inspirational song different than any other pop song. Most songs in my analysis has the standard verse-chorus plus bridge structure. Louis Armstrong's What a wonderful world is the only song in this list that broke away from that form with the AABA song form.

Many of the songs have an anthem section, either as the chorus, or part of the chorus, or, as in the case of Don't stop believing, an anthem added as a bridge part at the end.

The theme of the lyrics are also diverse. There are a few run-of-the-mill love songs, a few breakup songs, a few general-life inspirational songs, and even a few protest songs. The one thing common amongst them all are the positive inspirational message, usually sung as the chorus or anthem.

Here is my list of the13 popular inspirational songs:

Purple rain by Prince

It is the epic performance by Prince and the production of this song that makes it stand out. It is in essence a standard love song with a standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus (ABABCB) song form, with a fairly extended add lib section at the end. The chorus is in an anthem style.

Stronger by Kelly Clarkson

This is a great modern pop song with a ABABCB form and the first break-up song on the list. The first verse gives the backstory - rather sad and down in mood. The chorus immediately changes the mood to an inspiration song with a possitive message in an anthem style. The second verse moves the story forward into the present with a 'take that, you bastard' type message. The bridge moves the story line further forward into the future, with the last chorus and add lib to re-inforce the anthem.

Don't stop believing by Journey

This is a classc in every way. The song form is a standard verse-chorus song with a bridge (ABABC). It is different from the previous two songs in that it does not return to the chorus at the end, and the bridge forms the anthem part of the song. Typically of many 80's pop songs, this one has pretty impressive instrumental breaks in between.

Ain't no mountain high enough by Marvin Gaye

This song is from an era before bridge sections were common in songs. The song form is very standard verse-chorus form with a variation in form by starting the song with the chorus, and repeat the chorus at the end, making it a BABABABB form. The theme is a standard love song, with every verse giving the same message in different words. The chorus is in an anthem style.

Save the world tonight by Swedish house mafia

This is the first protest song on my list with a very strong message. The song is made even more memorable with a very cute music video of the doggy gang saving the world. Song form is plain ABAB (verse-chorus-verse-chorus). The anthem is mostly pointless oohs at the end of the chorus, in my view spoiling what would otherwise have been a great song.

Skyscraper by Demi Levato

Another break-up song in standard ABABCB form. The verses starts with a backstory, then moves the song into the present, with the bridge giving a conclusion to the story line. The songwriting team of Gad, Koiv and Robbins did a great job of following a very standard format. Even though the message is very possitive, Demi's performance gives the whole song a very sad mood. This is the first song on my list that lacks an anthem section.

Get up, stand up by Bob Marley

Another political protest song. The song form is identical to Gaye's song above, i.e. chorus-3x(verse-chorus)+chorus (BABABABB). It is the chant-like chorus / anthem that makes this song memorable.

It's my life by Bon Jovi

Another 80's pop song, with everything that makes Bon Jovi's songs popular. Another ABABCB song form with an almost-over-the-top anthem style chorus. The lyrical theme is a general-life inspirational theme.

Where is the love by Black eyed peas

Another protest song with a standard 3x verse-chorus form (ABABAB). The chorus consist of three parts, with a pre-chorus, anthem and chorus.

What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong

This is another general-life inspiration feel-good song. It is unique in that it is the only AABA song form on my list, with added BA sections and a simple refrain at the end. The song does not really have an anthem section, other than the refrain.

Stand by me by Ben E. King

Another love song in the verse-chorus form (ABABB). A classic in its simplicity with the chorus as the anthem.

Lovely day by Bill Withers

Another love song in the 3x verse-chorus form (ABABAB). Beautiful song, but nothing special. Not much of an anthem.

Beautiful day by U2

Before I go on, let me make something very clear. These guys are infinitely more successfull than I could ever dream to be and this song sold infinitely more than any of my songs. I respect these guys and have no right to critisize them, but can merely state my opinion, which, in this case I will withold.

 

Strength to carry on

When you go through life, you have to find inspiration from many places. Sometimes that inspiration may come from other people. Sometimes that inspiration comes from a song. Sometimes that song may even be your own song,

Sometimes it may be all of the above.

This time, I found my inspiration from a song from my musical, The exile - Strength to carry on. (Listen to the song on the link to Soundcloud)

Thank you for my wonderful family, who are always there. This all would be nothing without you and your strength to help me carry on.

 

So, I am an iPad musician

I own my iPad since the iPad2 was released and have found many ways to use the iPad. Visual.ly published an interesting survey done on how musicians use the iPad. One problem I find with most app reviews on the internet, is that the apps are almost always reviewed by people who have been using the app for a day, or maybe a week, and by people who have been given the app for the review. Reviews by people actually using the apps in real life, and have been doing so for beyond the 'novelty-week', are hard to find.

I have downloaded many apps, most of which I tried out and never used again beyond the first week. Here is my list of how I use the iPad, and the apps that I actually use.

Tuner: I hate people who refuse to use a tuner. You know the type? Yes, there are still people around who believe that they can tune a guitar by ear only, and then halfway through a practice complains that everybody else is out of tune. Tuners are cheap, and often even free if you use an app on your phone. If you don't own a tuner of some sort, please give up playing guitar, or at least don't play in front of people. I have a few free tuner apps on my phone and on my iPad, but the one that I now use is the tuner built into Amplitube.

Guitar effects: Amplitube makes up the mainstay of my guitar sound, with Stompbox being used mainly for the odd clean sound. To be able to use either of these apps, you will need some hardware options to go with it. My rig consist of:

-My fender stratocaster - it all starts with a good guitar, and this is my idea of a good guitar. For acoustic work, I use my Yamaha APX.

-My guitar is plugged into an iRig Stomp.

-The iRig Stomp is plugged into my iPad2, running Amplitube or Stompbox. I also have the Audiobus app, which in theory would allow me to chain Amplitube and Stompbox, but for some reason, my iPad cuts out and go into silence mode at unexpected times when it is over-burdened.

-My iPad is held in place with the Hercules Tab Grab, which is fitted to my music stand.

-From the iRig, I have a cable plugging into my Marshall 14W amp. This requires that all the presets I use in Amplitube has the amp models switched off.

Next to my music stand, I have another music stand with my laptop. On the laptop I have Notion running as my drummer, pianist and synth. Notion on the computer has been my main composition tool for many years now and have served me well for all these years. I have the iPad app as well, but only use it to make small adjustments or compose melody lines and sound effects, etc.

For lyrics and set lists, I use a nifty little app called Songsheet. There are many apps around doing lyrics tabs and set lists, but I have settled on this app. It allows my to enter my lyrics and chords and transpose the chords to a new key and move verses around as the musical director change the arrangements. The only problem here is that I use my iPad to play live and in rehearsals for guitar effects - therefore I still need to print the lyric sheets and use my flip files on the music stand.

When it comes to staying in touch, I use the usual social media apps, like Blogsy, twitter, Facebook and Youtube.

To stay organized I mainly use Goodreader for all pdf needs and Evernote to keep notes of all meetings. There are also the usual office apps like Numbers for speadsheets and Pages for writing letters. For keeping track of income and expenses, I use Bookkeeping3.

As I look at the apps on my iPad, I see plenty more, including Garageband, Symphony Pro, Band-in-a-box, Sheetmuse, Progression etc. Most of these apps have never been used beyond the initial 'novelty-week'.

So there you have the list of apps that has proven themselves as being of real value. Let me know what you use in the comments or by email.

Until next week.

 

What is the job of a musical director

Last Sunday I blogged about the job of the music coordinator. Panic ensued in some places after reading the post, mostly from people who confuse the job of a musical director (MD) with the music coordinator. Ok, so if the coordinator is not the director, to make things easier for you, I researched a bit about what is the job of the musical director, or MD.

I started my research with google. The old saying is, if it is on the internet, it must be true. I think it must have been Confucius who said it. Here are some opinions about what the job of a musical director is, and my opinions about their opinions.

 

Wikipedia

• A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the coordinator of the musical ensembles in a university, college, or institution[1] (but not usually the head of the academic music department), the head bandmaster of a military band, the head organist and choirmaster of a church, or an Organist and Master of the Choristers (a title given to a Director of Music at a cathedral, particularly in England).

Mmmm. Musical theatre is not included there. Maybe we should not relax, as we do need one - or maybe wikipedia is, well, remember what Confucius said.

Ask.com

• The role of a music director is to conduct and compose music, as well as hiring and firing of musicians. He/she is in charge of the overall musical performance including ensuring that the cast knows the music thoroughly, supervising the musical interpretation of the performers and conducting the orchestra.
• The role of a musical director is to teach the songs, coach the actors and direct or monitor the orchestra. A musical director can as well be in control of symphony orchestras, choirs and the musical content of a show or musical awards. The range of their responsibilities however differs depending on the size of the group they are working with.

This one is more to the point and relevant for musical theatre. Compose the music? More than 98.3% of all musicals are revivals and productions of existing musicals. Even those who are originals list a different composer than MD. Go check the Broadway Internet Database. As the old Chinese proverb goes, 90% of all statistics are just made up on the spot.

Creative-choices.co.uk

• Music directors are responsible for making the creative decisions associated with a live performance.
• Musical directors will conduct a group or orchestra. This involves having a clear idea about the performance of a piece of music and leading a group of musicians to realise this idea.
• The director or conductor may carry out the following functions:
• Sets the pace of a musical performance and ensure that everyone plays or sings the right notes at the correct speed
• Interpret the musical score and whether musicians or singers should perform softly or loudly
• Balance instruments and voices against each other in a performance
• Lead rehearsals so that every piece is properly rehearsed in preparation for the performance.
• Musical directing - Musical shows in the theatre have a musical director. Their job is to conduct the musical element of the show, directing both performers and the offstage musicians

This list seems more complete and very relevant for theatre. Maybe Confucius was right. You just have to continue looking.

Wiki.answers

• The Musical Director's job is to teach the actors the music during the rehearsal period of a show. They train the actors in technique and teach notes, rhythms, and expression of songs in a musical theatre show.

This is the shortest and the simplest. I know some MDs who stuck with this definition, even though, in my opinion this is the job of the vocal coach, who is usually appointed by the MD, but very often, the MD will perform this task herself - amongst all her other duties.

Enough for the most trusted resource. Let's see if some other opinions exist in printed resources.

Staging a musical by Matthew White

The musical director (more commonly known as the MD) is, of course, responsible for all aspects of music in the show. Not only will the MD work with the actors in the rehearsal room, but he or she will be fully in charge of the orchestra, or band, and will rehearse these musicians separately until the 'sitzprobe' (i.e., the sing-through involving both actors and musicians; see Chapter 10). For this reason, there will often be an assistant musical director who can be present in the rehearsal room, while the main MD is busy working with the band. In detail, the MD is responsible for:

• Organising (with the help of the producer) a pianist for auditions and
  rehearsals. Attending auditions and advising the director on the casting of the singers.
• Teaching the cast their vocal parts and helping to solve any musical problems which the singers may have.
• If required, making a rehearsal tape for the choreographer of all the dance music in the show.
• Selecting the band or orchestra (in larger productions this may be done by a 'fixer'), and rehearsing the musicians.
• Conducting the band or orchestra in performance.
• Organising vocal warm-ups for the cast during the run, and ensuring that musical standards are maintained. This may involve calling the cast for extra vocal rehearsals.

This book by Matthew is a very valuable resource for anybody interested in any aspect regarding the staging of a musical. He clearly knows what he is talking about.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amateur Theatricals by John Kenrick

The music director’s responsibilities include …

• Taking part in the audition and casting process, helping assess the musical ability and potential of each performer.

• Recruiting and supervising all musicians, both professional and volunteer. Finding the right people can be a challenge on a tight budget, and pit musicians (whether paid or volunteer) can have egos that more than match the ones onstage.

• Recruiting and supervising any other musical staff. When a rehearsal pianist and/or vocal coach is required, they should report to the MD.

• Scheduling and running effective orchestra rehearsals. The trick is determining the number of these rehearsals based on the budget and the musicians’ level of talent.

• Coordinating the rental, purchase, and distribution of all sheet music, including orchestral and vocal scores. In most organizations, this is handled in partnership with the producer and director.

• Running effective vocal rehearsals for the leads and chorus. It is up to the MD to be sure every song in a show meets its musical and dramatic potential.

• Creating recordings of dance music to be used in dance rehearsals. This can free up the MD or rehearsal pianist for vocal rehearsals.

• Obeying all relevant copyright laws. Rehearsal recordings, photocopying of music, and any changes to the score must be handled within legal guidelines. When in doubt, consult the rights holders.

• Making sure the piano is tuned and well cared for.

• Conducting all major rehearsals and performances. When the curtain goes up, the performers must rely on the MD to set the pace and sidestep potential disasters.

• Maintaining any space reserved for musicians, including the pit and backstage. Cleanliness and safety mean as much here as anywhere, especially with the ever-increasing presence of electronic equipment. It is also the MD’s responsibility to be sure these areas are cleared and cleaned after a production ends.

• Supervising the ongoing use and final return of all rented scores, including cleanup. This tedious task can best be handled by inviting the musicians to a “cleanup” party, handing out erasers and having them clean up their scores before food and drinks are served.

I am a fan of the idiot's guide series, and often these books provide a very valuable resource.

Finally

There are many other good resources on the subject. You can have your own opinion on the subject and you can have another opinion if you are of the opinion that I am opinionated, but in final conclusion, I want to suggest that, if you are serious about being a MD, do not rely on what you read in a single paragraph on the internet. Go and buy one of these good books around. I have quoted from two very good resources, but there are many others. Books are very cheap, compared to what will happen to your reputation if you screw it up because you had no idea of what your job really is.

Finally, some advice to prospective producers and directors. Always make sure that people know from the start what you expect from them. Refer back to my article on basic management principles (principle No 2).

Happy directing!