Log Book for Variety Performance Rehearsal
Rehearsal:
Wednesday 28th October 2020:
Initial Research/ Rehearsal Process:
As we were first introduced to the production of a variety performance, my first suggestion to participate with is to play the piano of a song called 'Lovely' - Billie Eilish. So I started looking for some YouTube videos that could help me to teach myself over the next few weeks. I was able to find one after a few minutes of searching for a video, and decided that I would spend 30-40 minutes per day practising it to make sure I had enough to show to my peers. Also I was able to find another video that would have vocal accompaniment so that I can practise playing along with it to ensure that I can decipher the song's right tempo and pace so that people can figure what song I'm playing.
I started continuously listening to the song instantly, which helped me learn the lyrics of the song, and establish a further understanding of the whole piece.
Monday 2nd November 2020:
Rehearsal:
I wanted to continue to practise the song in parts so that I could rehearse/present my peers and gain some input on my overall performance because I want to make sure I do some little process each rehearsal and the only way of showing this is through my peers and hopefully recording myself each week to show some development of my work.
EBI/Feedback:
My peers brought to my attention that with my finger placement I need to be more precise as I played the wrong notes and rushing at the beginning because my nerves took charge, which made me make more mistakes in the segment in which I had continuously practised, and I should slow down my speed. Another thing I was told that maybe I should sing along with it so the audience would find it more intriguing and it would also reveal another talent that I hopefully have.
Next Step:
As part of ensuring that backstage areas must be kept clear of obstacles, so that I can not cause any injuries to myself and those around me when I move the piano and ask for support when moving the piano because t's my responsibility since I'm the individual using the piano mostly.
Wednesday 4th November 2020:
Rehearsal:
When practising the piano I should keep extra distractions such as social areas away and plan everything I need during my rehearsal sessions which should be easily accessible in a quiet area of the school. This includes music, a pencil, a metronome, youtube for the tutorial, which saves time during my practise. Provide myself with enough lighting to clearly see my music so my eyes and my mind aren't fatigued in a dark room as reading music without adequate lighting stresses the eye muscles and can cause headaches. The most valuable piece of equipment is another item on the pianist's bench. They are at a greater risk of strain and injury, since pianists sit with no back support. To ensure that I avoid injuries I have to adjust the height of my chair so that the shoulders are slightly higher than my knees while seated, to keep my back safe when playing. This aligns the pelvis in a way that fosters the lower spine's normal lumbar curve and relaxes the lower back muscles.
EBI/Feedback:
WARM-UP: Start with the arms and hands and then the largest muscle groups (legs, elbows, back). Warm-ups to get you started: 10-15 reps squats, 15-20 reps arm raises: laterally lift arms to shoulder height, and then relax sideways, 15-20 reps shoulder shrugs, 15-20 reps scapular retraction: Pinch shoulder blades together and then relax. Arm circles 20 reps: Rotate gently clockwise with arms out to sides, then counter-clockwise. 20 reps of wrist flexion and extension: Flex the wrist down gently, and then step back to neutral. Repeat and stretch the wrist upwards. Ten reps of finger flexion and extension: Make a fist, then open your hand and stretch your fingers. Smart practise. Without a target in mind, don't mindlessly replay complicated or exhausting pieces of music over and over. When training, vary your repertoire. Grab breaks! Enable yourself to get up at least every 30-45 minutes, walk around and stretch. Cool down - stretch your head, shoulders back, neck, and legs gently after completing your practise.
Next Step:
To ensure that I at least spend time stretching my fingers before playing the piano every rehearsal to avoid any injuries and also to allow a good painless practise.
Learn a new song since this one wasn't able to present my skills clearly and my Teacher suggested I should find something suitable to my preference.
Monday 9th November 2020:
Rehearsal:
I was able to find one appropriate for my vocal range after a while looking for a new song and settled on 'Lay Me Down' by Sam Smith. Afterwards, along with my singing, I was able to find a piano tutorial to play the accompaniment. Last time, I wanted to follow the same structure to learn the part in sections so that I could play parts of it with my peers and teachers.
Today the rehearsal was actually beneficial because it made me more aware of the notes/chords that I was playing on the piano, there was a more simpler way of placing my fingers to ensure that I would place them in the right order so that I would be able to play the right notes, so that in the future I would perform the piece completely error free and swiftly with no pauses and interruption.
EBI/Feedback:
After performing a small segment in front of my peers, which was really eye opening because I could feel the feeling of how it feels to perform in front of others. The positive feedback I received of my overall performance is that the quality of the notes is accurate, but I need to do more than a few seconds of it so that it can demonstrate an improvement from next week's next practise from this week.
Personally as individual I need to improve on my confidence because I clearly can see the issue which is me and my mindset as I don't have much support or motivation to continue to push myself and show what I can do towards my fellow colleagues and most importantly my Teacher since they have to evaluate my overall performance towards the result which would be preforming at the variety performance.
I also need to understand/acknowledge also most importantly be able to accept that the teacher knows that I can sing unfortuntely.
Next Step:
What I need to work on is expanding the current parts of the song I have learned so that I can fully practise the song over and over again, which will only happen if I can practise 30-40 minutes a day with the teachers without distractions and scheduling times. Because my commitment and handwork would hopefully allow me to have a brilliant performance as I want to show that I can accomplish something beyond my limits.
I need to further practice on my song piece, especially focusing on the timing and finger placement.
I must find a song that can possibly suit my vocal range and I find comfortable singing in front of my colleagues and again importantly the teachers.
Be able to record my rehearsal and show improvement through the practice process.
Wednesday 11th November 2020:
Rehearsal:
Dedicate my fingers to strength training for a large portion of the practise time.
And I had some difficulty moving fingers over and under while running scales, run through scales using hands in unison, concentrate on using correct finger placements, slow it down and gradually speed up the pace when the movements become second nature. Also I was able to find a separate tutorial of the same person to help explain how to play it step by step and by sections which helped me developed my understanding of the notes and the song.
EBI/Feedback:
Make sure to set it to the proper rhythm for the piece you want to practice on so then it will help you get the understanding of the tempo and pace of the song maybe you can repetitively listen to the song so you have it memorise in your mind to compare the parts of the song to see if its similar.
Next Step:
To gather the trust so that I can sing along with the piano accompaniment and add more depth to it so that my peers and my teacher have something to provide more thorough feedback on, which will help me to enhance and improve my act of variety performance as a whole.
Monday 16th November 2020:
Rehearsal:
I was learning the continuity of the second song that I wanted to perform for the final piece during this rehearsal. I started watching and reviewing the chord progression of the song on YouTube from where I am currently learning, I began by practising 55 seconds of the second, which is equivalent to the first verse of the song, enabling me to rehearse enough to be able to perform in front of the class and to have a milestone check of the progress I have made from now until the future.
EBI/Feedback:
The projecting of my voice when I sing the song and be able to say the words clearly without any mumbles and be able to regulate my nerves so that you are not able to hear it throughout the performance and finally be optimistic so that I can display progress next time. Stuff that need to enhance my overall performance.
Develop the song even more meaning learn more of the chords so that next time I will be able to have a longer performance and will help to receive feedback from my peers and including my teacher.
Next Step:
I want to be able to play even more parts of the song for next week's landmark performance and be able to sing without being anxious and hopefully improving my finger placements on the piano as that will generate more ease when performing the melody and the baseline in the song, which will help me make less errors and feel relaxed and less stressful knowing that I will be able to play with confidence.
Wednesday 18th November 2020:
Rehearsal:
I was able to rehearse the whole 'Lay Me Down' song during this session with the accompaniment of piano and singing. I do need to develop my finger positioning, though so I don't have to speed up the song because that's something I continue to notice about my rehearsals and I'm not able to keep along with the tempo.
EBI/Feedback:
The feedback I got about my overall success was that I must be calm and able to manage my nerves so that I can perform the whole song so that I can show my teachers and myself a big sign of achievement and progress.
Next step:
My only achievement I want to achieve next performance is to perform the entire song without interruption and not let my nerves take full control and stop me from displaying my full potential as a performer/musician in particular. Another thing is building my trust, so I can then feel comfortable singing in front of my peers, so I can then demonstrate another development or improvement that my rehearsals have had.
Monday 23rd November 2020:
Rehearsal:
I tried to concentrate mostly on my singing and find out when I can use my head voice, even the use of belting, and where to regulate the pitching so that I could express the feeling that happens in the entire song. During these lessons, the health and safety that is required is to ensure that I have properly warmed up my voice to prevent any strain of the voice, sore throats and most importantly being hydrated so that I can consistently practise with safety about my health.
The measures I need to make sure I use the piano are that not anyone around me is playing around so that they don't crash into the piano, which could also cause the fall-board to fall on my fingers, meaning I'm going to suffer an accident that might probably bruise them.
Wednesday 25th November:
Rehearsal:
We were given a few minutes to practise this rehearsal before performing it for our other teacher in performing arts, which was very beneficial because it was a pair of fresh eyes watching our performances.
EBI/Feedback:
The comments I got from my peers is that I need to be clear with my singing voice and try not to be mainly focus on the chords because once I do I start to misplay the notes and continuously mess up the entire song making me feel not so entirely accomplished.
My performing arts teacher said that I should use the vulnerability to my advantage since she recognises the song, she suggested it would help
More confidence and just go for it since I always manage to let the nerves get the best for me because it clearly shows in my performance when I doubt myself.
Next Step:
To have more confidence and push myself even more so than next milestone I will be able to perform the entire song without any interruptions or pauses.
Friday 27th November 2020:
Rehearsal:
It helped me to feel more positive about my performance during this practise because I was able to correct my finger placement, which allowed me to not think too much about playing the wrong note and singing the notes constantly until they were up to my standards.
EBI/Feedback:
As I performed my piece to my peers and my teacher, I was able to collect my nerves and calm myself down with the aid of my highly respected teacher. But for me the most inspiring moment was when I was able to play the whole song that I haven't been able to do since the beginning, and all my peers were supportive and proud that since I showed that I struggle for trust, I was able to achieve this.
The feedback I got about my performance was that I need to be mindful that the piano is often louder than my singing, particularly when it gets to the higher pitch sections of the song, so I need to practise and try to see I can get the pedal on the piano to be fixed in some possible way so then it can enable me to rehearse and resolve this issue before my next mile stone performance.
Next step:
To be able practice on controlling the volume between my singing voice and the piano, double check on finger placement, and ensure that each practice/rehearsal to squeeze more vocal warm ups so than I can achieve the desirable notes.
Milestone videos:
Thursday 11th December 2020:
The development process of my variety performance has been very indecisive in the beginning of the practice rehearsal due to not deciding a song to possibly do, however it then started to develop very swiftly after receiving some guidance from my performing arts teacher and fellow pupils suggesting what song to do which eventually lead to the idea of playing/singing 'Lay Me Down' by Sam Smith. This has taught me that for the next performance piece I shall spend more time preparing and asking for assistance without being fearful which will allow me to have a structure to follow along too, and be able to proceed more gracefully so I am able to achieve my overall goal and use my time wisely. The thing I should have improved on after reviewing my milestone rehearsals is making even more time to be able to rehearse and focus on fixing each part of my performance separately such as spend at least 20-30 minutes on vocals including warm-ups and then practicing the remaining time on the piano sorting out the finger placement and ensuring a time limit on learning each part of the song and setting small goals in the future so I am able to show a clear understanding of my progression and being able to keep track which will help me be able to give my attention on editing and improving the singing/playing parts involved. Most importantly I could've take breaks which allow me to take time on editing my Log book, and ensuring that I get rest and have energy for the next rehearsal's as I could spot out that I wouldn't warm up correctly resulting to injuring my vocal chords. This then links to my point of ensuring that if I were to do this again or have another assessment in the near future I would suggest that to have more confidence in myself and to believe that I have the ability to achieve whatever I put my mind towards, and to continue to remain professional no matter what happens for example if I play a wrong note or begin to lose track of where I am during the performance and be able to receive compliments or feedback about my performance without becoming anxious and to consider the health and safety mentally and physically.
My final performance yesterday was a complete disaster because I wasn't able to display my full skills meaning singing and playing the piano as my previous practices and milestone's demonstrated my full potential of my variety performance act, also I made a discovery that throughout those practices I would be unprofessional by curling up in the chair or simply trying to sneak off stage/studio and using the piano to hide behind and as an performer, I found that I was going to develop my integrity during the milestones and rehearsals since I would not be able to monitor/receive the comments or constructive input on my performance because I would not be competent/listen to the supportive comments as I would mostly concentrate mainly on the constructive criticism. Another thing I could have improved on was my confidence that took a major toll on my overall performance on Thursday, has I wasn't able to show my full completed performance as I only was able to perform a minute of my song and wished I could have done it better because I know deep down dearly I would have done a much 'completed' performance for this assessment.
The feedback I got from my classmates was that my performance was really good and my projection was perfectly clear so that it was audible on Thursday's zoom call to parents and friends, from my last milestones, my confidence during the performance was strengthened from previous rehearsals as I could be able to calmly walk onto the stage and be able to perform the song with real confidence. For future references I need to make sure I can do this for future performances, and to have enough rehearsals/practices before the actual performance and act professionally especially when calming my nerves and to control my sudden meltdown.
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