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What makes a successful
ensemble?
Beckiee Timms
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What actually makes a good music
ensemble?
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A successful music ensemble
consists of..
A good music ensemble!
Strength
Repertoire
weaknesses
Organisation
Organization
Communication
Awareness
Awarenes
s
Performanc
Performance
skills
e skills
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A successful music ensemble!
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A successful music ensemble is where you go into a room with your band
members and know that you need to sit down, and have a group meeting by
discussing the things you will work on this week. You will then recap the
improvements you made last week, just to see if you remember what needed
improving and changing. Then you would rehearse and refine your repertoire to
then find things that you can develop further. Members of music ensembles may
argue but its good to have disagreements in a constructive way because you will
notice that it makes the band stronger. For instance, if someone wanted to do let it
go from frozen and another member wanted to do let her go by passenger then
they could always do a mash up which to the audience will be innovative and
interesting because its two songs they know but haven't heard in that sort of way.
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Creativity (an element of a successful music ensemble)
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Here's an example of a creative mash up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoBELyv9cgk I know that this is a solo artist
performing but you could always make it into a band by adding another singer to
harmonize, add a drummer to create an upbeat style and maybe two electric
guitars to make it sound rocky instead of slow and acoustic.
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Organisation:
Know what
song you’re
doing
Don’t over
rehearse!!
Keep a diary
of the future
gigs you
have
Make sure
you do
individual
practice
Rehearse
once a week
minimum!
Have a plan
before you start
rehearsing and
after
Make sure
every
rehearsal you
do every band
You need to member can
attend.
schedule
rehearsal
dates!
Evaluate
Refine and
rehearse
Focus on
your main
focus for
that meeting
Set targets
for every
rehearsal.
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Example of a good music ensemble
with organisation.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mclk9NgHFqM This is
maroon 5’s performance at x factor, you can tell that these are
organised well because they know their lyrics, they know
their chords the members in the band know what beat to
come in on, and when to stop (rest). They’ve clearly gone to
every rehearsals, done individual rehearsals as well as
showing that they have clearly worked hard to get that
performance.
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They are good role models to the contestants because they
will look up to that performance and think that they want to
become as amazing as that. They can show contestants
communication, confidence and how it feels and looks to
enjoy your performance.
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Performance skills:
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To be a good performer you will want to communicate with your band.
When you’re performing you’re actually engaging the audience more
by doing so. Also you and your band will want to come prepared, for
example know your chords, know when you come in, know the lyrics
and your staging. If you’ve choreographed movement, make sure its
sharp and in sync otherwise it wont look professional on stage. This all
comes down to rehearsals and how hard you work in them and also
when your on stage performing using your eyes and ears to really stay
in time. If you have nerves, make sure you don’t show them because
sometimes it can ruin a performance. Celebrities get nervous but they
can perform so confidently that you cant even tell how nervous they get.
Audiences love to be entertained by a confident performer, especially
when they’ve paid to see you.
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Make sure you enjoy your performance because if you enjoy it then the
audience will enjoy it too. Furthermore, you should enjoy your
performance, even if you are nervous because you should be proud of
how far you’ve come, what you can achieve and how hard you’ve
worked!
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Examples of good music
ensembles.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igWaO-rVSqs
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Chasing status show very clearly how well they are prepared and
how they can get the audience involved. They are communicating
with their band as well as the audience. They are speaking to their
audience during a song because there getting them involved in the
performance. The whole theatre is on their feet jumping in the air,
the main singer is using hand actions to get them to jump higher and
sing louder. Even the drummer is engaged in his performance,
swaying and moving to the music as well as the guitarists bass and
electric guitars. They’re all jumping, singing and they’re moving
to the music showing that they know what they are doing well
enough that they don’t need to focus on what they’re meant to be
doing where they know it so well, all they can focus on is
enjoying themselves and showing the audience they are
enjoying what they are doing.
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Communication.
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Communicate with your band. If you’re not happy with something in the
song then put your opinion out there because you have a right to say.
Without communication your band wont go far because you wouldn't’
know what to rehearse when you’re practising, you wouldn’t improve as
quickly as you should therefore, you could possibly go on stage not
really knowing what you’re doing and your audience won’t want to see
you again. Another example of this is if your band had to reschedule and
you were not paying attention you’re not going to turn up to the
rehearsal and when you do turn up then nobody is going to be there!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZkyK6c-6WY this performance
shows Arianna Nicki and Jessie all performing together, communicating
well and knowing what they are doing. They’ve all learned what to do
like their lyrics and harmony they are all in sync which took a lot of
rehearsals. They even had a set choreography where they would walk
onto the stage at a certain part of the song, and do a motif of movements
to the rap, they were in time in sync and as well as all this, they were
communicating with the audience and even communicating with
themselves.
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Awareness:
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Awareness is making sure that when you’re on stage and you have a 2 bar rest you’re
still aware that on stage and you are being looked at. Also awareness can be when you
know you need to rehearse something independently but you just can’t be bothered to
do it. You need to be aware that that can effect your bands next rehearsal, or even them
on stage!
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If you see a poster with a time and place for auditions for a gig or show then tell your
band because you never know where that show or gig can take you in the future.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z1puy256h0 in cold plays song ‘yellow’, the main
singer has three different jobs, and he is aware of that. He plays the piano at the
beginning then he plays the guitar in the choruses but not in the verses. And throughout
all of this he singing. You can tell its live singing with no backing vocals recorded on CD
because at one point he does a roly-poly on the floor and misses the start of his second
verse.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H6c2py6zlQ However in Cheryl Cole’s
performance on X factor you can tell she isn't singing live, although her dancing and
choreography and communicating with the audience is perfect, she should of sang live
even if she had the song playing behind her to back up her vocals.
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Rehearsals!
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Rehearsals are really important because other wise your band wont
improve. It’s a chance to get to know your band and get along with each
over if you’ve only just become an ensemble. Also it’s a good chance to
get to know everyone and know their weaknesses and strengths. You
could even help them with this if you are at a more advanced level.
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In addition, you need to do solo practice too! Don’t just rely on your
band practice to get better you need to do individual practice. This will
help your band improve quicker, and will also improve your musicality,
timing, singing and even how you perform with your instrument.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-HlnRnhw0w this is a clip of Elton
john and his band practicing in 1970, it shows them rehearsing and
rehearsing and getting it wrong, then rehearsing again but making
improvements on what they improved on but thought they could
develop it further, we can actually see an example of a good band
rehearsal.
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Examples of a good rehearsal:
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An example of a good rehearsal is having a log of what you
need to focus on in your rehearsal, and what you think you
need to do the next time you meet to rehearse. You need to
make sure you record yourselves in the rehearsal so next
time you rehearse you can watch them back and remember
the improvements you have made, or sometimes you can
develop your improvements further and make them even
better than before!
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Extra long rehearsals may be best for the band because you
can really work hard to polish the song, refine it, record it
over and over again to make sure it sounds perfect so that
your making it worth someone paying money to listen to.
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Repertoire
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The repertoire depends on what music your band plays, if you’re a rock
band then you would want to play a rock song, if you’re a band with a
saxophone, trumpet and piano then you would want to play a jazz or
blues song.
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A repertoire should be chosen together, some band members may
disagree with your choice, others may agree but you all need to agree
on a song to be able to learn it and enjoy it. You must listen to other
peoples suggestions and say your opinion on them, this is
communication and listening skills. Once you’ve all agreed on a song
which your happy with you can continue to learn and rehearse the
repertoire.
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Its really important that everyone agrees and likes your chosen
repertoire because other wise they might not put in any effort. Also your
repertoire needs to reflect on your ability. If you choose a song which
isn't going to show the audience what you can do then your audience
wont see you at your full potential.
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Examples
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If your band is asked to perform in a musical and you’re a rock band
and the musical is the jungle book then its best to not accept the
offer because one you wont be committed to learning it and
performing it how it should be, you will want to make it your own or
add your own twist to make it more adaptable for you. This would be
band because musicals are very strict on the orchestra and how the
music is played. Also, two of you in your band could get bored of the
style or the songs and drop out letting everyone down including the
school, the public who have brought the tickets and the whole cast.
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OR if you really need the money then you need to do some research
on the production to know what it is so you have some knowledge of
the production or musical so you can relate to the performance and
perform it how well it should be performed.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcFvt1sLpis this Beyoncé
song ‘all the single ladies’ is such a good example of a good
rehearsal because the first time they rehearsed it we can see
that no mistakes were made, everyone not only sung the song
but performed it too even though they were in a rehearsal in
a room, without a stage! At the end of the clip, Beyoncé says
‘one last time’ even thou it was perfect first time, that just
shows that they are dedicated and committed to that
performance they are doing, they want it to be perfect.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlmSqKBPuQ0 this is a
live orchestra performance which shows them rehearsing
sections of the music over and over again to get it perfect for
the live performance. The conductor focuses on each
instrument first so that he can hear if the violins have it perfect
then he listens to the Cellos then trumpets and then all of
them together.
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Strengths of a band!
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In a band you will have weaknesses but you will also have strengths, the strengths your band may
have are listed below.
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Organisation: organisation is an important strength to have because then your band meeting will
all be on time, on the right date and prepared for. When you go off to a gig and you are well
organised then you will remember everything you need to bring instead of going back because
you’ve forgotten something. Organisation is good on stage too because if you remember your
chords and lyrics and remember technique when your singing and the dynamics when your
playing then you can pull off a really good performance, if you have to go on stage with the lyrics
and chords and your constantly looking at the paper then the audience wont be entertained and
you wont be communicating with your audience or band which is a performance not worth paying
for.
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Imaginative and innovative: this will be a good strength because audiences will love different,
exciting and creative! If they pay for a performance and seen something on YouTube exactly the
same then your audience wont be as impressed as they would if they see something the same but
completely different.
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Your band will need to have a good friendship, if you all don’t get along then your not going to be
rehearsing properly and effectively how you should, you will have loads of arguments and
disagreements, and your over all performance wont be as impressive unless your all really good
actors, but even then your performance wont come from the heart and there will be no emotion or
entertainment. If you don’t get along with your band then you will have arguments, fall outs and
could potentially split up.
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Another strength you would need is aims and ambitions, if your band don’t aim high then your not
going to achieve high. If you don’t have a roll model or a place where you want to be by the end of
the year or within two years then your band wont go very far and your see very little improvement
in the band and yourself.
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Being at the similar ability in the band is always a good strength to have because if everyone in the
group is intermediate and your advance then your going to get annoyed because there learn
slower than you, and if someone don’t learn as fast as you and they keep on messing up the timing
and chords or keep stopping during a performance then your going to get annoyed. Also you wont
achieve the things you want to achieve by the performance or by the end of the year because the
intermediate people will be dragging you down. You wont be at the level you want to be at by the
end of the year or term and you wont have the performance you intended on having because of
your band. Furthermore, your audience, friends and family will hear your performance and not
expect something like that, they could possibly be expecting more from you which you couldn't’t
give because of your band.
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Equal amount of instruments, if you have 2 drummers one singer and 5 guitars then in reality you
really only need one drummer and maybe two singers. You can have all the guitars you want
because if there all played in time then it can sound really effective because you can have different
things going on with the guitars such as a melody played on one which is picked, a bass line on
another guitar and block chords on another.
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Your band needs to be determined and committed, if not then you can wake up one morning and
not bother going to rehearsals because you don’t feel too good which will lead to arguments, your
band can fall apart and not make the progress it should.
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Weaknesses of a band!
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Being an unorganised group will not ideal because then you will turn up to rehearsals late,
maybe not even knowing when you have a rehearsal, your go to a gig without the stuff you
need and have to come back to get it which will then make you late, and if your on stage and
you forget your chords and lyrics then your not showing a good impression for your
audience, they may not even want to see you again!
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If your uninterested in being in a band or if your not interested in the repertoire your doing
then your not going to do individual practice, your band rehearsals are going to be boring
and pointless to you which will cause you to be fed up, bored and you will make the band
achieve less.
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Being mainstream is not a good thing in a band because you want to think outside the box,
make people see stuff which interests them, come up with really fun creative ideas or your
audience will be bored because pretty much every performance will be the same.
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If your band cant communicate with each over when on stage then your performance will
seem like your not really excited about it, interested about it and it can even look like your
nervous on stage. This will ruin your performance and may even make the audience think
that you don’t like your band members. If you don’t communicate with your band then your
not going to be able to communicate with your audience.
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Strengths of rehearsals!
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You need to set targets for every rehearsal you do. You need to try and hit these
targets and find things which you could of done better when it comes to
watching back your rehearsal. At the end of the rehearsal, set yourself three
things you still think needs improving and if you haven't hit your targets, discuss
what could you do at your next rehearsal to change that. At your next rehearsal
you can look back at your recorded rehearsal and figure out why you haven't hit
your target.
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Make sure each band member knows the music, the song, who its by and how it
is going to be played (what type of style its going to be in, the tempo and what
inurement's are going to be used). This is because rehearsals will be much
easier when getting chords and lyrics, also everyone has to agree on the song
choice for the rehearsals to be efficient and up to speed.
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Always be reliable!! Being on time to a rehearsal is brilliant because then you
can start rehearsing straight away and you will have more time to focus on
things that need improving instead of being late, going through the song once
real quick and saying what needs improving but not actually putting your words
into actions because then by the next week your be behind where your putting
your improvements together.
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Weaknesses of rehearsals!
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If you set yourself targets for the next rehearsal and when your at the
next rehearsal don’t reach them then nothing has been achieved and
you’re not making progress. This will effect your bands relationship,
your performance and how you will catch up.
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If your band members have not rehearsed individually your going to
hold the band up because if everyone else has rehearsed individually
and you haven't then everyone is going to be further in the music than
you. This will make you behind in the performance, and you could even
turn up to the performance not knowing what your doing. Or not even
being confident about performing.
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If you distract people when they’re doing rehearsals due to chatting or
misbehaving then the band is going to get annoyed with you, you will
stop the band from achieving high, and your making them fall behind on
their rehearsals as to where they should be in a song.
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Bands which split up.
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Take that split up for two years and they may never tour again. This is
because some of the band members were completely shattered after
their tour and don’t think they will be able to do it again at their age.
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I found some quotes from oasis explaining why they split up. "It's with
some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight”.
"People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on
working with Liam a day longer.” "Apologies to all the people who
bought tickets for the shows in Paris, Konstanz and Milan.” “It's
obviously the worst fall-out that they've ever had, and they've had
some pretty bad ones” Liam noel had a fall out during a performance
and Liam refused to go back on stage. The band split up.
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Spandau ballet: 'To Cut A Long Story Short, we nearly lost our minds...':
After 20 years of fighting, why Spandau Ballet finally buried the hatchet.
the designer pop group who disintegrated bitterly then reunited
triumphantly – are back. And this time they’ve made a movie. This is an
example of a band who split up and then reunited and got back
together.
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To summaries the main things you will need to be a successful
musical ensemble is organisation, because you need to