1 Understand the elements of musical ensembles
Band members
In a band you need various musicians and of course a singer, or several
singers. For example, in Kings of Leon they have a drummer, rhythm guitar,
backing vocals, percussion, and lead guitar. You don’t always need these
instruments in a band; it does really depend on what kind of genre you are and
how you want to perceive your music. Say for example you’re more of a rock
band, then you may want more heavier instruments, perhaps 2 guitarists, a bassist,
and anything else to give your band a ‘rock feel’. Or if you’re more of a soft
band, perhaps more indie and original, for example ‘Daughter’ they tend to have
just a guitar, sometimes soft drums to pick up the beat and for background
noise, and they’re known to have sound effects to give their music a different ‘spooky’
feel. It highly depends on the way you want people to hear and think about your
music. Before starting a band it’s essential you think of this so you know what
kind of people you need in your band. Jazz bands tend to have instruments like,
piano, bass, drum base. It also highly depends on how many people are in your
band, say you have 5 people; usually it will consist of, guitar, bass and
drums, and also put in some piano and rhythm guitar. Having a lot of options
when it comes to a band for instruments is something you can really benefit
from.
Organisation
Organising as a group is something that takes a lot of effort and a lot
of time also. Even the smallest details in organising have a massive impact on
your overall and final performances. Say for example you need to find a venue
to rehearse, or even where you’re going to perform you need to spend time
looking at venues, ringing people up, and making sure it’s efficient enough or
you and your band members. It’s always a good idea you actually go and have a
proper look at the possible venue you may be using, for example, it could be
too small for all of you, or not enough plugs/places to put wires that you need
for the technical side. It can take up to weeks to organise an event, but if
you all make sure that you have given jobs to do and deadlines and you put in
hard work it should all work out.
Communication e.g. musical interaction
Musical interaction and communication does also really come under ‘interaction
with the audience’. They’re all ways of becoming close and intimate with the
audience. Things like, eye contact, eye level, even speaking to the audience
which is one of the main ones, this can really bring up the energy in the venue
when you’re directly speaking and having a conversation with who are watching
you. Facial expressions and hand gestures are something that can improve your
performance, these are things we do in everyday life, but putting them in a
performance can improve it even more. If you were to just stand there and sing
which no expression the audience are probably going to get quite bored, if you
don’t look as if you’re enjoying it, then how can they?
Interaction with audience
Interacting and communicating with the audience is one of the most
important things when performing, if you’re having a good time on the stage but
don’t connect with the audience then it’s more than likely that they might not
be enjoying themselves. Even if you’re doing a slow emotional song which
doesn’t include upbeat energy you can still connect with the audience
emotionally. Eye contact is a very strong way of involving the audience. I
looked at some of Kings of Leon’s performances and the way they involve and
connect to the audience is incredible. The energy that’s on stage really has an
effect on the audience. Even though not all of their performances are upbeat
and loud, even the slow soft songs have a big impact on the audience. Having a
wide variety of songs in a performance brings different emotions.
Listening skills
If your band is quite a few people it’s really important you listen to
each other and take on board what each person is saying. Too many people
talking at once can cause arguments obviously which may cause a divide in your
group which is the last thing you’ll want if you’re in a group and have a
deadline. Making sure you listen to each other is a must, they may have new
ideas which could help your group altogether. Also listening skills in a band
comes under knowing when to come in, when it’s your turn to start playing or
sing, you won’t know this unless you listen. Also knowing what key to play in, if you’re
just playing and not actually listening to what everyone else is doing then you
might be playing in a completely wrong key, putting the band behind due to
having to start again and keep going over things which are all doing to not
listening. Using your ears and listening carefully help you stay in tune, if a guitar
is out of tune then this can really affect the atmosphere and can actually be
quite painful to watch, so if you’re listening properly to your band you will
be able to listen to any faults in the band. If you’re harmonizing this can be
quite difficult, listening to the other person you’re harmonizing with, whether
it be singing or with instruments it can be quite difficult and confusing, if
you’re concentrating and paying attention this can help you out. Having strong
listening skills can improve your band/musical ensemble altogether, even for
the littlest things.
Co-operation
Being involved and taking part when you are in a group and working
together as a musical ensemble is really necessary. If some of the group just
sit back and let others do then you won’t learn and get better at what you’re
doing, and also can put a lot of stress of certain people if they feel under
pressure and like they have a lot to do. Giving each person a specific role is
something that will make it much more organised and will actually make the
process a whole lot faster.
Rehearsal
Being part of a musical ensemble does mean you have to take up a lot of
your own free time and commit to band rehearsals, especially if you have
deadlines, or even if you’re a solo performer you still need to do this.
Rehearsals are a way of going over your performances in order to get it tighter
and clean, looking at any mistakes you’re making and running it through lots of
times to get it as perfect as you can. Having as many rehearsals as you can is
important, it can also make your nerves calm down as you are more aware of what
you are doing. Even if someone can’t make a rehearsal it’s still vital that you
meet up as a band and do your best without the person that’s missing. You don’t
just need rehearsals for the group, technical rehearsals are important too.
Repertoire
Repertoire means the music you can play, the lists of songs a band or
artist can knows. It’s a group of songs that someone can perform for an
audience, that will then be their repertoire. Having a wide variety of songs
you have is good, it gives you more options for performances. It’s also important
you have your own original songs, and not just covers so the audience know what
you’re about and can hear some of your own stuff.
Strengths and weaknesses
In
a group (musical ensemble) you need to be aware of each other’s strengths and
weaknesses. Being aware of this you can then help each other out in the bits
you know some people may struggle with. For example say a member of your group
finds it hard to remember lyrics, testing them on this is a good way of them
remembering and getting better, and also more rehearsals for them to feel at
ease and so they know what they’re doing. Helping each other out is a strong
way of keeping close as a band/group.
Presentation
