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Farewell

Wow…it feels like forever since we all left.those four weeks went by so quick yet it felt like I knew you guys forever. But I miss you guys so much. This might sound weird but I would have dreams with all of us in class with Marat, and Lauren acting the way we would in the actual class. Anyway, I just want to say that it was a pleasure meeting all of you. I enjoyed collaborating with my assigned groups. At one point I felt like I took them for granted, but once I say what they were capable of then that’s when I got used to them and understood their unique talents.

I learned so much from all of the teachers and special guest that came in to talk to us. Special thanks to the TA’s. They actually made the camp seem more warming. They got to see more of our wild side more than the teachers and vice versa. I had a tremendous time going on all the trips. I would have never imagined that I would go on so many trips as I did this summer.

I believe that this program not only informed me about the music industry, but it helped to build confidence within myself, with the help of the lovely and heart-warming people I met there. Everyone had different personalities as well as taste in music, but at the end of the day we all came together and created some dope music.

Anyways, I want to let you guys know that I never go a day without thinking about you guys (literally). I hope that all is well with you and your music career.

P.S. when you guys become famous…don’t forget to give YA girl a shout out, and I will do the same for you. I’m Excited to see you all succeed. LOVE YA. <3

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Back to Black: Amy Winehouse

 Song format—Verse1, Chorus, Verse2, Chorus, Bridge, ending Chorus

Song Info /Credits:

·        Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson wrote the song

·        Mark Ronson produced “Back to Black”

·        Amy  Winehouse Performed the song

·        The album release was on “Amy Winehouse Back to Black”

Arrangement Notes:

The message behind this song “Back to Black” is based on a past relationship she had with Blake Fielder-Civil. He went and left her for his ex-girlfriend. So she is basically telling us that after he left, she went back to black. “Black” is a most common street word used to describe heroine. But the song tends to have a sad goodbye to a relationship with a bit of soul in it to make it sound sexy and fierce.

Lyrical Notes:

I love the song because of the instrumentation of it. The main part of expressing a heartbreak song like this one deals with the music. It sounds all dark and depressive with a hint of jazziness to it. The drums tend to be the main instrument used to express that anger. And then the piano just adds a little embellishment to the song to make it a little dainty. And then the violin and the guitar add a little elegance to it. Alliteration; tread a troubled track. Repetition; she says black continuously. Assonance; high, dry, guy, tracked, stacked, black. This song is catchy to me because it speaks about her and how she feels or felt at the time. The title of the song makes sense once you research how she got the title. But anyway, with Amy going back to black it indicates that she was on heroine. That was basically her comfort piece.

Opinion of the song/ message:

I love this song because it’s from her perspective. She isn’t trying to put on a show for anyone. She is telling us how there was a connection between the two but now that he’s gone she has nothing to fall back on but the heroine.

Key songwriting success:

·        Speak from your heart and not from your head

·        Have confidence when you are writing a song. Don’t turn in anything that you think might be trash.

·        Have fun, stay true to yourself, and if it doesn’t speak to anyone else just know that it spoke to you

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The Converse Rubber Tracks studios benefits a lot just by demonstrating a positive, giving back attitude towards their community, and those who aren’t able to afford renting out studios. I think that the idea of allowing musicians to come and record their music for free was a great idea, because most of their money is going towards transportation, food and rest stops as well. Even though the Converse Rubber Tracks company itself isn’t making money off of this, the actual Converse Company if benefiting from this in a big way

Now, some people may say that it doesn’t make sense bands to get only a day to record, when I believe that that is a good deal. Rubber Tracks is giving you 8 hours to rehearse/practice and even record. And that’s only because they have only but so many rooms for musicians to use. But on the other hand they allow out of the country guests to have those rooms for about three to four days, because it doesn’t make sense for those bands to travel let’s say 12 hours and only get 8 hours of recording time. That’s first a waste of money and a waste of time. So yes, I believe that Converse Rubber Track benefits a lot from this community outreach for musicians, and recording specialist in Brooklyn, and I think that later in the future they will become bigger and better than they could ever imagine, and who knows, maybe a big record label/business will want to pay them for the deed that they are doing.

[despedden18-blog]

Harry Connick Jr.

Harry Connick Jr. is an American jazz musician and actor known for musical projects such as the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack and films like Memphis Belle and Independence Day. I admire Harry Connick Jr. for his creativity and style. He has multiple ways of establishing himself in the jazz community. I also admire him because he is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. First, Harry Connick Jr. began his career at the age of 5. He sung the “stars spangled banner” at a campaign headquarters and made his first album at the age of 11, and since then he assured that he was going to have a career in music.  When Connick got his first break into the music industry, it was around 1989 while spending a long-time engagement at the Algonquin Hotel. That show had attracted a great deal of press attention, since the legendary Tony Bennett saw Harry’s performance and proclaimed that “Connick could be the next Frank Sinatra.” Secondly, From the New Orleans Advocate article it states, “During his career, the singer and pianist has sold 28 million albums and had more No. 1 records than anyone else in the history of U.S. jazz charts.” So, within his career, Harry Connick Jr. renovated a song called “Jambalaya.” The song was originally written and sung by Hank Williams, but Harry put a little flare into Hanks work. The story behind the song was talking about the Louisianan culture and essentially what the Louisianan definition of having a good time is all about. Finally, Harry Connick Jr. can be a huge inspiration to young and old musicians and singers because, he is demonstrating how to be versatile in your career, and to just have fun with your life, yet take your work seriously.