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If anyone is looking for a new book to read, I just published the first chapters to my very first book "Red". Be sure to check it out!

Hello!

My name is Ella and I am a singer-songwriter/producer currently living in Manhattan. I usually write alternative-R&B music, however, my music is multi-faceted in its inspirations. I started performing when I became an Artist-in-Bloom at a performing arts space called Bloombars. There, I began to flourish and started high school at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Shortly after, I moved to New York City and began attend Harlem School of the Arts as a prep student, arranging my music for a jazz combo at the school. I enjoy this because it challenges me to stretch my creativity as an artist to create a diverse sound.

My influences include James Blake, Prince, SZA, Jill Scott and Hall & Oates. I love each of these artists because they join multiple genres together to create their own unique sound. For example, even though both Jill Scott and James Blake are inspired by Blues and Gospel, they each have two completely different ways of interpreting the genre and embodying it in their music.

I am often inspired by art and live performance. I believe that seeing a piece of art in a gallery or going out to see someone at a festival is imperative because it is the final step when one is willing to put their art on a pedestal for the world to take in.

My audience is a young crowd that still enjoys artists that perform live and put a lot of effort into their visual aesthetic. They watch music videos, and also keep up with their artist through platforms such as Pitchfork or Youtube. They are subscribed to Spotify and have a Soundcloud account. I would like for my used to be used in media such as TV commercials or movie soundtracks. This career appeals to me because I would love the challenge of writing music that relates to someone else’s vision or story.

I plan to get to have this career by boosting the visual aspect of my music through creative videos and album artwork. I am constantly meeting with people in the music industry to create a network of people I can come to for insight. I later plan to self-release an EP this year and begin to gig in the city. After I school, I would like to study popular music at USC or Goldsmiths, University of London. These steps can help me to create the best art that I can.

Sincerely,

Ella

P.S. -

Above I have embed a video for the song “Treat Me Like Fire” by a duo called Lion Babe. I picked this video because I love how their image as well as the video embody their music successfully. (I suggest viewing this with a full-screen.)

#performance #ellamoore

"Katy On A Mission" - Katy B

Part One

(Intro)

VERSE 1

PRE-CHORUS 1

CHORUS 1

POST-CHORUS 1

VERSE 2

PRE-CHORUS 2

CHORUS 2

POST-CHORUS 2

CHORUS 3/OUTRO

Part Two

Song Credits:

The song “Katy On a Mission” was written by Kathleen Brien (Katy B), Benga, and DJ Geeneus of Rinse FM. It was produced by Benga, and performed by Katy B and released as the lead single for her debut album, “On A Mission”.

Arrangement Notes:

The song’s primary elements are the heavily distorted synth’s chord movement in the front, as well as Katy’s voice. The secondary elements are the backup vocals and the steely, house drums during the chorus.

The background elements are the bass supporting the chord modulation with the organ and there are three sound effects in the transitions. One, resembles a fork being scratched on a plate, like a muted “clang”. The second, like a fire alarm, and the third, like a spaceship ascending. The latter gives the song a very sci-fi feel.

Lyrics:

In the song, Katy’s lyrics remain on task, and she doesn’t stray from the fact that she is enjoying being in this club dancing. Also, she seems very in control of what she’s doing in this moment. She is provocative, however, it is only by her on accord. She says: "Now I reached my elements you better move over-er. But he doesn’t he blocks my way I try to push past but he wants to play So I sip his drink as I hold his gaze”

I like the fact that she maintains this level of confidence throughout the song, and I think this is important because in today’s Pop, most of the women sing about how “the man took me home” or “he did me wrong” or “I’ve moved on…but I miss you”. This sappy lyric content instills the idea that women are always dependent and vulnerable to their partners.

Opinion of Song and Message:

I personally enjoy the song because of the energetic music and the strong-willed lyrical content. I think this song reached its listeners because of the excellent use of imagery displayed through the song.

Key Production Moves:

Reverb: When Benga, the producer, adds reverb to Katy’s voice, it helps me imagine the club that she is singing about. The atmosphere seems energetic and exciting, as she describes in the lyrics.

Layers: Even though the music in this song has many layers that work in their complexity, Benga still knew when the song needed to feel more minimal. For example, taking out the synth during the second chorus creates a slight change in pace and keeps the listener engaged.

Sound Effects: The sound effects, such as the chimes in the beginning and the end of the song, ease the transitions between the sections in the song.

Key Songwriting Moves:

Imagery: Katy sings “My limbs seem to move what the beat dictates to me/I push into the middle the sound becomes a part of me/Taking me up to the sweet familiarity/Making my adrenaline rise I feel the eyes on me”. When the writers use key words like limbs, or push, the feelings that Katy is trying to convey can be seen through the lyrics

Rhyme Scheme: When Katy sings phrases that at least relatively rhyme, it makes the song more memorable. For example, in the second verse, the end of each line rhymes, with tune, fumes, resume, and soon. Even though some of these words do not rhyme exactly, the words rhyme enough to keep the lyrics “catchy”.

Use of melody: I admire the unique melody and the way that Katy has used the words to creating the cadence that she wants. For example, in the chorus, when she extends the words room, boom, tune, and fumes. This strategy creates chorus that lasts an ideal amount of measures, without being too word-heavy.

#songwriting #ellamoore

Oh, she's white. From Australia.

When I discovered the Hip-Hop mixtape database "Datpiff", I was an 11 year-old girl attending middle school in DC. The District of Columbia has been deemed "The Chocolate City" due to its long history of being predominately black, and as a child, I was in the sea of that 51 percent. My fellow students who were white would often use the word "nigga" with me. At first this would make me highly uncomfortable, as I grew up in a household where the word was taboo. I also just wasn't a huge fan of rap music because the rap that was presented to me was the misogynistic Cash Money, Lil Wayne, "lick it like a lollipop" era. As my teenage experience has progressed, I have become indifferent on the subject of white people indulging in Hip-Hop culture because I know that my white friends are not using the word because they have the intention of starting a lynch mob, but because they are obsessed with our culture, and they long to be a part of it.

This is appreciation, an idea that was presented to me when I downloaded the Iggy Azalea mixtape "Ignorant Art" in seventh grade. I had actually been listening to Azealia Banks for a long time before then, and as a result of their intense beef about who wrote a song about female genitals better, I decided to see what all the hype was about. I loved both Banks' "P-U-S-S-Y" and Azalea's "Pu$$y", and I didn't understand why people were so disgusted by Iggy's persona. Her music was decent, so what was the issue? Then I read her bio and thought "oh, she's white. From Australia", and I began to understand why that was an issue for "us".

We as black people are very protective of Hip-Hop. We become upset with people who are "stealing" our culture, and yet, we are defensive when people stereotype us and automatically place us in this category. We should not be putting Iggy down as an artist just because her appearance isn't what we usually see on XXL's Freshmen Class. No one in middle school ridiculed me for not listening to rap music my entire life, so Iggy should not have to be treated differently for starting to rap at age 14. For artists in this new Pop/Hip-Hop era where we can have the Karmin(s), the Meghan Trainor(s), and the Katy Perry(s), Iggy Azalea fits in pretty well. If anything, Hip-Hop fans should dislike her because her music just isn't that special, and she doesn't deserve the amount of praise that she is receiving as a Hip-Hop artist.

#writing #ellamoore

The Grammys

Dear fellow Music Moguls, Superheroes and TAs,

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the Grammys as much as I usually do. My favorite performance was the Hozier/Annie Lennox collaboration. Hozier truly proved himself as an emerging artist and Lennox surprised the crowd even more with her rendition of "I put a Spell on You". My least favorite performance was Ariana Grande's live performance. I feel that she has had better days vocally, however, I am choosing to not criticize her so profusely for two reasons. The first is the fact that I truly cannot perform the type of vocal acrobatics that she specializes in, in any way, shape, or form. Secondly, I'm sure that she was extremely nervous about her first Grammy performance, as I would have been as well.

The award choice that I was truly dissatisfied with was the choice to give Sam Smith "Record" of the Year and "Song of the Year". The Record of the Year is the one that sells the best, is catchy, and defines one's brand. Sam Smith undoubtedly deserved that. The "Song"of the Year is the one that is the most original and well-written. I don't understand why Sam Smith received both awards considering the fact that Sam Smith has to give over 10% of his royalties to Tom Petty because the chorus melody is exactly the same. I believe that Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" should have won. I actually am not a fan of this song, but at the time Taylor Swift released something that was completely out of her normal genre, it was different than anything else that was out at the time, and it performed extremely well everywhere.

I love Beck's album "Morning Phase". There was a period of time where I would listen to it every morning, ironically, and my family and I have been huge Beck fans for several years now. I'm not belittling the idea that Beyoncé's eponymous album should have won. I thought it was going to since it performed amazingly on the charts and she enticed all of us relentlessly in 2014. However, it does upset me that people are putting down Beck's music and saying Beyoncé should've won. This frustrates me because I know that since Beyoncé has live performance and Pop-centric entertainment as a part of her personal brand, people will always pick her. It was not the "Performance" or "Artist" of the Year award. It was not the "I'm Tumblr Famous" Award or the "I-made-more-money-than-you-and-I have fans" Award. It's Album of the Year. An award, that for the first time in a long time, truly picked who people thought just had the best music.

Best,

Ella Moore

P.S. - I love Beyoncé. I have a photo of her in my bedroom.

#ellamoore #thegrammys

Hi everyone!

I'm Ella Moore, and I'm a singer-songwriter living in Manhattan. One year ago, I moved here from Washington DC, where I was an artist-in-residence at Bloombars, performed with the DC Youth Orchestra Program, and attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts. When I moved here in the middle of ninth grade, I chose to attend a regular high school because I felt that it would help with my songwriting, and it has, considering the fact that when I went to my arts school in DC, I wasn't writing because I was spread so thin. Now, on the weekends, I attend Harlem School of the Arts, where I take songwriting classes formally and work on my percussion technique.

At the end of last school year, I wrote and arranged a song to perform with the Advanced Jazz Combo at HSA, and I decided that this is the piece that I would share with you all. Even though this song is a bit more neo-soul/jazz heavy than I would regularly write, I wrote "Walk Away" in this style because I wanted to embody the jazz band's sound and still have my personal touch on the track.

I love all types of music, from acid jazz and "trap" to grunge and pop, and I am truly excited to be working with all of you, exchanging conversations and experiences to create the best art that I can.