BlueJam Arts » Arts Award

Jess Robinson - Bronze Arts Award

I am working towards a Bronze Arts Award, exploring music through a visual lens and performance.

Part A: Explore the arts as a participant

Description:

For part A I will be playing in a gig at college. I am at Kendal College studying music and every day I am there I play as part of bands and groups of other musicians. I’ve been playing trumpet for just over 2 years and I’ve just started to learn the saxophone. I chose this activity because it is something I do often, I’m good at and am improving in all the time.

Here are my notes from rehearsals.

What I would like to improve:

I would like to get better at knowing songs off by heart so I don’t have to read off notes and sheet music especially at gigs. I will do this by making sure I practice whenever I get chance

I would also like to improve singing backing vocals so I can sing confidently whenever I’m not playing trumpet or sax and therefore bring something else to the bands.

I want to get better at saxophone so I am as confident playing it as I am playing trumpet. This would mean I had a bigger variety of ‘sounds’ I can bring to each band.

Notes From Rehearsals

Engagement in a creative arts activity:

Here is a couple of photos and a film of one of the bands I was in at the gig. I am on the left playing the trumpet, I am playing my own made up parts for the first song and on the second song I did improvisation and copying what the horns play on the original track.

Im a Man / Scream

Learning and improvement.

For months leading up to this gig I have prepared and learnt in so many ways. Being at college taught me a lot about rehearsal skills and performing skills. I have also had private lessons from music teachers and group sessions with Bluejam Arts, where I do jazz sessions on a Thursday and help out to look after and teach younger children about music and songwriting.

After doing the all this and gig I can say I have improved in many ways. For example I feel a lot more confident in my musical ability and can do a lot more independently. I think my musicality has improved such as my timing and accuracy as I understand the songs better and am able to fine tune my part. I also would say I pick things up much quicker now. For example I can listen to a song and work out how to play it fairly quickly and accurately by ear whereas I wouldn’t before I started college etc. I have had to work in groups for this so I have got better at working with others such as listening and having confidence to speak out and say my ideas as well as helping others if they needed it.

The things I have enjoyed most include performing at the gig, which is something I have always enjoyed but the college gig was especially good as it was more like the real world and what I hope to be doing when I’m older. I have also enjoyed working in lots of groups with lots of different songs etc. This gave me chance to do a variety of music and have lot to do so I got a distinction.

The things I found difficult was having the energy and stamina to do so much. I was quite ill on the night of the gig so it was hard to keep my energy up.

I was frustrated at myself because there was a bit in ‘Master Blaster’ by Stevie Wonder that I’d been practicing really hard for ages that I messed up.

So in the future I’d like to make sure I am calm and not ill on the night of the gig!

Part B: Explore the arts as an audience member.

For this section I went to see Paolo Nutini in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. This was very inspirational for me as when I am older I aspire to be part of a band like his, as well as the music being very much my favourite kind of music. I was particularly interested in the brass section of the band being a brass player myself. The quality and standard of the musicians was amazing and very inspirational. By this I mean for example the music was played very solidly and the sound was very tight. All the levels were right which although this is expected of a big gig and professional musicians and sound engineers it is a very hard thing to get right. As well as the performance being amazing the set was very interesting and there was a big screen behind the band that added to the performance visually.

The gig was definitely much better than my expectations. We managed to get a spot right at the front which was difficult at times as we were stood for so long, but meant we had a great view of the stage.

To be able to experience this event was amazing for me as I feel it helped me in making my decision of what I want to do when I am older. To be able to be part of the brass section of a band like that would be my absolute dream so overall for me experiencing the gig was very motivational.

I would defiantly recommend the experience to anyone who just enjoys music or like me could see themselves being part of it in the future.

I discussed it with my dad at the end as he was there too. He said:

“I thought it was amazing and I really enjoyed it. It was difficult being stood where we were but it was defiantly worth it. It has defiantly made me like Paolo Nutini more than I did before as it was a very good gig and clear that the quality of the musicians and the performance was of a very high standard. I defiantly would see another Paolo gig!”

I also shared footage I took and photos on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so other people could see what a great gig it was and maybe it would encourage them to go to one themselves.

Here is a picture of the gig:

Part C: Arts Inspiration.

For this section I chose to research about one of my favourite artists James Brown. I found out a lot about him and his work by researching about him on the internet. He is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and bandleader. His most well known songs include I got you (I Feel Good), Get Up Offa That Thing, Living in America, Sex Machine, Mans Mans Mans world, Soul Power, to name a few. He is said to be ‘one of the most iconic figures in funk and soul music from 1956 to 2006’.

“Born in Barnwell, South Carolina, on May 3, 1933, into extreme poverty, James Brown worked his way to the top of the funk and R&B music earning the moniker “The Godfather of Soul.” His unique vocal and musical style influenced many artists. Brown was also known for his turbulent personal life, as well as his social activism, both in his songwriting (“America is My Home,” “Black and Proud”) and advocating the benefits of education to schoolchildren.”

“ Growing up in abject poverty during the Great Depression, a young Brown worked whatever odd jobs he could find, for literally pennies. He danced for the soldiers at nearby Fort Gordon, picked cotton, washed cars and shined shoes.”

I find this interesting as it highlights how he started from the bottom and worked his way up. It shows that it doesn’t come easily and you have to work for something like James Brown did. Its also clear from this that people related to him and what he wrote songs about, which can be very important if you want to be successful.

“I started shining shoes at 3 cents, then went up to 5 cents, then 6 cents. I never did get up to a dime. I was 9 years old before I got a pair of underwear from a real store; all my clothes were made from sacks and things like that. But I knew I had to make it. I had the determination to go on, and my determination was to be somebody.” (James Brown)

“However, as a teenager Brown also turned to crime. At the age of 16, he was arrested for stealing a car and sentenced to three years in prison. While incarcerated, Brown organized and led a prison gospel choir. It was in jail that Brown met Bobby Byrd, an aspiring R&B singer and pianist, forming a friendship and musical partnership that proved one of the most fruitful in music history.”

This also proves how important it is to keep working towards your dream cos even if you start from the very bottom, if you keep determined and keep going you can get to where you want be be and beyond. Its also interesting that he went to prison as he clearly was a very real person and did find it hard living in the time he lived in, but even in prison he kept true to himself and carried on doing what he loved.

“In 1955, Bobby Byrd invited Brown to join his R&B vocal group, The Gospel Starlighters. Brown accepted, and with his overbearing talent and showmanship, he quickly came to dominate the group. Renamed the Famous Flames, they moved to Macon, Georgia, where they performed at local nightclubs.

In 1956, the Famous Flames recorded a demo tape of the song “Please, Please, Please” and played it for Ralph Bass, a talent scout for King Records. Bass was thoroughly impressed by the song, and especially by Brown’s passionate and soulful crooning. He offered the group a record contract, and within months “Please, Please, Please” had reached No. 6 on the R&B charts.”

This was where his career started to properly begin, and it proves that its more about who you know in the business and being in the right place at the right time (even if that was prison!).

“Brown went on to record many of his most popular and enduring singles during the mid-1960s, including “I Got You (I Feel Good),” “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” and “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” With its unique rhythmic quality, achieved by reducing each instrument to an essentially percussive role, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” is considered the first song of a new genre, funk, an offshoot of soul and a precursor of hip-hop.”

James Brown was very influential and a lot of music today would probably not be the same without his influence in the development of music. I find him very inspirational and I am a great admirer of his work. From doing this research I have learnt more about how it is possible to follow your dream no matter where you have come from, its about determination and passion for doing something you love and James Brown is a brilliant example of this.

(http://www.biography.com/people/james-brown-9228350#synopsis)

Now at college I am part of a James Brown tribute and by doing this it has helped with the band by learning more about the history of James Brown and how he did his music etc. I defiantly feel that I have achieved the goals I set in part A as now I don’t have to read off my notes all the time and I have a lot to remember, I am singing some backing vocals now and am more confident playing sax. I am playing just sax in all my bands at college now as I feel it fits better with most of the music.

Part D: Arts skills share.

For this section I am helping a group of young people to write a song and perform it. I will be doing this through BlueJam Arts who are an organisation who “promotes the creation, performance and sharing of new music and new ways of making music in an accessible, multi media environment.” I have been part of BlueJam for about a year and a half now and I have learnt a lot about not just music but about myself and I have gained lots of confidence. I help run a young songwriters group on Thursdays and for part D I will be running part of a session. Through doing these sessions, I can see how the children have matured a lot in their own ways and gained a lot more music skills, as well as learning social skills, teamwork skills and respect.

I will go about this session I am running by giving them guidance on how to go about starting to write a song and giving them help with the musical and instrumental parts. I have chosen to do this as I feel it is a good way of sharing my arts skill with others and hopefully they will gain a lot out if it as well as myself. I will have the resources at the school to help me (so instruments etc). For evidence I plan on asking the kids to review it and asking them some questions and getting quotes from them.

Review and reflection:

Overall the session went really well and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. It was difficult to get them engaged at first but once they were doing something practical and creative they responded really well. I generally just left them to it but stepped in a few times when they needed my help. For example when one of the girls needed help with some chords on the piano I helped her find the right notes in the chords. If I were to do the session again I would probably have planned a little bit better and set out exactly what I was going to do step by step. This would have made the session move a bit faster and we would have got more done in the time but overall it went well and the kids said they learnt a lot and enjoyed it.

Here are some quotes from the children:

“I really enjoyed the session, I learnt how to play the trumpet better and how to make a better sound.”

“It was good because I learnt more about playing in a group.”

“I liked playing the drums because I could make a really loud noise”

“I learnt how to play a twelve bar blues”