Specialized Technique Performance LogBook

Mattia Micalich

WEEK 1

Song(s) Performed:
Time Warp and Totally Fucked
Band

Work Achieved:
Despite all the difficulties that I faced during the previous weeks, I was able to sightread
the sheet correctly and play the song with the correct feeling and sound. I managed to stay
well focused throughout all the performance in order to follow all the md directions. In
Totally Fucked I improved the use of the pick by being both rhythmically and technically
accurate.

Problems Encountered:
In Totally Fucked our band could not follow the tempo given by the MD thus many times I
gave more attention to the drummer than I should. I also had to modify the structure of my
sheets since it was incorrect.

Work For Next Week:

Learn the songs Revelation and The Melody Still Lingers On. For the second tune, I will
ask what parts I am going to play, if the synth or the bass ones.

Supervisor Comments:

Very well done and well organized work, We have improved a lot our way of working since
last year.
WEEK 2

Song(s) Titles:
Revelation and And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night in Tunisia)
Lesson

Work Achieved:
This week I had a lesson with our tutor on how to perform the two songs that the
supervisors gave us the week before. I will need to learn both the bass and the synth parts
in order to play A Night in Tunisia appropriately, so we started to work with a low BPM to
get a correct finger positions and to learn the synth riff.

Problems Encountered:
At first, the synth riff played by Herbie Hancock in And the Melody Still Lingers On seemed
to be very difficult to perform at the right tempo since the hammer-ons inside it are a little
bit tricky. Also in Revelation there is a short passage where the bass makes a shuffle
octave fill which needs to be practiced.

Work For Next Week:

I will need to learn the synth riff and the octave bass passage at the correct tempo with the
appropriate finger position and I will try to improvise on the chord changes of the two
songs.

Supervisor Comments:

I have to develop the right hand technique with and adequate study of the sixteens and I
am too slow while I do the synth part.
WEEK 3

Song(s) Performed:
Revelation and And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night in Tunisia)
Lesson

Work Achieved:
This Week I had another lesson with my tutor who taught us how to perform the two songs
correctly. We did some exercises with the metronome in order to acquire a correct timing
during the B section of the song. This time, due to the practice I had done during the last
month I was able to perform the synth bass riff at a correct tempo and follow the obbligato
parts correctly. In Revelation I improved my shuffle technique by practicing it only withe the
use of a metronome.

Problems Encountered:
Even if I was able to perform the whole song at a correct tempo, the lack of stamina in my
playing made me lose a lot of timing throughout the various sections. This was evident
especially during the solos section, where I seldom anticipated the downbeats. On the
other hand, I did not find any difficulty in the song revelation.

Work For Next Week:

I have to acquire more stamina for Night in Tunisia and I need to be careful about the
timing throughout the song. I also need to try Revelation with a real drummer.

Supervisor Comments:

He gave me another ways of muting techniques to perform correctly Revelation, such as

blocking the string only with the right hand. He also gave me some Jaco Pastorius
exercises to improve the right hand strength and dexterity.
WEEK 4

Song(s) Performed:
Revelation and And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night in Tunisia)
Band

Work Achieved:
This week we performed the two songs with the band. The only goal achieved was that at
the end of the rehearsal we had a clear structure of the song.

Problems Encountered:
During these rehearsals both songs were played in a very bad way: In And the Melody Still
Lingers On there the guitarists did not have a correct timing and this obviously influenced
all the performance of the band. During Revelation I encountered many problems since I
had not the possibility to study with a drummer and I couldn’t give a good interpretation of
the shuffle. Moreover, since we had not the possibility to rehearse with the band, the
structures were not clear.

Work For Next Week:

I have to acquire more stamina for Night in Tunisia and I need to be careful about the
timing throughout the song. I also need to try Revelation with a real drummer. Study and
prepare the song Time to Say Goodbye by Kurt Elling.

Supervisor Comments:

I have to improve the shuffle interplay with the drummer. The tutors also told us that we
needed to organize a plan of constant rehearsals in order to solve the issues encountered
during this performance and strengthen the interplay.
WEEK 5

Song(s) Performed:
Time to Say Goodbye
Lesson

Work Achieved:
This week I learnt with my instrument tutor the song Time to Say Goodbye by Kurt Elling.
As it’s a reinterpretation of the song Remark You Made by Weather Report, he advised us
to learn the original Jaco Pastorius bassline. I was able to perform at a correct tempo all
the song and I had no problems with the structure.

Problems Encountered:
The structure of this song was not a problem for me but I encountered many difficulties in
managing the dynamics throughout all the sections and, since it was one of the first song I
learnt that had a melodic bass phrasing in it, I wasn’t able to play a correct vibrato on my
instrument and the lines were all pushed backwards.

Work For Next Week:

I have to learn the song and the Jaco’s fills correctly and try to manage better the internal
dynamics of the song. I also need to try some effects such as a chorus or a flanger to
reproduce the original song atmosphere.

Supervisor Comments:

I have to improve and practice the vibrato technique on my instrument and I have to work
on the melodic phrases with the legato, since I seem to feel very nervous when I play
them. He also told me to work creatively on the accompaniment by using fifths and major
thirds.
WEEK 6

Song(s) Performed:
Time to Say Goodbye
Band

Work Achieved:
This week I played Time to Say Goodbye with the band. It is a very difficult song, since we
had to take care of the internal dynamics and manage the interplay with each other.

Problems Encountered:
When I finished to perform the song, I did not understand some parts of the structure,
since the melody that the guitarists played was not clear. It was also difficult to me to follow
the melody with the singer, since my phrasing was pushed back and the first time that I
played the song I had no dynamic excursion.

Work For Next Week:

I have to study better the melodic parts in the song and learn it better so I can understand
the structure without following the lead sheet. I also need to continue the rehearsals with
the band since we have to improve our interplay.

Supervisor Comments:

I had some hesitations in following the main structure and I wasn’t able to follow correctly
the melody at the same time with the singer.
WEEK 7

Song(s) Performed:
All setlist

I was absent at school.

WEEK 8

Song(s) Performed:
All setlist
Band

Work Achieved:
We played another time all the setlist that we’ll have to perform in the exam. This was the
first time that I could receive some feedbacks regarding all the song since I was not at
school the week before.

Problems Encountered:
We had many problems in performing the intro of Night in Tunisia, since it was difficult to
play at tempo the bass line at the same time with the guitar riff. I had less problems with
the structure of Time to Say Goodbye as I had rehearsed it several times with the band.

Work For Next Week:

Plan many rehearsal with the band in order to be ready and well organized for the exam
that we will do next week.

Supervisor Comments:

I still push backwards the melodic phrasing of Time to Say Goodbye.