Listening Log #2 2013/2014

A Tisket A Tasket by Nikki Yanofsky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAjz-I9AN7c
October 27-29
1. When there are held notes (not very often), she has a little bit of vibrato but she doesn't really use very much.
2. She has a very bright and quite focused tone for this song and it certainly fits!
3. This performance has a very fun attitude and she was definitely into it and dancing around the stage just really enjoying herself.
4. She did a lot of stylizing and it's difficult to pick specific places. She spoke a few parts and tried to give herself a rough tone in a few places. There were some well-placed melodic leaps and even a little bit of melisma. I could keep going for a while but I think that those are the prominent techniques she used in this particular performance.
5. This song is naturally fast-paced and Nikki's version was no different. It's a very fast and enjoyable swing tune.
6. There was definitely interaction. She was talking to the band at one point and when she wound sing something, they would have an answer ready that fit with it. As much as she stuck to the idea of the melody, she seemed to be improvising the whole time and played off of the band.
7. Nikki definitely has a very creative interpretation of this melody. I love this song and I've listened to it many times but I have never heard two singers sing it the same way. I've heard people try to copy others but it's never the same. She is very creative and I loved the way she changed it to make it her own and to fit with that particular band.
8. This is just very fun text that explains itself. She had a letter in a basket for her mom but she lost the basket and some girl picked it up and naturally, she wanted to get her basket back.
9. In this performance, there is not only the piano, drums and bass but also saxaphones and flutes and a few trumpets.
10. I did believe her in this performance and I think that was because she was having so much fun. You can't be having that much fun onstage if you don't believe what you're singing.
11. I have to say, I love this song and this singer and this is definitely one of my favourite versions, if not my absolute favorite version of a well-known song.

Listening Log #1 2013/2014

For my first listening log, I listened to "One Fine Thing" performed by Harry Connick Jr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdaGMxrtYfM
I wrote this response yesterday (Monday, October 28th)
1. He doesn't use a lot of vibrato in this piece but it is present at the end of the phrases, especially very subtly at the end of some of the longer notes.
2. Harry Connick's tone is very difficult to describe. The best way I can think is to say that it is Warm and rough.It has the warm qualities to it but there's a certain "scratchiness" for lack of a better word that gives it a beautifully rough sound.
3. I think that this song has a certain mood of awe and apprehension. With the sound he gives, even before I looked at the lyrics, I could tell that it was about him falling in love just from the way he sang it. He seems to be in awe of someone and it's amazing how muich of a message he can convey with just his voice.
4.  He uses a lot of inflection, especially when there are repeated notes. Of course he also uses subtle vibrato at the end of his phrases but there isn't very much else.
5. One Fine Thing definitely has a strong swing groove and it's a fairly slow tune. It's not super slow but it's definitely a bit slower.
6. From what I could tell on the recording, he doesn't seem to be interacting with the rhythm section very much. The rhythm section follows him quite well but they don't really interact at all.
7. He sings the song as written with a little bit of vibrato to finish phrases but I would expect this because it's one of his tunes that he didn't just learn, he wrote it and was the first to sing it.

8. The text of this song can be found at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/harryconnickjr/onefinething.html and is all about how much he loves this woman and he wants to marry her. He says how much he thinks about her and how wonderful she is. In the last part, the lyrics are "I'm thinking the single line is overrated So I'll loiter and I'll linger And I'll try to get a ring around your finger" He is just saying how much he wants to marry her.

9. The accompaniment in this song starts with the drums (on one of the toms) and throughout the piece you can hear a piano and a bass.
10. I think this performance sounds very honest and he seems to really mean it. I'm not sure what more I can say at this point.
11. Personally, I love this song and his voice. I will definitely continue to listen to more things by Harry Connick Jr. 

Listening Log

Another year, another listening log.
Hi again! So, just like last year, I am typing this singlehandedly so please ecxuse any spelling mistakes I don't catch. This time, I was almost in a car accident about 4 hours ago and may have hyper-extended my shoulder once again plus I have a sprained wrist. Anyways, as always I am enjoying choir(s) and all my other music so once again, I will be writing listening logs for jazz choir.
Here is this year's form:
Name of Tune:
Date: (I guess when I wrote the report. That will probably be a different day than when I post it because I'm not usually at home and on my blog when I'm doing this.)
Artist/ Group:
1. Did the singer use much vibrato?
2. Describe the singer's vocal tone:
3. What was the overall modd/emotion/attitude of the performance?
4. Did the singer stylize much, and if so, in what ways?
5.What was the tempo and rhythmic groover of the song?
6. Did there seem to be much interaction between the singer and the players?
7. Did it seem that the singer had a creative interpretation of the melody of did they primarily sing it as written?
8. Explain what the text is about.
9. What was the instrumentation of the accompaniment?
10. Did you "believ" the singer? Did it sound honest?
11. Personal comment about the song/ performance. What did you think of it?