17 March, 2014: Introduction to "Time Will Tell"

In the past month, progress has slowed considerably and whilst our first group song, "Kiss From a Rose", is nearing completion we haven't set and acheived any fundraising targets and thus I feel we've been falling behind.

However, today marked a change as we had a very productive session. The atmosphere was initially rather tense as there were disagreements within the group as to what group song to rehearse. We settled on Bob Marley's "Time Will Tell" from his 1978 album Kaya) which some of us had performed previously as an ensemble, however 2 of those who had were not present for this rehearsal.

Pressing on regardless, we arranged the instruments as such:
Guitar: Kian, Stefan
Bass: Dylan
Cajon/Percussion: Luke

Whilst the guys rehearsed on their instruments, I took charge of teaching Tamara and Elica the song as they were unfamiliar with it. Whilst Kian suggested we harmonised the verses, differing from the original recording, I suggested that on the chorus we switch it up by having a call and response featuring a lead vocalist - a role which would alternate - and the rest of the group. I think these changes will make our performance of the song unique, better suited to the number of performers we have and give everyone a chance to showcase their ability in performing reggae music.

We arranged the song; instrumental intro, first verse, chorus, second verse, chorus, first verse, instrumental outro

Here is a copy of the lyrics in our arrangement, which I've color-coded to differentiate between solo lines and harmony lines.

Color Key:
Solo: Kian
Solo: Me
Solo: Serena
Harmonised

LYRICS: "Time Will Tell"

Verse 1
Jah would never give the power to a baldhead
Run come crucify the Dread.

Chorus
Time alone - oh, time will tell:
Think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell;
Think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell;
Think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell.
Time alone - oh, time will tell:
Ya think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell.

Verse 2
Lock them up; oh, not the brothers,
But the ones who sets 'em up.

Chorus
Time alone - oh, time will tell:
Think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell;
Think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell;
Think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell.
Time alone - oh, time will tell:
Ya think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell.

Jah would never give the power to a baldhead
Run come crucify the Dread.
 

Bob Marley "Time Will Tell"

Our version - by the end of the rehearsal

The performance still needs development; as the harmonies were not always right with some people singing an octave above lower parts rather than harmonising with them whilst I kept singing into Kian's solo "time will tell" after the "oh" in the chorus. Furthermore, I feel we could slow the tempo some more as it's considerably faster than the original and robs the song of much of its laidback groove - which is a definitive element of many reggae classics.

However, I'm really pleased we got through one song in limited time. If we consistently make progress this swiftly then the likelihood of our event being a success will increase tenfold.