230 Live Music Performance

Brief:

Your school is hosting a showcase for parents and governors. You have been asked to provide a 10-15 minute performance appropriate to the event.

Your work: Must be suitable for the audience

If you work as a group each candidate in the group must be able to show their contribution. Each candidate will be  assessed individually. 

Our event at Monk’s Walk School

You must design your programme around the audience – state which community organisations would be invited to your event and explain how your programme relates to the types of people that would be in these organisations.

TASK 1 Planning

My statement of personal aims: 

Through my contribution to the event I would like to achieve the following goals:

Firstly i want to be able to perform 4 songs throughout the performance , with a mix of solo and group performances which i think will allow me to showcase my ability to adapt to different people and different songs. I also want to be able to perform the songs with the right chords and rhythm whether i'm singing or playing an instrument. I have found playing and singing at the same time to be very difficult so would like this to be my main focus.

My skills that I can use:

I can play drums guitar and piano to a respectable standard which gives me the ability to play without being confined to one particular sound.

How I will know if I have achieved it:

I will know i have achieved my goals if I manage to create a live atmosphere for the audience that they enjoy and have a good time listening to. I know the set will have been a success if the sound comes out well and smooth 

How I will meet the expectations of the audience:
I will spend time thinking about my audience when i am deciding the songs i will perform so i can have the best knowledge of who will be listening and what their music tastes might be. This will allow me to put together a performance that the audience is more likely to enjoy. 

2.      Plan of my contribution to the performance

The requirements of the brief and how I will meet them:

The brief requires me to have a 10-15 minute performance that is appropriate for a community awards ceremony. My work must suit the audience and be appropriate for the age range i am presenting to.  I intend to give a good solo performance where I will play guitar and also sing. I want to give the audience some entertainment and something new, so I will put my own twist on the songs.

How I will do it:
I will spend time recording and listening back to ensure i'm performing to the best of my ability, i will also spend time making slight improvements to my sound so that i can smoothen my performance to make sure i have the best quality of sound for the audience.

Who I will need to involve:
My friends who have access to studio equipment which will allow me to hear the performance back completely and receive their feedback and suggestions for improvement. I will also need to involve my music teacher, Mr Flowers and my instrumental teacher to improve my technique. I will need to work with the concert crew to provide them with my equipment needs and also my backing tracks.

The resources I will need:
I don't need a wide range of equipment, as I have access to studio grade recording and mixing equipment at the school. This access allows me to improve my sound with every performance because it is clear where i go wrong when I listen back to my recording. For the stage and rehearsals I will need my backing tracks, a guitar, leads and a microphone. I will also need a music stand to hold my lyrics.

The time needed for each song:
My set lasts between 10-15 minutes and incorporates 4 songs including; Wonderwall, Hello, One Dance and Go flex. Wonderwall will take 4-5 minutes Hello will take 3 minutes, One dance will take 4 minutes and so will Go Flex. This will give me the total of 15 minutes.

The health and safety issues for rehearsals and the performances:
Depending on the audience the noise levels will have to be changed to ensure it is not too loud or too quiet. On stage cables could be an issue as they could trip you up easily if you are moving around the stage, i will avoid this by ensuring i have spacial awareness at all times. I will plan my route when moving from playing guitar to just singing. I will discuss my set and movement with the concert crew so they can help adjust mic stands.

My set list:

GO FLEX - Post Malone
HELLO - Adele 
WONDERWALL - Oasis 
THINKING OUT LOUD - Ed Sheeran 
LEAVE - Post Malone 

Style and Image:

My style for the event will mix together very different genres of music and very different artists to create a style  that has more personality and something that hopefully everyone will be able to enjoy. I want to come across as an individual who isn't limited to one instrument, style or genre.

Ideas for the performance:

I will ensure all of my pieces are very well rehearsed and i am ready to perform to the best of my ability. I will aslo make sure that i have everything i need setup beforehand to avoid any mid performance changes or issues.

Staging and equipment needs:

I will need a mic, a keyboard/ piano and a guitar. I will also need my backing tracks to provide to the concert crew.

I will not need to use too much space because i am performing solo. However i will need 2 different places to sit and perform because i'm performing with more than one instrument 

Rehearsal Schedule

Rehearsal 1: 20th March CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TIME

In this session i went through wonderwall as it is one i know from previous performances. I worked on this because it is a good starter when preparing to perform with more than one instrument at once because the chords aren't too complex meaning they can be followed easily whilst singing.

Rehearsal 2: 21st March AM CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TIME

In this rehearsal I worked on the piano and the chords for Adele's Hello. I made a lot of progress with this piece and I can now play the chords without looking at the piano. I also worked on the timing for wonderwall. This was beneficial because it allowed me to get used to the different speeds i needed to play, i compared it to Hello and instantly realised i had to play a lot slower to compensate for the slower build up during both of the songs.  

Rehearsal 3: 21th PM March CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TIME

During this rehearsal I used the majority of the time working with the piano on Go flex learning the chords so I would be able to progress onto the songs i hadn't learnt. This session went well and i was able to pickup the chords relatively easily. 

Rehearsal 4: 27th March CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TIME

In this session i spent most of the time working on Thinking out loud, this will be my second piece on the guitar. I learnt the hammer chords quickly and the overall learning process went well and was quick. 

Rehearsal 5: 28th March CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TIME

During this time i went back and worked through wonderwall and Hello as they were my strongest songs. This session would've been a lot better if i went onto rehearse the other songs in my set so i would be ready to perform in the dress rehearsal. The lack of run throughs i did on the other songs prevented me from getting pass the compulsory 10 minute mark during the dress rehearsal 

Rehearsal 6: 19th April CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TIME

I was not present for this rehearsal so i missed it and wasn't able to perform any of my set. To make this time up I added an extra hour to my dress rehearsal.

DRESS REHEARSAL ON STAGE and rehearsal in practice room: Wednesday 3rd May (2 hours)

The dress rehearsal did not go as well as I would've liked it to go, the songs I performed were not in my opinion the best they could snah should have been. In hindsight i definitely should've spent a lot more time rehearsing my set because when it came to performing I was not ready to play my songs. This forced me to fall back to 2 songs that I have played previously. These songs I did know well however I was not properly prepared to pay them. Overall the rehearsal went better than it could have if I didn't know the songs i performed. The rehearsal i had in the practice room was good however I had not put enough structure into my previous rehearsal sessions which made it very difficult to ensure I was able to play any songs. In future I will need to put a lot more structure into my rehearsal time so I can make the most of the time I have. If I don't do this then I'll be in danger of being underprepared for my final piece which would be very bad.

Rehearsal 7: 8^th May CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TIME

In this session I worked massively toward making sure I know exactly what i'm doing with the songs in my set. This session involved me going through a few of my songs in extensive detail to ensure I had a good idea of where i wanted to take them throughout my future rehearsal sessions. I decided that it was a good idea to carry on rehearsing each song in a lot of detail instead of going through them quickly and with not as much. I decided on this because it will allow me to go into a lot more detail into timing and the way I want my songs to sound when i perform them for my final piece.   

Rehearsal 8: 9^th May CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TIME

During this session I made a lot of progress with Hello. I decided to work in depth with this song because I wanted to make sure i knew exactly what it was that I wanted to do with it in the future. During the session I went over timing extensively. I tried out a lot of different ways of playing the song so I could find the way that I liked the most and what felt the most natural to me so in future I would be able to spend less time and energy thinking about how the song was going to be played.

PERFORMANCE: WEDNESDAY 10th May

TASK 3 Evaluation

Strengths Reflection:

1. What went well during the performance? Think about the performance as a whole (the whole group performance): 

The performance was very well rehearsed therefore staying in time and keeping a constant rhythm was not an issue, throughout the performance there wasn't one loss of tempo or beat. This allowed the performance to flow a lot better than it would have if it were less rehearsed. The performance as a whole went quite well and I am happy with the final piece. The sound and lighting was perfect and the volume was exactly what it needed to be with what I was doing. Overall the performance went well, and working alone instead of in a group allowed me to focus more on detailed skills rather than worrying about other aspects of a group. '    ' I found to be the best song, I feel this as it was more personally adapted to me compared to the other songs and the way it sounded I felt was how it is supposed to be played. My second song 'Go Flex' I think went very well as the chord time and placement was almost perfect alongside the rhythm. I think i should have opened or closed with Go Flex as it is my personal favourite song of the set. 

2. What did YOU do well during the performance? Write about the strengths of your individual contribution:

I feel that my contribution to the performance reflected a wide range of my individual skill. One of the reasons I decided to perform solo instead of in a group is because I felt it would show more of what I am able to do. This benefited the performance greatly because it was easier to stay in time with what i was playing as I didn't have to focus on other people's timing, tempo and volume. This made playing easier and overall in my opinion the performance better. During the performance there was minimal mistake when referring to tempo and pitch. I missed only a few notes that I wasn't able to hit but separate from that there were not many noticeable mistakes. In the performance I improvised some parts of the songs to ensure I could hit the notes when they increased and decreased in pitch. This improvisation allowed me to make changes to how the song sounded during the performance which I think gave the performance a more personalised sound. This I think is beneficial as it gives my persona and style on stage a more individual appearance with a more personalised sound implemented to the music I performed. Overall I think I did well in the performance as I was able to adapt to my surroundings and make changed to the songs to make them sound better and more personal to myself and the audience.

Improvement Reflection:

3. What could have been done better if you were to perform again? Both as a whole group and your individual contribution.

If i had the option to rehearse even more I definitely would accept because no amount of in school rehearsal is enough to get through the final piece with success without many extra hours of  rehearsal. If I had more rehearsal time I would've been able to improve small parts of my performance which could have influenced my final grade. I also could have gone into more depth during my rehearsals to make sure what I was performing was my best work. In my opinion more rehearsals combined with more time spent looking over my performance in a greater depth would have improved my performance and my overall final grade. Another thing I could do in future to improve my work is listening to the songs I am performing more. If I had spent more time listening to the songs I was performing then I would have had a more detailed view of all the individual changes and parts of the songs. Overall improvements can be made in the way I rehearse and how much I rehearse. If I was to improve both of these factors my music and overall performing ability will affected greatly. 

4. Now write what you need to improve and write a strategy of what you will do to make those improvements:

Improvement #1: More rehearsing

Strategy: How could you make that improvement?:

I could make this improvement by setting aside more time to devote to rehearsing current songs that I will be performing or songs that I am already performing. I will be able to increase the time I spend rehearsing by writing into a timetable specific times and exactly what I want to be working on in that time frame. This will allow me to improve quicker and ensure I don't miss out on time that would be wasted doing nothing productive. I will be looking to implement some of these ideas soon so i will be able to improve my musical ability quicker and with more detail.

Improvement #2: More in depth rehearsal 

Strategy: How could you make that improvement?: I could write down and record exactly what I want to do in my rehearsals so that I have a better idea of what I am working towards this will be a good strategy to implement as it will allow me to work through my pieces quicker and with a lot more efficiency, this would mean all my time that I spend rehearsing would be more effective and have a bigger impact on my overall performance skill and ability. However trying to do more in depth rehearsals could lead to a  loss of interest in the songs of which I am performing because repetition upon repetition would get extremely boring and possibly put me off some songs, to avoid this I will ensure that I still spend time doing unstructured rehearsal which will keep me interested in what I am doing whilst still improving my efficiency and ability as a performer.   

Improvement #3: Listening to the music I am performing more often

Strategy: How could you make that improvement?:

• This improvement can be made instantly by downloading the current songs that I need to rehearse onto my phone which would allow me to listen to them a lot more often and with less effort looking for them on youtube or spotify etc.. This improvement will allow me to memorise the songs and how I want to perform them, I feel this will be beneficial to my performing because it will improve how i process each part of the songs and it will help me with the change of pitch and chords which I would normally have to improvise. This improvement is going to be included in my next rehearsal and I will download all the songs I need for my next performances and begin this as soon as I have the means. 

Feedback from others:

5. What was the feedback your received from your teacher, other group members and members of the audience? 

Teacher:

• You gave your own twist to the songs which really kept the audience engaged.
• Fantastic vocal technique with a good range and great use of expression.
• Good use of multiple instruments - playing guitar and singing, playing piano and singing, and solo singing (with a capella parts).
• Good use of eye contact with the audience.
• Excellent timing.
• A very entertaining set.
• Good following of Health and Safety expectations (especially laying the guitar down and not resting it on the piano).
• Your shirt came untucked half way through, but only during last song.
• Make sure you plan what to do with your hands (keep them out your pockets).

6. How did this feedback help with your evaluation of the performance? e.g. what did they notice and comment on that you didn’t realise/know/think about?

I liked that people enjoyed my own version of the songs. I wasn't sure how this would be received, but it seemed to have paid off. I'm thrilled that people found the set entertaining. I need to make sure that my clothing remains smart. I should have checked this before every song. This is important, as I am performing solo all the focus will be on me and what I look like. I was focussing on my performance so much that I didn't think about what my hands were doing (I put them in my pockets). I will now work on this and perform in front of a mirror. I found this feedback very useful.

Conclusion:

7. Write a brief summary/conclusion of your performance:

I feel like I have really achieved my goal, I am now very confident at playing and singing at the same time. Before this rehearsal practice my timing would not be very good, but through good use of my rehearsal and practice time I watched back the recording and found that I stayed in time. I am thrilled that the audience found my set list and performance to be very entertaining and that I made good use of expression in my voice and communication with the audience.