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Unit 11 - Preparing For Progression In Music Performance

Progression Routes

Strengths

  • I can learn songs by ear; I've trained my ear to be able to follow songs without musical notation.

  • I can play in time - I'm good at listening to other people while I'm playing and following the speed they're playing at.

  • I can lay out a spreadsheet so it's easy to understand and put in any relevant sums to make sure that the information is all correct.

  • I'm a good guitar player - I can play a wide range of techniques including sweep picking, sliding, tapping and hammer-ons/pull offs and popular guitar solos such as The Final Countdown, Sir Duke and songs from metal/rock bands such as Dance Gavin Dance' tapping riff in Chocolate Jackalope.

  • I'm disciplined; I always make sure my work is done on time and it's completed to a high standard.

  • I'm also good at taking feedback or criticism and improving from it; for example, if someone points out that my phrasing in a guitar solo is wrong I'll go back and play along to the song until I have it right at full speed.

  • I have a gritty tone to my voice which is really good for singing rock songs such as Hanging by Nothing But Thieves.

Ambitions

  • I'd like to be in a band; to do this, I'll need good communication skills and musicianship skills.

  • I want to be a paid session musician so I'll need effective networking skills and I'll need to have knowledge of techniques and scales across multiple genres to be able to play in different styles.

  • I want to write my own songs so I'll need to have knowledge on song structures (both instrumentally and lyrically) and chords that fit into each key signature. Also, if I want to write songs for other people, I'd need the same knowledge as a session musician to be able to write in different styles/genres.

  • I would like to be a touring musician for other artists - to do this, I'd need to be reliable for learning songs and punctual for turning up to practice sessions on time to be able to play to the best of my ability with others; also, like a session musician, I'd need knowledge on a lot of different genres and be able to play a range of techniques to fir different artists/bands' styles.

Communication Channels

Audition 

Strength: I get to choose the pieces to prepare so I’m comfortable with what I’m playing and how I'm playing it (for example, if I'm doing guitar and voice, just guitar or swapping between piano and guitar for a song each).

Strength: They don’t take long so it’s less stressful and it's informal so it doesn't really feel like a test.

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Weakness: Performing in front of people I don’t know makes me nervous; I might make more mistakes than usual or mess up parts that I could play really well when practising - to get over this, I could play in front of my parents/friends to get used to it and make sure to go over every part of the song - even the parts I'm comfortable with - to reduce any mistakes.

Weakness: If I do mess up, I can’t go back and do it again and it’s really hard not to go back and correct mistakes when I'm playing.

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Interview

Strength: Interviews feel more like an informal conversation than an assessment so it's a lot less stressful - they're used so the university get to know me as a person as opposed to doing a test so there's less pressure on me to prepare for it.

Strength: I work as a sales assistant so I’m good at talking to strangers in an informal setting.

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Weakness: It’s hard to think of replies straight away so I say 'um' a lot; I need to practise/rehearse for this so I don't say it a lot otherwise it's makes it look like I'm not confident in answering.

Weakness: The fact that it's informal means that they could ask me whatever they like so it's harder to prepare for it when I don't know what they'll ask.

 

Personal Statement

Strength: I don’t have to perform/talk to anyone so there’s less pressure - I can also do it in segments instead of writing it all at once and check it over to make sure the grammar and spelling’s all correct; the fact that I don't have to do it all at once means I can spend a lot of time thinking about it and drafting it so it's the best it can be.

Strength: It’s easy to find things to write about because it’s about me and my life/the things I've done - I don't have to research or practise anything for it.

 

Weakness: It’s hard to find good things to write about myself because I’m a perfectionist so I only really see the flaws in things I do and ways to overcome them rather than the positives.

Weakness: It’s hard to choose what to put in/take out so it fits the word count once I’ve finished writing it because I want to include as much as I can.

Application Materials

Personal CV
Personal Statement

Audition Pieces:

The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix

Umbrella - Rihanna (Grade 7 Rockschool arrangement)

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