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My initial idea for my performance project is to perform an original song of mine, as I believe I will best demonstrate my artistic and performance abilities by performing something I have created myself. I write a lot of original music, often pertaining to heavier themes, and I would like to perform one of these as I believe it would give me an opportunity to showcase a growth in emotional intensity and dynamics throughout the song. Because I have my own home studio, I will be able to create and produce the DAW edition of the song myself, meaning I will be self-reliant and able to work on a schedule that works for me. That said, however, I also have found that I struggle with being a procrastinator and leaving important endeavours to a final point. This may be a challenge for me throughout this process, but hopefully it is overcomeable throughout this process. I do believe there is opportunity to collaborate in the creation of the song and performance. Ideally, I would like to perform with a band for my final piece. I believe that this project will aid both my performance and production abilities, as well as my organisation skills and ability to plan in advance.

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Overall, this week was hectic but in the most creatively fulfilling way possible. To begin the week, me and my newfound band 'Steep Incline' did a photoshoot to use as our promotional introduction to the world as a group. Following this, I began working on 'BEWARE OF THE DOG'. I managed to finish the recording, meaning I could now focus on rehearsing the performance elements and delivering polished live technical quality. I have been very self critical about my technical abilities and have started rehearsing in a way that is more disciplined, not allowing myself to continue further until the routine becomes established and performed well without hiccups. Following this, I began to aid Rhiannon Ruthven in the recording process of her song 'Late To Your Life', which I performed backing vocals on as well as mixing and mastering the song. Finally, the final days of the week were consumed with rehearsing for Steep Incline's first gig. We wanted to deliver a high energy performance and good quality original material, and I believe we did that. Overall, I see an improvement in quality of the things I am creating and my artistry from the first week to now and am grateful to have noticed both technical, performance and creative improvements throughout. I have also noticed myself becoming better at documenting and preparation for such things as rehearsals and performances, which only further aids the quality of my artistry.

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Above is a video demonstrating the recording process of Rhiannon Ruthven’s song ‘Late To Your Life’.

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Above is the social media page of Steep Incline, featuring the photoshoot we executed this week. All photo editing was done by me.

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Above is a clip from our first rehearsal in which we reworked my original song ‘october drift’ to fit the genre and energy of our band material.

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This week has been heavily focused on preparing for the upcoming summative assessment, as well as my own personal gigs. Both of which involve my original song 'BEWARE OF THE DOG' and perfecting and refining the elements of it. This song, I feel, is heavily influenced by Ashton Irwin. While I have previously mentioned 'Greyhound' as an influence lyrically, I feel as if sonically the entire album of 'Superbloom' truly has influenced this song. Specifically, the song SCAR's heavy 90's rock influences can be heard as an inspiration in my song's tonality and grit (Irwin, 2020). I feel as if this song is opening my horizons to creating more alternative work. As I am used to writing pop music or acoustic songs, it feels nice to create something similar to the music I tend to gravitate towards listening to. 'BEWARE OF THE DOG' is in the key of E minor with a tempo of 100 BPM. The song is oddly structured with the following structure:

Intro, Verse 1 + Refrain, Verse 2 + Ext Refrain, Chorus + Refrain, Instrumental, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus + Ext Refrain.

The song also features a similar chord progression throughout, following the pattern of:

Em, G, C, Am

For the majority of the song. This only alternating during the refrain, where the progression changes to:

C, B, Em, A, Am, B

This song features technical challenges for me, both showcasing my lower and higher registers. Most specifically the B4 note at the final refrain. Furthermore, considering the gritty tone of the song, it will be a challenge to create a sonic that does not sound too muddy or messy but still carries a weight of aggression and intensity throughout the dynamic build of the song.

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Above is the first demo I recorded for my newly formed band Steep Incline's first song 'Love Me', which I wrote and produced myself.

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Above is the progress I have made on the studio version of 'BEWARE OF THE DOG'. I have finished the instrumental elements of the track and have begun some mixing elements.

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Above is the first recording of my practise of my original song ‘Craving June’.

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This week has been interesting overall. I have been writing and creating a lot of more experimental musical ideas. I wrote a new entitled 'Craving June', which features a more happier, upbeat tone and is in a major key. This, for me, means I should hopefully be able to have fun in the performance elements of the song. On the contrary, I began composing a song entitled 'and then there's you' which features a more experimental pop edge. I wanted this song to sonically translate a feeling of existentialism and the grief of feeling someone slip away from you. As I am performing my first set at a gig next week at Dorothy Pax, I am hoping to perform some of these songs as part of this. I have also recently begun working technically on my falsetto tone, as this is a feature of my voice I rarely use but would like to use more often. The hook of 'Craving June' features a falsetto tone which is a great way to challenge myself to maintain that strength and practise becoming stronger in that register. 'Craving June' also features my lower register which, while I do not use as often as my mid to high range, I consider this to be a strong point of my vocals and something that sets me apart from some of the other vocalists I know. I have also recently noticed a desire to work and document my processes more, which potentially may have something to do with the looming deadline.

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Above is a still from a photoshoot me and Rhiannon Ruthven were part of. We have both express a desire to perform together and would hope to use these stills as promotional art.

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Above is a risk assessment for performers working on stage.

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Above is the first mixed and produced studio version of my original song 'BEWARE OF THE DOG'.

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Above is a clip of the very first studio recording of my original song 'BEWARE OF THE DOG'.

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Above is an instrumental demo I created for one of my original songs entitled 'Blue'.

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Above is a clip of my rehearsal of ‘Cochise’ by Audioslave.

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Above is an audio clip of a musical idea I had worked on for an original song entitled 'and then there's you'.

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Above is a clip of the first live performance of my original song ‘BEWARE OF THE DOG’ from an open mic night.

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Above is an clip from my performance of ‘Ain’t It Fun’ by Paramore from my Live Performance Workshop.

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Above is a live performance of my original song ‘BEWARE OF THE DOG’.

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Above is a clip of a rehearsal with Rhiannon Ruthven, covering the song ‘Like I Used To’ by Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen (Van Etten and Olsen, 2021).

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Above is a live performance clip of ‘Cochise’ by Audioslave from my Live Performance Workshop.

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Above is an upload to soundcloud of my first mixed and produced version of my original song ‘october drift’, which was written and created this week.

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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. (1953). 20th Century Studios.

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Above is a demo of my original song ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’; in reference to the 1953 film of the same name (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953).

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Above is a performance of ‘From Eden’ by Hozier from my Live Performance Workshop.

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Above is a live performance of my original song ‘BEWARE OF THE DOG’.

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Above is a clip of me and my band Steep Incline performing our original song ‘Love Me’.

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Above is a rehearsal clip of me and Rhiannon Ruthven performing her original song ‘Late To Your Life’.

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Late To Your Life (Rehearsal w/ Rhiannon)

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Above is the first rehearsal of my band Steep Incline’s original song ‘Headlights’, featuring Arnie on bass guitar.

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Above is a live performance of my original song ‘october drift’.

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Above is a rehearsal clip of my original song ‘BEWARE OF THE DOG’.

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Firth, A. (2024). Luke Hemmings: ‘No one was expecting any more music from me, so I just made whatever I wanted to make’ | Dork. [online] Dork. Available at: https://readdork.com/features/luke-hemmings-interview-may24/ [Accessed 16 Dec. 2024].

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Irwin, A. (2020). Greyhound. AI Music Group: Matthew Pauling. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/1oyq661h4vBJ1Cpoav0ofs?si=gSpko-NoRiawi3yq5K-Ikw.

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Irwin, A. (2020). SCAR. Matthew Pauling. Available at: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/scar/1530443455?i=1530443456.

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Above is the first draft of the lyrics to my original song 'Daisies'.

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Above is the first draft of the lyrics to my original song 'Cherry Baby'.

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Above is the first demo of my song 'Cherry Baby'.

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Above is the first demo of my song 'Daisies'.

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Above is a snippet of our rehearsal performance of Call Me by Blondie.

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Mars, B. (2010). Runaway Baby. The Smeezingtons. Available at: https://music.amazon.co.uk/tracks/B004GXJOCM.

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Below are the lyrics to my original song 'BEWARE OF THE DOG'.

The lines in bold signify the lyrics that have been altered since the original demo.

The lines in italic represent the lines that have changed melodically since the original demo.

Finally, the lines with a strikethrough represent the sections which have been removed.

(INTRODUCTION)

VERSE I

Two years later, I still taste it

In between my lips.

My hearts still hurting, but I still chase it

Your masochistic kiss.

REFRAIN A

Honey I'm still here, like I've always been.

VERSE II

I've been aching, won't you let me off your leash?

I've got to get away from here.

But I'll wind up like a dog outside your door

With my tail between my legs and choking tears.

REFRAIN B

Honey I'm still here, like I've always been.

Honey I'm still here, won't you let me in?

CHORUS

I see the greyhound running circles spinning round behind my eyes.

And I feel my heartbeat burning every single time you cross my mind.

REFRAIN A

Honey I'm still here, like I've always been.

Honey I'm still here, won't you let me in?

(INSTRUMENTAL BREAK)

BRIDGE

Oh let me loose, I'll crave you more.

I'll wind up back outside your door.

CHORUS

I see the greyhound running circles spinning round behind my eyes.

And I feel my heartbeat burning every single time you cross my mind.

CHORUS

I see the greyhound running circles spinning round behind my eyes.

And I feel my heartbeat burning every single time you cross my mind.

REFRAIN B

Honey I'm still here, like I've always been.

Honey I'm still here, won't you let me in?

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Above is my planning document for my own personal organisation of my schedule.

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During this week, I wrote the song ‘BEWARE OF THE DOG’. The song came about after reflecting on a relationship in which I would allow myself to be treated poorly; returning to them no matter how they had hurt me. This song was inspired by the song ‘Greyhound’ by Ashton Irwin (Irwin, 2020). Specifically, the use of the metaphor of greyhound races being used to signify somebody working hard for a fruitless effort. This felt very akin to the way this relationship had made me feel.

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Shown below is the first draft of the lyrics to my original song ‘BEWARE OF THE DOG’.

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Above is a SWOT analysis, analysing my personal abilities in the industry.

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Blue: Specific, Green: Measurable, Yellow: Achievable, Red: Relevant, Purple: Time Bound

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My SMART Target for the end of the year.

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Above is my performance of 'Go Your Own Way' by Fleetwood Mac for my Live Performance Workshop.

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Van Etten, S. and Olsen, A. (2021). Like I Used To. Available at: https://tidal.com/browse/track/182955521.

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Above is my performance of 'Treasure' by Bruno Mars for my Live Performance Workshop.

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For straightforward guidance on how to comply with the health and safety law, go to The basics for your business.

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. It's sometimes referred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act or HASAWA.

It sets out the general duties which:

employers have towards employees and members of the public

employees have to themselves and to each other

certain self-employed have towards themselves and others

You can read the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in full on legislation.gov.uk.

You can find out about health and safety law in our guide Health and safety at work: criminal and civil law.

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Contains links to various pieces of legislation, as well as the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

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Above is a clip of our rehearsal of Crosstown Traffic.

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Live Music Performance - Crosstown Traffic

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Live Music Performance - Crosstown Traffic

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Above is my performance of 'Crosstown Traffic' by Jimi Hendrix for my Live Performance Workshop.

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Overall, for the most part, I believe this session went well. Stylistically, this song is very much in my wheelhouse and something I enjoy performing to. However, vocally this song is difficult as the higher notes of the song are foreign to me as they are out of my regular range. Ultimately, not being able to fully perform the song well because of this affected my overall confidence. That said, the performance aspect of the final performance can potentially help to mask some of those insecurities in the vocal elements.

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Above is my performance of 'Call Me' by Blondie for my Live Performance Workshop.

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Overall, I felt like my formative assessment was an eye-opening experience. While I believe that my performance and audio recording went well, it is clear that I am somewhat struggling to keep up with the consistency of documenting the process of my creations. I want to become better at this and hope to improve across the final few weeks. I do believe that I am on track to meet the schedule I have created for myself and for the deadlines needed to meet. However, I do think I need to tend more focus towards the documentation of the process, rather than just the process itself. I believe that my skills in the creation and performance are on point, but my preparation and professionalism could use some work in terms of accurate documenting. As I have mentioned previously, I do struggle to stick with scheduling and therefore believe overcoming this will be a huge challenge that may not even be accomplished by the summative. I have also had a lot of unforeseen struggles, mostly mentally, which I do believe have hindered me in the process of my creation. That said, however, this hindrances have also been transformed into the art itself - with the example of my song 'october drift'. Overall, I plan to overcome my inability to schedule my work by allowing myself the leeway of working in a flexible manner and giving myself the freedom of time to work when I feel the energy and desire to, while also maintaining some form of disciple about it all.

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This week has been very productive in terms of my performance and original music. At the beginning of the week I performed at my first open mic in Sheffield, where I debuted my original song 'BEWARE OF THE DOG' for the first time. I felt as if this performance was good and showcased the song well. As well as this, I recently finished the first demo for the aforementioned song. I believe this demo is a great start to this project, but will definitely need some developing before the summative assessment. Furthermore, I have written and composed a new song entitled 'Blue' and hope to potentially release this soon. Personally, I feel as if my next personal goals are to begin gigging more often. Considering it was my main target for the year, and considering how much I enjoyed performing at the open mic, I am now craving to perform more often and hopefully will be doing so very soon. I have also recently begun researching some of my favourite artists and their process in artists creation and writing. One of my favourite finds was an interview with Luke Hemmings, one of my biggest inspiration, in which he claims that songwriting "is such a way to deal with how I see the world and how I feel, like my place around people," (Firth, 2024). I feel as if I relate to this strongly, as I use my songwriting to deal with the things I feel I cannot articulate in any other way. I often discuss mental health and complicated feelings in my lyricism as I feel these are tough subjects for me to verbalise in a traditional sense.

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Overall, this week has felt very creatively productive for me. I have begun producing demos for my original music, including 'BEWARE OF THE DOG' and my new song 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'. I have also released my first song online, 'october drift', which I feel very proud of and would like to be able to perform live very soon. However, I have noticed myself somewhat struggling to keep up academically as a pitfall of my mental health. Recently, I have felt a drop in my self-esteem and overall feeling; which is the reason I wrote 'october drift'. The positive aspect of this is being able to create art through the things I struggle with, however this does not take away from the fact that I am struggling. In terms of my performance abilities, I have noticed I am becoming increasingly more confident with both my original and unoriginal material. I believe that my stage presence is my strongest suit and is continue to flourish. Technically, however, I still feel as is there is some more work to be done. While I am seeing improvement and noticing the implementation of techniques, I would like to see my technical abilities match my performance skills. Professionally, I feel as if I conduct myself in a good manner - which I attribute to my theatre training. However, I do want to become better at being more consistent and prepared. I feel as if this week has affected that but I am hopeful to change that as I feel myself coming out of the feeling.

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Description

This week I worked on my songwriting and compositional abilities. I intentioned wanted to write music that would challenge my vocal range but highlight and suit my performance abilities. I reworked some lyrical elements of my song 'BEWARE OF THE DOG', I also recorded a demo for my newer song 'Daisies'. Finally, I wrote a new song entitled 'Cherry Baby', which has a similar feel to the song 'Runaway Baby' by Bruno Mars (Mars, 2010). The song features a fast, upbeat tempo and is in the key of F minor. This is something I am proud of as I am writing more consistently and can see an improvement from my earlier writing to now. This is also significant as it allows me to refine the technical aspects of the song I may perform for my summative assessment.

Feelings

Prior to this last week, I was feeling doubtful of my abilities as a creative writer. However, writing new material that I deem good debunks those doubts. I now feel a sense of pride in the work I'm creating which only fuels me to create further.

Evaluation

I believe that my lyricism is improving and this is a positive feature. I also believe that my compositional abilities are becoming stronger. That said, I do believe there is room for improvement with my vocal technicality. I still notice myself struggling with my higher range and want to work to improve this and lessen the struggle.

Analysis

I firmly believe that the reason I am struggling with this is due to a force of habit that needs to be broken. Often I have found myself reverting to poor technique out of habit because it feels almost easier and familiar. This is alarming as this could potentially cause long term damage to my voice if I do not put in the conscious effort to take care of it.

Conclusions drawn:

Overall, while I am still working to performing at gigs and with a band, I am still achieving personal goals through my writing and compositions. This process has taught me that I am showing signs of improvement in specific areas I wanted to focus on, while also has highlighted areas that need to be worked on. I believe that my writing and composition will be even stronger if my vocal technicality is firm.

Action Plan/Next Steps:

My goal to improve this is to focus on technique and allow myself to not let performance overtake this. I want to be able to perform with some subtlety occasionally. This can be done by writing songs in a more slower and simpler fashion, allowing the vocal to take centre and almost forcing myself to focus on the technical strength of the vocal. The work I aim to complete and have completed aid my assignment both in creating the material I intend to perform but also perfecting the voice that will perform this. I am noticing progress every day towards my end goals, and would like to continue with this consistent trajectory.

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Over the course of the last week, I have noticed myself becoming technically stronger and equally more aware of where my technical faults are and where they stem from. I have also started to notice myself applying the techniques I am being taught into my performances, most noticeably the anchoring technique which aids my ability to reach higher notes in the songs I perform. I have also been writing more music across the week. Recently, I wrote a song called 'Daisies', which was written about a relationship where you feel your flaws and insecurities being consistently highlighted. I have also continued to work on 'BEWARE OF THE DOG' and still aim to perform this for my formative. I have also become interested in performing at open mic events and will hopefully be able to debut some of my original music there soon, including the aforementioned 'BEWARE OF THE DOG'. I personally feel as if I want to become better at planning out my personal working process, and being stricter with myself in the schedule of my working. I can often become avoidant of consistent rehearsing and documenting, and I want to become stronger in discipling myself as to break this habit. I also believe that my overall performance abilities and work mindset will benefit from consistent practise and regular work rather than spontaneous bursts of effort.

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To condense and narrow my focus for my formative and potentially my summative performance, I have decided to perform a song I have recently written; ‘BEWARE OF THE DOG’. Technically, this song shows both emotional and dynamic range. The song grows in intensity throughout, allowing me to display a multi-layered performance. However, since I am writing often, I intend to keep my options open in the occasion that something that I feel displays my talents more is created. For my formative assessment, I believe that it would be best to work alone out of the sake of convenience. As I’ve mentioned before, I struggle with procrastination and would not want the anxiety of that to be a burden for others as it is something I’m working to improve. However, I still would potentially like to have a full band for the final performance. I also believe that I will be performing the song while playing guitar live, as this is something I consider to be part of my emerging brand. I believe that this project will help me gain confidence in my original material and performing them with conviction. This will also further familiarise me with the workings of self-production, as I will be creating this project most likely alone. Specifically, this could potentially improve my mixing and mastering abilities, which are two separate elements I would like to improve on.