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We have chosen to do an ensemble of the song "From the Start" by Laufey. My group has 2 singers : Gayatri Bandarupally and Sara Srivasta, 1 guitarist: Onali Gunawardena and 1 pianist: me. We have specifically chosen this song because it goes well with the instruments in our group - the song has guitar chords in the background and the piano chords go very well with them. The singing is in the vocal range of the two singers: one is alto and one is soprano and the song's vocalist, Laufey, sits somewhere in between.

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Which art forms are you interested in? (Eg drama/visual arts/music/street

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Which art forms are you interested in? (Eg drama/visual arts/music/street

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I am interested in the musical art form and musical performances because I want to progress and develop in this.

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What art form are you interested in/do you like?

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What art form are you interested in/do you like?

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I am interested in playing the Saraswathi veena. It is a South Indian instrument mainly used in Carnatic classical music. The veena is a plucked instrument and I enjoy listening and playing the veena. It is considered to be the instrument of goddess Saraswathi and is built in the structure of a human body, with the top being the head, the 24 frets being the 24 vertebrae and the resonator as the lower part of the body. The veena is also said to be the only instrument that can play all the gamakas, oscillations or embellishments, in Carnatic music which is hard to accomplish. The veena is one of few ancient instruments to have a high status in modern music and Carnatic music. However, the veena is now seen to be dying out as the instrument is completely handmade. Many of the families who make veenas are slowly moving out to different careers, especially after the pandemic, because the art is no longer lucrative and does not make that much money.

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Our group was confused as to what piece we should perform as we have two singers, one guitarist and one pianist. However, we all decided that the instruments fit a jazz style piece and we chose the song "From the Start" by Laufey. Then, I had to find sheet music, which was not difficult as it is a popular piece but we were not sure whether I was going to play the tune or the bass line. When we are practising together, we have some difficulty staying in time and sometimes the singers forget the lyrics but in time it should be fine.

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We have decided that I am only playing the bass line as we already have the guitarist and singers playing the tune so we need some variation. I think we are on track to do well as the singers have memorised most of their lines and the guitarist just needs to sort out some of their lines. I think I have completed the bass line and am doing well. However, we need to sort out the timing as we are going too slow so we need to find out a tempo which works for us all and sounds good. We also need to decide whether to do the improvisation part or not - so far we have been practising without it as it is an extra part to learn and might throw us off.

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We have now chosen a timing that suits us all and fits the original tempo. We have also chosen to not do the improvisation as we aren't very comfortable with it and it throws us off most of the time during practise. All of us have learnt our parts well - I can keep a consistent tempo and play the correct notes, the guitarist keeps a good and varied rhythm and the singers don't run out of breath and know all the lyrics. I think we have done a good job of creating an ensemble

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I watched BLACKPINK's set at Coachella 2023. I watched it live and it was a performance of some of their new and old songs.

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What arts/creative skills do you already have or feel confident in?

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What arts/creative skills do you already have or feel confident in?

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Currently, I play the piano and am in Grade 6. I believe that this has helped my creative skills and also helped my confidence in being in an ensemble. Collaborating with my peers is also a skill that I have developed and it helps in the ensemble task that we have to complete. I am also confident that I can fulfil the roles in the ensemble.

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Describe the kind of people or careers involved in these art forms

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Describe the kind of people or careers involved in these art forms

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There are a lot of different careers involved in music. For example, you could be a musician in an orchestra and play an instrument:

pianist

violinist

violist

cellist

You could also be involved in teaching people how to play instruments and could be an instrumental teacher in either a school, with a separate company or privately.

There are also many more various careers involved with producing music and performing like a singer, who could be in a group or solo.

DJ

Producer

Singer/Songwriter

Background singer

Musical director

Sound engineer

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There were numerous performances but mainly there were different forms of dancing and singing, with backup dancers. Each song had a unique element and also used the Coachella stage effectively, going to all sides and making use of the visual effects and sounds, immersing the audience.

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What arts/creative skills you would like to develop or try out?

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What arts/creative skills you would like to develop or try out?

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I would like to develop my piano skills. I will do this by performing in an ensemble with my peers. This helps my ability to adjust and make changes on the go, as we will need to be adaptable for other members of the ensemble to try to make it better. Being in an ensemble will also give me an introduction into what it’s like performing with other people and will also help me in the future when collaborating with other musically as I will know what needs to be done

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What kind of places might they work/display/perform/exhibit in?

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What kind of places might they work/display/perform/exhibit in?

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As there are many different careers, they would all lead to different areas. A DJ would be able to book different events to perform in at places like clubs etc. They would also need to produce and remix their music at home. An orchestra player would have to practise at home and also perform and practise together as a whole in an orchestra. They would perform in concert halls and opera houses. A singer would be able to record songs in a studio and release music with a company on different platforms. They would perform in concert halls, book different gigs and have many different places to perform - like large events, like sporting events, and music festivals.

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22/04/23

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Do you have any ideas for possible challenges you could set yourself? You could discuss this with your adviser and record notes here.

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Do you have any ideas for possible challenges you could set yourself? You could discuss this with your adviser and record notes here.

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I want to play in an ensemble because I have never played in an ensemble before. I feel like an ensemble gives me more freedom to pick my own style and I feel more confident working with people that I know. I want to play an ensemble with the other musicians in my year to a GCSE level. I want to work with my peers to achieve this and feel confident working with people I’ve never even met before. I want to challenge myself to have a good ensemble performance so that I can feel confident working with others.

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What did you do to get involved with arts practitioners and arts organisations?

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What did you do to get involved with arts practitioners and arts organisations?

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I got in touch with one of my friends' Carnatic violin guru from the Bhavan, Balu Raguraman.

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Describe what happened at the arts event

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Describe what happened at the arts event

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The event was part of the music festival Coachella and the group BLACKPINK performed some of their hit songs, interacting with the audience and performing. The songs had dances and the whole performance lasted 90 minutes - with solo performances from each members and special remixes for some of their songs released specifically for the event. This helped the event feel new and unexpected for fans, who weren't expecting it.

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We have chosen to do an ensemble of the song "From the Start" by Laufey. My group has 2 singers : Gayatri Bandarupally and Sara Srivasta, 1 guitarist: Onali Gunawardena and 1 pianist: me. We have specifically chosen this song because it goes well with the instruments in our group - the song has guitar chords in the background and the piano chords go very well with them. The singing is in the vocal range of the two singers: one is alto and one is soprano and the song's vocalist, Laufey, sits somewhere in between.

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How did you find out about future education and career pathways in this career.

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How did you find out about future education and career pathways in this career.

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I researched a few famous Carnatic musicians, like Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh, and found out new facts about the field and also watched some of her Ted Talks and YouTube videos. I also researched different qualifications in Carnatic music and found the PRSSV World Music and Dance Examinations, who offer accredited exams in all the different Carnatic subjects. An acclaimed school for this style of music is the Madras Music Academy in Tamil Nadu, which teaches a wide variety of instruments. It is similar to a musical conservatoire and can teach at the same level. It's also recommended that you do grades in ASIM - up to 8- as they are one of the only registered and qualified Carnatic music boards in England. However, many people strongly recommend keeping a second option to fall back onto from Carnatic music as it is not very viable - it requires lots of dedication and practise to succeed and even then you might not do very well. Still, there are more pathways into Carnatic music than ever before as technology remains strongly at the forefront of the new music - so a strong knowledge of computing and theory is necessary to do well.

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I think the use of lighting and dancing was used to great effect and was very engaging to the audience. I also believe that the song set was well chosen for the event. This is because they played mainly their largest songs, which makes sure that it is accessible even to people. The performance also had pyrotechnics, lightning visuals and many fireworks which helped create an energetic and hyped mood for the crowd. Though the performance was also an hour long with no breaks, it remained consistent even in the heat of the desert of Coachella. I also think that the sound was very good as they were performing on the main stage. Because the audience was so large, it seemed that the sound wouldn't be carried to the very back of the audience. However, even at the back, people were still cheering and it seemed that they could hear the music. The sound system used in Coachella's main stage was the new K-1 loudspeaker from L-ACOUSTICS. This is the world's largest K-1 system assembled to date and would have been amazing at carrying sound in all directions, in high quality for the audience.

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Will you be extending an arts skill you already have? Or are you going to try something new?

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Will you be extending an arts skill you already have? Or are you going to try something new?

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I will be extending my piano skills and my time management skills. I need to try learn the chords and sheet music for the piece we are doing. I've never been in an ensemble so I need to see how to time the piece and learn how to rehearse together.

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What did you learn about the practitioners career development and work?

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What did you learn about the practitioners career development and work?

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The practitioner had studied under a guru and established himself and his name in England as one of the best Carnatic violin players in England. He stressed the importance of practise and dedication and how it is key in everything he has done and how he has come so far. He told me that the genuine interest, earnestness, and hard work are extremely important for success in the field of music. The field demands regular devoted practice, which is called as Riyaaz- saadhana. The first step to initiate is to recognize the interest in the field and then start learning from a teacher or guru.

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Was there anything about the arts event you didn’t like? Why?

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Was there anything about the arts event you didn’t like? Why?

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The event was good but the members seemed tired throughout the performance, while the effort did seem consistent. However, this could be due to several reasons like the heat and the hour long set list. The show also started late due to an early technical issue.

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Why have you chosen this as your arts challenge?

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Why have you chosen this as your arts challenge?

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We have all chosen the arts challenge collectively to improve our team-building skills and lets us face constructive criticism from our peers and our teacher.

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What was the context of the event? (eg was it part of large tour/ a temporary exhibition/ part of a film festival/an online event etc.)

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What was the context of the event? (eg was it part of large tour/ a temporary exhibition/ part of a film festival/an online event etc.)

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It was part of the music festival, Coachella. This is an arts festival in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It features a variety of music from different genres. It showcases popular, well established music artists and also emerging music artists, who may not be as well-known. It is considered a trendsetter in music and fashion, with the people going posting their outfits online. BLACKPINK headlined the event this year and had previously performed in the Sahara stage in 2019. Therefore, their performance was highly anticipated and many people had visited.

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 What will the outcome of your challenge be? (Eg an end product, a performance, a demonstration?)

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 What will the outcome of your challenge be? (Eg an end product, a performance, a demonstration?)

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The outcome of my challenge will be a performance for the class to the teacher and our peers.

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What was the creative impact of the event?

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What was the creative impact of the event?

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The festival Coachella has had a significant impact of many musical artists' careers, like Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and Adele. It's influence also goes beyond music and has had a large impact on fashion and art. It is known for the guests to be focussed on fashion and they use the festival as an opportunity to show their style to the world. Artists also make exhibitions for the event and it features art installations, sculptures and interactive art pieces. Coachella has also made some technological advancements as in 2019, they had an augmented reality experience for the people attending, letting them interact with art installations using their phones

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We all chose the piece "From the Start" by Laufey and found sheet music for it. We are all planning to rehearse in class and deliver a performance that is good enough for GCSE standards.

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Was there anything unexpected about what you saw/experienced?

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Was there anything unexpected about what you saw/experienced?

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I was not expecting there to be real pyrotechnics and fireworks during their show. The performance was also very long and it's impressive to see how each member tried their hardest and gave their best effort.

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What steps will you have to take to achieve your challenge?

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What steps will you have to take to achieve your challenge?

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Once a week, we will come together and practise the ensemble together. We will also practise the ensemble separately as often as we can. Our practise sessions will involve getting the timing for the instruments right and also perfecting the singing and chords. In order to actually do this, we will have to do this ourselves mostly and practise together.

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Did the event develop your knowledge and understanding of the art form?

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Did the event develop your knowledge and understanding of the art form?

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I think the event, as a whole, deepened my knowledge of the time required and things needed to do to ensure a good performance. It also helped me to understand how large scale events are run. Coachella is a dynamic and diverse event that has multiple art forms that includes many different cultures and acts from all over the world, which shows that a variety of acts can attract many people and this is clearly seen as Coachella is one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

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Who or what will you need to help you? (Eg other people, materials, resources)

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Who or what will you need to help you? (Eg other people, materials, resources)

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We will need sheet music, our instruments and resources from online. We also need positive criticism from our peers and teachers to help us develop our pieces. For example, we need to know which instruments need to play quieter and louder and how the singing is done.

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How will you share your review with other people, and how will you evidence this? (Eg photos, video, feedback from others)

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How will you share your review with other people, and how will you evidence this? (Eg photos, video, feedback from others)

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I took some screenshots of the event from my phone and shared it with some of my friends. I asked them to watch it and provided them with some of the pros and cons of the event.

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We are all printing our own sheet music and learning to play at the same tempo. This is very important and our sheet music also needs to be in the same key signature and tempo. This shouldn't be too difficult for us to complete so we will have more time to practise.

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What targets will you set to achieve throughout your challenge, and how will you show you are working towards them?

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What targets will you set to achieve throughout your challenge, and how will you show you are working towards them?

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We will set the target of attempting to practise everyday and making sure we can stay in time without messing up. I will also personally record some of my practise sessions as evidence and also a way to ask for tips from different people.

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How will you collect feedback about your arts challenge?

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How will you collect feedback about your arts challenge?

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After performing in class, we will ask for feedback from our peers and teachers. I will also record the performance and ask my parents for feedback. They will tell us what we did well, what we could do better on and things that are necessary and unnecessary in the performance. They could also tell us which parts should be louder and softer and guide us on some more on the dynamics.

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How has what you found had an influence on you?

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How has what you found had an influence on you?

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It has influenced me to practise more on the piano and also to research Carnatic music and try to join a class in the Bhavan. It has also shown me the importance of hard work and how it is instrumental to everything you do.

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I think we did achieve our arts challenge as we delivered a good performance while still playing correctly with variation so the piece doesn't seem boring and repetitive. We also took in feedback from our classmates as we asked a few of our friends and classmates what we could do to improve throughout the duration of the challenge.

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Did you have to change your action plan or your challenge in any way? If so, what changed and why? (Eg timeframes, resources, help you needed)

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Did you have to change your action plan or your challenge in any way? If so, what changed and why? (Eg timeframes, resources, help you needed)

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We had to change the timeframe of our action plan because we got less time to practise together than we had originally anticipated so we needed to extend the timeframe of the challenge. However, this also meant we had more time to individually practise the piece while also continuing with our own pieces and music tests.

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I think that we kept in tempo well and all followed the lead of everyone else. We worked as a team very well as we all listened to everyone and gave constructive criticism on how we did and what we could do to improve, which helped us to perfect the ensemble in the end.

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What would you differently another time?

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What would you differently another time?

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Next time, I could attempt a different genre of music, like classical music, instead of jazz as it would require different skills and different challenges would arise.

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Keeping in tune and time with my team mates was more challenging. This is because we all had to play at the same

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What have you learnt from doing your arts challenge?

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What have you learnt from doing your arts challenge?

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I have learn how to work with groups and communicate effectively with others. I also learn that you need to practise consistently to achieve results. These are useful for the future because I will need these skills to help in the workplace and when I am working with others.

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How have your art form skills developed?

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How have your art form skills developed?

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This was one of my first time playing jazz on the piano as I usually play classical music or exam pieces. This helped me develop my skills in different types of music and helps me to sight read pieces by myself as well. I also had to adjust the forte and piano in the piece to make sure the singers could still be heard and the piano can be as well. As it was a jazz piece I also experimented with the tempo and the legato and staccato. This will help me in the future and especially help my sight reading skills.

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What did you think about the feedback you received from others?

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What did you think about the feedback you received from others?

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One of the comments we received from Elizabeth was that the piece was too lengthy and repetitive. We all agreed with this as we had also taken out the improvisation due to us not being able to learn it in the time given, which gave it variety. To counter this, we shortened the piece and after the second verse, we moved straight to the last chorus of the piece, which was more rubato and free in its tempo.

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What qualities do you think a good leader needs to have?

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What qualities do you think a good leader needs to have?

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A good leader, in my opinion, should be understanding, sympathetic, and open to listening so that they can empathise with their partners when faced with a challenging assignment. As a result, disputes and mistrust among team members would be avoided.
A successful leader, in my opinion, should also possess exceptional organisational abilities, including the ability to plan out the tasks that each member of the team should perform so that everyone is aware of what needs to be done when. Possessing strong organisational abilities could help avoid misunderstandings, delays, and uncertainty.
Furthermore, a good leader should put in a lot of labour because a bad one could exploit their team by taking credit for tasks that aren't their own. A good leader should set an example to the rest of the team by putting in as much, or more work than the team members.