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Necessary skills to be a performer include:

Proficiency with instrument

This is incredibly important to be able to master your instrument as it means you can put on a more impressive performance which will leave your audience wanting to hear more. This is why I will provide evidence of my vocal ability as well as knowledge on the theory aspects.

Stage Presence

It is important to create a stage persona that can engage a whole audience as this is what makes people want to stay once they have heard what you can do. Without good presence your audience will most likely get bored and may even leave because they are there to be entertained in which ever way you plan to do that. My persona is very similar to myself but I act more relaxed to come off as confident.

Preparation

It is always important to come prepared with all of your stuff learned. This will make it a much quicker process to bring you in for a real gig. The faster you are able to be ready for a performance, the more people will want to hire you for your reliability. This could include preparing structure and/or lyrics sheets, I will provide examples of these in my live performance section.

Ability to accept mistakes

It is important to accept mistakes because you do not want to restart any songs when possible because you are paid to only play for a certain amount of time and with that you also do not want to eat into your time when trying to fix a mistake. I have examples of how I make mistakes while on stage but I am quickly forgiven by the crowd and once the performance was over, I was told that many people didn't notice these.

Music Theory Knowledge

This will provide you with the language you need to use to be able to communicate how to fix something or change it. In the music theory section I will explain which areas I am proficient in.

Knowledge of the how the music business works

Before you perform, it is necessary that you know what you are being paid for and why. For example if you perform your own song then you could be paid not only for your performance but also for the use of your song by signing up with Performing Right Society. I have written multiple essays on the music business, these include case studies, copyright and contracts. These can be found in the Music Business section.

References

Jim Ottewill (July 2021) ICMP

https://www.icmp.ac.uk/blog/essential-live-performance-tips-musicians#3

RoleCatcher (December 2024)

https://rolecatcher.com/en/skills/hard-skills/communication-collaboration-and-creativity/performing-and-entertaining/perform-live/

Elle Ayres (October 2024) PRS

https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/business-and-money/report-live-performances-setlists-josh-franceschi-you-me-at-six-peaness-new-order

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Essential Live Performance Tips for Musicians

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From rehearsing to soundcheck, here are some essential tips from our tutors on how to make the most of your gig opportunities.

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Through the use of padlet, I will be going through my skills and knowledge that would make me into a reliable and effective performer. I wish to apply for the role of a performer and as such I will go through examples that will showcase the skills I already have as well as how I could improve and what steps I will put in place to do so. I will go through examples of my performances in different conditions such as in a studio or on stage and explain how that would make me a better performer through evaluation. I will also provide evidence on my knowledge of the music business and music theory. I will provide these as it would show that by working with me, it would be easier to communicate and move forward faster.

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Below is the video of the full performance in which between songs you can see how I interact with the crowd, especially as the end where I get the crowd to go silent very quickly despite them all screaming so that I could get everyone to sing happy birthday to another student from the course.

https://youtu.be/Th9MjmYyPqY

Skills / Presence

During the performance I had great opportunities to show off my strengths that I discussed in the section above. The first one, our original song, I would say was technical wise the best. We switched between time signature, and we all got to create challenging parts, such as the bridge, I was belting in a high range and the length of it really challenged my vocals.

Original

https://youtu.be/xqjkqFuaX_0

During this song, it was a great opportunity to use my stage presence and crowd control. The video does not provide the crowd's reaction so it may seem as though we lost the crowd during the bridge but in fact the crowd was incredibly hyped up and were waiting until I screamed so that they could start the mosh pit I instructed them on.

Falling Away From Me

https://youtu.be/O8BC8Y4txwQ

Forgiven mistakes:

There were moments in the performance in which I made mistakes. In this first video, you will see that my movements of the microphone caused the wire to fall out at 1:20. I kept singing and smiled about it which made the ones who noticed, forgive me and the rest didn't even notice that it happened.

Hit Me Like A Man

https://youtu.be/aRum7OxDyHc

During this next one, due to my movements on stage the microphone would feedback. I would laugh these off and immediately move which would subconsciously direct the crowd to do the same. There are also moments in which I would lose breath and could finish a note or I would hit the wrong note but I didn't let it show that it fazed me and again, I immediately moved on which the crowd did the same. Thanks to my reaction to the mistake, it didn't affect the memory of whole performance and the crowd continued to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

Metalingus

https://youtu.be/9HENGsARHOk

I have recordings in which I came out of an illness with a rough throat so it made it difficult to sing these pieces from my one to one lessons. However, I took care of my throat the whole morning of and gently warmed up for the whole day before recording these videos. I was unable to sing deeper notes quite as well but despite the issues, what this video presents is my focus during difficult times to use the correct techniques even though it was incredibly difficult to do so. On the most part, I sang these songs exactly as I wanted but when I did have any mistakes I would move on and keep focusing on the next thing to come.

Crazy

https://youtu.be/UtHiBOO8tas

Since You've Been Gone

https://youtu.be/YeHtM6REsl4

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Psychopathic Platypus Rampage @ The Mash House 13/05/25

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Before a performance, my band would use our rehearsals as a day to iron down any mistakes. Our first session consisted of organising the band. We started the discussion with what genre would fit our band and we all agreed on classic rock/metal music. Now that we agreed on the style, we then discussed our biggest strengths and weaknesses as musicians in rehearsals and performances. For example, my strengths are:

My ability to work outside of my comfort zone

I learn my material really quick

I can perform whistle notes and can perform impressive techniques

I have good crowd control

My weaknesses would include:

I find timing difficult

I can get to excited on stage, making me lose temporary control of my technique

Uncertainty of how to move on stage

I am nervous playing any other instruments

Once these have been established, we agreed to make sure that we all get a chance throughout the set to show off our strengths and to challenge our weaknesses. Because we discussed these, it made rehearsals easier as we could help each other with our weaknesses and we could all challenge each other to become better and more versatile musicians. My weaknesses were challenged well. In the first performance I was asked to play the conga which challenged both my timing and my uncertainty with other instruments. Then for the final performance, I was asked to play the bass, unfortunately, we had to cut the song because it was the newest song so it wasn't as tight as the rest of the set. But my band definitely challenged me. They also gave me ideas for how to move on stage and what I could say and after out auditorium performance they helped me find a way to relax on stage.

After this, we finally discussed what songs we should learn for the next week. We agreed that we would pick two songs every week until we had enough that was required for a set as well as some extra in case any songs didn't work.

Before rehearsals we all expected each other to come in having learned the song fully by the next week.

From then on our rehearsals would have the same schedule for a while. We would practice and prepare any needed notes before we come in, having fully learnt the songs. I would prepare by creating a structure sheet first to visualise the changes, then I would hand write the lyrics to memorise them, then write them out again on the computer again help memorise and to also have a legible copy in the rehearsals just in case. Then we would go into our rehearsal, starting with warm up songs we have already rehearsed to dust off any cobwebs (apart from on the first session we went straight into playing our first two songs). After that we would start playing the two new songs and the finally we would incorporate it into the rest of out set. We all had a chance to pick a song, although not all made it into the set unfortunately due to time restrictions.

Once all the songs have been played, rehearsed and ironed, we continued ironing further and also began to have fun while playing together during which we really began to look like a real band. We also decided we wanted to write a song so we began with a rough instrumental created by Cameron, then in the week of practice, we would all create our own parts to the piece. We kept changing small details very often but we finally ended with a great finished piece which allowed all of us to use everyone's strengths in a singular song.

Attached below are examples of the structure and lyric sheets I had created:

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I have completed closed-book tests for each element of Music Theory Level 7, as part of my HND 1 Music course. (The sections marked with asterisks below require remediation.)

The content covered in the tests is detailed below.

Clefs: identifying notes in the treble and bass clefs; sharp, flat and natural signs

Major keys: identifying major key signatures and scales up to four sharps and flats

Intervals: identifying major, minor, perfect, augmented and diminished intervals within an octave (with and without key signatures)

Rhythm: identifying note values and rests, including dotted notes and rests, for semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver and semiquaver

Time signatures: identifying time signatures of 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8

Major and minor scales and chords: identifying and notating major, minor, pentatonic major, pentatonic minor and harmonic minor key signatures and scales up to four sharps and flats; identifying and notating triads and seventh chords from major scales up to four sharps and flats using chord symbols and Roman numerals

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These are to show my knowledge on the exercises in a closed book live setting. This is important as it can help me improvise a melody and harmonies if need be. This can be useful on stage jam sessions or for writing sessions in preparation for performing.

Below is a video of the scales I learned:

https://youtu.be/m5zRqQl2JPw

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Ksymena Sielicka - Technical Exercises - Scales

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Music Business Contracts.docx

Here I have uploaded my essay on Music Business Contracts. This is important to understand as a performer because you will often get into contracts with manager, Record labels, venues and so on. There are some expectations to be met by each party, so it is important to be knowledgeable on these expectations so that you don't get taken advantage of but also to be able to negotiate the terms.

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Here I have uploaded my Music Business Copyright essay. this is important to understand as a performer for multiple reasons. The most important being, if you write or have any contributions to the creation of the song then you know what rights are privy to. It is also important to understand the rights to songs you plan to cover by ensuring you have the proper permissions to make money from your performance.

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Sabrina Carpenter Song Writing Team Study.docx

Here I will provide a link to my song writing essay. The reason why I submit this under the music theory section is because throughout the essay I describe different musical techniques that are helpful in my performances. The artist I chose to write about was Sabrina Carpenter because she radiates confidence and fun on stage and that is also thanks to the music she wrote or picked. This is detrimental to a performance to pick songs that fit the band and that are not only focused showing off but more importantly to entertain the crowd as that is what is going to sell the most.

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Sabrina Carpenter Song Writing Team Study.docx

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This portfolio is a great way to provide evidence and explanation of many skills a s knowledge that you need in order to become a performer. I am applying for the position of a performer. I was asked to gather evidence of my skills throughout this project and that was a great opportunity to find ways to improve or to appreciate the good things which can be a in issue for many performers. Throughout this project, I would focus on the mistakes but this has given me an opportunity to learn from them as well as appreciate how I handled them. These can be seen in the Live Performance section under Forgiven Mistakes.
During the planning stage, it was difficult knowing what evidence I would provide as I didn’t know at the time which pieces of evidence would be helpful. But this gave me a chance to look at every class I partake in and it all was helpful in some way. For example, in the music business section, you can find evidence that show I have knowledge on topics such as copyright and contracts which would make it a faster process when working with me. This stage provided me with the skill to find use in my work for my career plans. A weakness in the planning stage was that I lacked detail. This could include finding dates for when all of this evidence would be gathered as well on the research of the role section where I lacked detail and the proper referencing. However, a strength would be explaining why the evidence was necessary as everything from all my classes had its use in some way. During the development stage pf this project, I was very happy with the work I produced as it was a massive improvement since I started the college year. The live performance section was probably my strongest one as I had so much of different experiences performing in a live scenario. However, I find that the Music Business section was not as detailed and as good as the others. While I have learned a lot through the work we did, it could have had more concise explanations of the work I was providing and why.

As a whole, I am happy with this project as it was a perfect chance to evaluate my skills and how it can all help me in my future careers. I felt that on the most part I met the assignment brief from my understanding of it. I provided evidence that showed both strengths and weaknesses but most importantly how I have and/or how I plan to improve both the strengths and weaknesses. In the future, now that I under the use of this project, I would make better use of the planning stage and take some extra time to research the role I wish to apply for. In HN2 I wish to also make more use of the creative tools you can access in Padlet to make it look even better next time.

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I am someone who works really hard. I am passionate about music and more specifically about performing the music. I watch the crowd and I alter my performance depending on how each crowd reacts. I have performed on numerous occasions now and with each performance there is a noticeable improvement from the last. I began with music from an early age while singing often with my uncle who was classically trained in vocals. Since then, I had been pushed to follow my dreams with lessons in lots of different instruments including piano, guitar, flute and more. I was then brought to auditions at the National Youth Choir of Scotland in which we learned how to perform professionally in front of a crowd. We were taught how important the appearance of a performance was. Within a choir, it was very important to have unison in as small a detail as taking breaths at the same time. This look into the appearance of a performance stuck with me and as I became a more versatile musician with different styles. I began with classical music but had began experimenting with different types of pop music. Once I joined college, I was introduced into performing rock songs. As often as I can, I try to record my practices so that I can see what works and what doesn't until I have a sort of choreography in preparation to a real performance. I practice my vocals every day and had learned how to best prepare my vocals for different settings, such as for a stage performance, it is important to push your vocals more to provide an energetic performance whereas for a studio session, you want to be more technique focused as mistakes are not as forgiven on a session recording as they are in a live setting. Overall, I am very enthusiastic and can take criticism well to improve my work to make as great a performance as I can provide.

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I have had a lot of opportunities to perform.

These include:

My first performance as a solo vocalist in a gala day for Gorebridge in which I performed 'To Believe' sung by Jackie Evancho.

I would then go to join the National Youth Choir of Scotland in which we performed numerous times.

I have performed in Voodoo Rooms twice as in two different bands in front of a crowd paying to see us as well as the other bands performing with us that night.

I would get the chance to perform in the Edinburgh College Auditorium in front of my classmates as well as others who had been invited from the college from different courses to watch us.

I had taken part in an open mic during a Christmas celebration my college had organised and also at Banshees in which my own band performed to a crowd who had never seen us before but still enjoyed watching.

Then my most recent performance was at the Mash House in which we played a 25 minute set for a large crowd filling out the whole room. This was my best performance in which I made the crowd participate in a successful mosh pit.

While I have experience in a stage setting I feel it is important to also acknowledge my experience in studio sessions.

My first time was with the National Youth Choir of Scotland in which we were part of recording a tape of children's songs.

After that I had experience in Edinburgh college in two different times to record our band covers.

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What impact or emotion do you want to provide your audience with?

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What impact or emotion do you want to provide your audience with?

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Before I perform, I like to research each song so that I can act out the intent the song had in the first place. I notice that you can't always hear the lyrics, especially if you don't know the song that is being played but if you act out each lyric then I find the words stick out much better and it makes for a more memorable performance. On the most part, I want to provide the crowd with excitement but also strive to give them the chance to experience what the song is saying.

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What has been the most challenging song to perform and why?

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What has been the most challenging song to perform and why?

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The most challenging I have ever performed would have been Live Wire by Motley Crue. This is a song that requires a lot of energy which also means it required intense preparations with building my stamina so that I am able to sing the song all the way through without sounding too out of breath. In this song, the singer of Motley Crue had added an insane note after the bridge which in my version had turned into a whistle note. So, along with the stamina, I had to have enough breath control to be able to hold it.

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How do you prepare your voice before a performance or recording session?

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How do you prepare your voice before a performance or recording session?

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Before the day of the performance, I will often sing the songs from my set a few times throughout the day with frequent breaks to keep my throat healthy.

Once the day of the performance comes then I gradually warm up my vocal throughout the whole day. I begin with humming and then I will practice easier songs. Then once it is about an hour before I perform, I will practice the difficult parts of the songs until the sounds I want happen.

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Can you share a moment on stage that was especially meaningful or unforgettable?

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Can you share a moment on stage that was especially meaningful or unforgettable?

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This would be in my most recent gig in which the crowd was so hyped up from my band's performance and my most meaningful moment would be when the crowd began shouting the lyrics to me during Falling Away From Me. I had not realised that this many people knew the song but I had not initiated for them to sing it with me but it was amazing to see the crowd were enjoying themselves so much that together they all felt comfortable enough sing along with me without being asked to do so.

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How do you handle mistakes or vocal issues during a live performance?

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How do you handle mistakes or vocal issues during a live performance?

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I am aware that mistakes are inevitable, especially in live settings no matter how much preparations you may have so this mindset already allows me to forgive myself when they do happen. I find the best way to handle a mistake is to stop and understand what is happening, fix it and to laugh so that the crowd knows that they can laugh along with you. Immediately afterwards, it is important to forget it completely and got right back to performing as if nothing happened. This makes the crowd who did notice the mistake, get to laugh with you and enjoy the humanity of the performance while those who don't notice don't do so because it gets handled hastily.

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Before I perform a song, I like to research the meaning of the songs and any particular parts of the song that are especially meaningful to the artist so that I can give a worthy and meaningful rendition of it.

In the attached word document you can see examples of this:

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2. Falling Away From Me - Structure Sheet

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5. I Want You To Hurt Me - Structure Sheet