I have chosen the role of songwriter because it has been a passion and outlet of mine since I was a child. I have wanted to make a career out of writing and performing since. I am facinated by the power lyrics can have over a person physically and emotionally and I am driven by the prospect of bringing out strong feelings from people through lyrics. I love how any song can be internalised and interpreted differently by every single person and I want to share my words in order to represent people and hold space for emotion. I think the role songwriter more accurately represents me as even though I am a performer I am driven more by the creation of the art and spend most of my time focusing energy on writing my songs. (storytelling, inspirations, smooth out, sharper image)

Ability to develop breadth and depth of knowledge in music: music theory evidence, songwriting essay, online promotion

Ability to analyze and synthesize knowledge and skills acquired through study: songwriting essay

Ability to develop study, organizational and research skills: Personal development planning, Online promotion, Songwriting essay

Ability to develop proficiency in musicality, expression and musicality in performance and stage craft and/or composition and promote sensitivity in musical presentation: Band performance, voice performance, open mics/jams, outside gigs, busking

Ability to integrate musical skills in a practical or business application: Online promotion, social media, band, voice performance

Ability to develop competencies in a range of specialized areas in line with preferred career aims: Songwriting, performance, online promotion, voice

To enable progression to further study in music or a related discipline: Voice, songwriting, theory

Ability to develop personal skills and follow music industry protocol: Performance, open mics/gigs, social media

Ability to develop critical analysis; to reflect on own work and continually strive for best practice: Personal development planning, voice evaluations

To enable the adoption of innovative practices and creativity in work and ability to respond quickly to the challenges posed by changes in the music industry: Performance, online promotion

Planning stage due – 14/03/2025 (extended to 21/03/25)

Development stage due – 23/05/25

Evaluation stage due – 30/05/25

Significant dates:

-          Playing Mash House 14^th May

-          Easter/spring break

I am going to use Microsoft Stream for my presentation as I think it will be pretty straight forwards to use and I like the idea of filming myself and talking it through while I screen record.

Questions:

-          Have I presented research that has good examples to support them?

-          Have I explained the relation between the evidence I provide and my role as a singer/songwriter?

-          Do I have evidence of everything I need to cover?

-          Have I created an appropriate aesthetics/added appropriate content for the page?

By the end of the academic year I hope I’ m proud of the quality of work I’ve produced. I think even though I’ve needed extensions for assessments, the work I’ve handed in is good.

I want to get to a place with my voice work that I’m happy with too. I’ve really enjoyed working on my vocal technique this year and seeing the development and I’d like too be even more confident by the end of May.

I also hope my performance at the Mash House gig shows my progress since last year.

https://www.larpmusic.com/singer-songwriters-wanted/

“Lyricists use their knowledge of music and creative writing skills to write lyrics. Unlike songwriters, Lyricists are not responsible for the instrumental sections, but they may collaborate with songwriters and musicians. Lyricists are familiar with different genres and are able to write lyrics that connect with their audience.” - https://www.betterteam.com/lyricist-job-description

I have been writing lyrics for years and I think I am a strong writer – since starting the 2-year HND course I have definitely seen myself improve and I’ve received good feedback. I’m quite good at making people feel things with my lyrics – I can bring out an emotional side of people and I think that’s a very important quality for a lyricist. My lyrics are usually about very personal feelings and experiences and for that reason I would like to write and compose for myself rather than for other people – key in the role of singer/songwriter. I want to work with other musicians for the composition and partly the lyrics but I want to sing them myself. I also think my voice really gets it’s time to shine when I am singing my songs.

I will also be starting to have more band rehearsals as we prepare for the Mash House gig May 14^th, I think we will be trying to do 2 practices a week, each one about 2 hours long – and practice during the spring break.

I will be prioritizing write up and my evaluation stage a couple weeks before each of their deadlines so that I’m not rushing to finish it at the least minute. Writing my evaluation should only take a couple hours.

I’m quite good at organizing time for myself to work and be productive – usually for a few hours at a time. So I will set times to sit and research/plan/upload. This is often done in a group with other people so we can body double and motivate us all to get work done.

Resources needed:

-          Musicians for band rehearsals (Kieran Marshall, Adam Gray, Kyle Smith, Reanne Mason, Calum Glendinning)

-          Rehearsal rooms

-          Mics, guitar (acoustic) & stands, guitar leads

-          Mac and logic to record my composition work