Who you are and your interests and hobbies

• Do you play, sing or produce music?

• Favourite bands and artists

• Favourite songs - explain why you like them

• Have you been to any gigs? Who would you like to see perform live?

• What you did

• What you learnt

• What went well

• What you could improve on

• Include screenshots and videos from your own projects and performance sessions

TIP: You should make us of at least 2 research sources to help you gather your information (websites, articles, videos etc)

• What are your aspirations in music?

• What job in music would you like to have one day?

• Why do you want to achieve these things?

• How do you think you will achieve them (college study, making beats, university, playing in bands etc)?

• What it is you like about each song

• The types of sounds and instruments used

• What the lyrics, vibe or mood of the songs mean to you?

• Live performances

• Recording studios

• Theatres

• Music Festivals

• Spotify links

• YouTube links

https://www.canva.com/ 

The cello's popularity was largely influenced by the composers who wrote music for it, such as Beethoven, Vivaldi, and Bach. Pablo Casals populated the cello by being the first cellist to record Bach's six unaccompanied suites by bringing them to a wider audience in the 1930's. Some other notable names would be Yo-Yo Ma and Mischa Maisky.

The cello is mainly used in classical music, but because it is so versatile it can be used in pop, rock, jazz, metal, everything!

What I found interesting during this research is when the cello was created and it's popularity had more to do with the composers at the time rather than the musicians making them popular.

I practised safety in the booths by not playing too hard and also helped someone set up their bass and amp by making sure the volumes were turned down before powering on the amplifier.

Currently, my band consists of Skylar, Isaac, Roddy, Darcy, Zoe, and myself, however I'm not sure if we're staying in these groups as our bands were just allocated to us.

The producer I've chosen to research is rated number 1 on "billboards 50 greatest producers of the century"; Max Martin. Martin is one of the most influential pop producers of the century with 25 Grammy nominations and 5 Grammy wins. He is best known for his work with Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, P!NK, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and many more.

Max Martin possesses skills in making chart topping melodies and hooks through an approach to "melodic math", focusing on rhythmic structure and memorable melodic lines over lyrics meaning. He is a master of song structure and building tension, subtly adding musical elements to keep listeners engaged but not overwhelmed. His approach emphasises keeping things simple but perfecting the overall sound.

A musical performers main responsibilities are practising and learning music, performing live, rehearsing with others, promoting their work, maintaining their instrument, and collaborating with other professionals. they could also be their own manager and manage tours or they could hire someone to do that for them. It's also important for performers to network and have a lot of contacts in the music industry, to make it easier to reach a wider audience, get gigs, and collaborate.

Performers should have a high level of skill in their instrument, have the ability to improvise and be creative with music, maintain discipline, cope with the psychological pressure of constant performing challenges especially if they're freelance, and have a genuine love for music and a passion for performing.

Some characteristics they'll need to have would be confidence, stamina, flexibility, teamwork, and be able to be self critical.

The first performance I'm going to analyse is Cynthia Erivo's live cover of "Feeling Good". In this performance, it starts off with a full orchestra from The Philadelphia Orchestra setting the scene with the impact of the score. Erivo is walking around the stage, maximising her stage presence and engaging the audience by making eye contact and keeping them engaged with her vocals and movements. Despite the amount of performers there they all stay in time, and all allow Erivo to do some vocal runs showcasing her vocal ability.

In my opinion, the most impressive part of the performance is when Erivo is belting a long note, showcasing melisma by singing multiple notes in one word, and is projecting her voice with such skill and accuracy that she even moves the mic away from her mouth, and her voice is still heard clearly by the audience without losing any of the volume. The technical skill to be able to do this is insane, and the fact she was able to do this multiple days in a row without faltering is for me mind blowing. While keeping the mic away from her, she also controls the audience and gets them to keep quiet, while she plays with the volume of her voice, going from quiet to loud, while still projecting to the point the audience can hear her with no mic.

In the background, you can see the orchestra working tightly together to keep time and build the emotion, with the conductor expertly guiding the orchestra, and watching out for subtly signals from Erivo to know when to accurately instruct the instrumentalists when and how to play.

One thing that is clear aside from the pure talent and great ability, it's clear to see everyone performing, regardless of who, is genuinely enjoying themselves, we can see Erivo grinning for most of the performance, the man on keys smiling, and the conductor also visibly having fun and showing excitement which all adds to the audiences experience. On top of this, you can feel the authenticity and the confidence radiating from Erivo; she knows she's brilliant and she is putting everything possible into that performance. She can even be seen at one point during the clip that she actually has no shoes or socks on, which to me shows she wants to be able to literally feel the music, and also takes away all the unwanted sensory sensations and allows her to fully focus on the performance, while also keeping her grounding and improving her stability.

This performance is clearly well rehearsed which is apparent due to simply how smooth it is, there are no faults and everyone is confident in what they need to do. The audience is engaged and clearly having a good time as they're cheering as the performance goes on, and all round in my opinion is one of the best examples of a good performance.

The next performance I'm going to analyse is Yungblud's cover of "Changes" by Black Sabbath live from Villa Park for Ozzy Osbourne's "Back to the Beginning" farewell event which he did shortly before Ozzy sadly passed. This performance is vastly different to the other, as Villa park has a capacity of nearly 47000, while Erivo's performance at The Mann has a capacity of 14000. Additionally, it's a live band playing for Yungblud rather than an orchestra, featuring a bunch of guest musicians, such as Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Andy Wakeman, and Sleep Token's II, giving the cover a more rock feel.

This performance starts off with just the keys, keeping the mournfulness of the original, then joined by Yungblud's vocals. He starts of using a more breathy technique to create a more intimate feel despite the amount of people their, and then goes into more of a chest voice on climatic lines like the chorus to give the song more texture and go from intimate to explosive. By flowing between the two singing styles for each verse and chorus it gives way for the chorus to have a bigger climax, letting the audience/listener feel the raw emotions and preserves the original song. It's also clear they have managed to work with the song and have managed to adapt it for the full band and for the setting they're playing in, which is a great skill for all performers. A great thing about this performance is how they manage to preserve the songs original feel, but also make room for Yungblud to be able to connect with the crowd, and make the song more of a personal tribute rather than a carbon copy, especially as Ozzy passed so soon after the event, the cover is now an iconic tribute to Ozzy himself.

Directors can be hired on a freelance contract for a single production or be a permanent staff member for the theatre company, with the average salary being ~£25,000 at entry level (0-3 years of experience)[1].

The skills needed to be a theatre director overlaps with skills needed for any job, but some of the key ones are leadership (to be able to effectively guide performances and lead rehearsals), communication (to be able to work effectively with everyone involved in the project), creativity (to be able to interpret scripts and shape the overall vision), and to have a deep understanding of the job and industry in general.

An example of a successful theatre director is Laurence Connor, who has an extensive portfolio including shows such as School of Rock, Les Miserables, and the entire new stage production of The Phantom of The Opera (both the UK and USA tours).

[1]Theatre Director Salary in United Kingdom (2025) - SalaryExpert

At a live performance, there is typically a separate team who would run the risk assessment who would look at the venue capacity, ensure fire escapes are clearly marked and kept clear, and ensure they are following laws like The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and The Noise at Work Regulations 2005. The most common types of accidents at music events occur from falls or slips on wet or uneven surfaces, as well as crowd-related incidents such as crushing or trampling.Other risks include flying debris from pyrotechnics, sound equipment malfunctions, and even electrocutions due to faulty wiring.[1] To avoid this, the planners would need to ensure walkways are clear, ensure they do not oversell tickets and stick to the venue capacity decreasing the risk of crowd crush and overcrowding, make sure all equipment used is PAC/PAT tested so they know it is safe to use, and make sure everything is stored and transported safely. On top of this, there are also measure that generally overlap with other environment sin the music industry like wearing ear protection if playing or listening to something at a loud volume and/or for an extended amount of time, staying fed and hydrated to keep you from feeling sick, fatigued, or even to collapse on stage. If the artist plans on using a smoke machine they also need to make sure the venue is well ventilated so people can still breathe and don't choke on the smoke. There are also measures taken actually outside the venue as well, like having traffic marshal's in the car park or opening up additional parking near the venue to reduce the risk of car crashes or pedestrians being hit if it a high volume event. Additionally, having security at the venue for a number of reasons, to protect against immediate threats, to deter people from causing a scene on purpose, to check peoples bags to make sure they cant bring anything in that can harm themselves or others, and to control the crowd.

In recording studios you have to be aware of your surrounding as typically you won't have that much space,so making sure you know what's around and keeping the floor and walkways clear so you don't trip. It's also important that when wearing headphones in the studio they shouldn't set to a high volume as this can damage your hearing, as well as listening for an extending amount of time. It's also important to not stand too close to loud equipment/instruments, for example standing next to a PA, amplifier, or drum kit, and if you absolutely have to be very close to it ensure you are wearing sufficient ear protection. You should make sure any excess cables or wires are cable neatly and set aside out of the way to reduce the trip likelihood. There are a lot of electricals in a recording studio, so you should not be eating or drinking in them at all for a number of reasons. If a liquid gets spilled on something electrical there is a risk someone could be electrocuted, or blow a fuse, which could cause a fire. If you are eating while recording you could risk choking, and if you are lucky enough to have no harm done to yourself or anyone else, you may still just damage the equipment which will be very expensive, and find crumbs in all your equipment. On the producer side, if you have a lot of speakers set up you could damage your hearing, and could even strain your eyes if you spend too long looking at your computer screens without taking breaks.

In theatres they have very similar risk to a live performance, but also a whole host more that are completely unique. At a theatre you might have a team of people who have to work at a height to set up lighting, sets and props. these all need to be secured properly, and where possibly should be adjusted at ground level before going up. They will also need to be wearing harnesses while they are at height which will need to have a rescue plan and mostly likely supervision. There is a large amount of manual handling involved in theatres, especially for travelling shows. Many loads are awkwardly shaped, heavy and often difficult to move in sometimes very confined spaces. This movement is often also done under time pressure. More than a third of the injuries reported annually to HSE are related to manual handling. These tend to be long-term injuries, which can have serious implications for those involved. [2] To avoid accidents people should adopt good lifting technique (bend and lift with the knees rather than your back), carry things at waist level, and not to carry something too heavy for one person, and instead ask someone to help or use an approved trolley/cart to help move big/heavy things around.

At music festivals the amount of people who attend are significantly higher than the amount who just go to a gig due to the location, and with that brings a lot more risk factors. Large crowds can be managed by the amount of ticket sales, but in some of these locations it can be quite easy to sneak into the festival, so it's essential there are barriers and security around. People will also need to be mindful if they're drinking alcohol which is very normalised at festivals as drunk people are a lot harder to control than sober ones, especially as you lose your sense of judgement and reaction times under the influence. The same can be said fro drug use as it's very common that a lot of substances make it in, which is where you would need to have good security checking everyone as if drugs get in, somebody could have a bad experience and hurt themselves, others, or even accidentally overdose in the worst case scenario. Weather conditions also play a massive part at festivals because if it is raining, everything will be wet, muddy, and the likelihood of people slipping and falling over is much more, so organisers will need to asses before the event if it's safe for them to continue and may need to cancel, and to also monitor the situation during the event.

To conclude, having these risk assessments in place is to ensure the safety of everyone there and reduce the risk of injury to anyone involved. Places can enforce these rules and laws but it's down to the individual people to make sure they are actually abiding by it too.

[1] https://www.ecoonline.com/blog/health-and-safety-in-the-music-events-industry/

[2]https://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/theatre-tv/theatre.htm

If I were to change one thing in the track it would be to try out different hi hat sounds, as I'm undecided whether they actually fit with the rest of the track or if they clash.

Before this project I had only used Logic briefly when I had recorded music before in the studio, but I mostly used pro tools, so almost everything is new to me. I'm quite happy with how the track turned out for a first attempt and it's cool to be able to listen to my favourite music now and pick out what elements they have used.

One thing I'd like to learn is how to adjust levels for certain things at specific parts of the song. For example, an instrument could be loud at one part but during a more stripped back would be quieter, without effect all the other tracks in that channel list.