UNIT 12 (Task 1): Project Proposal

During the course I have learned a lot about the music industry including what it means to get a record deal, something I knew nothing about before. I was unaware of the things to consider when being offered a record deal, such as whether it's the right deal for you and will it benefit you as a musician. I thought that once you had a record deal, you were silly to turn it down and it meant you had a good shot at success, but it's really just a big stepping stone that requires a lot of hard work. I am now aware of what different record deals mean, which ones would suit me best as a musician and what it would mean for my career, therefore I am a lot more prepared if someone was to offer me one. I have learned what equipment I need for my own gigs and how to set it all up through practical lessons, which is another thing I was new to at the beginning of the course. This is very helpful, as I perform outside of college and need to know how to set up equipment for myself. I have became more aware of different guitar playing styles by watching other students performing and have started to play more complex things, however this has been from watching tutorials and covers on YouTube. The skills I have picked up during the course that I think will be most helpful in the future for my career is that I am now able to perform in front of others and that my confidence has grown a lot. Before this course I'd never performed properly in front of an audience. Learning to work with other musicians was very insightful and helpful, as writing with others is something I would be interested in doing in the future. It can be challenging at times but I now feel like I have the skills to overlook this part of the process. I also know a lot more about how a recording studio works and how to use the equipment, which could definitely be helpful in the future but is also a skill I am using at the moment when recording my own material at home. I wanted to be a songwriter and performer when I started the course, but now I am even more determined to succeed after picking up lots of helpful skills and knowledge that can help me along the way. For my final major project, I will be required to advertise my own gig, fundraise for it and plan it. These are skills that I can use now in my own time as well as in the future, as advertising is just as important as the actual performance. It would help me in the near future as I am always looking for small events to play at and for new ways to get noticed by others. Planning is also a very important skill to have when going out and playing at gigs, as something I have leaned form performing myself is that events and venues don't get everything ready for you, especially non-musical events that just want a bit of background entertainment. You have to plan what equipment you will need through communication, find out what they can provide you with, work out how you will get there, what time to arrive, as well as planning how you will advertise and fundraise. Having a second plan to fall back on is also always helpful.For my final major project I am going to be performing at multiple open mics. I have been recording and writing original songs this year and will soon have about four or five songs ready to be burned onto a CD that I can put out at my performances. I will be performing my original songs, some on guitar and some on piano. I still have a few originals that I need to work on, complete and practice before I can perform them. Most of my originals are on piano and only one is on the guitar, however setting up my guitar is easier than setting up and moving the keyboard, so I I am working on writing more songs on the guitar or learning a few of my piano songs so that I can play them on the guitar. I am going to be performing at Farmers Markets monthly before these open mics. This will be good experience where I can gain more confidence in performing my own songs, as I get a lot more nervous performing originals than I do when performing covers.

I will be communicating with any new venues that might have open mics and events that I can perform at to ask weather or not they have amps, speakers and jack or MIDI leads that I'll need for my instruments. The pub that I regularly attend for open mics already has all the equipment provided so all I ever need to bring is my guitar, however I will not know about venues that I am new to. Social media is a good way to communicate about these topics when it comes to organizing a gig, but I can also ask people face to face if I'm approached by anyone. If in doubt I can always bring my own equipment just in case. To advertise my upcoming performances at these open mics I will make some posters advertising my performances which will explain when and where the performance will be. I will also keep people updated on my songwriting progress and practice sessions, posting teasers of new original music, as well as advertising the actual event and putting up posters on social medias such a my Facebook page, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.