Personal Statement

The course I am choosing to study at university is Music Business. The reason I have specifically chosen this course is because I want to develop the skills to pursue a music career in the industry, this could be as a: manager, A&R, marketing and many more options. Even though I also want to have a successful career as a singer/songwriter, I am taking into consideration that becoming a successful musician is not guaranteed and that I need to think outside the box and study something that can help me as a musician and help other people too. This course will most definitely help me because I will learn how to make my music become noticed and also to be able to help upcoming musicians.

During my time outside of college, I have been part of projects with people with have worked in the industry. This involves performing to A&R's and also taking part in competitions. Recently, I have thought about what makes a musician stand out and what a singer/songwriter needs to go through in order to be successful. Therefore, as I have been part of many things in the industry, I have started to be able to imagine myself in a position where I search for talented people or even work for a record company.

My UAL course (Level 3 music performance) relates to my chosen course at university because it covers the foundation of music business, song writing, performance etc... However, since it is a performance course, it involves a lot of performance aspects in terms of live shows, song writing and vocal progression. Regardless of it being a performance course, it helps to discover myself as an artist and know what I want to achieve, therefore, choosing to do music business will continue my goal of trying to promote myself as an artist and most evidently have a career in music. However, I also studied employability in the UAL course which involves setting up a tour which involves money and knowing how to travel and much more. Therefore, this is something that relates to the business side of music. In this course I also wrote my own portfolio which helps me discover myself as an artist and know what I want to achieve. In this year of college I am also fortunate to be invited to perform and the London Skills event at the Excel which will be a fantastic experience for me and build up my confidence as an artist.

When it comes to releasing music outside college I produce and release my own music which requires a bit of knowledge in terms of promoting the music. When I released my music video for one of my songs I used promotion on Youtube for my song to appear on adverts before someone would click on a music related video. I also put the song on different music platforms such as iTunes, Spotify and apple music. I have worked with many musicians outside college which gives me a greater perspective of the talent that exists. Normally we focus on ourselves as individuals, however I have realised that as you help other artists you learn things from them and you use that as inspiration and motivation for your own career path. I have helped artists with artwork and given important advice on  how to release their and how to make themselves stand out. This includes putting their songs on social media platforms and advice on promotion on those specific platforms such as: YouTube and Facebook. My dream is to become a successful artist and sell music around the world, however, as I have a lot of experience in terms of helping other people with their own work and I am going to study music music business, I know for sure that I will have a great career in music business.

My plan for next year is to successfully get through the year of the music business course whilst simultaneously working on my own music and earning money at the same time by having a part time job. Specifically with the course, my goal is to gain a different perspective of music in the business side of it and learn how to grow other artists as well as my self in the industry.

Portfolio week 2

My goals include to collaborate with other artists in terms of: producing, song writing and releasing. I would also like to work with people who come from different genres that I'm not used to working with or making, the reason I want to do this is because I don't want to limit myself to one specific genre because if I limit myself to one genre I wont be able to work with people from different areas of music. I am planning to release my music on: iTunes, Spotify,  Apple Music and a music video on YouTube. I plan to promote my music by doing campaigns on Facebook and Instagram which will come up as adverts on these social media platforms. As well as working on my own music, when I also go to university I am planning to study music business, this involves working for record companies as an A&R or producer etc... I am choosing to do this so I have a back up plan and so it is guaranteed I will have a career in music. However, my main goal is to evidently work on my music and get my music to a very good level. I will most likely co produce because to mix and master all by myself is too tiring and I wont have enough time to work on other things. 

When I save up money I will plan to have a press release which will make people aware of the music that will be released. This includes letting the people know who you are and information about yourself as an artist.

I plan to also have my EP done which will follow the concept of love, relationships and heartbreak. However, these songs will entail a story that each song can have similarities to. By this I mean each song has a story in which the lyrics are very meaningful and thoughtful. Once my EP is complete, I plan to promote it online 










March- Song writing/Production


April- Song writing/Production/mixing/mastering


May- Audio Single release/Promotion/
June- Music video: find director
July- Music video: planning
August- Music video: shoot/edit


September- Performances/radio interviews/making of merchandise


October- Performances

Ethnography

The genre I am picking for my ethnography is 80-00's Hip/Hop/Rap. The reason I am picking this genre is because a lot of the things that the genre of Hip/Hop talks about is drugs, money and females, however, artists like Tupac talk about very specific, real life situations. This makes it very raw and honest in terms of context and lyrics which allows there to be a balance in terms of what the genre talks about.

The genre of Hip/Hop in the 00's was mainly melodic and rhythmic. By this I mean that the instrumentals were really rich and full in sound, there was a lot of bass and instruments such as piano had a very catchy melody which is what made the song stand out. An example of this would be Changes by Tupac, the lead instrument is the piano which has a very catchy, melodic and cheerful feel which makes the song sound very positive and rhythmic. In my opinion, the way I hear these songs in my head makes me think that music has changed a lot in the last 20 years because Hip/Hop/Rap used to be a genre which sanded out a lot because of the fullness of sounds used in addition to the vocals and lyrics, however, in this day and age this genre has changed massively in my perspective because it is minimal in terms of sound in comparison to the early 2000's.

Hip/Hop was and still is a very controversial genre because it also started in the 1980's in a New York neighborhood called South Bronx when aspiring rappers from that neighborhood would make songs developed in a way that the communities struggles to find its own voice. Through the years of the 1980's and 1990's Hip/Hop was heavily influenced on negative things such as police, politics and drugs. This is evidently why this genre is such as a controversial genre because it negatively influences young people because of lyrics used and the context of the music itself. Swear words would be used in lyrics to demonstrate the hatred or the emotions that rappers felt on society or whatever the song was about and this would be a bad role model for young kids in there childhood.

Hip/Hop was made using real instruments and with vocals using a microphone and recorded into a musical software. The musical software would most likely be pro tools and this software came out in the 1980's in a time where Hip/Hop was beginning to create is own success. The music would be listened to on radio, live shows and shows that were on MTV such as MTV unplugged and the top 40 charts.

Most of the Hip/Hop/Rap genre would be made at a mid/fast tempo where rappers would use a lot of lyrics in a single phrase. Ass there was a lot of lyrical content in these lyrics, the songs would usually last a good 4-5 minutes. The reason songs were this long is because of the problems and political things that happened in that specific time in which the songs were released. There was a lot more to talk about because back in the 80's Hip/Hop music used there lyrics to talk about things such as racism and problems in society such as shootings and crime which caused a lot of popularity in the charts and success began to rise for the genre of Hip/Hop.

The Hip/Hop style changed variously depending on the type of music that was being made, in relation to lyrics and the intent the musician is trying to propose. However, most rappers would be dressed with: Hats, Jewellery and sometimes baggy trousers and jeans. A lot of the time on stage rappers would jump on stage and get the crowd to rap in unison to the them. There wasn't much dancing in terms of choreographs and dance routines but free styling would be used in live performances to show off the talent of the musician.

The effect of this type of music would go from jumping and waving there hands up and down to break dancing and street dancing. There would also be clapping sometimes but majority of the time this genre would create a lot jumping and also shouting from the crowd to interact with the performer on stage.

In terms of Media, Hip/Hop in between the 80's and the 2000's didn't involve social media. It only involved MTV, live shows, music show awards and radio. This is how artists would promote there music in comparison to current music. Even though the process of MTV and radio is still used, social media is now heavily relied on due to interactions with fans around the world and recording companies. Whilst in the earlier days of Hip/Hop you would be noticed by going into a record label and perform one of your tracks or performances in local venues. This genre in the 80's would be sold on Vinyl, in the 90's it would be sold on CD and in the 2000's music would be streamed and downloaded on musical platforms such as: iTunes,  Spotify and Sound Cloud.

Portfolio week 1

Section 1 - biography

1. What is his real name?

Peter Gene Hernandez

1. How old is he?

32

1. Where is he from?

Honolulu, Hawaii. United States

1. What is his brand called?

Bruno Mars

Section 2 - his career now

1. What music genre does he work in?

Pop/R&B/ Soul/Funk

1. What music roles has he worked in over his career?

Singer/Songwriter/Producer

1. What is his current position in the industry?

His current position at the moment in the industry is as a singer and a songwriter

1. Where does he work at present?

On Tour

1. Where is he performing on NYE 2017?

 The Bank at Bellagio, Las Vegas

Section 3 - building a career

1. At what age did he start? (or in what year did he start?)

In early 2000's he started writing songs for many artists such as K'Naan's "Wavin' Flag."

1. How did his career start?

His career started in the early 2000's when he moved to Los Angeles from Hawaii to pursue his musical career, which he managed to get opportunities to write for other artists whilst simultaneously trying to pursue his own brand as a worldwide famous musician.

1. What were his early steps as a musician?

He started off performing in different venues in his home country and performed to try and get his name worldwide

1. What steps did he take in order to go from a hobby to make it his career?

He invested in his music by saving money and going to studio, when he had songs prepared he would send it to contacts he had such as record labels and A&R’s.

1. What was his 'big break'?

Just the way you are Section 4 - a special career

1. What techniques is he famous for?

Using 90’s retro sounds in his music whilst simultaneously keeping it very modern 

1. Name one of his famous tracks.

Versace on the floor 

1. Describe a proud moment in his career.

When he performed at the super bowl in front of 80,000 people

1. What is one of his most memorable gigs?

Super bowl 

 Section 5 - your opinion

1. What important moments helped his career to grow?

Being turned down by major labels helped his career to grow because it made him work harder and make music that he enjoys doing rather than making something that Doesent mean anything to him 

How has he stayed successful for so long?

By constantly releasing his music every single year and touring his albums that get released roughly every two years. 

1. What is the secret to his success?

Originality, right now he is a pioneer at using retro sounds in modern day music. 

1. What have you learnt from Hype that you can apply to your own career?

Gap Year

aking a gap year could:

• develop your transferable skills, including your communication, leadership, time management and decision making;
• increase your work experience, through paid employment or voluntary work;
• allow you to learn a new craft, such as surfing, teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), filmmaking, cookery or even the art of kung fu;
• hone your existing skills, for example basic language skills, IT skills and teamwork;
• increase your confidence and independence, by taking yourself out of your comfort zone
• help you decide what you want to study at university

Strengths and Plans

I would say that one of my main strengths is my songwriting. This is due to having so many years of practice and songwriting which has become a strength of mine. An example of this would be the songs that I managed to write in the first year of college for my FMP, one of the things I had struggled with was managing to stick to my original plan from the beginning of the term for each week, whether it was writing a song one week or rehearsing for another persons project. This therefore caused me to lose control of the direction I was going with my weekly work which caused me to have to rush the songwriting part of it. Nonetheless, since I have a lot fo experience, I managed not to stress out and got all my work done before the deadline.

My plans for after college is to continue my music journey by writing songs and work myself to get new opportunities such as getting a record deal or even a publishing deal, However, since the future can't be controlled I have to also be focused in the educational part of music when I go to university. By this I mean maybe studying music business to grasp my knowledge on a different side of music.

Evaluation

As this FMP has come to an end I have to be honest and say that I have done a great FMP but there are many areas that I could've improved in to make my music stand out even more than it has. One area that could have been improved is the mixing, for example, in one of my research studies I was influenced by artists such as Maluma and Charlie Puth. Maluma was mainly influenced on the genre influence of latin music and Charlie Puth on the production side of things. Both of these artists' music have songs which are mixed to an amazing standard, however, my music was well mixed but could've been mixed to a better standard in terms of levels of instruments and maybe even vocals to a certain extent. Due to this I can only say that I worked to the best of my ability but in comparison to the artists I was influenced there needs a lot of work in terms of mixing to get the song sounding more professional. In terms of fitting into the music industry, I would say my music fits into record labels such as: Island records, republic records and atlantic records. This is based on the fact that my songs are mainly pop/latin influenced which could be suited for these type of record labels because artists like: Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes and some others pop artists. One area I struggled with and I still struggle with is the mixing part of making music, this is really important because this is what makes the songs sound more professional and suitable for radio and adverts. To make myself get better at mixing I need to make more music and research different youtube videos to make my music more professional. Something I would do differently is do more research during these 10 weeks to make my mixing better and collaborated with more production students to get more experience in producing.

My key areas of research was production techniques and genre influence, this includes looking at genres similar to the EP and see what production methods they use to make the music stand out. this includes things like drum patterns and similar chord progressions. I have been able to introduce the research into my music, for example, one of my key areas of research included looking at Charlie Puth's techniques when producing, this included using layering to make songs sound fuller and richer, I used this technique in many of my songs which helped my songs sound fuller and more professional. I think I have completed enough research because I have been able to fit these things into my music which has helped me progress massively. I don't think I needed to research anything else, however, I think I should've perhaps researched even more to see what other information could help me progress. I have learnt to layer instruments when needed and I have increased my instrumental knowledge, by this I mean using my strengths which is playing guitar and interpreting it in my music and my guitar lessons have become useful to put things I have learnt such as: pentatonic scales and other scales in my music to show a diversity of skills.

My research has developed my practical work because it has helped my production skills to progress in terms of levelling out instrument and even vocally knowing how to affect vocals and introducing vocal effects such as reverb and echo to make my vocals sound clean and more professional. I have therefore been able to incorporate this into my music and develop my musical skills. I think my practical kills have developed immensely, this includes my vocal skills because I have practiced with other people and developed things such as vocal range and vocals runs which I have been able to introduce into my music. My guitar skills have also improved due to my weekly guitar lessons, in the beginning of the year I didn't know guitar scales and how to play them but I have been able to increase my scale knowledge and become confident in playing them.

Problems I have encountered whilst doing my FMP was my timing and keeping up to date with my work, I didn't always keep tack of my work which slowed down my progression, however, I managed to keep up with my work. Also, one thing that also caused problems was my plan always changing, from deleting songs to not finishing them. This slowed down my project which I regret doing, but I have learnt to keep my unfinished tracks because I may use them in the future, however this didn't stop me from finishing all my work in this project. During the term I did overthink a lot in terms of my songs and trying to make every song sound perfect, nontheless, I thought that it was better to monitor my progress rather than overthink my songs which will evidently help my songs progress at a quicker rate. I had to reduce the amount of songs I did otherwise I wouldn't be able to balance my written work with my practical work. I didn't use the production rooms a lot for my project because I have a home studio that I used for my whole EP. However, when it came to featuring on other people's projects I used the rooms to feature on there projects and record songs from their EP.

I worked with Monet on my project, she featured on one of my songs which helped my song sound amazing because my initial idea was to get a female interpretation into the song to create a balance in the concept of the song and in the vocals. I also collaborated with: Ashley, Juan and Melika which they featured in my cover performance. Juan played the piano and sang with: Me, Melika and Ashley. We were able to use rehearsal rooms to practice the song many times and develop ideas such as harmonies and lead vocals. My collaborations only had one problem which was being able to find time to rehearse enough or to even get my songs recorded. However, I managed to get my songs recorded in time. I overcame these problems by being in contact with the people I am collaborating with and use the time affectively. I enjoyed collaborating because it has helped me develop my confidence and work with other people has also helped me work harder because it requires a full group effort to progress.