Extended Diploma in Music Performance & Production
Unit 12 Project Proposal
| Candidate
Name |
Lars Harrison
|
| Candidate Number | 10587464 |
| Pathway
|
Music performance and production |
| Project Title | CHAPODIO
|
| Section 1: Context (approx. 300 words) | |
| Due to my previous projects in college I have learned a wide array of skills that will aid me in the music industry and in this project. Of all the different skills I’ve learned from my projects, I had the most fun with the live music performance and the studio work. This was because I had a lot of freedom to perform what I wanted and record my own compositions. This is also where I hope to take my professional career in the future. The aim of this project is to professionally grow my band, CHAPODIO. I aim to achieve this by recording a two-track single in a professional studio outside of college to be released online. One of these songs will be accompanied by a high-quality music video produced by everyone in my band. This will give the listener something to engage with visually as well as acoustically and hopefully make the songs more successful. I then aim to perform these two songs, and our others, live to promote their release. As this is a collaborative project with two other students on my course, We decided that my role will be to micromanage the recording process. This means that I will have to arrange when we go into the studio to record, what studio we use, what engineer we use, and everything else that is associated with recording in a studio. As well as doing this, I will be performing in my band as the drummer. By the end of this project, I aim to have two professionally recorded songs, professionally released, and accompanied by a music video, to grow my band as a professional business. | |
| Section 2: Research (approx. 50 words) | |
| My main points of research will be looking at Youtube videos and articles to see what we need to do as a band to get studio ready. I will also be looking at different studio techniques and the overall sound that we will be going for in terms of the recordings. | |
| Section 3: Problem-solving (approx. 100 words) | |
| For the problem-solving aspect of this project, I will have to make sure that I plan everything ahead, and be as prepared as possible for everything that we are going to do, such as making sure I have everything I need for a performance including spares. One large identifiable potential problem that we struggled with last year is time management. We struggled to manage our time effectively and therefore resulted in limited studio time and a performance that we weren’t happy with. This can be prevented by having a detailed plan and making sure we stick to it by having regular evaluation meetings. As well as being as prepared as possible, I will make a list of potential problems that could arise and include them in a risk assessment. | |
| Section 4: Planning and production (approx. 50 words) | |
| To plan effectively, I am going to have a detailed weekly plan of the project so that I am constantly on track and I always know what I need to do. I will evaluate with the other members of my band every Monday to reflect and evaluate on the past week. Within the plan, I will have specifics such as when we are going to be recording, when we are going to be performing, and when we are going to be rehearsing.
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| Section 5: Practical skills (approx. 100 words) | |
| I will be using a wide variety of skills throughout this project, these include; musical competence, as the drummer in my band, I need to make sure that my performance is always on point to make sure that the other musicians are in time to a steady beat. Communication skills, because I am collaborating with other students on my course and professionals in the industry, I need to make sure I have effective communication skills so that I, as well as each collaborator, are always aware of what is happening and what needs to happen. | |
| Section 6: Evaluation and reflection (approx. 100 words) | |
| I will be tackling the evaluation and reflection aspect of this project mainly in two ways; individually and as a group. As a group and as part of our action plan, we plan to evaluate and reflect on a weekly basis. Every Monday we will reflect on the past week and evaluate what went well and what we need to improve on. This will help us all to stay on track as a unit, ensure nobody is left behind and make sure that everyone is pulling their weight. Individually I will be setting myself daily targets and reflecting each day in the form of an audio journal how well I performed and if I met those targets.
This is the reflective model that I am going to use for this project. The Gibbs reflective model. |
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| Section 7: Presentation (approx. 100 words) | |
| I plan to present my work in a number of ways, the first being in my online portfolio (WordPress). This is where I will present all of my research, evaluations, and evidence. The second way is presenting my physical work on online streaming services through Distrokid. This will get our music onto most major streaming platforms. I will also use social media and physical promotion to present my music and final product to the general population. To complete this we are going to produce a music video to go along with one of our songs, and also have cover artwork for each single. This will go towards the overall presentation and aesthetic of my project. | |
| Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography (Harvard Format) | |
ReferencesWaller, G. (2019). 5 Steps To Prepare Your Band For The Studio. [online] Audient. Available at: https://audient.com/tutorial/5-steps-prepare-band-studio/ [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019]. YouTube. (2019). How to get your band ready for the studio – part 1. [online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw25dOC7H9M [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019]. YouTube. (2019). Slate Digital Drum Mixing Tutorial: How to Mix Drums and get HUGE Drum Sounds!. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iocdFlUgzl0 [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019]. Blog.sonicbids.com. (2019). How to Choose the Perfect Recording Studio for You. [online] Available at: http://blog.sonicbids.com/how-to-choose-the-perfect-recording-studio-for-you [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019]. Blog.sonicbids.com. (2019). 10 Things You Should Know Before Going Into a Recording Studio for the First Time. [online] Available at: http://blog.sonicbids.com/10-things-you-should-know-before-going-into-a-recording-studio-for-the-first-time [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019]. Disc Makers Blog. (2019). How To Choose A Recording Studio | Recording Studio Tips. [online] Available at: https://blog.discmakers.com/2015/07/recording-studio-tips-how-to-choose-a-recording-studio/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019]. Drumhead Authority. (2019). Drum Recording: Essential Tips for Drummers in the Studio. [online] Available at: https://drumheadauthority.com/articles/drum-recording-studio-tips/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019]. Drummagazine.com. (2019). [online] Available at: http://drummagazine.com/a-drummers-guide-to-studio-recording/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019]. Green, W. (2019). For The Record: 9 Rules of Recording Studio Etiquette | aboveGround Magazine. [online] Abovegroundmagazine.com. Available at: http://abovegroundmagazine.com/columns/pro-logic/12/28/for-the-record-9-rules-of-recording-studio-etiquette/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019]. Kevin Hartnell. (2019). 20 Tips For Drummers To Prepare For A Recording Session – Kevin Hartnell. [online] Available at: http://www.kevinhartnell.com/2013/05/15/20-drummer-tips-for-studio-session-preparation/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019]. YouTube. (2019). How To Develop Control & Dexterity On Double Bass – Drum Lesson (Drumeo). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7EwM6LPozQ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019]. YouTube. (2019). Things That Drummers Should KNOW or DO Before Recording In A Studio. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ieLUURsv_I [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019].
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For my project action plan, it is important to note that I will be having a day by day schedule every week that stays the same. The schedule is as follows; Monday – portfolio work. Tuesday – rehearsal day – in this, I will primarily be with my band, CHAPODIO, rehearsing our two singles that we are going to record to make sure they are perfect for the recording. But we will also be rehearsing all of the songs we know just as a general practice. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday more portfolio work. As an evaluative process, I will reflect on and evaluate every aspect of my portfolio as it has been completed.
| Project Action Plan and Timetable | |||
| Week | Date Week
Beginning |
Activity / What you are intending to do – including independent study | Resources / What you will need to do it – including access to workshops |
| 1 |
4/3/19 |
Collect footage for the music video (live performance) – to do this we will collect live footage of us playing at The Underground open mic night to mix in with the music video
Practice our two singles methodically in our rehearsal time to make sure that they are ready and no more changes are to be made. |
The Underground live music venue
Cameras, storage units, people to record the show for us Computer |
| 2 |
11/3/19 |
Research practical side of the project, look at how effective it would be to get merchandise ready for the single release, look at what types of merchandise would be most popular, and who could create the merchandise for us.
Research my aspect of this project which is the studio practice. I will research how to behave in the studio, how to be prepared for the studio, and how to get the most out of your time in the studio. I will primarily be using my pre-planned sources for this. Begin to look at artists we can use both for the EP cover art and merchandise Practice our two singles mainly to get them tight as well as all of the songs we know to stay tight as a band. |
Computer |
| 3 |
18/3/19 |
Collect additional footage for the music video
– To do this we will collect footage from outside of college, this will be location shoots either at a friends house or in Cleckheaton Get into contact with our studio engineer and find out exactly what sort of equipment we will need, how much the studio time will cost, and work out a schedule of the recording process. methodically work through our two singles to get them as perfect as they can be. produce tempo map for both songs as there are tempo changes within each song. |
Cameras, storage units, people to record the show for us
Location to shoot the video |
| 4 |
25/3/19 |
Studio practice week – Wednesday 27th March we will go into the college studio to have some practice being in the studio and how to efficiently record songs, we will aim to record one of our new songs.
This will count as practical studio research begin to introduce tempo maps into our practice sessions so that we get used to playing to a metronome as a band |
Bradford college studio
All studio equipment rehearsal space |
| 5 | 1/4/19
|
Collect updates on merchandise, designs etc.
Continue rehearsing to the tempo maps in the practice sessions of our two singles so that we get used to playing to a metronome as a band |
Contact info of everyone involved in the process of creating merchandise
Computer rehearsal space |
| 6 |
8/4/19 |
Collect additional footage for the music video
– To do this we will collect footage from outside of college, this will be location shoots either at a friends house or in Cleckheaton Continue rehearsing our two singles to make sure they are as perfect as they can be for when we go into the studio |
Cameras, storage units, people to record the show for us
Location to shoot the video rehearsal space |
| 7 | 15/4/19 | Studio recording, We will be going into Corner House Studio on the 16th and 17th to record and mix our single which consists of two songs; Bad Habit, and Smackhead. Both days will consist of recording, and we will meet a third day to mix the tracks | Corner house recording studio
All studio equipment |
| 8 | 22/4/19 | Have everything for this project ready to be released, this includes; merch, music, the music video
rehearse our entire set in order to get ready for our final performance |
Computer, finished single, finished music video |
| 9 |
29/4/19 |
Preparation for the music release
Getting music distribution ready, making sure the merch is ready Decide set for our final performance, rehearse it back to front in our practice sessions |
Computer
Merchandise |
| 10 | 6/5/19 | Preparation for the music release
Getting music distribution ready, making sure the merch is ready rehearse our pre-planned set for our launch to make sure it is perfect. |
Computer
Merchandise |
| 11 | 13/5/19 | Release finished EP to the public at the college showcase event | Computer
Yet to be confirmed music venue |
| 12 | 20/5/19 | Reflect and evaluate the final performance from the college showcase | computer |