For my initial assessment, I chose the song, “Where did you sleep last night” played by Nirvana at MTV unplugged 1993. I chose this song because since the moment I heard it I loved it, I’ve always wanted to learn it but i could never find the correct tabs for it, especially the notes played between chords changes and when I finally found it, I had to learn it. It took me a while but I finally got it down.
This went well because I played along to the song and stayed in time most of the way through, I did go really out of time at the start of the song but I quickly realised and went back in time. I think I did well on the different parts of the songs that go quieter and louder but i haven’t learned the little finger picking bit that he does in the quieter parts.
To improve my performance of this song, I could learn the structure of the musical changes and knowing when it goes louder and more aggressive and when it calms down to less aggressive strumming. I can achieve this by practicing more and rehearsing it alongside the song. I can alsolearn how to sing the song and to do so i need to learn the lyrics.
^^^the song i used to learn the structure and how he plays it^^^
SMART TARGETS;
Target 1:
Specific,
To use more dynamic changes in the rhythm and tone of the guitar while playing.
Measurable,
I will be able to measure this by practicing it more and videoing myself and listening back to it.
Achievable,
This is achievable because I have practiced dynamic changes before and gotten used to some dynamic changes in other songs.
Relevant,
It is relevant to my skills as I play guitar and I want to become a songwriter so I want to create good pieces of music.
Time-based,
I don’t really have a set time frame but I would like to keep improving on this as I continue through the projects and also after I’ve left and heading into the career of music.
Target 2:
Specific,
Singing, in the right key for this song.
Measurable,
It is measurable because I can ask for others opinions on it and see what their opinions are and I can ask my vocal tutor Eric to listen and tell me where i need to take this.
Achievable,
I believe this achievable because I used to sing when I was younger but I gave up as I got older.
Relevant,
It is relevant to me because as a songwriter I want to be able to sing my own songs and also covers to expand my field of knowledge and better my performance skills.
Time-based,
Once again, I don’t really have a time frame but I do at some point want to feel comfortable singing and maybe even singing in front of people too because I am really shy and insecure about my voice.
Target 3:
Specific,
learning how to switch between normal chords, extended chords and just a few notes between the chords without fret buzz and missing notes.
Measurable,
This is measurable because I will be able to tell when I play smoother and don’t hear buzzing when switching chords.
Achievable,
This is achievable because I have already improved massively on playing barre chords which I did by doing a lot of practice.
Relevant,
This is relevant because my ability to play the song and other songs will make my playing sound better and to a higher standard.
Time-based,
I would like to get better at this overtime but i would like to have improved on this specific song by Christmas time this year.