Author: Jonathan Lee

The collaborative play session was more of a relaxed yet fun session. Our module tutor, Gary, touched upon stage presence and its importance on creating a memorable performance.

Key variables of creating good stage presence involved looking closer into :

*Position
*Rotation
*Movement
*Interaction (with group)
*Interaction (with audience)
*Personal engagement with music

In my opinion, this was very helpful in order to remind us to perform for an audience in a way that is not seen like we are just in rehearsals performing in an empty room.

We also tried a fun exercise at the end of the session, where students in the room were randomly picked to play random instruments they haven’t played before. Students were to perform in groups and quickly improvise in front of the class. I believe I can improvise well on the spot so it was interesting to see what others were like in the session.

In this session, we overviewed the assessment brief and what was required of us to pass the module. The assessment was that students had to get into groups and start to prepare themselves to create a 2-3 composition that will be performed live under examination.

My group was made up of :

*Chloe – Bass

*Tanya – Vocals

*Jo – Keys

*Myself – Guitar & Vocals

We then decided as a group to call ourselves Pickle Patrol simply because Tanya’s love for pickles! 🙂

In today’s session, students were given the challenge of doing a map walk. Instructions were that everyone had to get into groups and walk around campus. Students were to write an original song of which the form and texture are informed by the campus walk.

Here is an example of the Map walk:

This week’s session involved students learning about Melody in music and getting a more detailed understanding of how melodic songs are produced. Discussion sectioned different segments of melody such as Rhythm and Pitch which were crucial parts of creating a melodic piece of music.

A task was given to towards the end of the session which instructed students to :

Write an original diatonic melody, in any major key, that contains four two-measure phrases.

Students found this helpful as some did not have as much experience with creating melodies individually before. Unfortunately I was not present through clearing for this session therefore I do not have a recording of my own from the session. However it was interesting to eventually hearing some recordings of others.

Week 3 consisted of students learning about ‘ shape ‘ in music and its crucial role on producing a song. This session involved 2 tasks to complete which revolved around the importance of shape in music and teaching students how to use it.

Task 1 consisted of :

In groups, produce a 2-3 minute song with the following criteria:

• a simple, clear groove
• functional bass line
• simple 3 note melody
• harmonic filler

Task 2 consisted of :

Creating a written analysis of a song of your choice in relation to the
4 textural layers discussed in today’s session. Each distinct section
of the song should be discussed.

This was practiced in the session under the purpose of being able to play ‘shape’ in our own music and take learning into the our benefit of really understanding its crucial role for the listener.

In week 2, the session involved an interactive discussion on how to define the word ‘ song ‘. Students discussed thoughts and opinions of what really a song is in terms of its physical and technical make-up.

The session then continued into talking about AB from in music and what it is. Students were then instructed to get into groups and produce a 2-3 minute song in AB form built on loop variations. Students had to document their work in either recorded video or audio to be listened to later. Unfortunately, I arrived at University through clearing, and therefore was not present at the first couple weeks of the course however, I caught up with what had been covered through the class presentations online.

In the first week of the Songwriting and Performance module, students were introduced to welcoming activities of which involved sharing our names, favourite food and our favourite musical artists when we were younger. These activities were for the pure purpose of getting to know our course-mates slightly better before beginning the term.

The session also looked over the module overview which discussed about focusing on composing and performing original and inventive songs and instrumental music. The session instructed students of what was expected and what was to be met in order to be able to pass the module.

Hi, my name is Jonny Lee and I am a first year student at the University of Gloucestershire studying Popular Music. I am a singer -songwriter, and I am a self taught guitarist of 4 years. I have two singles currently available on all major streaming platforms as well as an upcoming EP that is soon to be released in 2020. This blog will portray the last 12 weeks of the Songwriting and Performance module, including the end of term assessment.