1.

1 A Statement of personal
aims

External assessment Brief

Brief
Your school is hosting a showcase for parents
and governors. You have been asked to
provide a 10-15 minute performance
appropriate to the event.

Introduction

I played my first instrument, which was the violin, when I

was in year 3, and carried on playing violin for the next 3
years until year 6. I stopped due to there being no violin
lessons at my chosen secondary school. In year 8 I
decided to take clarinet lessons since it was a good
financial deal. During year 9 for Christmas I got an electric
keyboard and an electric drum set. I am presently
practicing on my keyboard often, and use my clarinet
from time to time. For year 9 summer holidays I attended
an every Saturday music centre, called Brookfield music
centre. This is where I improved my teamwork skills by
performing in an orchestra. For my 16 th birthday I gained a
violin as a present from my mother. Since I had a violin
again I thought to try independent lessons using Youtube
and violin study books. Once I chose my GCSEs, I found
out that I could do vocals. Soon after this became my
strength out of all instruments. To this day I play piano,
keyboard, clarinet and vocals.

Statement of Personal Aims

My main goal is for a successful and perfect performance

with no mistakes and to complete a performance that
takes between 10 and 15 minutes because its required in
the exam. The feelings of positivity I hope to travel to the
audience so they have a good time while watching my
performance. I want the audience to notice when and
where the dynamics are My posture needs to be perfect
as well as the timing, tempo and pitch. When using the
instrument of my voice, my goal is to not let my voice
break and the timing of my breathing needs to be right.
Since the event will take place in the hall, I have to aim to
be louder than I normally am when performing otherwise
my music will not get to the whole audience. I can play
the clarinet, therefore I have decided to play a piece using
my clarinet, which is called Ave Maria with a piano
accompaniment. I will know when Ive done this right
because I control my clarinet so I know when Im adding in
my dynamics. Also the music sheet will be in front of my
so Ill know the timing of the breathing and dynamics.
Mainly my strength is my vocals, and not my clarinet.
Overall, my main aim, as a vocal performer, is to connect
and interact with the audience.

What skills do I use in my performance?

Planning out what pieces I am able to perform is

significant for my performance in order to make it
flawless. One of my key skills is high notes. Knowing
exactly where and when my high notes are is what partly
makes the performance a success.
Memorising the lyrics is a key point in performing
successfully. I am able to successfully memorise the lyrics,
therefore getting good results in my performance.
Knowing the lyrics will also boost my confidence fully,
because I know exactly what to do in each part of my
performance. Fortunately I have a skill for memorising the
lyrics of my chosen piece fast. This will help improve on
making my real performance successful because I will
gain more confidence since I know my lyrics.
Working in a three is one of my skills as well, because I
am good at performing in a trio with the right timing and
tempo. I am naturally better working in a group then I am
individually. This will help with the group performances I
have in the show. This is because I will gain more
confidence if I know that there are others on stage with
me.
How will I know if Ive achieved it?

I know that I will achieve it through good practice and

being committed to practicing for my performance to go
smoothly. However to understand where Im at, my
instrument tutor and music teacher will observe and
analyse my attitude towards my method to work and
improve on these skills. Asking my tutor or teacher is vital
in order to perform my skills well, because then doing this
will let me know the things that I should focus on first.
Using a notebook is also significant because I will have
record of what I thought to improve on and how I did it.
This shows organisation involved for my performance to
be successful to show that I aim to get a good result in
this performance.

How will I meet the expectations of the

audience?

Meeting the expectations of the audience is very

important because itll boost my confidence during my
performance and the music I will choose will suit the
audiences preferences. In order to keep the audience
entertained, I must choose at least 5 interesting songs to
keep the audiences attention. However its not just about
the music, it is also the style of appearance I decide to
look like. Dressing smartly is crucial because I am
performing on stage in front of adults who are teachers
and governors. Also this creates my personality in the
audiences eyes. Dressing smartly in a black dress for
example would be good, because it looks professional and
it sets a good example image for the younger generation.
Acting professional on and off stage is what I need to do
to show the audience my sensibility and focus on the
show.

Planning for the performance

The requirements of the brief and how to
meet them:

The brief explains that a maximum of 15 minutes can be

performed in the live show. In order to meet the
requirements, I need to understand that I have to look
smart, professional and appropriate in order to show the
audience my commitment to my performance. My
appearance needs to match with the songs I will be
performing; otherwise it wouldnt look suitable for the
personality I will be creating on the stage. Showing a
variety of skills will help me keep the attention of the
audience, because a show must always have an inspired
audience.

What are my intentions?

I intend to aim for success and achieve the requirements.

In order to do this, I must make sure that I know
everything there is to know about my performance,
including lyrics, dynamics and the order in which my
songs go in. The most significant intention is setting
everything up, otherwise I cannot perform and I cannot
get the required grades. I have to cover a minimum of 10
minutes because its required in the brief. I intended to
sing my songs with confidence and pride because of my
skills I have in order to succeed in this show.

How will I do it?

In order to satisfy the requirements of the brief, I need to

practice my songs until I am confident enough that I can
achieve my target grades. Singing songs require emotion,
and in order to give out this emotion I must use my body
language and facial expression with a hint in the way I
sing. This will help give these emotions to the audience,
which will gain some marks in the exam. I need to be
confident with setting up the tech which involves the use
of an SM58 diaphragm mic, a mic stand and running the
xlr lead into the sound system. We will also be using a
fold back PA on stage which means I can hear the piano or
the backing track, and myself which will help the timing of
my work.

Whos involved?

I dont need a variety of people to help me perform the

best I can, but only a few. I will need Mrs Humphries for
the first song of the show and the one of the trio
performances. My first song is Hymn for the Weekend
and the group performance I need to use Mrs Humphries
in Little Talks. Since I am using only vocals, I have asked
Aimee Jones to play the ukulele for three songs, and Cody
Miller to play the piano for the same three songs as well.
This will help improve my voice to give out more
emotions. I will need to use Mr Davis to set up the stage
for the show, like the microphones, the position of the
piano and microphone for the piano.

Repertoire to cover the minimum 10 minutes

To double check that the full 10 minutes are covered, I

have planned out to use a timer and do this performance.
I will do this several times to make sure that my songs
together dont go under the minimum or over the
maximum. I will count the amount of step I take to get on
and off the stage; however it will also be in the timer. I do
not need to think about bringing the microphone up to my
height because it will stay at my preferred height for the
whole performance. The songs that I have chosen should
definitely add up to between 10-15 minutes because I
have checked many times that all my songs will add up to
at least 10 minutes.

Style and Image

Finding a style that would suit my appearance and will

create a personality for the audience is very significant to
this performance. I will experiment with a variety of songs
in different styles to show versatility of my vocal skills in
my performance. All songs suit my appearance and style
for the live show, despite the different styles and genres.
Hymn for the Weekend is my first chosen piece, and I
chose this because when I first heard this song I was
inspired and I thought this was a beautiful piece that I had
to play it. The hardest part of this song is the last section
when I have to sing Now we shoot across the sky,
because I have to hold the last word for 2 bars, and its a
high note. Therefore I have to breath at the right times.
My favourite piece is This is Gospel by Panic! At the
Disco because the chorus has a high pitch and loud
dynamics. This note is the longest and highest note I have
to sing in this piece.
I mainly perform in a trio, with the same people. Most of
my songs involve Cody and Aimee, because the songs I
have chosen involve other instruments. All my songs are
in the category of Pop, and this shows my personality
and style to the audience.
Appearance represents my style as well because it
reflects the mood and atmosphere of the songs I will
perform. I should wear smart clothing, because it shows
my professionalism and my focus to this performance. Im
also showing the effort I put in for the live show.

Rehearsal Schedule

I have planned exactly how and when to use my spare

time to write, practice and perform for the upcoming
event. I will use all my spare time in lessons to put effort
and improvements into my skills and practice. Whenever I
have time and permission to use the music equipment
and the hall, I will set up the stage and perform using my
phone to time my performance.

What resources will I need?

The resources that I will need and should have are a

microphone, including a microphone stand. When playing
Aimee will need a microphone for her ukulele and Cody
will need a different kind of microphone for the piano. This
is so the audience will be able to hear them as the
microphone helps echo the sound throughout the hall.
Health and safety

With this performance I need to think about some health

and safety issues to prevent getting injured during the
performance. Wires are the most common for a small trip
onto the floor causing cuts and bruises. To prevent this
from happening, I will separate the wires on the floor and
untangle them to make sure they are out of the way.
When setting up the stage in my spare time I must keep
doing this action for the real show. I also must make sure
that the levels are set appropriately on the mixing desk so
that the level is not dangerously high, which would result
in a very unpleasant sound and also feedback.

Conclusion

Overall, I intend to perform a 10-15 minute show with a

list of songs that show emotion. I will improve my vocals,
staging and timing with no mistakes or injuries. I must do
research to learn more about the artist and the song itself.
This is a live show, which means it is important that
everything goes as planned and I and my fellow musicians
are well prepared.