Music Perfomance

BTEC Level 3 Music Performance

For the Music Performance course starting in September, there are four units that are completed over the two years. 

Unit 1 – Practical Music Theory and Harmony 

Unit 2 – Professional Practice in the Music Industry

Unit 3 – Ensemble Music Performance (Year 13 – Exam in June) 

Unit 6 – Solo Performance 

You are being set 3 tasks that you must complete.  Each task relates to Unit 6 – Solo Performance and will require you to be recording yourself performing (either phone or computer recording is fine) that can be uploaded onto a blog in September. 

Task 1:

An important part of performing is the warm-up.  There are many things that you can do to warm up that are both physical to your instrument but also mental to prepare yourself before your performance.  

You need to write down some examples of both physical warm ups that you can do for your instrument (E.G. shoulder shrugs, scales, hand and wrist movements, vocal scales…) and record examples of these, and also some mental warm-ups that you can find (e.g. meditation, Alexandra technique…) and record any examples of these that you use.  

I would like you to discuss at least 5 techniques from both lists and say what you liked about them (how did they help) and what you didn’t like about them (why didn’t they help). 

 This should be at least one physical and one mental warm up a week, and you need to rehearse this warm up for the entire week before practicing your performance in task 2. .  

Task 2: 

You need to record yourself performing a song that you know very well.  This needs to be something that could be performed in front of an audience.  This can be something that we have heard before, or something brand new.  You need to make notes (either word document or within a book – but they MUST BE KEPT FOR SEPTEMBER) on things that you think you performed well within the song.  Do not be modest! You are selling yourself as a performer so if you think you smashed the high notes, an amazing drum fill or an extremely hard guitar solo - say it! 

You then need to go onto YouTube and find two cover versions of this song.  They must be different genres and very different from the version that you have performed.  For example: Rihanna ‘Please don’t stop the music’, a Pop track, compared to Jamie Cullum ‘Please don’t stop the music’ a Jazz track.  You need to perform the two contrasting genres as the cover has done and make notes of things that you found easier/harder.  This does not need to be in full sentences, however, if you could record the small examples of things that you found more difficult/easier, it will make your blog easier in September.

Task 3

The last task that you need to do is coming up with two brand new performance songs that you haven’t looked at before.  These two songs need to be contrasting in their genre.  You need to write down what you find difficult, and ways in which you could improve these difficulties.  You need to be considering:

• How to create a confident performance

• How to be precise in your timing against a backing track/live band

• Interpretation to the musical style (if you are singing a jazz song, don’t make it sound like a pop song)

• How to work out your stage presence to gain audience interaction and give the impression of a confident performer.