Thursday, April 30, 2020
MY BUSINESS PLAN - DRAFT
This is a draft of my Business Plan. Feedback on this draft, included;
- Cut down Summary
- Add detail to "Have experience teaching" on the slide labelled 'Current Status'
- Re-Word Values - Don't explain them to the audience. Say how you will implement them (values and vision = vision and mission statement)
- For service - discuss some example of experience (When Pitching)
- For market, you've talked broadly. Who, specifically is your target audience right now.
- Finance and Funding screens are a little blurry
- Cut Finance and Funding slides right down; you have good detail on your chart, talk more about it there and have only 1 more slide, if needed.
- Cut down all rule text - No more than 10 lines on ppt - don't make the text smaller.
- Add images throughout
- Can you design the slides to look more like your website?
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Monday, April 27, 2020
Funding
- https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
- https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/ACPG_Music_projects_30072019_0.pdf
- https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/Advice/Your-Career
- https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/Advice/Your-Career/Finance/Crowdfunding
- https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/Advice/Recording-Broadcasting/Session-Musicians/TV-and-Film-Agreements/AGre/BPI-MU-Agreements
- https://encoremusicians.com/hire/violinists
For the funding of my business I looked at loans given by the Arts Council. The arts council have project grants for open applications for music projects from solo artists, bands, orchestras, labels, promoters, managers, concert halls and other live music venues.
What you can apply for
• developing new material
• rehearsing for live events
• performances and showcasing
• touring live shows
• recordings
• making creative digital content such as music videos or live broadcast
• purchasing musical instruments and equipment.
What you cannot apply for
• music recording without appropriate plans to share your work
• activity, such as performances or recordings, where the intention is to make a profit (for example, from ticket or record sales).
• buying musical instruments or recording equipment (including software) without showing artistic development and substantial public benefit from doing so.
• self-promotional activity (including recording and performance) with no clear benefit to the public, either in the short or long term.
My Cash-flow Chart
Income - My plan for funding my business begins with applying for a £5000.00 loan from the arts council. I have also thought about crowdfunding, this has been left as variable as it depends on the amount others are willing to pay. I also chose to put Royalties as variable because it could be a variety of different prices and depends on the other party, etc. After exploring the prices of classical pieces on Itunes, I have chosen to go with £5.99 as this is the pricing for many pieces performed by classical musicians. Most prices rely on how well known you are as a musician (More well known musicians may have more expensive merchandise). I think the costing of my merchandise is considerably much lower than other musicians. I wanted my merchandise to be somewhat low as it is a bit financially easier on the members of my audience and it seems wrong to have your audience pay £20+ for merchandise. CDs aren't really used as much anymore because many people purchase music online or listen to it on platforms such as YouTube or Spotify. As a freelance musician it could be hard to find work and this could mean that I need to do a job on the side. I have chosen teaching as a good second job. The cost of violins lessons is based on how much I pay for violin lessons (I pay £25 for an hour), compared to other local instrumental teachers, this is quite cheap! However, due to recent cuts to Norfolk Music Service, these prices could sadly increase, making it harder for students of families who may be struggling financially, to afford private tuition. Graded examinations are also quite expensive. For example, a Grade 8 examination is £99. After researching, the prices to hire a violinist for a live performance, I chose £180 for 2 hours because it's quite a bit cheaper than the prices of other musicians and I think it would be a good price for starting as a freelance musician. Lastly, I explored the Musician's Union website for the basic prices for a session musician (Seen Below). The amount earned depends on your status within in the orchestra/session.
Outcome - Venues and Travel are both variable as this depends on the destination and the costs of different venues vary. Merchandise Commissions are also variable because they depend on the owner of venues. I have put the price as variable for instrument upkeep because prices can vary based on the make of violin. It can also depend on the strings the musician would want (there's a large selection) and if the bow needs to be re-haired (replace the horse hair of the bow), etc. There are loads of different ways to promote a business, for example albums could be promoted on billboards and songs could be played on radio stations, therefore I chose to set the cost of this at £500. As a way for people to know that I teach lessons, alongside posting online on business accounts (Facebook, etc) I would also promote my lessons in the local paper because some people don't prefer to read the paper than read about stuff online. For royalties as a musician, I would join PRS, which costs £50 to join. Many people like to watch music videos while listening to songs and pieces because it adds to the story behind the it. Creating a budget music video could cost around £1,699..00, but can be more depending on the video you're making. Gear for my business would include a high quality mic, mixer and speakers for gigs, etc. I have chosen to put this at a cost of £500 as this is for the start of the business. Finally, I would pay £250 for instrument insurance. Instrument insurance covers the cost of repairing or replacing your instrument should it get lost, stolen or damaged.
Skills Development - Performance
I think performance is a vital part of my business. As a freelance Musician I could receive offers to perform gigs, etc. However, I also think performing is a big part of being a musician. You could be performing a solo or within an ensemble. Or you may have even composed a piece that will be performed at some point. Every musician at some point in their lives has probably performed.
To develop technique and intonation, I practice each section of the exam as well as my pieces for orchestra and some other pieces that I just enjoy playing.
Below is a video of...me (Please excuse my crazy hair!). In the video, I have playing the Cadenza (basically a solo part) of "Concertino in the style of A. W. Mozart," composed by Hans Millies. If you watch this video, I recommend having your device at a fairly low volume as my phone unfortunately has a rather low quality camera.
At the moment I am preparing for my Grade 8 Violin Examination (due to the virus, it has been postponed until next year - Yes!). I think this is an examination that a large amount of professional musicians have taken. However, there are a number of musicians who haven't taken exams. The exam involves 4 parts; Pieces, Scales, Sight - Reading and Aural. Scales are incredibly important and with practice, can improve intonation.
To develop technique and intonation, I practice each section of the exam as well as my pieces for orchestra and some other pieces that I just enjoy playing.
Below is a video of...me (Please excuse my crazy hair!). In the video, I have playing the Cadenza (basically a solo part) of "Concertino in the style of A. W. Mozart," composed by Hans Millies. If you watch this video, I recommend having your device at a fairly low volume as my phone unfortunately has a rather low quality camera.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Skills Development - Annotating Scores
Annotating scores is a good way to understand what you're playing and to remember techniques or way that make a piece more simpler. I also think annotating scores allows musicians to develop their knowledge of music as a whole and understand different emotions or stories conveyed in pieces by the composer.
Many teachers use annotations to help students learn pieces. For example with the violin (same with most instruments), the teacher may mark fingerings on the scores as a way for students to know where they should be, on the fingerboard. It also helps some children when stickers are placed on certain places of the fingerboard - on a violin I think the amount of stickers usually depend on your grade and how far you would need to go up the fingerboard.
As part of my skills development I have also been trying to learn some harder pieces such as concertos and sonatas. I think getting a professional's point of view on a piece is quite interesting, as there's a good chance they've played a large number of pieces. One of my favourite violinists to learn from is Ray Chen. His YouTube channel contains a number of videos including performances and masterclasses. However, more recently he has begun live - streaming and annotating scores that he has performed in the past, to allow others, worldwide, to learn from his technique.
Many teachers use annotations to help students learn pieces. For example with the violin (same with most instruments), the teacher may mark fingerings on the scores as a way for students to know where they should be, on the fingerboard. It also helps some children when stickers are placed on certain places of the fingerboard - on a violin I think the amount of stickers usually depend on your grade and how far you would need to go up the fingerboard.
As part of my skills development I have also been trying to learn some harder pieces such as concertos and sonatas. I think getting a professional's point of view on a piece is quite interesting, as there's a good chance they've played a large number of pieces. One of my favourite violinists to learn from is Ray Chen. His YouTube channel contains a number of videos including performances and masterclasses. However, more recently he has begun live - streaming and annotating scores that he has performed in the past, to allow others, worldwide, to learn from his technique.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Skills Development - Composing
I have chosen to develop my composition skills because being a freelance musician could mean that I am asked to do a variety of different jobs. As well as writing my own free compositions, I have tried to compose scores of popular songs. For example, I have written a score of 'Good Vibrations' for Strings (As seen below). I composed this score for a video idea, where I would record myself playing each part and then put it together and post it online.
The audio for this score uses MIDI instruments, which unfortunately doesn't make it sound as high definition as real performance of it, but the score itself is pretty close to the song.
Audio for this score can be found here:
I am currently working on a song that I am composing. At the moment the score looks a bit bare, but I will be adding it to a different software.
Another example of things I have composed could be some of the compositions myself and Tudor made for our class's 15 Minute Short Film (Can be heard below). Both pieces were both inspired by different things and the collaboration between me and Tudor meant that both classical and modern ideas were brought to the table. The Montage theme was inspired by film music, such as the work of Howard Shore. Many of the montages from The Lord Of The Rings helped inspire and motivate us to come up with the orchestral type theme. I wanted it to be quite dramatic, so that it engages the audience, but also reflects on the drama within the script itself. On the other hand, the piece titled "Modern Ideas" was inspired by modern songs and modern instrumentation. We wanted to bring Electric Guitars, Bass Guitars and a Drum Kit to give it a more modern approach because the characters in the script (apart from Dave) are quite young.
The audio for this score uses MIDI instruments, which unfortunately doesn't make it sound as high definition as real performance of it, but the score itself is pretty close to the song.
Audio for this score can be found here:
I am currently working on a song that I am composing. At the moment the score looks a bit bare, but I will be adding it to a different software.
Another example of things I have composed could be some of the compositions myself and Tudor made for our class's 15 Minute Short Film (Can be heard below). Both pieces were both inspired by different things and the collaboration between me and Tudor meant that both classical and modern ideas were brought to the table. The Montage theme was inspired by film music, such as the work of Howard Shore. Many of the montages from The Lord Of The Rings helped inspire and motivate us to come up with the orchestral type theme. I wanted it to be quite dramatic, so that it engages the audience, but also reflects on the drama within the script itself. On the other hand, the piece titled "Modern Ideas" was inspired by modern songs and modern instrumentation. We wanted to bring Electric Guitars, Bass Guitars and a Drum Kit to give it a more modern approach because the characters in the script (apart from Dave) are quite young.
Skills Development - Masterclasses
Masterclasses
Masterclasses are specialty classes in which learning objectives are achieved through in-depth practice accompanied by detailed instruction. A masterclass is like an extended practice session, except the focus is specific, and the flow may break for comments and questions.
As part of my skills development, I have been watching a variety of masterclasses held by professional violinists such as Nicola Benedetti and Ray Chen. I have also watched numerous interpretation master classes by Benjamin Zander. I believe this is related to my business idea because masterclasses allow musicians to develop musically and also teaches them how to add emotion to their performances. I don't believe someone would want to hire a musician or watch a performance held by a musician who lacked emotion and didn't allow the pieces to speak. Each piece has a story or idea behind it, when being composed, which should be shown within a performance.
Benjamin Zander
Masterclasses are specialty classes in which learning objectives are achieved through in-depth practice accompanied by detailed instruction. A masterclass is like an extended practice session, except the focus is specific, and the flow may break for comments and questions.
As part of my skills development, I have been watching a variety of masterclasses held by professional violinists such as Nicola Benedetti and Ray Chen. I have also watched numerous interpretation master classes by Benjamin Zander. I believe this is related to my business idea because masterclasses allow musicians to develop musically and also teaches them how to add emotion to their performances. I don't believe someone would want to hire a musician or watch a performance held by a musician who lacked emotion and didn't allow the pieces to speak. Each piece has a story or idea behind it, when being composed, which should be shown within a performance.
Benjamin Zander
In music, Interpretation could include a combination of two things;
1. Interpreting the intentions of the composer by "observing" and "approximating" the musical directions indicated on the score given. This includes all ornamentation and articulation markings. For example, not only do you play p (quiet) or ff (very loud) according to the score where they are shown, you also determine how quiet a passage should be played, given its structural or harmonic context.
2. Applying your own ideas to how you think a piece should sound, in the absence of - or in a strategic opposition to the composer’s intent. For example, if you played different ornamentation to the ones marked on the score. This kind of interpretation requires experience and familiarity with the style of the composer and music during that specific period, so that your playing is consistent with the character of the piece.
I have personally chosen to present the following video, as the piece played is a piece that I am learning for my Grade 8 examination. It is a unaccompanied solo piece, written by Bach between 1717 and 1720.
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