A1 Professional identities within the music industry
A1 Professional identities within the music industry
I am going to be a singer songwriter because I have a passion for singing, this started when I was about 5 this was because my mum and dad used to love singing and playing instruments and I used to sing along with them, these songs were indie with a hint of Motown and a lot of rock, bright eyes, Fleetwood mac (Stevie nicks especially) I still have a playlist from these times. I write my own songs because I believe having originality in music is a fantastic way to be noticed and, it is a unique way of expressing who you are. meanwhile I can also play two separate instruments which are piano and guitar, I can play these quite confidently, which came come in extremely handy for song writing. I have been singing for countless years now and believe that it is something I am extremely passionate about and something I would most definitely like to pursue in the future. Having a professional identity is a clear image of your values and respect towards things in your profession. A prime example of this would be Conor Oberst, formally associated with the band bright eyes. He has been in many bands and has a very indie style of music and is well respected in the indie scene.
Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes case study:
Introduction:
There has always been a need for emotion in music, in the last decade the conversation surrounding mental health awareness has grown exponentially due to the internet however, it’s still considered as a grey area to talk about feelings and emotions and many people can not afford to go to therapy. Therefore, one of the only outlets that people have been able to connect to as an accessible way to free their mind of any lingering sadness is music, there has always been a massive stigma against any form of music that could be considered as ‘emo’ because the term has often been used as a weapon of musical patholigisation however, what really gets lost within the conversation surrounding the term is why there was a need for that form of music to begin with. As the label ‘emo’ gradually got more popular, meaning and relatability behind the music began to fade however there was one artist whose music still carried substance and was relatable to listeners and that was Nebraska based alternative-indie folk musician Conor Oberst.
Background:
Oberst is best known for being the brains behind the alternative indie band ‘Bright Eyes’ along with a considerable solo discography too. Oberst grew up in Omaha Nebraska and started playing in bands from the age of 13 years old, the first ‘Bright Eyes’ record was a collection of songs that Oberst had written and recorded from 1995 to 1997 their following album ‘letting off the happiness’ was produced by Mike Mogus from a band called lullaby of the working class. Oberst’s older brother Justin started a label alongside Mogus by the name of Saddlecreek records in Omaha to assist local musicians in getting their feet off the ground.
Bright Eyes:
The Bright Eyes line-up consisted of Oberst, Mogus as well as composer and multi-instrumentalist Nate Walcott and occasional bassist Stephanie Drootin. The first few Bright Eyes albums had a very Lo-Fi garage soundscape, the main selling points of these albums were the dark yet relatable lyrics and Oberst's signature creaky, slightly traumatized sounding vocals that were often dragged out over each syllable. The breakout record for Bright Eyes as a band was their 2000s record ‘Fevers and Mirrors’ a much more polished sounding record with Oberst's vocals at the forefront rather than obscured by the Lo-Fi mixing. This era of Bright Eyes’ music drew inspiration from bands such as ‘Neutral Milk Hotel’ and ‘Cursive.’ ‘Fevers and Mirrors’ tackles a plethora of themes related to loss, trauma, failed relationships, and adolescent malaise, the opening track ‘a spindle, a darkness, a fever, and a necklace’ opens with a child's voice reading from a children's book however looking at the section this is taken from has grim subject matter as it depicts a scene where a protagonist is telling a friend that they are leaving them.
Sources:
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a way to evaluate your personal qualities externally and internally and a fast was to tell what a person will be like to work with.
STRENGTHS
| WEAKNESSES
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OPPORTUNITIES
| THREATS
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Personal qualities
My personal qualities would be, I am incredibly determined, I will strive to meet my goals and dreams and will not be stopped until I do so. Another personal quality would be I am incredibly open minded to new music, new styles, new opportunities, new genres, and new ideas people may have for me. When it comes to my music I am also greatly focused, I practice more that 10 hours a week with not only my singing, but I also practice getting better on guitar, which is currently going very well, and my piano which I have known for many years. Furthermore, I am quite musically and creatively inclined, which helps an awful lot with my song writing and preforming.
From personal firsthand experience of my organization skills, I would say that my skills in this field are on point, although I am working to make them better and more frequent as these skills can be a bit up and down depending on what events have happened on the day. My professional etiquette is ample at this moment in time as I am rarely late to practice unless it is something I cannot help, I.e., traffic. Bus times being late. I will be working on this momentarily and soon by getting an earlier bus. I would say I confidently understand the expectations people have for me and try my hardest to fulfil them, although, personally, I believe I could improve on this by completing everything that people expect me to. My digital footprint I would say could be better, I have posted a YouTube video of me preforming a cover song by Paramore, hard times, and it got 400 views and my Instagram account has 1000+ followers although I do not have any links to my music profile on their as I struggle with showing my professional identity, I am not the best with self-promotion. I struggle with finding the confidence to reach out to company's and booking things in case they shut me down and just me. I will perform at an open mic night, that type of confidence does not bother me, it is asking for things from people in case they think I am asking for too much. Undergoing and completing this unit has helped me to get more comfortable and better at these skills and made me more able to fit it into a box. It has helped me be more confident with being more out there with my genres and styles.
Working in a team
I work well in a team; I have been in many organizations and situations that need to have teamwork. A prime example of my teamwork ability would be that I was in the brownies and girl guide association, to be a part of this association you must work incredibly well in a team, whether it be for charity work team building exercises or annual camp, everything you do is in a team. Another example is the fact that I have always preferred being in a band rather than solo, this is because, with the right dynamic and the right attitude, all can go extremely well and the result of a band with good teamwork is incredible.
The requirements of the genre I personally prefer to sing is that you need to have quite a thick skin and be quite confident in yourself, I prefer to preform indie/rock, and with this genre comes quite a bit of negative attention as the genre is quite acquired to taste meaning not everyone loves it. Expanding on this, a lot of people in this genre dress alternative and gothic, this would not make me change my identity as I already dress like this and I have a fronting “I don’t care what you have to say, I am me” attitude, which in this scene, really fits in. On the other hand, if I were doing pop music I would have to dress in the current trend's styles and big brands and my attitude would have to be “girl boss.”
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