Rebecca Keyte Year Two: university process-folio

I initially posted my guitar lesson onto YouTube, my personal Facebook account and a few local music scene Facebook groups, however I wasn’t receiving a lot of engagement. However, I then joined some global Facebook groups based around learning the guitar and posting guitar tutorials, which boosted my engagement significantly! Overall, reactions to my lesson were positive, with people telling me I was very clear! 

Someone did make a laughing face reaction on one group, I’m not sure why! I got some lovely comments though which makes me feel like I’ve done a good job.

Someone international even went out of their way to privately message me to tell me I did a good job! This makes me feel confident that I’ve tackled the Schwartz approach noted in my case study, involving mastering approachability and presenting myself as a friend giving casual advice in order for beginners to feel more comfortable applying themselves.

Someone did call me out for not using capital letters in a post though, so maybe I need to add a tad more professionalism to my casual approach. It’s a difficult border to tread along between approachability and industry standard professionalism, however this is something I plan to research further for next time.

Overall, I feel like my project was a success due to locating my target audience, applying what I’ve learnt from the Marty Schwartz case study, and the positive reactions due to my clear and friendly approach. After reflection, I would definitely use capital letters to seem more professional 😂, and I would love to improve the marketing of my tutorials, for example create a logo and a YouTube channel exclusively for posting them onto. I considered changing the backdrop, however I think the background of my rooms adds to that friendly, casual approach that works so well to make guitar lessons stand out online.

this was the product of my industry research! i shared it to YouTube and some local facebook groups for promotion!

Unfortunately, my VDL Fest project did not go ahead on the scheduled date of May 16th. There are a few reasons to which I think this sadly happened, which have manifested as a learning curve for me within my event planning experience, which I hope will benefit my next event project in the future.

Firstly, the Covid 19 pandemic is coming to an end, therefore the value of virtual events is beginning to fade away.  Despite the evidence of their value gathered in my PVRIS case study and sustainability report, in person, socially distanced gigs have made their comeback, and virtual events have lost much of their relevance. I think this was a huge part of why many of the scheduled acts let me down, because they probably had more seemingly valuable opportunities for in person concerts.

Secondly, all of the acts that were scheduled to play were friends of mine. This can be a positive element to a project, however I feel like this was not the case in the circumstance unfortunately. Every act that made a commitment to play stopped responding to my messages the week of the event, with the exception of Robyn Laura, who had to pull out for a genuine scheduling reason and let me know in advance. I think due to my close personal relationships with these performers, they assumed that the event wasn’t a huge commitment, and that I would let it slide if they suddenly became unavailable or uninterested. Furthermore, their lack of industry standard experience may have contributed towards their poor communication, as these were lesser known performers that I wanted to promote. 

On a more positive note, I performed in Robyn Laura’s event project; the Funky Shirt Gig at the UOG Park Campus, which gave me some insight into what makes a successful, self-ran event! Footage bellow:

https://connectglosac-my.sharepoint.com/personal/s1709637_glos_ac_uk/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fs1709637%5Fglos%5Fac%5Fuk%2FDocuments%2F2021%2D05%2D13%2018%2D39%2D06%2Emkv&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fs1709637%5Fglos%5Fac%5Fuk%2FDocuments&originalPath=aHR0cHM6Ly9jb25uZWN0Z2xvc2FjLW15LnNoYXJlcG9pbnQuY29tLzp2Oi9nL3BlcnNvbmFsL3MxNzA5NjM3X2dsb3NfYWNfdWsvRVpjWTh1YzJWbkJEdnV2ME9yNHJxUlFCa2M1UVdISDlfSjY2R2dLNlVJZC16Zz9ydGltZT1JNU5ZRjB3ZzJVZw

Robyn’s event had clear, industry standard communication via email, whereas I went about casual messages via social media. Making myself seem professional from the beginning would have impacted my event’s outcome significantly for sure. Furthermore, the acts Robyn booked for the event were UOG music students, with an understanding of industry standard professionalism and  commitment. I will be sure to book primarily fellow students in the future, despite wanting my musician friends to gain exposure. The event was both in person and virtual, taking place at the UOG Park Campus, while also being streamed over Twitch. This would have solved a lot of my inclusive sustainability desires and outcomes, while ensuring the event captured the interested of a real life environment simultaneously. Regardless, I had a lot of fun playing at Robyn’s event and learnt a lot that I hope to apply to my future projects!

PVRIS are an American rock band that have been using livestreams through a platform called Pillar to connect with their audience during the Pandemic. They’ve done a total of three streams to far, in which they’ve played the entirety of each of their three albums in each one.

Brought a ticket to the first stream as they’re one of my favourite bands, and it was such an exciting experience! The live chat for the audience to interact almost made it feel like a real gig experience! This is one of the reasons I’ve chosen Discord as the platform to host VDL Fest, due to it’s excellent in-stream chat features.

The livestreams have had overwhelmingly positive reviews, with audience members grateful that artists such as PVRIS have made an effort to connect with live music lovers during these difficult times. Chloe Spinks, an audience member of one of the livestreams stated, 

“Maybe it’s not ideal to do gigs online – the intoxicating energy exchange between the artist and the audience as they feed off of each other dies before it even begins.

 Lynn yelling down the camera “how are you guys feeling?” to be met with complete silence seems like a funny take on what makes a gig a gig. Without an audience, there is a weird energy.

But what can we do about it, would I prefer no gigs at all? Absolutely not, not experiencing live music since March has left a hollowed out portion of my soul and this PVRIS show seemed to be shovelling material into that crevice.

When I first started learning the guitar, I quickly got bored of my classical lessons at school, and started looking up guitar tutorials on YouTube of my favourite songs instead. That’s how I discovered Marty Schwartz, who has been teaching the guitar on YouTube for free since 2005, while promoting his additional paid courses. 

Schwartz was always my go to, virtual guitar teacher throughout my teenage years, and he’s one of the most popular on YouTube, gaining about 7 million views a month!  (Castillo, M. CNBC.com, 2018). This got me wondering, why is he so successful, and how can I apply his techniques to my guitar tutorials for my project?

Marty Schwartz says he has “one lazy student” to thank for his online music career.

Schwartz, who teaches guitar in San Diego, said that in 2005 that student came in for a lesson and for a third straight week couldn’t play the tune he was supposed to be learning.

“I flipped open the camera on my laptop, and I filmed the Jimi Hendrix riff we were working on,”

Schwartz soon realised how useful it was to have a site for large video files. When he was laid off from his job as an elementary school music teacher in 2008, YouTube became a place for Schwartz to post custom lessons for students and a way for people to discover him as a teacher. (Castillo, M. 2018)

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Mastering an instrument isn't easy, but many music instructors will admit it should still be fun. One of the main reasons people give up trying to learn to play an instrument is that lessons tend to be dull. YouTube has changed that however, and a number of musicians are now sharing their passion for playing in videos that are as entertaining as they are informative. 

"My whole mission has been to teach someone to play how I wish someone would have taught me," said guitar instructor Marty Schwartz, who offers free tutorials for beginners as well as paid lessons for those looking to take it to the next level. 

I first tried to learn to play the guitar when I was 13 and was taught out of a book," Schwartz added. "I didn't stick with it, but in high school had some buddies show me in a more casual way. I think I had the wrong introduction so when I started to teach, I decided to teach the way I would have wanted to be taught."  (Suciu, P. Forbes.com, 2020)

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The approach of presenting yourself as just a regular person, as opposed to a formal, academic professional, seems to be a big part of Schwartz’s success. I definitely remember finding him approachable and friendly in his videos when I first discovered him.

Reducing inequalities (Goal 10), is a huge part of what VDL Fest is hoping to cover. The LGBTQ+ community are hugely underrepresented in all areas of music. See the bellow research from Joey Tan.

My event hopes to provide more positive representation and visibility to the LGBTQ+ community in the music industry!

Furthermore, my event hopes to be inclusive towards live music fans that may not have the facilities required to usually attend conventional, in person, live music events. For example, a wheelchair user might not be able to attend some live music events due to ramps not being available. 

“More than three million disabled people attend a concert every year and disabled music fans make up 11% of the live music audience, according to government statistics.” (Savage, M. BBC News, 2019)

VDL Fest is being broadcasted live, for anyone with an internet connection to enjoy within the comfort of their own home. This will allow physically or mentally disadvantaged listeners to have an equal quality of participation as everyone else involved, which sadly isn’t always the case in many live music environments.

Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), relates significantly to my guitar teaching project. Learning a musical instrument has been scientifically proven time and time again to have a multitude of overwhelming health benefits, both mentally and physically. 

A few examples include strengthening memory and reading skills, increased multi sensory skills, improved happiness, reducing stress and depression, increasing blood flow in the brain, and so much more! (Rampton, J. Inc.com, 2017)

My guitar tutorials and future music teaching plans will encourage all of these positive impacts throughout the lives of the people that I reach!

Goal 4, (quality education) links into this project too, as music is an important, yet often overlooked aspect of education. Music education has helped many previously disengaged, disadvantaged and academically struggling students ignite a passion for learning. 

For example, a primary school in a deprived part of Bradford went from a failing school to success story, due to a decision to rebuild its curriculum around music. Pupils at the school now have three hours of music timetabled into their school week, with many pupils choosing to do doing up to eight hours a week by joining clubs after school. After this transformation, the school  is now in the top 10% of schools in England when it comes to progressing children's learning in core subjects like maths and English, despite being in an area that deals with high levels of crime and poverty. (Shaw, D. BBC News, 2018)

more than the environment, must work for everyone

Planet - People - Profit

Accessibly and sustainability can often damage profit

Need to be aware of these ideas

Sustainability Resources:

Vision 2025

Julie’s Bicycle

Live music vs recorded

I absolutely love this performance because of how genuinely happy both Mac and Ariana look while performing. They're both making each other giggle and they look like they're having so much fun! It feels very intimate and their chemistry is adorable!

The band are tight and the mix sounds amazing, I especially love how clear and sharp the brass sounds. Mac usually puts on a bit of a silly, slurred voice while singing, but this is one of the few performances where I've seen him sing really authentic-ly and beautifully.

They're both dancing very casually and seem into the music and the moment, I love that they're not trying to put on a huge show, they're just vibing.

The stage starts off with a very mellow red light, but slowly turns into pink when Ariana comes onstage, it's subtle but beautiful!

Overall, the performance makes me feel warm and fuzzy!

The studio version of the song doesn't have the brass instruments, that I think really add an extra level flavour to the track. The live instruments give the song an extra level of soul that the studio version is lacking, and this is the case with a lot of Mac Miller's live performances and the main reason I end up loving his live versions more than the studio ones.

Mac is heavily influenced by soul music, which tends to use organic instruments rather than electronic, therefore his music naturally tends to have a better delivery when performed live with band members. I also think that the live drums suit the track a lot better than the electronic drum-kit and claps on the original, it adds an extra dimension to the track. Additionally, I prefer the live guitar tone to the studio guitar, as it sounds a lot more organic.

As I mentioned previously, Mac sings in an exaggerated, slurred voice is most of his performances and recordings, and that it the case on the studio version of this track. Although I love it and it suits the feel for the album, I do prefer his vocals in the live version because it sounds more authentic.

I do really enjoy the smooth, pulsing bass in the studio version though! It's a very unique sound.