Benchmark Assessment Response Form I would like you to self-assess your recent Benchmark Performance.

How did the performance go? What mistakes did you make? What went well? How can you make this performance better? I would also like you to respond to the feedback I provided. Do you agree? How can you address the issues I identified? You need to complete this task for each piece you performed. NAME : Calum Patrick Title of Piece: To Be Someone Self-Assessment I think the first song went well, I kept the rhythm consistent throughout, but I think I need to change the strumming pattern, for some parts of the songs, either pre-chorus or the chorus. I did make a few mistakes, I got the lyrics muddled up occasionally and there were also a couple of places where I dropped the strumming. I agree with the feedback given, that the rhythm is a bit repetitive, thats why Im going to change the strumming pattern. I also agree with the tuning issues with my vocals. I may decide to get someone else to singpossibly. I might decide to make up an intro, a rift, or some quick chord changes just to make it more exciting. Targets To change/make up a different strumming pattern for the chorus. Possibly get a singer. Make up an intro. Title of Piece: Songbird Self-Assessment The song started off fine, but I found keeping the strumming at a consistent tempo difficult, but I think I can blame that on being ill, as my bones hurt. Timing was also an issue; I kept missing the start of a line and had to wait for the next bar to continue. I may have to put a capo on to change the key. Once again I agree with the feedback as hes bigger than I am, and Ive made the necessary adjustments. Targets To work on timing. Find a more suitable key.

Title of Piece: Goodbye Kiss Self-Assessment This was definitely my weakest song. I just had enough after performing the other two songs; I was really tired. My chord changes throughout wasnt very good, they were jerky. Again the strumming pattern needs work. At the end of the verse, there is a quick chord sequence I need to practice and implant that in. That should make it more exciting. I agree with feedback given. I think the main thing that I need to do is to practice it more and I think it should be better then. Targets To rehearse it more. Learn and implant a quick chord change sequence. Adjust the strumming pattern. Evaluation of Recital As A Whole (Contrasting? Duration? Balanced programme? Entertaining?) The pieces are contrasting, Songbird is faster and more upbeat compared to the other two, are more melancholy so they contrast. Its a bit short in duration, I need to add another song to make it up to 12 minuets. I think I have a balanced programme as the first song sets the mood. The second song brings the mood up and the third is a heart breaker so it should make the audience feel sorry for me. Targets To be healthier so I can put more energy into my performance. To find another song to make it up to the necessary 12 minuets. And I really need to work on my strumming.

Benchmark Assessment Response Form I would like you to self-assess your recent Benchmark Performance. How did the performance go? What mistakes did you make? What went well? How can you make this performance better? I would also like you to respond to the feedback I provided. Do you agree? How can you address the issues I identified? You need to complete this task for each piece you performed. NAME : Edward Hale Title of Piece: Sweet Child O Mine Self-Assessment The intro of this song has to be one of the most important parts of the song. It is essential that I perfect this part. To be honest, it is not a difficult riff, it is just very hard to perfect. I thought I did the intro at a good level with only minor mistakes, the biggest problem I heard I think was the G or note number five of this riff. I believe I didnt hold the note long enough compared to the original. As for the verse, there is not much guitar playing involved, it just revolves around the D,C and G chord so not very complicated. The other mistake I noticed was during the chorus I played the riff wrong, it was mainly due to nerves and silly mistakes. The solo I thought went quite well but I could have done better, the bit on the rhythm pickup was almost perfect apart from one major over bend which really needs to be sorted out. When the wah solo kicks in there was already mistakes I made at the start, the other mistake was the bit when you run up the E minor scale, I did not play it as legato as I should have. This was mainly due to me not practicing this part as much as I should have. The outro was more or less an improvisation mainly based around the E aeolian mode, It sounded fine but perhaps I should provide a better structure for the outro. I thought my performance was worth a merit for my first try.

Targets In order to get a distinction I need to: Focus on the intro and make it perfect Practice various bending and picking exercises Review the solo and practice each bit individually. I agree with Mr Hoods target on burning a CD

Title of Piece: Starry Night Self-Assessment This piece is a very sooth and easy flowing piece. I thought I played the song right but the sound I chose for the song was far to sharp, it is a very legato style song and the sound and way I played was more staccato, that is a sound I need to change. There is not much to this song, in fact this is very easy compared to most of Satrianis but despite this there were still some minor mistakes. This is probably because I really learnt the song by ear, I should look up the tab for this song and polish off any wrong notes. The solo again was learnt by ear so there could be some mistakes there, as well as this it is a very awkward solo to play as it is so high up the fret board, very easy to hit wrong notes. The last part of the solo was like knifes on my fingers! I couldnt do the bend right as it is a one and a half note bend on the twenty second fret, this is a D note all the way to an F, this would be something Id have to practice (or I could just get a 24 fret guitar then it would just be a half bend!). The final part is a picking part, until now I never realised I was playing a wrong note (again learnt by ear). The final solo was a complete off the top improvisation in C major, it could have sounded better so I should perhaps write my own outro. However its on its way. Like sir said the timing maybe was slightly off bit this was due to the poor backing.

Targets To get a D: Sort out the sound (play more smooth) Look up the song (tabs) Again sort out the string bends

Title of Piece: Black Rose Self-Assessment A well chosen song I thought. It mixes classic rock with Irish folk, something that I dont think has been done before. The intro riff and verse showed to be no problem as they are just simple power (5th chords).

When the first solo came in I just failed! The first few seconds I blanked out and played it wrong. Thankfully I get back into the song quickly. The solo seemed to go pretty well with only minor mistakes. Like Sir said the timing of this song is very unique and requires a lot of good timing skills and hearing, if you dont have this skill it sounds terrible but if you do have these skills it sounds great. The fast part was very awkward to play, not because of its speed but actually the opposite, you actually play faster than you should, also you have to be in perfect timing with the backing.

Targets To get a D: Dont let nerves get to me Dont make mistakes on easy parts Master timing skills Master G major scale (all modes)

Evaluation of Recital As A Whole (Contrasting? Duration? Balanced programme? Entertaining?) All in all I thought these chosen pieces work very well together. Its a contrast of classic rock, virtuoso playing and Irish folk a great mix. I hope the audience will find this entertaining as I think all pieces are very good to listen to and enjoyable. The duration was about 15 mins which I guess is managable, Stairway to heaven would have been about 4 mins longer. The order of the pieces couldnt be better than what Ive chosen. Start with a well known fast and loud pieces, then do a soft easy listening pieces and the finish with something the audience wouldnt expect. However to get a D these pieces must be perfected its better to play an easy piece perfect than a hard piece bad, if I still have problems I may have to change my pieces.

Targets The only target I can think is just to practice these pieces as much as possible. If I do change a song, Ill do another instrumental as they sound great, perhaps something by Steve Vai (For the Love of God).

Benchmark Assessment Response Form I would like you to self-assess your recent Benchmark Performance. How did the performance go? What mistakes did you make? What went well? How can you make this performance better? I would also like you to respond to the feedback I provided. Do you agree? How can you address the issues I identified? You need to complete this task for each piece you performed. NAME : Georgia Williams Title of Piece: Im no good- Amy Winehouse. Self-Assessment Personally I think that this song went really bad, as I didnt know most of the words and how the song went off by heart, which you can tell because I made quite a few mistakes. I mostly mess up on the end of the verses so thats what I need to focus on the most. The way I think I can make this performance better Is by getting to know the song and practice more so I will know when to go high and low and the pace of the words. Targets Practice the song more at home so I get to know it better to the point that I think I feel confident singing it and not make any mistakes, I also need to practice the end of the verses because thats where most of my mistakes were. Title of Piece: Halftime- Amy Winehouse. Self-Assessment I feel that this song also went really bad, I do know this song and the words It just need a lot more work on it to know when the high parts are and low parts are. As I started the song on a wrong note it threw me off for the rest of the song as I made more mistakes throughout it. I also went wrong on the high notes on the last verse as my voice was not warmed up and I had a blocked nose that day, although I made a lot of mistakes the timing for the song was fine. Targets I need to practice more so I know when the high and low parts of the song are so I wont make any mistakes and feel confident.

Title of Piece: Im not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with youBlack Kids. Self-Assessment This song went ok compared to the other two as I enjoy singing this one it gave me more confidence but as I didnt know the way the song went again I made lots of mistakes not in pitch as I made a wrong not it was just that I sang the wrong words at the wrong time. Since doing this performance I have worked on the song and worked out when Im meant to go high towards the end of the song and the right words. Targets

To practice more and get it to the point where I am comfortable with singing it and for it to be perfect. Evaluation of Recital As A Whole (Contrasting? Duration? Balanced programme? Entertaining?) as a whole I think the it went terribly wrong as I made many mistakes as I didnt have much time to practice the song as I only chose them less than an hour before I sang the song. I think the order I am doing my song in is good because the song that is fairly slow is the middle song and I start and end with a fun song. I also think it will be entertaining as not everyone might know the songs that I am singing and will enjoy something new. Targets Work a lot on my songs so I know the harmonies and the words, once I know the songs I will be more confident and will be able to perform them to my best abilities.

Benchmark Assessment Response Form I would like you to self-assess your recent Benchmark Performance. How did the performance go? What mistakes did you make? What went well? How can you make this performance better? I would also like you to respond to the feedback I provided. Do you agree? How can you address the issues I identified? You need to complete this task for each piece you performed. NAME: Ilora Anderson Title of Piece: Amy Winehouse - Valerie Self-Assessment I think this is a good way to start my performance off as the song itself has an exciting upbeat backing track and its very quirky. I think I need too sing the first line of the song with more power to make sure I get it right from the beginning. I also think that during the song I could improve my vocals near the chorus and make these a bit more powerful as this is the main part of the song. This song my favourite song to sing out of the three I have chosen due to it being a song where I am able to sing it whilst having fun and as it is the first song in my performance it allows my confidence to show from the beginning. I dont think I had many pitching errors during this song as it matches the key that I am used to singing in. I am going to work on singing the ending of the song where I repeatedly sing the valerie as in a few of them I feel that I lacked enthusiasm and sounded lazy where as I needed to sound more exciting and powerful. This is an area that I need to improve and work on in the next few months. But overall I feel this was my best performance. Targets - Rehearse more and upload single videos singing different verses and the occasionally the whole song. - Practice making my voice stronger in certain parts of the song. - Regular practices on the end of the song where I need to make changes. Title of Piece: Laura Jansen Use Somebody Self-Assessment I think the positioning of this song is good as it is straight after a song that is the complete opposite to this one. Which shows that I am able to vary my voice and sing different types of songs. The start of this song is strong and I am happy with it. However as it goes on I lose the timing on one line during the song, which brought me down to the lower mark. This is something I need to work on, as I will need to listen to the backing track to ensure I come in at the right time throughout the whole performance. A way to improve this song is to also vary the dynamics in my voice a bit more, going quieter at certain points and building it back up so that it really shocks my audience and draws them in, this would also show an emotional journey. I feel the pitch is also accurate in the majority of this song it is just the timing and the dynamics that I feel brought my mark down. Targets - Listen to timings in the song to ensure that the performance is performed smoothly.

Work on the chorus to make it stronger in certain points. Work on dynamics in my voice during parts of the song to make it more emotional to draw the audience. Practice higher notes on a regular basis.

Title of Piece: Fergie Big Girls Dont Cry Self-Assessment I am happy about finishing with this song, as the song is very unique with timings such as the chorus being upbeat and the verses being calm. The start of this song started strong and I feel I had accurate pitch considering this is sung in a different key to what I comfortable with. Matt and I have done our own interpretation of this as at certain parts of this song we choose to perform slightly faster compared to the original. I need to work on timings for this song so I am 100% comfortable when singing it rather than being worried about not getting parts right. This also needs to be practiced more often as a mistake was made and the wrong lyrics was sang, this unfortunately was the reason that my mark was lower as I stopped singing. However I do like challenge this song has on my voice. I need to work on the ending of this song to make sure that I sing my best throughout the whole performance as I lacked effort during the end. Targets - Work on timings. - Practice more.

Evaluation of Recital As A Whole On a whole I am quite happy with my performance as when it has been regularly rehearsed I feel that it could be quite entertaining and enjoyable. The songs I have chosen contrast with eachother as it goes on a rollercoaster starting with an upbeat quirky song then followed with a slower emotional song to then bring them back up to a song that is half upbeat and half slow. My songs also add up to about 11:56 but a way I am able to make it a little bit longer is to hold big notes. Targets - Work on timings for all songs. - Rehearse them more and do more frequent videos!!!

Benchmark Assessment Response Form I would like you to self-assess your recent Benchmark Performance. How did the performance go? What mistakes did you make? What went well? How can you make this performance better? I would also like you to respond to the feedback I provided. Do you agree? How can you address the issues I identified? You need to complete this task for each piece you performed. NAME : Jack Dickinson Title of Piece: Father Time Self-Assessment As a whole the performance went smoothly as only two mistakes were made and the dynamics were all audible (even in the quieter parts of the piece). I made a mistake at around 1:20 where I didnt play a note (when two should have been played, I missed one of them), in bar 28 where I had the timing wrong and I need to be careful of my staccatos (which were almost inaudible in the quieter parts of the piece). I could make this performance better by making sure the mistakes dont happen again and making sure Ive set up properly so I dont have any false starts. I agree with the feedback, as Mr Hood is a musical genius and noticed the mistake in bar 28, however failed to notice the mistake in bar 15. I can address the issues identified by practicing the pieces further as part of my Practise, Practise, Practise! unit.

Targets Correct the timing in bar 28 , practise the piece further to prevent false starts (due to not setting up correctly) and make sure my staccatos are audible.

Title of Piece: Minuet From LArlesienne Self-Assessment Again, the performance went smoothly as few mistakes were made and the piece was audible. I made a mistake at the very start where I accidentally pressed a key during the introduction, changing the chord. I also missed out another note around 5:02. I could improve the performance by making sure the mistakes dont happen again and by making sure that the piece doesnt get too quiet in areas (like it did around 5:13 and 5:32). I agree with the feedback and need to be careful about my acciaccaturas in the quieter parts as they sound more like appoggiaturas and make sure my dynamics dont fluctuate too much (when playing a crescendo one note isnt quieter than the previous ones). I can address the issues in the same way as I will address them for Father

time, by practicing the piece in my Practise, practise, Practise! blog.

Targets Keep dynamics stable during diminuendos and crescendos, improve on playing acciacaturas and practise the piece to reduce the chance of making mistakes.

Title of Piece: Sicilienne Self-Assessment This performance went very well as I made one mistake (near the end) and the rest of the piece was fluent and well articulated. I made a mistake around 10:42 where I was a bit slow in playing a note. I could make this piece better by being more careful with my dynamic changes, as I feel as some points I increased the volume to rapidly. I agree with the feedback as I feel the piece was played well in terms of phrasing, articulation and dynamics.

Targets My target is to practice this piece (especially the end) in my Practise, Practise, Practise! blog to reduce the chance of making mistakes.

Evaluation of Recital As A Whole (Contrasting? Duration? Balanced programme? Entertaining?) The pieces are contrasting (the second and third pieces less so, however the second piece has notes of shorter length making it more interesting whereas the

third is more of a slow, calm piece), the first piece is very different from the second and third as it is lively and bouncy. The pieces all together last around 11 minutes but that does not count for setting up the pieces in-between performances. I believe the programme is balanced as the first piece is lively and heads into the slower but interesting second piece before finally leading into the third, slower, more relaxing piece. Furthermore, the piece is entertaining due to the contrast between pieces, the lively, interesting and relaxing pieces put together to create a sort of journey.

Targets N/A

Benchmark Assessment Response Form I would like you to self-assess your recent Benchmark Performance. How did the performance go? What mistakes did you make? What went well? How can you make this performance better? I would also like you to respond to the feedback I provided. Do you agree? How can you address the issues I identified? You need to complete this task for each piece you performed. NAME: Joshua Baines Title of Piece: Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day) Self-Assessment I agree with Mr. Hoods feedback, for the whole of the first verse I was playing in time, and then the chorus fills threw me slightly off time. During the first chorus I was too fast slightly, which left me out of sync with the backing for the rest of the performance. I think I should take a more detailed look at the written music to make sure that I play the right fills as opposed to random fills. I think maybe the suggestion of playing the song through my headphones instead of playing it out loud would be the best way to help keep me in time, as it would be constantly louder than the drums to me. The biggest flaw in the performance was the final breakdown after the final chorus, where sequences of cymbals are hit. Targets Look at the music and learn the fills in details Practise the song with the backing in headphones to help stay in time

Title of Piece: Undecided Self-Assessment I need to look and decide upon a middle piece that demonstrates a lot of skill and technique. The piece has to be at least 4 minutes long; to stretch the length of the piece to 12 minutes as at the minute is just over 8 minutes. Targets Find a song that demonstrates skill and technique

Title of Piece: Hysteria (Muse) Self-Assessment I need to become more familiar with the structure of this song so I know which parts go where and which parts to play when. Also, the version I have learned includes the ride crash cymbal playing alongside and twice as frequent as the high hat, which is not what is written in the music so I need to take a close look at the notation.

Targets Learn the structure of the piece Learn the original notation Play with headphones playing the backing in practise Evaluation of Recital As A Whole (Contrasting? Duration? Balanced Programme? Entertaining?) The two pieces that I have chosen are quite different from each other, the first piece is more energetic whilst the second differentiates with the cymbals more. This is why the third piece that I am yet to decide on (the middle piece) has to sow more technique than energetic or fast playing, to make it different from the other two. The piece is not yet long enough, as explained in the second table, I need my last song to be at least 4 minutes long. The programme starts with a crowd pleaser, one that is known publicly, the second will show a lot of technique, and the third has a good finish, so the finale of the piece is a good finish overall. The overall performance in this piece wasnt particularly entertaining because it wasnt in time for most of the performance, but with more practise and a third song that demonstrates technique placed between the two so far, the performance will be entertaining. Targets Find a middle track Practise timings Look at the original notation

Benchmark Assessment Response Form I would like you to self-assess your recent Benchmark Performance. How did the performance go? What mistakes did you make? What went well? How can you make this performance better? I would also like you to respond to the feedback I provided. Do you agree? How can you address the issues I identified? You need to complete this task for each piece you performed. NAME : Matt Morrall Title of Piece: Standing Next To Me Self-Assessment The song is energetic and has quite powerful lyrics, and where this song is placed (the beginning) I believe is the right place for it. The first verse I feel is well rehearsed and this shows in the performance. However, once I get to the chorus it is apparent that I cant reach the high note in the chorus, knocking the integrity of the piece as a whole. There is definitely work to be done here. The second verse is similair to the first in that singing wise and guitar wise, it is very strong and worthy of a high mark. Once the chorus is reached again, I have the same problem of not being able to reach the right notes, as well as a chord change failure, making this sound unprofessional and quite frankly bad. I feel I pulled off the bridge pretty well and it sounded as good as the first and second verses. However, the problem of not being able to singe the chorus properly arises again at the end of the song, proving there is definite work to be done here.

Targets - Practice reaching higher notes or alternatively, sing in a different way (higher, lower, capo on a higher fret) - Chorus chords change on the second, practice the difference so to not play incorrectly again.

Title of Piece: Norgaard Self-Assessment I genuinely feel that this performance as a whole went in the way that I expected it to, and that was short, quick, punchy and to the point. I think I nailed the chord changes and for the majority, the vocals too. This is probably my second strongest performance out of the four, and I enjoy performing this one too.

Targets - Fine tune vocals to turn piece from Merit level to Distinction level. - Remember all the lyrics - Control breathing

Title of Piece: Thats where youre wrong Self-Assessment This has the advantage of being both my favourite song and one that I have practiced and been playing for years, so I pretty much know it inside and out, chord-wise. However, when it comes to the vocals, never before have I been assessed on how well I can sing, it has always been in she shower or just to show off when Im playing top 40 songs. Therefore even though in my opinion this is my strongest piece, vocals need to be fine-tuned again. The breakdown between the final verse and chorus was my favourite part, which I think I think made the song my own, rather than a straight up cover of the original.

Targets - Fine tune vocals - Pull off breakdown perfectly in each performance

Title of Piece: Big girls dont cry Self-Assessment I believe the new skill of finger picking for me comes across in this song, with me performing this basic but effective piece with Ilora. Ilora is absolutely brilliant and I do believe that I also performed it quite well within reason. For example, changing the tempo of it way too many times. We originally thought it sounded really good but on consideration, too much tempo change ruins the song. I also

played a wrong chord towards the end of the song, resulting in me looking at Mr Hood, who also acknowledged my mistake.

Targets - Keep set tempos for parts of the song rather than continuously changing - Learn the song again and be careful to not make any little mistakes!

Evaluation of Recital As A Whole (Contrasting? Duration? Balanced programme? Entertaining?) To evaluate the whole performance, the words to describe how it went would be above average . Most parts of it were very good (Thats Where Youre Wrong and Norgaard as a whole, and parts of Standing Next To Me and Big Girls Dont Cry) but there are areas where I need to improve, as well as the personal targets of me remembering all the lyrics. My vocals need to be fine tuned and I need to make sure I have chords changes perfect.

Targets - Fine tune my vocals - Learn lyrics without using a sheet - Learn songs 100% so to not have awkward chord changes