Harry Lowther Music

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The Industry

 

According to ‘UK Music’ 117,000 full time jobs were filled within the music industry in 2014, with many individuals working in the creative sectors such as performing, composing and recording. This statistic shows how vast the music industry is and the competitive nature in securing a job within one of these roles. As a performer it is recognised that many musicians rely on networking to find suitable careers in the industry and to sustain a steady income. However despite the rigorous nature of the industry there are many positive aspects in being a full time professional musician such as the possibility of securing a record contract as a solo artist or band or providing musical support as a session musician in a live band and recording sessions. The root I would like to pursue is the role of a session guitarist with the potential of becoming a musical director for an established band or artist.

 

Skills/strengths

 

As a session musician it is favourable to have an extended instrumental knowledge. In my case, being able to play drums and bass guitar allows me to have a further understanding on the rhythm section of the band which would also be useful skills for becoming a musical director. Having a wider understanding of these instruments also allows me to have a stronger input when it comes to performing in a band environment. Having knowledge of these instruments allows me to share ideas of how the particular piece can be improved. For example, being able to hear that the drum groove could be altered and how the bass line could be changed to create ‘pocket’ and have a rhythmic lock with the rest of the band. One of my main strengths that has been developed over the past year is my aural skills. Having good aural skills is essential for a performer in professional music practice. Having a good ear allows a performer such as myself to learn songs rapidly, which is essential for sessions, and to be able to hear things such as instruments being out of tune and to  be able to hear specific parts of a song such as a rhythm guitar line sitting quite quietly within the mix. Furthermore, these skills as a whole would be essential to become a musical director of a band. As a strong leader within a band and performance in general, my leadership skills together with my strong aural skills would be key to become a bands musical director alongside a session musician. An example of this would be Ellie Goulding’s session drummer Joe Clegg who is also her musical director. Another skill that I have improved over the year that would be a key skill in the music industry is being able to set up and use a PA system. My personal experience of this would be at A-level events, function gigs with my function band and other general gigs with my originals band Forest Fires. Although I already had reasonable experience and knowledge of a PA before I started the A-level course, the past year has consolidated my understanding and confidence when operating a PA. Being in an originals band outside school has meant that I have had to set up a PA and mix our own band whilst being on stage playing. Setting up the PA without the help from a more experienced engineer has allowed me to become more confident when mixing sound and the ability to mix for a wide range of different types of ensembles and solo acts. One of the main difficulties I found when mixing bands was controlling feedback however with the help from my teacher Mr Edwards, I have been able to control this over the past year which could be essential skills to apply to the music industry. With experience of playing in a lot of different ensembles and musical performances throughout the year, my experiences have allowed me to confidently play a diverse range of different musical genres. For example, I have been able to play reggae, Pop, rock songs fluidly due to events such as ‘Foreign Ground Plugs In’ where we had to play a set made up of different genres. This would be essential for a session player in the industry as they would be able to expand their job choices and create a bigger, better reputation within the industry. As an aspiring session player, it is vital to be able to record a song in a studio environment. My own skills allow me to do this. I have learnt over the past year how to set up equipment to record an artist/band and also how to mix and master a track. Most of this experience has been from sitting down with my teacher in the school studios throughout the year however, i have taken these skills to my home studio and applied them to be able to use more sophisticated software such as Logic Pro. 

 

Production/admin

 

Throughout the year I have been met with situations such as creating paperwork for events and promotion for myself and my performing peers. I have learnt how to develop my eye for design through creating promotional posters and tickets for all four of our classes performing music events. Also, when proving myself and my band i have learnt how to create polished, professional promotional products in order to promote myself. Further more i have also been able to successfully promote myself on social media with regular tweets when promoting gigs and creating Facebook pages for my band and myself. I have also been able to gain skills such as booking gigs which would be essential for an artist manager role or music promoter. In terms of production for live shows and gigs, I have had experience of controlling the lights and programming lights in the theatre lighting box. I have gained skills such knowing where to position lights on stage, how to program lights and how to create an effective, suitable atmosphere for the event using the lights. 

 

What I want to improve/what has gone well

 

In terms of future personal improvements, i would like to improve my sight reading and overall theoretical knowledge of music. For example, to become a session musician being able to sight read would be essential for work such as musical theatre work and playing for audition’s. I would also like to improve my overall musically and perfect the guitar. Being the best guitarist that i can be physically and mentally would make it easier for me to find work within a competitive sector of work. This will also give me a better chance to create a sustainable career as a session musician in the music industry.