I've never had a journal, and that was because I didn't think I needed one and as a result of that thought there was going to be no benefit to me at all.
I am wrong on all counts, for one I do in fact keep a journal (although not exactly in written form, more of a reflective look back using my own memory) to help me develop as a professional not only as a musician but also as an engineer. It helps not only prevent me from making the same mistakes but also to develop and improve on ideas that may have already been successful, but could still be improved in one way or another.
Writing a journal helps to break down situations in a format that can be understood easily, and the way I am experimenting with doing that is simply to detail the events that took place and then analyze them point by point with notes for improvement. If there are no immediate ideas for improvement (for example, if more research needs to be done) then it is marked for a follow up in the same way as flagging an email in your inbox or sticking a note to your fridge for example.
To honour the privacy of others and sensitive information I keep all names and details fairly ambiguous, and hopefully it will provide a new perspective on my professional development going forward.
Sunday 22 November 2015
Monday 9 November 2015
Video
Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words then a video must be worth a thousand pictures right?
This video took a lot longer to do than it should have, I found it quite difficult to do and in the end I used quite an old take just because it had everything in it I wanted to get across and share.
Video link here:
https://youtu.be/lPCBCuI64mE
Darren
This video took a lot longer to do than it should have, I found it quite difficult to do and in the end I used quite an old take just because it had everything in it I wanted to get across and share.
Video link here:
https://youtu.be/lPCBCuI64mE
Darren
Photos Worth Thousands Of Words
I have a photo album on my portfolio website, which I use as part of my online Musician's CV. In the entertainment industry, image is very important. People want to know what you look like as well as what you sound like, and sometimes they rely more on your image than what most sensible people would regard as important things like experience and ability. I try and have a presence on many different forms of media, as it increases the chances of getting the gig and ultimately getting constant bookings and a steady stream of income. It is a very important part of social media, as although some people prefer to remain anonymous in fields such as political and social activism the role of an image can provide the viewer with much more information than typing it out.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. And if you put that into the digital realm in terms of data, you have a tangible parameter in the size of the file itself. A text file with a thousand words generally only takes up less than a hundred kilobytes on a disk, a picture of sufficient quality can easily surpass this amount taking up anything to a few hundred megabytes or more. A picture is actually worth much more than a thousand words in the digital age of data alone, and when you consider the scenario of something never truly being deleted once it appears on the Internet in the form of social media it can have a much heavier impact.
Something to think about... Oh and here's the link to my couple of thousand words :-)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127949528@N07/shares/CAC87W
Darren
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. And if you put that into the digital realm in terms of data, you have a tangible parameter in the size of the file itself. A text file with a thousand words generally only takes up less than a hundred kilobytes on a disk, a picture of sufficient quality can easily surpass this amount taking up anything to a few hundred megabytes or more. A picture is actually worth much more than a thousand words in the digital age of data alone, and when you consider the scenario of something never truly being deleted once it appears on the Internet in the form of social media it can have a much heavier impact.
Something to think about... Oh and here's the link to my couple of thousand words :-)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127949528@N07/shares/CAC87W
Darren
Monday 26 October 2015
My Website
I built myself a website showing my portfolio a while back, it's paid for the cost of the domain name and hosting many many times over in gigs and contacts made. If you don't already have one, I'd fully recommend making one... They aren't as hard to make as you may think, I coded mine myself from scratch but there are many free website builders out there with many different ideas and templates.
www.darrentaggartguitar.co.uk if you're interested :-)
www.darrentaggartguitar.co.uk if you're interested :-)
Sunday 18 October 2015
Like a Coiled Spring
This has been posted a bit later than I intended, due to the inevitable 'something that came up'...
Which is what my blog post is now going to be about, as it is work related and also ties in nicely to the subject matter for the BAPP.
Due to the wonderful thing that is social media, I managed not only to find out about and attend an audition but get offered work as a result of it. All in the space of 24 hours, which wouldn't have been so easy in a time before social media.
Through a page on Facebook advertising gigs for musicians, I found myself tagged in a post on a thread entitled 'Looking for party bands who are wanting to do holiday parks for 2016'. After replying to the add with a link to an online portfolio, we were asked to audition the next day. And then after driving three cars full of gear to Southend for a 10 minute audition, found ourselves with bookings from several different new clients.
The drive back got me thinking about how quick and easy it is now to potentially get more exposure and ultimately more work through the use of social media and networking, and how literally a few years ago this same process would have taken a lot more time through older methods such as advertising in the local press and through word of mouth. In the last couple of years I've found that visiting these groups and message boards fairly regularly can result in making contacts in different circles and ad hoc work in some cases. I'm now making a habit of going through them in the days leading up to an empty weekend and waiting like a coiled spring for an opportunity to network and get my foot in the door so to speak.
Which is what my blog post is now going to be about, as it is work related and also ties in nicely to the subject matter for the BAPP.
Due to the wonderful thing that is social media, I managed not only to find out about and attend an audition but get offered work as a result of it. All in the space of 24 hours, which wouldn't have been so easy in a time before social media.
Through a page on Facebook advertising gigs for musicians, I found myself tagged in a post on a thread entitled 'Looking for party bands who are wanting to do holiday parks for 2016'. After replying to the add with a link to an online portfolio, we were asked to audition the next day. And then after driving three cars full of gear to Southend for a 10 minute audition, found ourselves with bookings from several different new clients.
The drive back got me thinking about how quick and easy it is now to potentially get more exposure and ultimately more work through the use of social media and networking, and how literally a few years ago this same process would have taken a lot more time through older methods such as advertising in the local press and through word of mouth. In the last couple of years I've found that visiting these groups and message boards fairly regularly can result in making contacts in different circles and ad hoc work in some cases. I'm now making a habit of going through them in the days leading up to an empty weekend and waiting like a coiled spring for an opportunity to network and get my foot in the door so to speak.
Tuesday 6 October 2015
Light Bulb Moment
This is my first blog post, and to be honest it was something I wasn't looking forward to. Not for any serious reason, mainly my own lack of understanding of how to go about blogging in the first place. I think this is all about to change.
I could see the tasks for the first module, but after speaking to other students on the course I now understand why they are important and how to go about completing them. The task encourage self evaluation, the ability to ask yourself why you are doing something and the art of looking at the bigger picture.
I'm going to keep my thoughts and workings here, not only for other people to read but for myself to keep track of... Myself.
Time to go, I have a CV to rewrite!
D
I could see the tasks for the first module, but after speaking to other students on the course I now understand why they are important and how to go about completing them. The task encourage self evaluation, the ability to ask yourself why you are doing something and the art of looking at the bigger picture.
I'm going to keep my thoughts and workings here, not only for other people to read but for myself to keep track of... Myself.
Time to go, I have a CV to rewrite!
D
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