HARUN MITCHELL-CELEP - BRONZE ARTS AWARD JOURNEY
Welcome to my blog!
Hi, I’m Huran and I’m excited to begin my Arts Award journey, focusing on DJing. I want to explore mixing techniques, music styles, and how to create experiences that connect with people. This journey is about developing my skills, expressing myself through music, and sharing my passion with others.
VIDEO 1 - My Journey
This is a video diary of me explaining what I will be taking part in for my Arts Award. I want to get better and know more about DJing and see what it takes to be an Artist. I enjoy music so I thought why not try it.
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PART A:
Explore the Arts as a Participant
IMAGE 1 - Mind Map of My Journey
To develop my DJing skills, I made a plan to move from just listening to music to actually mixing it. I am focusing on House music and learning how to use the decks to blend tracks together. By practicing things like beat-matching and timing, I am finding my own style and learning how to create smooth transitions.
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Gallery 1 - Exploring the Arts
I am developing my skills in House music DJing, focusing on the technical art of mixing on the decks. I have been exploring different sub-genres to find my personal style while practicing core techniques like beatmatching and EQ blending. My goal is to master song structures to create seamless transitions between tracks.
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Gallery 2 - Planning my Arts Award
When deciding what I wanted to focus on as an art form, I found it difficult to choose because I enjoy many different aspects of music. DJing is the area that felt right for me, as it allows me to explore my creativity in a way I enjoy and feel confident in. I like talking through and reflecting on the ideas I have, which has helped me understand my artistic direction more clearly. I have especially enjoyed taking part in interviews, as they help keep me accountable for my plans and encourage me to stay focused on my development as an artist.
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Gallery 3 - DJ Practice
DJ Practice
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DJ Practice *
I used the DJ space to practise parts of my set, focusing on blending and beat matching tracks and experimenting with different effects. At the start, it felt a bit stressful because the room was quite busy and I was aware of other people listening. I wanted to see how people reacted to my sound and whether they were enjoying it. This helped me realise that choosing the right music for the right audience is a big part of a DJ’s role, and something I want to continue developing as an artist.
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VIDEO 2 - DJ Practice
Gallery 4 - Developing DJ Knowledge
I have been spending time with my tutor understanding the role of a DJ more, getting a deeper understanding of what they do and create songs. We also did some research into different genres and I got shown some new ones I’ve not listened to before. As well as doing this research I have been practicing my DJ skills in the DJ room and performing more in front of my class mates. Practicing my beat matching and track changing.
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VIDEO 3 - DJ Skills
IMAGE 2 - DJ Practice
Part A Reflection
VIDEO 4 - Reflection Part A
I’ve been interviewed to explain what I have been doing through my Arts Award journey. Talking about what I have been learning on the DJ decks, how I have developed and how I can improve as an artist
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Part B - Experience the Arts as an Audience Member
Gallery 5 - The Gig
Artist Michael Brindley came to BYZ studios to perform for the class, however I was unable to attend this event, so I watched the recording of the performance and reviewed it.
The Performance
VIDEO 7 - BYZ Gig
VIDEO 6- BYZ Gig
As I wasn’t able to attend the gig, but this is the footage I was able to watch the next week. I watched it with my tutor and we then had a conversation about the performance, saying what I liked and didn’t like about it.
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Gallery 6 - Audience Member
VIDEO 5 - BYZ Gig
Performance Review
VIDEO 8 - Part B Review
After I watched the performance I reviewed what I thought of the performance. I liked him as an Artist but his music wasn’t for me. I can appreciate that he’s good for his age and at at his art.
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Part C - Artist Inspiration
For my artist research I have chosen to look at the artist Teedee, (Tom Dempsey). I really like his work and I thought he would be a good inspiration as I’m focusing on DJing for my Arts Award .
IMAGE 3 - TeeDee
I spent time researching Teedee online and listening to his music. I learnt some things about him as a person that I didn’t know. I looked at how he started his career and some songs that inspire me as an artist. He’s not hr most mainstream Artist I listen to but he’s someone that I think I can look up to as a person as well as an Artist.
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Gallery 7 - Artist Research
IMAGE 4 - Research
IMAGE 5 - Research
Part C Reflection
VIDEO 9 - Part C Reflection
Reflecting on my artist inspiration, I learnt more about TeeDee and how he has become the DJ he is today. I spent time researching him and recording a video so you can understand why I picked him as my inspiration. This part of my Arts Award Journey helped me get inspired to practice DJing more, when you see someone make it big for just talent it is really impressive, it’s that dedication that can get you to be remembered for being the best you can.
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Part D - Skill Share
IMAGE 6 - planning
IMAGE 7 - planning
For my skill share I want to teach DJing, so I had to make a plan on how to teacher it. Similar to how I was taught it when I started out DJing when I joined We Are Noise. I made a plan with my tutor and then a step by step lesson plan to follow when teaching. I am looking forward to getting to teach my We Are Noise tutor, and to be in their shoes. I think making a plan before will make the lesson run smoother and I will feel more prepared.
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IMAGE 8 - planning
Prep for my Skill Share
VIDEO 10 - Skill Share Plan
IMAGE 9 - Plan
For my skill share I have decided to deliver a lesson on how to set up the DJ decks and beat match a few tracks. Learning how to count the beats alter BPMS and blend two tracks. I think his is something I am confident enough in to share.
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Skill Share Delivery
VIDEO 11 - Skill Share
I taught my tutor for my skill share and I think it went well, I recorded the session and showed him how to beat match. It was good to have a go a being the teacher, it makes you realise how much I’ve learnt at my time learning to DJ here.
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Skill Share Reflection
VIDEO 12 - Skill Share Reflection