insight

I just got told by my (hopefully) teacher that any more than 16 voices would be too unwieldy, as everything must be sung a Capella, or unaccompanied. so this reduces my previouse estimate of forty voices quite considerably.

Problems faced by the Idea

There are a number of problems with this idea. I will try to identify and solve the ones I can think of.
(note: P= Problem S=Solution)
P: actually finding the forty odd people to donate there time to the choir.
S: using my contacts in industry I would go around to various artists and or opera organisations and present my idea, hopefully enrolling them in the positives of the idea, and getting them involved.

P: Choice of songs
S: myself and a few guiding individuals would choose the songs that we think are the most easily accessible to the general public.

P: locations/ target audience age
S: the target audience age would be around 18 to 30, and thus we/I would do research into where good places to go to get exposure is. also Filming said performances and putting them up on YouTube could generate good publicity also.

I can't really think of any other problems, as the cost of this venture is nigh non existent.

Description of my idea.

so my idea is to have a flash choir.
This means that a a group of Classical singers, (Soprano Alto Tenor Baritone/bass) numbering around fourty, would arrange to converge at a place in casual clothing and sing a song or two, and then dissipate. these places could be places like the train at peak hour, fed square on he weekend the streets of flinders outside parliament, just generally places where there are lots of people.

It is important to note that this choir would rehearse togetehr, at least on a weekly bases for a while. so that they sing well together and that their pieces sound good. clearly the singers would have to be able to sing without instrumental accompanyment. (bar mabEy the first perosn to sing, who brings a small mouth organ or somethign to tune against.)

There are two purposes to this project, the first being bringing the joy of classical choral music to all people, which will hopefully fulfill the second purpose which is to increase the interest in classical music, and thus hopefully the attendance of opera's and orchestra recitals etc.

Stats on classical music

Here's some quick stats I found about the classical music area.

(so these stats basically show that there's a whole lot of funding for classical music, but very little attendance. and so possibly the aim of my flash choir could be to bring classical music to people, and thus increase their interest in it, hopefully increasing the attendance of classical music.)





http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/arts_funding/reports_and_publications/government_funding_of_music_concerts

"About 1.5 million people aged 15 years and over attended classical music concerts in the 12 months prior to interview, according to a 2005-06 survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

These concert-goers represent 9 per cent of the population in their age group. Among them, 58 per cent attended classical music concerts more than once in 12 months.

Around 4 million people aged 15 years and over attended popular music concerts. They account for one-quarter of the population in their age group.

Among them, about 65 per cent attend popular music concerts more than once in a year.The number of people aged 18 years and over attending music concerts increased between 2002 and 2006.

For classical music concerts the rate of attendance increased from 9 per cent to 12 per cent. For popular music concerts the rate increased from 26 per cent to 32 per cent."

http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/music/reports_and_publications/attendance_at_music_concerts

In 2006-07, the Australian Government and state and territory governments provided about $166.3 million in funding to organisations for performance of vocal and instrumental music, according to the Cultural Ministers Council Statistics Working Group.

http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/arts_funding/reports_and_publications/government_funding_of_music_concerts

The type of practitioner I am

Just incase you didn't notice. music and performing is what really gets me going. and so if i were to class my self as a practiioner I would class myself as a musician/actor. though not just the singer/actor who does random plays. I love and aim to expand peoples minds bringing them new thoughts and ideas, so that they may live a happier life, and help those around them lead a happier life also. this means thast I love creating my own songs and plays, and contantly have half formed ideas bubbling away in my head. this also means that were you to ask what thype of practitioner I am, I would reply, "a passionate one!" and then go on to specify that I'm a performer.

Final decision.

So I've decided to go weith my idea for a flash choir, as it is the one that most appeals to my intersts.

I particualarly enjoy the bit about bringing music to everyone. i think this will be particularly great as it will help bring people closer, in sharing a common enjoyment. something i've noticed is when something funny or new and excting happens around people, people start talking to strangers in a friendly and open manner. I feel that the simple beauty of classical choral works will do that wonderfully, especially as the music and performers themselves will just spring up. I also really enjoy that I could actually do this project, and that the greatest difficulty would be finding 40 or so singers willing to donate their services.

Just as a note, the choir would need to be pretty well fleashed out, ie baritiones, tenors, altos and sopranos.

comparation of ideas

so I'm comparing the two main idea that I like.
One: Interactive dancefloor
vs
Two: Flash Choir

benifits of the flash choir: it is an unplifitng and fun project, which brings music especially classical music direct to people. which is something I really want to do. the monetary cost is quite low to implement this, and doesn't require the development of technology. it is something i could actually do.

Benifits of the intereactive dancefloor: it is a fun and innovative peice of technology (though it utalises current technology), which could bring a whole new dimension to clubs, or just be a fun experiance as demonstrations. it has the capacity to create profite. it brings the creation of music to a public colaborative level.

Downsides of Flash Choir: it has no capacity for profit, requires a lot of skilled individuals, to give their servises for free.

Downsides of the intereactive dancefloor: it requires the tweaking of current techonology, which could be expensive. it would have quite large setup costs. it would be difficult to create an effective and easy interface.

Answering some questions

Is there a need for it?: There is no specific need for the product, but as with all entertainment technology there is no need perse, but it would entertain.

Does it have growth potential: Yes, there is a potential for growth.

Is it within my capacity to do?: not technically.

What the dancefloor could be made of.

Possibly the dancfloor could be a linked system of this technology
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/default.aspx

This is a video about the reactable to give you an idea of what I mean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h-RhyopUmc

potential ideas

Idea one: 'band on the streets' fundamentally a band loaded into a truck, and it drives around to places with lots of people and plays a 'flash gig' of about two songs, then leaves. and does it somewhere else.

Idea two: 'interactive dance floor' a dance floor, which acts similarly to the reactable, in that people dance upon it, and each step makes a note, this note is determined by the size and shape of the shoes the person is wearing, and people could have shoes with shapes on the soles, to create different instruments, and as more people dance, the music gets more complicated.

*another variation a person controls what points n the dance-floor produce which sounds, in a sense conducting the music that s produced.

Idea three: a flash Choir, possibly singing massive works in big spacious places like train stations etc. ( this idea doesn't really have much scope for intricacy, but could still be fun)

decision

I've decided to drop my idea of the housing project, as i've been having some deiscussions with people, as well as doing some research, and I realise that a major problem with my idea is that it will start ghettoisation, even with the close services. what this reveals is a flaw in my thinking, i forgot that you cannot force improvement or change on anyone. This is fundamentally what my idea was trying to do.

Now to come up with another pitch idea...

foyer plan