Solo Music Performance Repertoire

After the Christmas break in December, we had to prepare for our second solo music performance for the middle of January where we were allowed to take our best 10 minutes from the last performance and then add another 10 minutes of new songs to the set for added variety.
The first solo performance back in November went very well, I chose 4 songs that each had some variety and were different from each other in order to show that I can play a variety of different genres.
My set list from the first solo performance consisted of:

• Vashaun Mitchell - Chasing After You (6:25)

I chose this song because as gospel music is my preferred genre of music to play, I thought that opening with this song would show off my playing ability the most.

•  Meek Mill - Maybach Curtains ft. John Legend, Rick Ross (4:52)

I chose this song because compared to the first song where the instrumentation and the lyrical content is very important, a rap song where the lyrical content is the main focus is the perfect opportunity to be able to stand out with improvised runs and riffs.

• Bruno Mars - Locked out of Heaven (3:53)

I chose this song because the bass line is the dominant instrument leading the song so it would be stupid if I didn't learn this song for my solo performance as well as adding my own runs on top of it.

• J Cole - Crooked Smile (4:37)

This song was chosen because it's actually one of my personal favourite songs because of the message from the song (which is basically that not everyone looks perfect but it shouldn't matter what people think of your appearance, as long as you're comfortable with yourself) and also the fact the bass is played live over the instrumental.

• Israel Houghton - I Call you Jesus (5:48)

I chose this song because I thought I should do another gospel song so I can have another chance to  play a song that I'm comfortable with. 

• Snarky Puppy - Lingus (10:44)

I chose this song because I'm a fan of Snarky puppy's music because of their preferred genre to play which is fusion jazz so I thought learning one of their songs would definitely make the set list more interesting and upbeat.

• Wale - Sabotage (5:29)

I chose this song because Wale is my favourite rapper and this song is one of my favourite songs on his album Ambition. Also it features a live band in the song so that just made it the perfect reason to add it to the set list.

• Bruno Mars - Treasure (2:58)

I chose this song because it links with Locked out of Heaven in the sense that they are both very upbeat with a mixture of Funk, Pop and R&B. Although the chord progressions in the verses and the chorus are quite repetitive, the chords and the movements themselves feature syncopation and chord stabs so it 's actually quite hard to get bored of the song.

• Marsha Ambrosius - Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player) (4:06)

I chose this song because I like the syncopation in the song as well as the message on the song. Although the song is filled with a lot of instruments doing different thing, there is a lot of room for runs, riffs and improvisation.

• Wale - Love Hate Thing ft. Sam Dew (4:28)

I chose this song because of the message (which is the personification of the rap 'game' in the form of a woman describing the love-hate relationship about his music career and about how one day people will love him then they'll hate him, a passive-aggressive type of love. Also the song features a live band which is why this is probably my favourite song on the list.

The rest of the performance consists of me talking to the audience and introducing the songs, saying the reason why I chose them and what they mean to me.