Creative Keepsakes

Hi everyone,

In todays post I will be talking about creative keepsakes, and why you might want to keep them and how to store them for future reference.

The idea of having creative keepsakes is so then you can look back into your past from the future, and say "I used to do x, y, z when I was younger", or 'This is how far I progressed and developed in a certain area". Keepsakes can be kept for anything, not just creative subjects. These can you be your results from your GCSEs, AS/ A Levels, Vocational Courses and your degrees; just as an idea of what you can keep as a keepsake.

Practice Journals

Keeping practice journals are a great way to see how far that you have progressed and developed over the years. I usually write out my practice sessions in rough first, and I then I transfer those practice session notes over to a really nice notebook. For a really nice notebook I like to use a company called 'Papier', as their paper quality is really nice and you can customise the front with whatever you want. I have one Papier notebook per Grade. 

Certificates

These certificates can be from any graded music/ drama exams that you have taken over the years, any dance exams or anything else that you have gained a certificate for. In some cases, you may have a pay a small fee to get an 'official' certificate; or you may have the option to download and print off your certificate/s at home. For storing certificates I really like to use the display books from Shopake, and these come in about four different colours; so you could have one/ multiple for each area of study that you do i.e) one for music, one for drama and one for dance; or one colour for each of the different instruments you are learning and that you are doing your grades in. For any diplomas, you may need a larger display book as I think the certificates are slightly larger than A4.

Exam Feedback

Feedback from examiners is also a really nice thing to keep, as that again you will be able to look back at and see how far you have progressed and developed over the years. You could keep the feedback behind the relevant certificate that you have achieved, so that way you have the complete picture for your progression at that time of your learning and development.

Trophies & Awards

These could be trophies and awards that you have earned by entering into competitions, or just taking part in general.

Score Studies

Score studies start to get introduced at the higher grades, and this is when you do a score analysis of your instruments part, your part with the piano, and any recordings that you have listened to of those pieces of music to form part of the study; as well as any practice plans and ideas on how you like to interpret those pieces of music. For Score Studies I like to do mine in rough first, and then transfer them to a nice notebook. The notebooks that I like to use are from Kenji; and I use one notebook per piece of music.

Scripts

These scripts could be from all of the works that you have had to do as part of your graded drama exams, or from any productions that you have taken part in.

General Notes & Planning

These notes could be from planning your performance diploma and doing performance notes as part of that diploma; or planning on what order you would like to play/ perform your pieces/ monologues/ short excerpts in. This is just really any about keeping any planning that you do, and how you have progressed from the beginning stage to the end stage. This could also include any colour schemes and outfit ideas that you have for your exams.