BUS4C004P~001
Nick Byers
25102738
Brandon Symonds
The artist in which I chose for this project is well known as Brandon Symonds. Brandon is a singer songwriter located in Bingley (small town in Bradford). From a young age, Brandon has always had a passion for music whether that’s listening to blues from the artists ‘B.B. King’ and ‘Eric Clapton’ or using these influences in his own playing. His music career started in the year 2020 by learning the guitar as a lockdown hobby. After 3 years of practicing and evolving his skills the year 2023 became his first milestone as he got booked for a gig in a small venue in Bingley. Fast forward to 2025 Brandons weekends are fully booked with events all over west Yorkshire (mainly Bingley and centre Bradford) and even some gigs down in Wales. His main go to venue is ‘@the_fishermans_bingley’. The Fisherman’s Pub in Bingley has become a musical focal point in the local community, especially for acoustic and up-and-coming artists featuring performers such as Alfie Walls-Shaw and Mike Burtoft. I will go into more in depth detail later in the text. I decided that I wanted to work with Brandon and help him develop a presence in the music industry in skills such as getting more gigs and events in areas other than just his hometown, to helping him release an EP. I believe that his sound and guitar playing is unique in a way in which could be marketed to a high slandered as he has elements of Pop, Blues and even a Jazzy feel. As well as these genres Brandon also has a trendy element referencing to his style connecting to artists such as ‘John Mayer’, ‘Ed Sheeran’ and even hits of ‘Stevie Ray Vaughan’. Through discussing ideas with Brandon, one very important discussion that took place was target audience. Due to his music covering a wide spectrum of genres, styles and ages, finding that right middle point was something we found very challenging. However, a helping hand to this challenge was looking at the figures from his social media accounts and a tally of ages within the gigs I attended. We have concluded that we will be aiming for 18–35-year-olds as a base in which we will begin to tackle. I believe that the appeal in which Brandon has as an artist to entice people to listen to his music comes from his character, not only within his music but from who he is as a person. With a well organised plan including an EP release and a strong idea of a set target audience, I honestly believe that Brandon Symonds has the attributes to dominate the music industry.
Socials
Brandon Symonds has a wide spectrum of different social medias he uses. However, after discussing the topic in person at a recent meeting the main three that he uses the most are ‘Instagram https://www.instagram.com/itsbrandonsymonds/ ’, ‘TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itsbrandonsymonds?lang=en-GB ’ and ‘Facebook https://www.facebook.com/brandon.symonds.142’. Within these social media platforms Brandon has an accumulation of over 2000 followers. On a deeper level Brandon has 797 followers on Facebook, 995 followers on Instagram and 248 followers on TikTok. Brandon uses these social media platforms to his potential by uploading videos of him playing guitar and singing. Whether that’s his own originals or covers from artists like ‘John Mayer’ and ‘Ed Sheeran’. He also uses these social media platforms as a way to market and promote his own music as he has just recently released a song called ‘Paradise’ which allowed me to see for myself how he markets his music. Linking to this Brandon also has his own ‘Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/0lTwWJ9qW5M3SCbPVwLcnd ’ page where he has all his original work. In my honest opinion, having a strong social media account (like ‘Instagram’ or ‘TikTok’) that you can use to promote your music will help you gain a lot more listeners as it is easily assessable to the viewer. Brandon has over 1000 plays on his original music however, he only has 16 monthly listeners which due to the views and interaction he gets on social media does match up. By working with Brandon, this project could possibly increase figures like for example monthly listeners, or even social media views on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
Brandon Symonds on Instagram: ‘Man I need- @oliviadeano’. (2017) Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DPQ9zMgjJ9H/
Brandon Symonds on Instagram: ‘When you can’t sing @yebbasmith tunes, so you play them instead #newartist’. (2017) Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C_S1u9dssVG/
Brandon Symonds on Instagram: ‘If “Friends” by @lilbieber had a guitar solo- I actually love this song so much Guitar- @fender Vinterra Road Worn Strat Amp- @neuraldsp Quad Cortex’. (2017) Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DPYxa67jn4n/
Sound
Brandon Symonds has played the guitar for over 5 years now; he started playing as a hobby in lockdown, so his experience within his playing has improved massively from his style to the effects he uses to create the sound he wants using the ‘Quad Cortex’ (a powerful compact guitar and bass floor modeler and multi-effects processor) Quad Cortex. (2025). Linking to this, Brandon’s sound is very unique, this is expressed by his mixture of different genres like pop, blues and jazz as these are the main types of genres that have influenced him over the years. Brandons main instrument is the guitar; however, every guitar has its own specific sound so the one he uses is a fender Stratocaster. The fender Stratocaster is an iconic electric guitar that offers an incredible tonal versatility through its typical three single coil pickups, master volume and tone controls. five watt world (2024). Making this guitar the best for Brandon to get that precise sound he wants within his playing. The main artists that Brandon gets his influences from are ‘John Mayer’, ‘Ed Sheeran’ and ‘Stevie Ray Vaughan’. The three songs that I have chosen to work on with Brandon Symonds are called ‘I don’t trust myself loving you’ by the artist ‘John Mayer ‘, ‘Alchemy’ by ‘Philiip Sayce’ and lastly, I would like to work on the song ‘Free Failing’ by ‘John Mayer’. The reason I have chosen these three songs in my opinion are that all three share the same characteristics that Brandon has within his guitar playing. Not only in the notes played but the feelings that Brandon creates within his music. Personally after knowing Brandon for over three years these songs will definitely help elevate Brandon as a musician like I said previously because of the shared characteristics that he has with the artist of these songs.
‘I don’t trust myself with loving you’
The reason I chose this song ‘I don’t trust myself with loving you’ released in the year 2006, is mainly because of the similarity that Brandon has to the artist ‘John Mayer’. John Mayer is a Grammy-winning, American singer songwriter and guitarist known for his versatile blend of pop, rock and blues. Not only that but he has sold more than 17 million albums worldwide which defines all boundaries within the music industry. Global Music Rights | JOHN MAYER. (2024). After knowing Brandon for over 2 years, listening and watching him play the guitar, I now know exactly what his style is. After listing to the song, I knew deep down he would be a good match for this. In my opinion this is mainly because of the familiar key that the song is in. A minor is a key that Brandon knows very well as he has played ‘Ain’t no sunshine’ by the artist Bill Withers at a recent gig. linking to this the key makes a big impact as Brandon will have to sing on this song, so having a key that he has had experience with prior will help him be able to reach them notes so having him learn and master ‘I don’t trust myself loving you’ will come very easy. Another reason I feel like this song would be best suited for Branon is the fact that it has a solo in the middle. This will open Brandon up to be able to play around and blend some of his own ideas and creativity into the song. The song’s structure is mainly based on a looped chord progression of ‘Am, C and F’, which will allow Brandon to use his looper to his potential and gain that exact feel that John Mayer does within this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s1sKigA17c&list=RD4s1sKigA17c
‘Alchemy’
The reason I chose this song ‘Alchemy’ released in the year 2005 by the artist ‘Philip Sayce’, was mainly because of its strong blues sound which is expressed throughout the whole song. Philip Sayce is a Welsh-born but canadian-raised rock/blues guitarist, singer songwriter known for his soulful voice and fiery guitar work who rose to prominence after touring with Jeff Healey’s band as a teenager. Wikipedia Contributors (2025). I personally believe that this song would be one of if not the best for Brandon to play, as his main go to genre is the blues. However, this particular song does not have vocals but a very strong electric guitar lead that bounces well off a drum backing track. Linking to this, the song is in the key of E flat minor which is one of Brandon’s favourite blues scales as he has a lot of experience within the scale. For example, Brandon has played the song ‘Voodoo Child’ by the artist ‘Stevie Ray Vaughan’ which is played using the same E flat minor pentatonic scale. With Brandon already knowing the key, this will allow him to add his own take and techniques to make the sound of the song more personal to him. Which in my opinion will elevate Brandon as an artist as people will be able to listen to both songs but hear such a difference in style creating Brandon to be more authentic within his work as a musician. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQVJZ5w6DiM&list=RDJQVJZ5w6DiM
‘Free failing’
The last song that I have chosen is ‘free falling’ released in the year 2008 by the artist ‘John Mayer’. As for the song I mentioned previously (‘I don’t trust myself loving you’), I believe that Brandon has a similar sound to the artist John Mayer. For example, they both share very similar guitar tone which Brandon achieves using his quad cortex (a powerful compact guitar and bass floor modeler and multi-effects processor). However, the song ‘Free falling’ itself is not created by John Mayer it was originally made by the artist ‘Tom Petty’ back in the year 1989 on his debut album ‘Full Moon’. It was covered by John Mayer live at the Nokia Theatre in 2008 during his solo acoustic tour. This song will work very well with the previous two songs I listed as it still has that blues style but contains a more pop feel as well. Linking the song being more along the pop style, the chords are ‘D/F#, G, G, D/F#, A’ throughout the entire song making it very repetitive like most pop songs in the chats currently. However, positively because of this it will allow Brandon to add segments like soloing or guitar riffs to show off his skills within the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Ov0cDPZy8&list=RD20Ov0cDPZy8
Development plan
Within this project, my main focus is to elevate Brandon as a musician in the music industry. Using this, I want to work with Brandon to help him get more gigs and events in areas other than just his hometown. By doing this it will help Brandons build a fan base outside his normal venues. By having a bigger community, it will allow conversations within the music industry that could possibly end him with a deal with a record label. My main plan to get to this step will start by creating a two song EP that includes skills and influences from the three previous songs that Brandon will have learnt (‘I don’t trust myself with loving you’, ‘Alchemy’, ‘Free failing’). By using these songs as a reference, it will help us create some ideas that bounce off Branon’s style as an artist. For example, different riffs that he would’ve learnt and also a different vocal that he has used to adapt to the chosen songs. However, Brandon isn’t a vocalist which means that we will have to find and use exercises that could possibly help him to achieve the sound he wants using platforms such as ‘YouTube’. Linking to the idea of creating an EP, this decision will allow us to market the progress on his social medias (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram). By doing this it will enable us to reach our chosen target audience that we disused in a previous meeting which was 18–35-year-olds. Aswell as reaching our target audience, uploading the progress onto social media will help us track views and viewer engagement. This will help Brandon as a musician as we will be able to see if the songs he has created are liked by the target audience we have chosen. After we have created the two song EP, Brandon will be able to publish the music onto his music streaming platforms. After publishing the two song EP, the final step beings as I will have to reach out to different venues within my chosen area of Leeds. I chose Leeds for the area to focus on as it has a very strong/ rich diverse music background. Leeds is famous for its nurturing indie/ rock bands, however other venues associate more within the blues and pop scene. The venue that I will be mainly attempting to reach out to is ‘The Wardrobe’. The Wardrobe is a well-established, multi-purpose, 500 capacity live music venue located in the Cultural Quarter. It’s mainly known for hosting big named acts like ‘Amy Winehouse’, ‘Lewis Capaldi’ and ‘James Arthur’. If this venue accepts Brandon as an act, it will open him up to a bigger crowd that he is normally faced with. This is however a positive because like I said previously, it could bring a bigger fan base that might follow his path down the line in the future. My plan to get in touch with this venue is not going to be as hard as I originally expected, I have connections with some tutors from ‘Leeds City College’ in Quarry Hill as I used to attend this college in my precious years. By getting in touch with my past tutors, it could possibly open me up for them to give me a reference to the venue (The Wardrobe) which might be able to allow me to book a slot for Brandon to play. If everything goes that I have planned, I will have a very strong base for Brandon Symonds to evolve as a musician within the music industry, as we will have include ideas like marketing on social media to the target audience we have discussed which is 18–35-year-olds and a strong base in which Brandon can open his events and gigs outside his hometown.
Weaknesses that could possibly occur
Within this project, they are a couple weakness that Brandon could possibly face when it comes to creating the EP, for example his vocal range. Brandon has a very low vocal range which doesn’t allow him to reach high notes. This will affect him in different ways, like not being able to achieve the exact sound he wants or having to have keep all his original music into a key that he feels comfortable with. A way to try and help resolve this issue is learning and practicing different scale exercises that could expand Brandon’s vocal range which will then enable him to reach them notes that he possibly couldn’t do before. Linking to this YouTube will help Brandon reach his potential as they are thousands of different scale warmups and exercises that he could use. Another big weakness that we might face within this project is the venue (The Wardrobe) could refuse and reject our offer to play. This issue will make the project hard as that’s one of the main end goals that we are working towards. A way that I am going to help resolve this issue is like I mentioned previously in the text, having connections is crucial so having the connections that I have (tutors from ‘Leeds City College Quarry Hill’) that links to the venue will help me significantly as I will be able to get in closer contact via the help of them. However, linking to this, another weakness that I could possibly face is not being able to get in contact with my old tutors. Even though I strongly believe that this is very unlikely, there is still a chance that I am unable to get hold of their help. A way I would resolve this issue if it does happen is having a meeting in person. By having a meeting in person, it will help the repercussions that come with sending emails like for example getting lost in the junk section or even not getting sent at all.
Conclusion
In my final conclusion, I believe that Brandon Symonds is a versatile artist (as he can play pretty much every genre out there) with a very strong and unique sound within his music. Brandon most definitely has the capability to reach multiple markets within the music industry due to the range of unique sounds that he can produce in his music. For example, Brandon has just released a song called ‘Paradise’ which is more of a pop/house style. Linking to this, Brandons sound on a deeper level, describes the influences that he has gathered along his music journey from artist such as ‘John Mayer’, ‘Ed Sheeran’, ‘Eric Clapton’ and ‘B.B King’. The plan in which we have created is one that strives on enhancing Brandon’s potential and creating an atmosphere where he can continue to make and show off his music skills, whether that’s at gigs outside his hometown or on his social medias connecting to the chosen target audience we have arranged. Acknowledging where weaknesses could occur is a huge advantage as I can track my steps to see what I can do to either improve or change certain situations to help me on along the way. Therefore, I am not worried about what is to come withing this process. Overall, within the next couple of months, as a collective we will be focusing on putting this plan into action and moulding the successful career I know Is out there for Brandon.
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‘@the_fishermans_bingley’ on Instagram: ‘It’s Friday! The weather is rubbish, but we have the epic @itsbrandonsymonds with us tonight form 6.30! It really is not to be missed!!!! #livemusic #shoplocal #creamypints @bradford. musicscene’. (2017) Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DRmmyzzjH-f/?img_index=1 (Accessed 13 Dec. 2025)
Brandon Symonds (@itsbrandonsymonds) Instagram.com https://www.instagram.com/itsbrandonsymonds/ (Accessed 17 Dec. 2025)
Brandon Symonds. (2022) Facebook.com https://www.facebook.com/brandon.symonds.142 (Accessed 17 Dec. 2025)
Brandon Symonds on Instagram: ‘Exactly one year ago today, I played my first ever gig with Liam and Ben. It was the biggest stroke of luck I’ve ever experienced, and I’ll be eternally grateful full. Now, at midnight, my debut EP is dropping on all streaming platforms. I’m proud, so much had happened in the space of 1 YEAR. However, this was just the prologue, let’s move on to chapter one …’. (2017) Instagram. Available online: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3qnJ9-sa2n/ (Accessed 13 Dec. 2025)
Brandon Symonds on Instagram: ‘BUSY BANK HOLIDAY COMING YOUR WAY!!! Catch me at @nowhere.holmfirth on Saturday from 6pm. Then on Sunday, I’ll be jamming with @corndoggg at @saltbarkitchen from 3, then shooting over to the Ring o Bells to see you all into bank holiday Monday. Come on down !!! 🔥🫡’. (2017) Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C6g6JQNMLvW/ (Accessed 13 Dec. 2025)
Brandon Symonds on Instagram: ‘If “Friends” by @lilbieber had a guitar solo- I actually love this song so much Guitar- @fender Vinterra Road Worn Strat Amp- @neuraldsp Quad Cortex’. (2017) Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DPYxa67jn4n/ (Accessed 13 Dec. 2025)
Brandon Symonds on Instagram: ‘Man I need- @oliviadeano’. (2017) Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DPQ9zMgjJ9H/ (Accessed 13 Dec. 2025)
Brandon Symonds on Instagram: ‘When you can’t sing @yebbasmith tunes, so you play them instead #newartist’. (2017) Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C_S1u9dssVG/ (Accessed 13 Dec. 2025)
five watt world (2024) The Fender Stratocaster: A Short History, 4K. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=451Xkot6nB0(Accessed 13 December)
Global Music Rights | JOHN MAYER. (2024) Globalmusicrights.com. https://globalmusicrights.com/artist/1423323(Accessed 13 December)
JohnmayerVEVO (2009) John Mayer – Free Fallin’ (Live at the Nokia Theatre) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Ov0cDPZy8&list=RD20Ov0cDPZy8 (Accessed 17 Dec. 2025)
John Mayer – Topic (2016) I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s1sKigA17c&list=RD4s1sKigA17c (Accessed 17 Dec. 2025)
Philip Sayce (2014) Philip Sayce – Alchemy – [OFFICIAL AUDIO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQVJZ5w6DiM&list=RDJQVJZ5w6DiM (Accessed 17 Dec. 2025)
Quad Cortex. (2025) Neuraldsp.com. https://neuraldsp.com/quad-cortex?srsltid=AfmBOor9zJo7Xraz0NfB01RNK_ZtAGyTkk-349il9lrz1L6yO2rSmqQ3 (Accessed 13 December)
Spotify – Web Player. (2026) Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/0lTwWJ9qW5M3SCbPVwLcnd (Accessed 13 Dec. 2025)
TikTok – Make Your Day. (2025) https://www.tiktok.com/@itsbrandonsymonds?lang=en-GB (Accessed 17 Dec. 2025)
Wikipedia Contributors (2025) Philip Sayce. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Sayce (Accessed 13 December)
