Tis the season for jolliness

Well that’s it, the years college work is at an end and now its back home to Kintyre to warm my feet by the fire and take time off from all the calamities from college…if only.
The end of college has revealed to me how much work there is ahead in terms of essays, presentations and portfolios that if I don’t start soon will give me a hectic start to 2010.
The last few weeks have been incredibly fun with gigs inside and outside of college and merry times. My last piano lesson was very productive and all my Grade 4 exam pieces are coming along nicely. I now have all the pieces well under way with my scales and sight-reading following up the rear. I never actually appreciated how much scales actually benefit my playing in general as in these past few weeks I already notice a vast change in the accuracy of my playing. I was also introduced to a new jazz piece called I wish I Knew How (it would feel to be free). This is one of my all time favourite songs that I first heard sung by Nina Simone. The harmonies are fantastic and there are also sections open for improvisation. I look forward to experimenting with this over the holidays. I have set myself a target in this spell of holiday to be completely ready for my exam. Since I now have access to a piano I feel my motivation will be lifted for it is much more of an instrument than the forty bits of midi plastic I press back at the flat.
The planning stages are now at an end in graded unit and my third and final draft has been handed in for marking. I really do hope I obtain a decent mark for I have spent countless hours trying to find strengths in my many weaknesses so that I could fill the page. Now I have to begin looking at gathering evidence for my portfolio and preparing a presentation for my interview if I am to receive a B and carry on to the degree. Speaking of graded unit our class was given a talk from ex pupil Laura Karse last week. I have worked with Laura in the past with a reggae band by the name of Aye n Aye and already knew I was in for a treat. Laura really helped to show the opportunities that a degree in music can open up for its beholders and how we should cherish and get involved in as much as possible, for when we reach the big bad world the more contacts that you have in the industry the better your chances of work.
Session skills were a lot more fun than usual with Gavin throwing Sir Duke on the stand. For a mediocre trombone player of my standard this is not an average day. I didn’t miserably fail however I decided to take the music away with me for it is one horn line I would lover to challenge myself to learn.
In the last few days of college we finally had the Beatle gigs that took place in the Goodlyburn theatre. The night was a lot more varied than I had first excpected that made for a more interesting, diverse night. Our set seemed to go well and I am pretty confident that we all passed.
The day after my out of college band Feelfree Conspiracy played its first gig in Glasgow. This was our first gig away from Perth and so we aimed to impress. The venue was Maggie Mays and the event was a charity gig for Glasgow university students to raise money for their trip to Bosnia in 2010 and due to this we managed to play to a large audience. We played well however people came up to us afterwards asking were to find our material and sadly we have none recorded yet. It really showed me that we are going to have to get a move in the studio. Although it was not paid we were given a crate as a thanks and won a pineapple in the raffle! Well that’s about it for the time being, have a jolly holiday and see you after the break!

Composing, Criticism and Criteria

Hello and welcome back.

These past few weeks have been full of gigs and excitement and now its back to college work, piano practice and composing!

My piano lesson this week was very helpful as I learned about the approach and method that should be applied when leering a new piece. My teacher noticed how I try to rush through a piece with mistakes flying form left and right and so if I just slowed down, analysed and picked out the difficult sections I would gain a better understanding of the piece and over time would learn it quicker. Already I have noticed a difference however I am still miles away from my target of passing Grade 4 but with steady progress I should reach my it by June next year.

Rhythm Wave rehearsals took place in the evening. This week was mainly a maintenance session were I learned about tuning Timbales and how to the get the best sound out of them. As well as playing through the usual set Ronnie did a run through of his up and coming lecture where my trombone makes an entrance playing some Brazilian melodies over the top of the rhythms. The melody itself is very straightforward however playing it and parading at the same time is a skill in itself. My first few attempts were futile but as we practiced a gradually picked up the pace and kept up with the fast percussive patterns.

On Wednesday instead of my usual drum lesson in the morning there was a maintenance lecture in the theatre about tuning drums and care for equipment. For me it was almost demoralising seeing rows upon rows of beautiful cymbals and drums as I carried around what can also be described as a bag of tin. I feel that I need to invest soon in some decent equipment.
Apart from this the lecture was very interesting and now I can’t wait to get back home and sort out my mess of a kit. Its a pity I cant practice up in my flat...electric kits just haven't advanced enough yet and its just not the same with a piece of rubber.

Later in the day in composition class our year was told each person would have the opportunity to write a song that members of the class would perform. I haven't really done this before in a popular music concept but I look forward to the challenge. Not only will the opportunity help to hone my skills of other instruments but also will help with my leadership skills as I interpret to others how I want the song to be played.

Speaking of composition, the day finally came on Saturday-after 8 weeks of stressing over three minutes worth of notation- as my finished piece was played at Glasgow University...relief. The venue was very intimate with around 40 people attending to hear the programme of ten pieces. I was very honoured to have been guided and taught by John Maxwell Geddes and to have all the advice from the three Paragon musicians who performed it. I have learned so much from the course and have taken a great deal away from it. Now I just have to wait for the recording of my piece to be processed and I shall have a hard copy of "Swallowed by the Trees" by "Mark MacSporran"... good times. This will act as good evidence in the development stage of my graded unit as I create my portfolio.

That’s about it for this week and as the term comes to an end it seems that so does the workload. Just one Beatles performance left. Lets hope we are ready.