6169 Words So Far!

Well fellow Bloggers I'm glad to say this week has been a lot more productive than the passing few were my head has been buried in college work and composing manuscript. Not only have I managed to finish most of my college assignments but I have also managed to complete my composition for the Paragon musicians and with a few tweaks it should at performance level.. This week however has not only been one of writing for it has been full of performance delight and dates for the diary as well.
Last Sunday was the turning on of the lights with Rhythm wave parading through the streets all afternoon for the occasion. It was the first time that I had played snare in the rain and paraded with the drum which revealed to me how much I have to work on my technique. Since the drum was so close to me I was acquired to play completely with my wrists, something I am not use to when I spend most of my drumming time on a kit swinging my arms around erratically. Its back to the practice pad with rudimental rituals until I can "work the wrist." Overall though it was a fun afternoon which I was pleased to be a part of.

On Monday I made arrangements to have a traditional jam for it had been a long time since we had come together. Although it had been a while I felt we sounded as good as ever and my fiddle playing was of a much higher standard. It made me realise that forcing practice was not always the best answers as if you're not having fun the chances are only half of what is studied shall be remembered. It was incredible how much bigger our sound was with a guitarist and so all we need to find is an accordion and whistle player. If you know anyone who is interested, get in touch.
Tuesday morning I walked to my piano lesson fighting through the horrible weather that came with it. I had been working on my Grade 4 pieces and had managed to learn one from the Baroque period to play. With a few tips for improvement I am well under way for my exam and have started looking at my second piece. This one is in the minor and with it my teacher has recommended I start practicing all my minor scales for it shall help me in tackling it.After a nice trim and refuelling of the car my band had a rehearsal for thre Eden Court on Thursday. The set had become really tight and it was just down to deciding what songs to play, which led to a small dispute. This has helped to build on my team working skills for the argument really helped on my approach to discussions and how to expand on my ideas to others.

After college on Wednesday I managed to find time to practice my trombone. It had been a while since I had played it and so I speant a good few hours playing pieces and using my new trombone book - Arbans Method For Trombone. I have started to rely on this book when practicing for it breaks up every possible scale and arpegio helping me to improve on intonation, range and tone.

Well the big day arrived and Thursday morning and the college bus set on its way to Eden Court. It was a gig I looked forward to however most of the morning and afternoon was taken up by sound checks. Although an amplified bass drum pounding my head for hours was an uncomfortable and monotonous experience it gave me time to analyse the set up and warm up properly. When it came to the night and it was our bands time to shine we kept the set tight and were well accepted by the crowd. It was the first real gig for our band and helped to boost morale between us.

The same night we were also asked by a few musicians to play in the Twa Tams the following night which we accepted greatfuly.

Although I wasn't feeling a hundred percent I turned up for sound check the next day ready to go. The drummer of the other band whose kit I was using was picky about what I use of his equipment. I was meant to be using my own snare drum but there was a dramatic twist when my snare skin broke at the sound check! What to do!
A few nice words to the other drummer and he finnaly gave into loaning me it for the gig. We were well received for our efforts and have been asked to come back again in the near future. This gig really showed me that I neeed to keep my gear in good quality and that its always good to communicate with the other musicians that are playing before hand in case there is a need of equipment loan.
Finnaly we have been asked by a music student to take part in a college roadshow around Perth schools which should be a good laugh and a learning curve.

Well this week has gone well for the band and has taught me some valuable lessons about practice and gigging. Lets hope the next few can live up to this!

Tick Tock!

The clock is ticking as deadlines draw ever so closer. From exams, compositions and graded unit deadlines it seems that the the workload just keeps rising. In contrary motion it seems that productivity and dedication (two of my good friends) are keeping their distance leaving my commitment levels at a low.

This week I have mainly concentrated on writing my piece for the composition course that I have been attending every second Saturday. It was a very important class this week as it was our last one before the final showing and so I had to give the performers as much detail (and bars) as possible. The title of my piece "Lost" portrays the different emotions that may be felt from being lost like shock, anger, fear and despair. It has been fascinating watching my stale 16 bar melody evolve into a creative music piece over the weeks and the amount of fun that I have had sitting at the piano attempting to express these emotions, has been memorable.

Yet again it was brilliant hearing my piece played by the professionals instead of the midi musicians on my computer and the feedback I received really helped to build my knowledge of how a composition should be laid out for the players. The other half of the lesson was filled with composition techniques, mainly based around The Overtone Series and Tertial Harmonies. It was remarkable learning these new skills and has enlightened me to how many composers - especially film composers - use these types of harmony in their pieces to convey or paint a picture.

This course has been a great new experience for me and although it has not been the most relevant of activities to my aims of becoming a session musician I find that all musical activities broadens your skills as a musician. I hope that the recording and score of my piece will be another thing to add to my graded unit showing how I have progressed from last year.

Yet again on Tuesday I had my piano lesson were I continued on my quest to grade four-assosciated board. I have already begun to make my way through the curriculum with my first piece "allegro assei" well under way and so far its steady progress. This cannot however be said about my sight-reading which is evidently devastating. As I began to play the never ending 8-bar etude my brain just could not function and my hands no matter how hard they tried could not find the correct notes. I was like a computer stopping at every single note, processing it and then finding it on the piano making for the longest 8 bars in history. “Andante grazioso in G major” soon mutated into a dissonant “largamente in Gb minor”. It is one area were there is vast room for improvement.

All and all though the lesson was productive and I know what to improve in for next week.
On Wednesday the Beatles project did not start the day with a bang as our practice became very unproductive. With the practice gig in a few weeks and minimal rehearsal time before this date I really am starting to worry about our potential to actually pull off this gig. It almost seems cliché now for me to say it but next week as a band we are really going to have to get our heads down and start producing the goods. The evening was to be far more creative with my band Feel Free Conspiracy recording in the studio. This week was quite fun as now we are experimenting with ideas of how to beef up the track from whispering to finger clicks. Its funny how such small changes can build up a track so to a large extent. Next week I am going to bring in my violin and I’ll see what damage I can do with it!

Thursday plodded along as usual with planning stage for graded unit coming to an end. I feel confident about my planning stage and hope to the high heavens that it passes to give me a better chance for the degree next year. Theory has gone downhill slightly though as these modes and 13ths are on the other side of the spectrum compared to my confidence of time signatures. For me to be in as good a position as possible for the test in two weeks I really will have to put my head down in the remaining time.

Session skills gave me the opportunity blow my trombone with an arrangement of David Bowie's classic “Let’s Dance." The arrangement had some nice brass lines and a wide range to cover. It really revealed to me how much I need to work on my high register however all the stress of screeching out these high notes was broken up by a recital of the famous Wallace and Gromit theme by Julian Nott.

Well the week has done its usual thing with me following behind it. The following week is going to be a busy one with parading through the street of Perth for the turning on of the lights and Eden Court!

The Burden grows

Yet again the week has trundled on with classes and activities and as we draw closer to Christmas and the end of Semester 1 terror strikes me with all the tasks and assignments that have to be accomplished in this small time period and all the ones that are yet to begin!. All this wasted time I’ve spent watching from the corner of my eye as the workload floods my room just goes to show me how I need to prioritise my work over leisure activities. Its that first initiative to get into gear that I lack and if I don’t start attempting to use it soon I will be drowning in a room of coursework.

But that’s enough negativity for one week. Its time to look at the “glass half full”.

Well the week started well on Monday as my band Feel Free Conspiracy were asked to represent the college with two other bands at the UHI Rock off in Inverness, Eden Court. This will be my second appearance at the showcase as last year I attended with my old band Kaboom with the night turning out to be exceedingly eventful. Lets this year lives up to it. The gig really works in well with our agenda for we are halfway through the process of releasing an album that we hope to bring to a “store near you” by the Christmas break. This vast opportunity will really help to promote us and help to spur us on as we look for gigs and prospects for the band. The big challenge now is to choose our set list and get it as tight as a drum!

With spirits at a high I skipped to my piano lesson Tuesday morning. I had been given I few grade three pieces to work on from the previous week consisting of Merry Peasant by Robert Schumann to Barrelhouse Blues by Tim Richards. I managed to scrape through both with a few hiccups ranging from some Schoenberg inspired clashes and atonality to hesitant silences simulating John Cage’s “4’33”.
Well in my opinion I felt I did these 20th century composers proud that morning.

Apart from these controversial events my teacher felt I had made good progress since our last encounter and so advised me to go for my grade 4 for next year. This is a great assesment for me and now that I have obtained the book and delved into the repertoire I can truly see the scale of the challenge I have set myself. It’s going be a few months of G.Benda’s Allegro assai to Schwertberger’s Honky Tonk Piano Rag with a double helping of scales, arpeggios and the dreaded pressures of sight-reading.

Already struggling under the weight of work Wednesday did not help to ease the burden. At the end of band rehearsals it was clear that playtime had come to an end as we scrappily played through our half finished set. Now with only 6 weeks left we all have went away to learn the other half of the set so that its only a matter of coming in next week and getting the job done.
If that wasn’t enough in composition class we have to write a proposal for the structure of our presentations for next week. With my chosen subject being Indian Influences on Western culture I am struggling slightly with the task. I feel it was a choice that at first seemed to have a vast amount of resources however at this early stage I am finding it a little hard to find relevance in websites and articles. Maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places and just have to delve a little deeper.

A little light was seen at the end of the tunnel that evening as my band had a very eventful recording session. We now have nine drum tracks down and I already feel a lot more comfortable when it comes to playing along to a click helping me to keep my playing to a high standard on record. Vocals and lead guitar were also put down and now we are hoping to experiment I little bit with different instruments to see how they blend together. I have suggested putting in some violin to outline the chords and harmony as this will help build my confidence when it comes to the “four stringed minefield” of an instrument as I am greatly lacking the assurance to perform with it.

In terms of my composition for the Paragon musicians I am at a roadblock at the moment in deciding how to develop the piece causing me to panic as I watch the days fly by on the calendar. The challenge is not in the idea but occurs in the putting together process and the developing of the idea. It is a difficulty I am going to have to overcome if I am to produce a three-minute piece for next week. It looks like I may have bitten off more than I can chew!

Does that glass still look half full? I’m not so sure, but for the moment I am just going to have to spur on and work to the best of my capabilities.

New beginnings and new tasks.

Well on Tuesday this week I received my first piano lesson with a local teacher and already I have learnt so much from the half hour session. Not only do I look forward to building up my piano abilities but I am also receiving help on music theory for my up and coming grade 5 exam in March 2010.
Later in the day I attended samba band Rhythm Wave at the college in which I carried on my snare and trombone duties. I was put on the spot half way through the rehearsal when Ronnie began asking me to play popular themes and songs of which I don’t really have the ear to just play one the spot. I suppose in developing my ear to hear the difference between pitches and intervals will help speed up the learning process of new songs and help me with improvisation and solo opportunities. Also because it is trombone and violin that are my main pitched instruments and both are fretless a good ear for tuning could become most helpful with my intonation.
On Wednesday my college band began to take initiative on our Beatles project and have chosen our set list for the December show. Whether this is due to the nearing pressures of the gig or the fact we have a new lecturer pushing us on I’m not sure, I would guess a bit of both really. In my drum class I began to move away from my sixteenth note variations and have started on the samba groove. I have always loved the style however my right foot is in desperate need for improvement if I am to be capable of playing the style with confident feel. I hope to pick up the basics in the next few weeks and hopefully will soon be capable of adding versatility to my playing to make me more employable.
Later on in the afternoon I set out with a colleague to have a traditional music rehearsal with my fiddle. The practice was very productive as our sight reading is improving and our sets of both reels and jigs are gradually becoming more in tune and unison. Although I love to play and sight read new pieces I find myself getting extremely frustrated when I make mistakes, almost to the point of stopping and starting the piece again. Controlling my temper is a major issue I need to work on as not only is this frustration affecting my performance but also my confidence to perform live. Playing to an audience with a minefield of an instrument will be one leap I will find hard to take.
On Thursday I found out my results to the previous weeks time signatures test and am glad to say I passed! Lets hope I can keep up this pass rate for the next few weeks in terms of scales and chords.
Also this week in graded unit class we were visited by head of music at Perth College Lorenz Cairns. Lorenz told a very compelling story of his life as a session musician and the diversities that came with it in terms of both his bass playing and singing. I found it incredibly interesting to hear about his step into the session world for as someone who considers the same career path its fascinating to hear about that “first break” that set the ball running and how it turned his life round. As there is no real step to step method that can be taken to becoming a session musician it is interesting to hear how others have accomplished doing this and Lorenz really helped to show that you have to jump at every possible opportunity you can get your hands on. He gave us a different aspect on becoming a session musician and talked about key abilities being good communication skills and the ability to forget about mistakes. I really took the ability to put mistakes over my head aboard for I remember countless times were I have beaten myself over small mistakes that has ended in a chain reaction. I am just going to have to change the mental aspect of how I look upon it.
In session skills this week we were a given a new track to try out which turned out to be quite straightforward for my band to play. Although it did not have any dynamic markings it gave me the opportunity to use, as I felt fit. I also got the opportunity to play the trombone part that turned out to be very difficult with countless high phrases. Gavin helped to show me that in a real show no trombonist would play all these phrases for it would just exhaust their lips in a three hour shows and so I would just play the important ones.
Well on Saturday I attended the second of four workshops into “making your on kind of music” lead by John Maxwell Geddes. This week we lectured upon the methods of programme music and harmony and how such small change can take piece to places you never considered possible and in the afternoon the Paragon musicians who had come to play the first sketches of our pieces so far joined us. It was an amazing experience hearing your piece played by the professionals and getting advice on arrangement and development by them and from an accomplished composer as well. This week we discovered the good news that our pieces would be played in front of an audience in the Glasgow university concert hall to help produce a fuller acoustic tone. Now I just hope that I can produce the goods!

New Opportunities and Embarrassments.

Well this weekly I sadly missed out on Wednesdays lessons due to a check up at Glasgow however this did not mean that I didn’t manage to keep up with musical activities the rest of the week. On Monday I helped out an HNC student with his band by playing trombone in two covers and one original for there up and coming show. I had been given the time to practice the tracks before hand however I had not anticipated playing them in a different key than the original to the singers vocal range and found it exceedingly difficult to transpose to the new key. It was a harsh lesson into the realms of transposition for I find it extremely difficult to figure out keys and transpose on the spot without major problems and so I learned the hard that it was an area that needed a great deal of improvement. Another embarrassing trombone related incident this week took place in session skills in which I was to find out that all the trombone parts were written in treble clef of which I cannot read a single note! In the end I had to attempt to play by ear, which proved to be a disaster.
Although trombone is not my main instrument I hope to succeed in it. Its still one that I aspire to be capable of playing at a high standard and so have found out embarrassingly some major issues missing from my trombone vocabulary that will need to be looked upon in the following weeks if I am to succeed with this task.
On Tuesday I returned to the samba band Rhythm Wave to carry on my position as a snare drummer. Last year I learned a great deal from my experience with the band in terms of technique and time playing and had the added bonus of going to Glastonbury at the end of the college year. I expect to gain as much enjoyment and knowledge as I did last year and who knows, I may end up at Glastonbury again. This year in samba I have also been asked by Ronnie to play trombone in some of the arrangements, which will be a fun new opportunity for me.
Also this week I took a step towards learning the piano as I booked my first piano lesson for the following week. Although it is not really a step towards becoming a session drummer I don’t really look upon a session artist as a solid and efficient job. All musicians I know do not sustain themselves solely on performing and recording as being a musician is a very independent and competitive job that sometimes needs more than one income. I hope to be able get a lot of work in this field however I feel that to sustain myself I will need to be a teacher and instructor whenever I get the chance. I think to succeed in this piano could be a vital instrument in terms of achieving this goal and could also help me with my up and coming theory exam in March next year. I am jumping at every opportunity I can, as it is the things we don’t do in life that we regret most so I might as well try every resource that I can get my hands on if it will benefit me in my career.
Although I wasn’t in college much this week I am still learning a great deal to help me with my ambitions of becoming an established musician but for now, I just have to take it one small step at a time.