Blogster

Lets carry on were we left off then?

This week has been rather hollow due to Wednesday’s in-service day and so, with no instrumental instruction, rehearsals or composition class I’ve been trying to catch up with my other classes with the ever-rising academics!

So Thursday morning, after walking the treacherous pathway to college I arrived at my destination of the lecture feature for graded unit class. This week was mainly based around interview skills and a questionnaire focusing on our specialised skills. As a student whose jobs have came from an informal background of outside labour were job interviews were very casual and almost unnecessary to my employers it is a field that I suffer in knowledge. I found the class most helpful and although a lot of it seemed like common sense there were many points I noted down to prepare myself for the up and coming MOCK interview.

It seems in formal situations like this I seem to lose my nerve and confidence leading to an avalanche of spoken nonsense and mumbling. To counteract this I think a lot of preparation is needed.

Yet again music history was a full on lecture as we delved deeper into the world of “aspects of genres” and “semiotics.” It all seems a bit too much for me and I know I may struggle with the essays. I have all the sources I need though and I think in good time my brain will gradually catch up with the lectures.

In session skills this week after months and months of preparation we finally headed to the recording studio to start recording. Maceo Parker’s “Shake everything you got” was the first track to be recorded which orientates mainly around the brass section. I felt my playing was put to the limits as we played through it countless times with Gav who also surprised the brass section with a cheeky arrangement of a commitments compilation to sight read on the spot. This of course did not go down well. In the end though we managed to get one take down – not the best – but a start. I have been giving the opportunity of a solo in the recording and so will practice towards recording a decent one for the following weeks.

After a nights good rest I freshened myself up for Friday’s articulation class, who knows what would lie through door 513 this week and if I would return after entering?

Well the class turned out to be quite interesting and digestible this week as Pete showed the class the different methods of analysing music and how many different facts socially and culturally can be taken in from a single song. It was a much less disorientated class than last week and I look forward to the next few weeks.

For my band Feel Free Conspiracy it is now less than a week before we head to Glasgow’s Lo Fi recording studio for a two-day session. In this time we hope to lay down 3 to 4 tracks depending on the pace that we work at. The last few days have seen us work on the finishing touches to our tracks in a hope to produce the best quality on the day.

I shall update next week on how the recording session goes.