Ticking the boxes!

Hello again!
It has just been too long!

Hmm well yet again I sit on my comfy seat at the flat, in a small but spacious corner attempting to reiterate the week’s activities in an interesting yet “graded unit” related style.
First good news of the week; I passed the final theory exam! This joyous occasion has given me the boost to keep focused on revision for my up and coming Grade 5 theory exam on the 4th of March which really isn’t as far away as it seems. I have began to look at past papers and have been fairly surprised on the many methods and details I need to look into if I am to pass. I feel that my main let down is the identifying of chords and intervals and so for the next weeks this will be my main focus. As a player mainly of linear pitched instruments I have never really had to worry about chords however with my attempts to learn the piano I hope to take away some harmony knowledge relative to my cause.
Well good news aside the week has been tiring but one that has brought great productivity and opportunity.
Many an hour this week has been spent in the studio which for an aspiring session musician has been a supportive experience. On Tuesday morning after my piano lesson I headed to the studio for our weekly acoustic session. Playing acoustic has been a new experience for me as a drummer and I have really enjoyed experimenting with different sticks and brushes to get the right sound for the track. Since everything was recorded live with no click I realised how significant dynamics were in terms of hearing and playing off the rest of my band. I also managed to use my new toy (the ocean drum) and experimented on a few of the tracks with positive results. Although it is fun it is a long process, and at times can be quite stressful but with patient sound engineers and good recording techniques I look forward to the final product.
Wednesday saw my band at the other side of the recording spectrum trying to polish off our tracks for an EP. I am really impressed with the quality of sound on the mixed down version and have been lucky enough to learn how it all gets done. Although I am impressed with the product as a band we have decided to put some of our own money down to record some of our fresher material for two day session in Glasgow Lo Fi studio. This will be a relatively new experience for me as I have never recorded in Glasgow and look forward to the professional standard we will be working at and the experience that will come with it.
I was also happy this week to find in my inbox my Glasgow course composition. After a good listen I am happy with the quality and hope to add it to my graded unit hopefully showing my level of dedication, versatility and knowledge as a musician.
As mentioned earlier I have managed to tick off another box in my goals for graded unit by purchasing an Ocean drum. Already I am picking up the basics and fingering patterns needed to play correctly and hope to get it out gigging and recording as much as possible ion the future.
This week I was asked to play trombone or violin in a Billie Holiday degree project. My string skills are at no standard to perform in a degree project but I gladly accepted on brass terms. After a little research into her I am looking forward to playing some old school trombone and hopefully some of my favourite Gershwin tracks with a vast range of talented musicians. This will give the chance to work on my networking skills and communication skills especially in terms of playing with the other brass musicians in analysing the patrts.
It was the first time in a while this week that I attended the samba band practice for Rhythm wave. My attendance had begun to lack for the Tuesday evening rehearsals due to an extremely busy schedule - which I am glad to see has simmered down. It’s great to see so many new people joining in now and watching the band grow in numbers and in sound. I was happy to see my position on snare drum was still open and also that I could remember the old patterns. I now feel pushed to attend this group for playing snare drum will help me with improving my wrist technique and general playing.
This week I finally presented my Beatles presentation on Indian influences. The fact that it was held in the lecture theatre gave me a slight boost in confidence and helped me to present it successfully. I feel that my presenting skills have come on considerably from last year and hope that I can keep up this confidence for my up and coming interview in later in the year for graded unit.
Well, I sense I have sat on this seat too long now and need to stretch the old legs.
Until next week!