So it’s the second official week back at college and what appears to be the last of the semester. New bands are settling down nicely; the long process of presentations are well under way; song after song is being added to the long list of repertoire (a list that seems to have no end!) and all the snow seems to have dissolved into the earth. Having received my planning marks back I am happy to see I passed but now is the time to put all my promises into action and take some initiative!(seems to be the word of the week) The sooner I break down my goals and start working on them the higher the probability that I will achieve my aims in the given time. With the clock ticking I can happily say that I can tick my first box by booking my Grade 5 theory for March of this year. With the ball now rolling I feel that this extra pressure will cause me to work harder and revise more for the up and coming. It seems that this college year has revealed to me how much more efficient I work when I put myself in these timed situations under pressure. I suppose this is a most beneficial ability when it comes to playing my role as a session musician and I hope to develop it in the up and coming months.
On Tuesday as usual I had my morning piano lesson. Over the holidays being at home had the benefit of a real piano and so with structured practice I really felt that my chosen pieces came on in leaps. It seems though that hours of practice on the same three pieces can have its side effects as well as it advantages. My piano teacher began to inform me that although I was improving with my pieces my reading skills may have been suffering for the advances of my pieces had almost became a process of decoding than an actual interpretation of the notes. This seemed to be the case for not only could I almost play the pieces without the music glaring back at me but even when it was in front of me I felt that I wasn’t even following it note by note. Although this was good for my chosen pieces my sight-reading and general following of music was suffering so, for next week a brand new piece has been put on my plate, which I look forward to practicing for my next lesson. I also figured that a few sight-reading examples a day could benefit me significantly.
Well that’s enough piano chat for now.
The rest of Tuesday was spent in the rehearsal rooms and a laid-back trad jam in the evening were I wiped off the dust from my fiddle case and attempted to tune the old rusty strings up. Although the fiddle has no main aim in my studies it has been incredibly helpful with my pitching, sight-reading and communication skills in terms of playing and arranging with other musicians. Although I am becoming a more confident player I do feel that I am slightly naïve about how good my technique actually is and so still have not obtained the confidence to perform to an audience. The gradual enlargement of our trad group though should hopefully help me overcome these fears and there’s no better way to learn an instrument than to play it in a musical situation.
On Wednesday I attended my usual drum lesson and band rehearsal in the morning and afternoon composition class. Zeppelin practice was very productive and I feel we are making good progress for the up and coming show in March. With this new band comes new musicians and so I feel my communication skills are being improved with the new approaches I take in discussing our songs and up and coming shows. The fact that it is also a band with two drummers creates the benefits of a stronger and more detailed talk into the drum parts of our covers and originals and also gives me the opportunity to give and receive tips on each others playing. The fact that I also have to only learn half a set means I can work twice as hard on getting it right. This situation will hopefully benefit my plying technique in the future and help me on my aspirations to become a session musician.
In my weekly drum lesson I began the lesson rather originally by asking my tutor the question “how do you hold drumsticks?” This may seem slightly basic and immature for a drum student in his second year of degree however I am now at a stage where I am analysing every prospect of my playing. I have begun to notice over the last few weeks a strain on my left hand when playing for long periods of time or when over playing. It is almost now at the stage were I just have to stop and rest and so has to be taken care of before it begins to seriously affect my chosen career path. On analysing my playing my tutor broke down the reasons for my strain injury and showed me where I was going wrong. Sticking is a major part of any drummers playing and I feel that it is almost too easy to fall into bad habits in which problems may occur. If I were to become a session drummer I would hopefully be playing for countless hours a day and so if my hands were not in top order my playing would suffer.
I have really begun work on extending my trombone technique lately thanks to a new book of “Arban’s method for trombone.” The book is filled with hundreds of studies and gradually helps to build on technical ability and positioning. In session skills this Thursday I was surprised to find a brass orientated piece on the music stand called “Shake Everything You Got.” With the little extra help of Natalie on saxophone and Gav on trumpet I really felt that the brass brought so much to the track. After the session I managed to steal Gav for a few seconds to ask him about methods for extending my range. He gladly showed me a few tips and so with dedicated practice I hope to be a few tones higher in the next few weeks
Anyway I think I have blabbered on enough this week and so I leave you in peace until next time.
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