....exhausted

So this week has been a quietly stressful one as the due date for the Fabbri essay draws near. My progress has been steady with this assignment and I do hope that my many hours of writing and researching will pay off and get me that pass that I need… and maybe even deserve!

Sadly many of my weekly activities had to be re scheduled to make time for Fabbri such as Rhythm wave rehearsal and Tuesday morning piano class. Hopefully I shall get some free time next week to catch up.

Due to the degree presentations and HND performances in Glasgow all of my Wednesday classes except for drum tuition were cancelled. My technical ability is gradually on the up rise thanks to tips from my tutor and I hope over the next few weeks this progress will continue to grow on my kit playing.

So Wednesday afternoon “Stairway to Kevin” set off on an escapade to Glasgow’s Pivo Pivo’s for the HND performances. The venue was somewhat central and with a little help with directions we managed to locate it. To an extent it was crowded, making for a good atmosphere with the sound quality form each bands sound check coming out superb…the potential for a good performance was there. Of course when it was our turn to perform all that potential drained and dispersed. After all our hard work we managed to make a pig’s mess of the gig failing to keep anything together. This is one gig I won’t be looking back on with a smile however as an aspiring session musicians there’s good days and bad days. Just got to put it behind and carry on. Overall though the rest of the night was a success and the rest of the bands and the Guinness went down well!

On Thursday while nursing a slight hangover I was informed of my audition piece for the degree. Every drummer has been given “Funk Shuffle” from the Dave Hassel book two to prepare. Grade 8!…Hmmmmm, I’m not too sure it comes close. There are however sections for soloing and so it is these oarts that I will have to play to impress. I have started looking at a few potential second pieces which I will try to narrow down in the next few days.

Well that was pretty much it for Thursday as it seemed there was no classes taking place. This gave me a couple of hours to work on my piano playing (if it can really be referred to in this term) and time to hand in my completed essay.

On Friday articulation class was cancelled due to the degree presentations taking place in the Brahan theatre. I took a wander up and sat in on most of the afternoon presentations. Many of the proposals were interesting and gave me an insight into ideas for my own and what level I should be looking to achieve. Some students on other hand should have been caged, boxed up and sent on a one way rocket to Mars as soon as they concluded for the standard brought new levels to low.

So that was my eventful and diverse week. No cheesy endings, too much work and brain power needed elsewhere.

Writing, Writing and more Writing!

With just over a week until the essay on Fabbri is due its hard get away from the many books and articles to find time for the rest of my assignment. Even writing my “weekly masterpiece” has taken a back seat! I’m making good progress though and so just hope that it will be done in time.

So this Monday was my groups turn to show the many applicant hopefuls around the college. Every instance is a fascinating and new experience and to extent rewarding to know that I am helping each person to be in as comfortable a set of mind for their audition and answering any queries they have on the college.

This is assisting me in my general confidence and communication, helping me to become a relatively better speaker. This boost in confidence will help towards my graded unit interview and generally with every musical escapade that comes my way.

After college I received a call to attend Clearwater studios to record trombone for a local band that were in need of a horn section. It was through saxophonist Felix that I was asked as he was putting down saxophone at the same time.

The piece was fast paced but only needed small sections for brass which were repeated throughout. It was a job to get in an out as quickly as possible and so In and out in 15 mins. Although it wasn’t paid I never complain as time in the studio is always an experience. If I asked for money I would never get the chance to meet new musicians and who knows, one day they might need me for a bigger event…maybe even paid!

Bright and early Tuesday morning I went to my piano lesson however my busy schedule sadly meant my playing did suffered. My teacher had sympathy for me and gave me advice about habits she had noticed over the past few weeks. She talked of how every week I would come in and play the piece up to a certain point before crumbling. It soon became clear to me that this was due to my regime of starting a piece at the beginning and running straight through to the end resulting in the complex sections not receiving the attention they needed. I started to realise that this was not only true for piano but for every other instrument I have taken on as well. Hopefully my improvement will be vaster weekly thanks to these critical pointers.

Rhythm wave went well this week and saw me coming off snare and onto rhapiki (god knows how it’s spelt!). This drum has no real rebound and so my wrist technique was in need of change before I did myself damage. On drum set I have also started to learn traditional grip, not because it looks so much cooler but because strain injury playing matched grip has started to get in the way of my playing.

While at the practice I sadly had to turn down a gig for the college open day due to its clashing with my classes. With the degrees competitive nature I really have to buckle down and attend every class again. You just can’t please everyone nowadays!

So Wednesday was a day of mixed production as yet again I seemed to turn up to my lesson to find no teacher to guide me through the 20 mins. That ofcourse didn’t stop me as I used my lesson time to look over my pieces probably gaining the same aount of productivity from it. I find that the colleges drum rooms are a much different kettle of fish to drum kits I am use to. Since the whole kit is as muffled and dampened to the level that even breathing is heard over it(slight exaggeration) I feel that I really need to rearrange my playing style to get the feel across. These kits will be used for my end of year assessment and my degree audition and so the more comfortable I am the better my chances are of entering into the degree. This drew to my attention that a lot of the time could be using someone else’s set up. If I want to make it as a session musician I think playing as many different set ups as possible could help strengthen my general co-ordination of the kit for who knows, I may once turn up to a gig and have to use a left handed drummers kit!

My Led Zeppelin cover band is at performance level now for our gig next week and as long as we keep it tight and together I think we can pull off a good show.

Later in the day in composition class we were put into our groups to begin looking at the best ways to compose for the Tom and Jerry track. In my group are people I have not worked with before and so this task shall be good experience for enhancing my communication in group situations.

Wednesday evening was occupied with final rehearsals for the concert hall show “Rock the Catwalk” taking place this Saturday. With a small problem only on intonation I feel the show will be good fun to be a part of and play in. Time management however was not in my side that night as I arrived slightly late for rehearsal and of course paid the pitiful consequences of shame. Just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again!

Thursday morning was graded unit portfolio check as I showed what potentially could be with my planning document. It seems I am on the right path and will now have to turn ll my thoughts into the physical thing!

Marlissa also informed me that Fiona from Kilmarnock Centrestage would expect to perform the musical “Songs for a New World” soon after the Easter holidays. I am keen to focus on my reading again and look forward being part of the show again.

Session skills saw me unexpectedly take my trombone out for a run through some of the tracks that are soon to be recorded. It just wasn’t my day for tuning or playing in general and so a few position techniques will be in order before I head back to studio.

After a hard at college on Thursday I packed my stuff and headed to Dundee union for a gig with my band Feel Free Conspiracey. The gig went well and we managed to pull a decent crowd however the sound was a different matter as we were far too loud throughout. At the end of the day I suppose a gig as a gig.

Friday’s Articulation class yet again turned out to be the fascination of the week as Pete Honeymoon brought analysis to a new level with the piece “My Song” by the American Jazz composer and pianist Keith Jarrett. The class was all in relevance to our assignment due after the Easter holiday in which each has to transcribe a piece and write about the image that it creates. I look forward to the challenge and hope to learn a great deal in terms of transcribing the piece by ear. These skills of transcribing will hopefully benefit me in the music world.

So Saturday came and finally “Rock the Catwalk” took place. Overall the whole experience was superb and really showed me the level I should be working towards as a musician. It was a long day of rehearsals starting at nine in the morning until ten at night showing me how as a musician the days can sometimes drag on. Even though I had been playing the same pieces over and over throughout the day I had to go out and play with forced enthusiasm not showing any of the exhaustion that lay behind my face. Overall however I have enjoyed my time there and have met many great people and musicians in general. With all the publicity it received and the full 1000 booked out show I hope to have managed to getmy face on the map slightly and hope to gather evidence from publicity and papers for my graded unit portfolio.

So that was my week.

168 hours into 1384 words.

Hope you "enjoyed" it as much as I did!

Tale as Old as Time

It has been a week of theory exams, musicals, concert hall rehearsals and fun surprises of which I hope all has helped on my pursuit to a career in music.

With last weeks expenses knocking up to just under £300 I really had to cut back on leisure activities and so sadly had to spend more time using my eyes and ears taking a step back from the practical side of gigging and recording. With my associated theory exam this week I really had to bustle down and prepare so as not to let the £26 fee go to waste.

When it came to the day all went well and I have a feeling that my revision has paid off. For my aspirations as a session musicians this qualifications not only shows to an employer my knowledge of theory but also shows that I am dedicated and determined to succeed.

First of all college this week has been hectic with new deadlines of essays, portfolio checks and end of term gigs drawing close. Yet again I am finding that organising my tasks is the best remedy to getting them done efficiently, hopefully with time I will be able to use this to my advantage when session work comes my way.

Our Led Zeppelin band is now at the stage of polishing up the set for the Glasgow gig. Over the last two weeks there has been a great deal of conflict, with time wasted on resolving these situations. The fact some members were coming in late to practice meant we were loosing valuable time and so they had to be warned about the extent that they would be participating with the band for a crummy performance from one member would mean a lower grade. Arranging of songs has been another issue for there are sections that do not click well with the band and almost feel cheesy. In the end though the conflict was resolved thanks to discipline and compromise. These encounters are something I will have to deal with in the “real world” and so I feel that the experience will benefit me greatly for the future.

My drum lesson this week went well and my four assessment pieces are coming along nicely. My tutor has really helped me find the feel for each of the four styles and although he can’t read a note of the music, notation is not an area I need to focus on. Over the next few weeks I aim to have three ready, well…if time is on my side.

Composition class this week was remarkable as we discovered the art of writing for cartoon and the many techniques needed to do so. After being put into groups we were given the task of writing for a two minute long Tom and Jerry sketch. This will be a challenge for it seems instrumentation will be very large and varied and so each member will be playing for more than one instrument and possibly not even their own. The fact we only have two weeks till the performance or should I say two rehearsals means next week will be full on and fast paced. For a session musician complex tasks in a small period are frequent and so hopefully this eye opener will help my abilities to cope with short deadlines.

In graded unit this week I had prepared for my mock interview to be acted in front of the class. I felt the interview went well and the feedback I got back was both positive and constructive in criticism. Areas improvement consist of fidgeting, pace of speech and growing a beard! Well I don’t about the beard but I will work on the rest for the interview.

My academic writing an understanding of text has been pushed with music history as I start to write my essay on genre. I think my main flaw is referencing and structure and so this time hopefully with help from other students and lecturers I will grasp a strong foundation for the assignment.

Sadly I did not attend my last two classes as it overlapped with my Grade 5 theory but I have used my initiative and found what is due for next week.

On Friday we had articulation class, which is slowly becoming one of my favourite classes. Not only am I learning musical concepts and harmony but every week we get to listen to and discuss fantastic music that I never knew existed. For an aspiring session musician I feel a broad knowledge of genre will benefit and help me in communicating generally with other musicians and hopefully in my networking skills.

There was also a nice surprise brought to the class when each of us was given a hand out on what was acquired of us for our “degree interview” This consists of two grade 8 pieces one of which is chosen by the college, sight reading and theory tests and the interview itself…no one is safe! Well although this was a shock I am quite happy that they are challenging the class to a competitive nature for a place on the degree. I have not chosen my piece yet but really want to do something completely out of my league and different. I have a few ideas but whether I will be able to pull them off is another question.

So that was college this week but there has been a great deal going on outside as well. Earlier in my blog entries I mentioned that my trombone and I were participating in a charity gig at the concert hall accompanying a function band and Felix the Sax Cat on saxophone. This week saw us rehearsing the songs in Clearwater studio and later in the week at the concert hall. I gained a lot of experience doing both rehearsals and it was the first time I had played in the concert hall. This has been a great opportunity for me to network and work on my communication skills, as the band and all the staff were complete strangers to me. The tracks themselves range in complexity however learning the parts will not been as challenging as playing in tune and in time with all the rest of the band. I looked forward the gig a week on Saturday and hopefully will have videos and pictures to add and put towards my graded unit.

Sunday was exceptional good day as me and a few other students travelled to Kilmarnock to see the Centrestage’s production of Beauty and the Beast. I was completely blowing away by the performance with the incredible choreography, preparation, props and singers and actors. For any aspiring musician seeing the professionals in action and how dedicated every one was to the show was a real eye opener and helped me to find motivation and inspiration I thought I’d lost. Last year I was lucky enough to play drums for two of the shows and the experience I took away was priceless. After the show I was lucky enough to bump into Musical Director Fiona Mckenzie who talked of performing “Songs For a New World” again this year and that she would be in touch with me when the time drew near. I look forward to returning to the pit and becoming a part of the musical magic again and hopefully now with a little more experience to my belt will play my part to a more accurate and higher standard

So with inspiration restored I look forward to the up and coming weeks and preparing for my degree year. Now though…its back to writing this darn essay!