Performance Technology Blog

Performance Technology Class - Genre Research and Report of patch building and Final Performance

(Research Collated over the course of the year)

This class has been based on using current technology in different ways and means to create music. This way of working tends to lend itself towards very forward thinking avant-garde genres and styles of music, mixing digital processing and programming equipment with physical instruments and interfaces or digital instrument synthesis. Also the use of digital or analogue effects to add to or effect an overall performance


This style of music is not always highly technologically based, John Cage was a real pioneer of the genre with his use of texture and instrumentation to create Avante Garde music. This is an example of how off the wall his work could get.





This is an example of a physical performance of Avant-garde music. There is no digital editing or effects, just simply sound made by a physical action. I believe that a lot of avant-garde music stemmed from the pioneering acts of John Cage.

This is a short video of a current Avant-Garde artist called Hauschka, it explains how the artist fed from John Cages way of thinking and how he approaches his work.He also makes reference to how he purely uses acoustic sounds without any digital effecting or synthesis. I believe the fact that he makes a point of this in particular shows how it can be assumed that much of this style of music in current times is produced by using digital instruments, effects or synthesis. I think it seems that some artists like Hauschka take great artistic pride in the fast that they do it the natural, acoustic way but because this is such a subjective genre when it comes to overall opinion, it is hard to say whether using digital effects or processing is "wrong". I believe that the use of progressive technology in music is a great thing, it allows music to adapt to life in the time we are in and also allows for almost endless capabilities with instruments and music production. Acoustically, you can only do so much to the sound of a piano in the same way that is shown in this video. If you take this and progress it further by using digital means, it opens up a whole new world to the music which can be produced.





Examples of similar styles of digital music range from being very melodic and tuneful to being almost very hard to listen to and interpret.

This is an example of Iannis Xenakis' work. The piece involves sounds from a Jet engine, Trains, an earthquake and high, warped bell sounds. This is an example of using edited recorded sound as a composition.




It can be quite an uncomfortable experience for certain people to listen to a piece like this. The conventional idea of the term "Music" can easily be questioned when listening to a piece like this. This again seems to stem from John Cage's idea that any sound produced in any such form can be called "music". However different peoples perception of music can differ greatly from one person to the next.


Another example of Xenakis' work is the piece S.709. This is an example of using digital or electronic synthesis to create a purely electronic sound. This is caused by different electronic parameters which produce the rapidly modulating sounds.





An example of using looped tracks is "Come Out" by Steve Reich. This piece uses a short recording of a boy called Daniel Hamm who was involved in the Harlem Riots in 1964. The recording is of the boy stating "I had to, like, open the bruise up, and let some of the bruise blood come out to show them". This was to try and convince the police that he had been beaten in the riots. The loop of "Come out to show them" is played simultaneously on two channels at first, which quickly slip out of sync with each other creating a phase effect which eventually moves further and further apart to create different rhythmic effects. The two voices then split further to four, then again to eight eventually leaving an unintelligible sound to the listener.  The movement of the loops creates a great tension, especially considering that the loop does not change at all throughout, only the rhythmic element of it and the thickness of the overall texture which makes it a very intense listen.



Looping systems are very effective in live situations as a track can be built from nothing to have many layers and intertwining parts. This is a great example of Bon Iver taking a single looped idea and using that one idea to create a massive piece by building on it. He also uses a vocoder for the effects of the vocal.




Using loops allows you to build on a single idea and create thicker textures by building more layers on top of a track, this is a great example of Imogen Heap using a looper live to build an entire track from scratch, with percussion elements and harmonies. She also uses the looper in such a way that she creates dynamic drops in and out as the piece progresses, almost giving the effect of a band.




For building an instrument for this class, I would like to focus on the idea of using loops and being able to build a textural element of a track in some form. I will look into how this can be done using Max and available hardware.



Building My Instrument

After deciding that I was going to follow the idea of building some form of looping instrument I looked at what was available in college to use as a physical piece of hardware to control what was happening. It could have potentially been done with only using the digital software in Max however I much prefer the physicality of moving sliders or buttons to effect a sound being produced. This makes it feel much more like an instrument.

I found the KORG Kontrol -

This is a USB MIDI device which has 9 "channels" of controls, each has two trigger buttons, a slider and a turning knob at the top. The record, play and loop buttons are not particularly useable or needed in this case and the "scene" setting I used was "2"(it was unclear what this setting actually did, I believe it changes the MIDI label of each part of the device, this will be explained further in this blog). 

My plan was to use the device to control different layers of a recorded track using loops. I would have the sliders working as the "Level" of the track, the two triggers as a "Start" and "Stop" and the knobs as some form of effect, possibly tempo shift or filter effects. The most important and most difficult feature of the instrument would be that I wanted to be able to work each channel independently of the others.

This being the main issue, I started out by using the MIDI tester in Max to find out that each part of the device had it's own unique Channel Number. This meant that I could route each separate part of the device to it's own unique control using the "ROUTE" Object. 

This object meant that each trigger sent by the device could control a separate part of the patch. The CTLIN object is what receives the initial MIDI trigger message from the device itself.

Once I had this problem sorted I then started to build a simple looper, this did not have to involve any form of record in tool or any audio trimming patches as I would be using pre-recorded loops from one of my original tracks called "Groovy Biscuits" the full version of which can be heard here -

https://soundcloud.com/everythingshines/groovy-biscuits-2-0

This is a shot of the looper -

 The "Start" and "Stop" Trigger buttons are each separately linked to the message boxes with 0 (stop) and 1(start), these are linked to a toggle which starts each audio file. There is also a loop toggle which is grouped to each channel with one master toggle for ease of use. Each channel also has an "open" message to route each correct audio file to its location. These are all run into an SFPLAY object which allows the audio to be played.

The knobs on the device are routed separately to FREQSHIFT objects which allow a pass of frequencies to be moved through the audio track being played, this was a very nice effect to have on each separate track. The FREQSHIFT object throws the pitch of the melodic instruments off ever so slightly which gives it a very nice tension, also with the effect on the drums it gives it a waving phase effect which can add to the overall rhythmic feel of the track. The integer object linked to each of these is routed to the output of the knob, this is what controls each frequency.

The sound output of each of these loopers is linked to a GAIN object which is routed to each of the sliders, controlling the volume output of each track. The audio is then sent to an EZDAC, where it is then played as audio.









I tried to match the look of the patch to how the actual device is visually set out to try and create a nice moving visual when it is being played, I feel that this was a nice element to have as it meant you could see what you were doing with the device happening in real time on the screen. This is a shot of the finished product in presentation mode.

This is a short video of the final performance showing the patch in action with a brief explanation.

I am happy with how the patch turned out in the end as it works very well in context. The original idea was to create a looper interface into which any loops could be used and played to the same effect, also with the effects knob on each track, this could be changed for each track to suit what it may. I think the simplicity of the patch works very well as it could be used by someone who does not know a particular amount about using max. 

This simplicity however could also be seen as a downfall. Much more could be added to the patch to give it more depth as an instrumental interface, like multi effects, live loop recording interfaces and such to make it much more complex and powerful. This would make it much more useful in a live setting as the loops could be recorded on the fly rather than the pre-recorded set up it has at the moment.

HND 2 Jazz Improvisation Class (has been built up over the course of the year)

I will be updating this blog post with notable changes and advancements in the jazz improv class this year, this will save any mix up with many posts being hard to follow or find.

Improvisation Group -
Jason Sweeny - Vocal
Gary Rafferty - Guitar
Andrew Beveridge - Guitar
Donal Gaine - Bass
Eugene Gaine - Tenor Sax
Amy Moar - Piano


Over the course of the first semester of Improvisation class, we have looked at many different pieces of varying difficulty and feel. We started off by looking at some more blues orientated material by artists such as John Coltrane and Miles Davies. We looked at the chord progressions and the melodic instrumentalists were looking into ways of soloing around these progressions, following both chord tones and modes, whilst trying to be stylistically accurate with the way in which they solo.

For the drummers, we were really looking to try and immerse ourselves in the style and really get a grasp of the playing styles. As I have never really fully immersed myself in all out Jazz playing, I have found that quite difficult. I have a good understanding of Jazz drumming and I believe that I could 'get through a gig' so to speak, however I admit that a lot of the fills and licks that I play and use are more associated with my usual style of heavier, rock playing. I think the only way to really fix that is to listen to as much Jazz as I do everything else! Although I will have to adapt my playing style to fit the way some of the Jazz styles are played for it to really sound authentic.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been trying out different styles of playing including styles like, ballads, latin jazz, be-bop and more blues orientated playing.

some of the tracks we have been using were -

This Masquerade - George Benson
Autumn Leaves
Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
Billie's Bounce
Solar - Miles Davies
Bb Blues
F Blues
So What - Miles Davies
Freddie Freeloader - Miles Davies

For the first assessment, we were using the tracks -
Freddie Freeloader
Summertime

My feedback from the assessment was that I have to really immerse myself more into the style of playing in which we are trying to achieve in this class, I really feel that I have much further to go before I will be able to comfortably play in this style. I feel that I was not "programmed" to play jazz as I feel that I have really hit a bit of a wall with it. I can be very solid, confident and creative when I am playing in styles I am used to, however when It comes to this kind of material, I seem to lose a lot of confidence due to the feeling that I am too heavy handed or loud and seem to struggle to keep up with the way in which jazz drummers don't seem to play the same pattern twice.

I have mainly noticed this due to trying to learn this piece for one of the degree shows at the end of the year - Peaceful Warrior - Aaron Parks



The version shown in this video is a cover version by the Kurt Rosenwinkel Quartet however it follows almost exactly the same feel and idea as the original album track. (The original does not seem available on youtube).
What is noticeable about this track is how the drummer is constantly moving through patterns while keeping overall time. Also, the very subtle and musical use of dynamic contrast means that the hits, fills and stabs really stand out where they have to. He has the technique to be able to play the very fast, complicated patterns while maintaining the light feel playing so quietly. This is extremely effective in this style. I have found that, being a more rock based drummer, I struggle to get the correct tone out of the drums by the dynamic I play at. In essence, I play far too heavily and loud to get the right overall tone and effect of the light playing and it always comes across in the wrong sense. I have a lot of technique based work to do in order to be able to play this style of drums. I need to work on my dynamic playing and overall touch to not be so heavy handed. Also, I need to work on moving through different ideas and playing off the leaders of the pieces to create more musical ideas and movement in my playing.


For the weeks after the assessment, we have been working on blues tracks to go back to the basics of playing over complicated progressions. The melodic players have been focusing on playing the chord tones while soloing as well as different modes and blues scales. I understand the basic theory behind this playing although I obviously can't put it into practice on a kit.

While they have been doing this, I have not really had much technical playing to do other than just holding steady time. I have been working on following the scores and chord charts along with them to try and work on my listening skills. Also, I have been using the scores of the heads and while playing time with my right hand, kick and hats, I have been playing the rhythm of the head with my snare hand, mixing this up with some different brush techniques and dynamics. I have found that this has made quite a difference to the feel, it is also quite challenging to keep the swing feel while reading a"melody" line at the same time. The main track I have been doing that with is "Blues for Alice' - Charlie Parker.

The "melody" line I have been following starts from bar 5 after the intro section.


 



When we are back after the February break, I believe that we will be going back to work on the Jazz tracks that we were working on prior to the assessment and preparing these for the final performance.  my group were working on -

This Masqerade - This piece has a more solid base and a laid back latin feel to the rhythm. For this track I have been experimenting with some different latin rhythms, similar to bossa nova feel. The main difficulty I have been having with this track is keeping very solid time while changing the textures and patterns using latin style clave rhythms. To try and combat this, I have been trying to focus on really keeping the time solid. To do this, I have been counting the sub-divisions in my head and making sure everything links up properly, it seems to have been making a huge difference.

 Autumn Leaves - There are many different versions of this track, this is the closest version I could find to what we are doing with the feel of the track. A lot of the versions seem to vary in feel. For this track i am using brushes and the feel is very much directed towards that of a jazz ballad. With this track, I have found it very difficult to keep the groove interesting while being very subtle with the playing. The brushed snare drum feel can get extremely repetitive very quickly so I have been working on subtle changes in the patterns to create a bit of movement and dynamic shift without too much being noticed overall.

 Freddie Freeloader -  we have kept the feel of this track relatively similar to the original. Originally I had been playing it with brushes however on further reflection I think it may sound better with sticks. As I progress with my ability in these styles of playing, I am able to get the parts to sound much more genuine and idiomatic to the style. I do however still feel that I have a problem with moving through patterns and keeping fresh ideas coming through.


 So What - (This was later changed to the George Benson Version instead of Miles Davies)
For this track, we are using the main chord progression and have used the basic feel of the track to base our version for class on, this gives us a much more sensible structure to play over when soloing. This track gives me a chance to play more towards the style I am used to as it has funk elements in it. Once again, the hardest part I have found about this track has been the fact that the drummer on the record seems not to play the same pattern twice in a row at any point. Instead he takes an idea, develops it, then takes the developed idea and builds on that too, then switches to a new idea and continues this way of thinking. I have been trying to build on my ideas but again I have found an issue in that I can be quite heavy handed and loud when playing this, where it still has a very dynamic texture to it. I seem to end up playing much more rocky styles and fills. I have been working on my touch for this track and I feel that I have made decent progress with it. Also, this track gives me a chance to have a proper drum solo, building over the chord progression which does not change too often but has some very nice hits and stabs which can be created with the band. These stabs and hits can be anticipated in different ways with fills and soloing, giving the track more options for stylistic approach.






Most of the last semester has been focused on preparing for the final performance. I feel that all my work up until now has payed off and I feel that I am making progress with my touch, feel and ideas in the style. I still feel however that I have a long way to go to get to a high standard of playing in this style. Listening to a lot of these players has helped massively and also taking the time to work out techniques, more complicated patterns and even choice of equipment has led to having a much better understanding of what I need to do to improve at playing different styles of Jazz.

Performance Tech Class - First couple of weeks

Unfortunately, I missed the first couple of weeks of class due to illness however I am now catching up with everything I missed.

Over the past few weeks we have been looking at some Avant Garde music and artists in class. This is a genre I am really not familiar with in any sense so it has been cool to find out more about something new!


Avant Garde music is known for being characteristically "ahead of it's time" and really pushes the boundaries of what is considered to be labelled as "music".

One of the true pioneers of this genre of music was John Cage. He experimented with means such as silence (as music), nature sounds, electronic currents, even the physical movements of the composer themselves. Some people find it hard to see how some of the pieces he composed can be called "music" but I think if you look at Avant Garde music with a truly open mind, you can get much more from it that just seeing it as "noise".

John Cage - Water Walk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSulycqZH-U


More Up to date Avant Garde music has a much more digital based sound due to the advances in musical technology over the past two or three decades. A lot of the Avant Garde music I have come across has a lot of experimental sounding noises and textures which you wouldn't usually find on a standard track on the radio for example.

These are two more recent examples of Avant Garde music.

George Marauder - Noise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3IrrRJlX3c

Kenji Siratori - External Scream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTdpu__yAiw&feature=related

This type of writing has even worked it's way into the world of heavier music, again using a lot of electronic devices to create some of the very strange sounds heard alongside the standard rock set up. Even just the concept of not having a "structure" as such to a piece, a lot of Avant Garde Metal seems to almost just go wherever it seems to feel like with the structure and musicality.

Quote Unquote - Mr Bungle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtDEmtwuTlI&feature=rellist&playnext=1&list=PL56FA073844C92AE0

Hypno5e - Day Break At SlaughterHouse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGUOXMLJ18Y&feature=BFa&list=PL56FA073844C92AE0

Here are some videos from the live DVD that we filmed on tour, this is why I unfortunately missed performance class on the odd occasion.

I was really happy with my playing on these recordings, there was around 170 people there that night too which really made it even more special, when I'm in that kind of situation, I get into the music so much more so I put on a better performance. I think I play better under a lot of pressure.

The feedback so far from that show has been great. I have realised that in some cases, pushing the tempo in a live setting can actually be a really effective thing to do, especially in a function band setting. It can really be a great way of getting the audience motivated and up for a dance, which in turn makes for a better night all round. Also, being able to quickly know whether or not you will do an extra couple of choruses or a solo at the end of a track, Rod likes to keep you on your toes with that sort of thing when we play live.

I learned so much about myself and my playing when I was on the road with these guys, I really feel a lot more confident in my playing and on stage abilities. I am definitely looking forward to the festivals and bigger gigs in summer.


The Birthday Suit - Hope Me Home (LIVE)

The Birthday Suit - On My Own (LIVE)

The Birthday Suit - Past Passes By (LIVE)

Analysis of recordings during the year 




Funk-  "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay" - Otis Redding

This was a nice track to play, We had quite a big band for this track, this involving guitar (both acoustic and electric), bass, drums, piano, vocals and a horn section. I think my playing is quite solid throughout without too much fluctuation in time. We had put a lot of work into the structure of this track so I was quite confident in what I was playing. The whole idea this year in performance class was to get the tracks sounding as close to the original as possible and I think we managed it with this recording. I tried to have a very dynamic performance, although the track doesn't really leave much space for dynamics in my playing, that is really in the rest of the band and the overall texture of the track.  I think my job in this track was to really just keep a solid tempo and easy feel to the song, which I feel I did.


Jazz - "Take 5" - Carmen McRae

This version of Take 5 has quite a similar feel to the original take five, the only real difference is that it has vocals written for it. I tried to keep a similar idea to that which Joe Morello (the drummer for the original version of take five) played. I found playing in 5/8 relatively easy, although keeping the off beat timing on the Hi-hats was quite difficult. I used brushes for this performance as it sounded far too harsh with sticks, it seemed to sit much nicer in the texture of the full band with brushes.

I think the overall performance of the song went well, there was a bit of a slip up near the middle of the song where Jilly went out of time quite badly, this had been a recurring problem in rehearsal but on the whole, the performance of the song had come a long way from all of us from where it first started out. I think we managed to deal with the mistake quite well and recover from it quite quickly, I think that is one of those situations in a live setting where the audience would soon forget about a mistake which is well recovered from.
I can admit that I find Jazz much harder than my usual choice of genre to play, it is something that I have never really tried in great depth and is clearly something that you can't just "learn" in a matter of weeks or months. I have been working on it and I can see and feel its benefits working into my playing so in the long run I feel it will really benefit me.


I was involved in the rehearsal processes for other tracks during the year although I unfortunately missed the recording of the performances. Proof of this will be in a later posting with youtube videos from the tour showing my playing with The Birthday Suit.

20th March - 

Angie has created a facebook group for our band so that we can keep in touch over the break and decide on which songs we will be choosing to play, Our set songs are - Dignity - Deacon Blue and Sweet Dreams - The Eurythmics. Our band will be - 

Angie - Vox

Brunon - Keys

Dechlan - Guitar 

Donal - Bass

Steve - Drums

31st March -

 Through contact on the facebook group we have been throwing a few ideas of songs back and forward, so far we have not come to a full agreement. Songs by Sons And Daughters and The Communards were suggested. We  are trying to find something that will suit Angie’s voice but still allow us to play enough to show our instrumental ability. 

1st April -(SOLO PRACTICE) 

Started work on the Eurythmics and Deacon Blue, never really listened to the tracks so I just need to get the structures in my head, the playing isn’t too technical on them which means I can really concentrate on the performance and feel of the tracks. The Eurythmics track is heavily electronic so I could use my Roland Electronic set up live to get the genuine sounds. We may need to use my sequencer software live with an interface as the track has a loop which continues throughout, if we did this it would let Brunon play out a bit more on keys and focus on the licks and runs rather than the main repeated riff throughout the track. I have always been quite quick to learn songs on drums, especially recently with playing in a wedding band, turning over 3/4 new songs a week has become a regular part of my weekly routine. Sometimes I struggle to get time to actually sit at a kit and spend a lot of time learning songs, I have my own way of dealing with this as I can listen to a track on the move and get the structures and parts in my head to be able to play it without actually having to play it prior to a rehearsal. This has been working well for me over the past few months as I have had a lot of different rehearsals and gigs each week with 5 different projects outside of college. I really feel that playing so much has moved my playing up a notch in the styles of music I have been playing. As with everything there is a balance to be found, so I can admit that my “jazz” playing and reading skills have taken a back seat over the past few months, however the styles of music which I have been playing, and really enjoy playing, are becoming more natural and fluent each time I sit behind a kit. I have always been one to learn by doing and being so busy with so much playing each week has really made me step my game up, this has paid off more than I had expected it to. Playing bigger gigs with Rod and the Birthday Suit has made me a lot more confident on stage. Especially after having had the experience of filming an entire show with them for a DVD. I have a lot more control over my emotion on stage and I have almost learned how to harness the nerves and use them to put out a better performance. 

17th April - 

This is really the first class time rehearsal that we will have for the end of year show, Unfortunately due to a miscommunication, only a few people actually turned up to performance class as it is now on a tuesday instead of a friday. Myself and Angie are the only two from our band here, so we have decided on the final set list between us and will let the rest of the guys know through the face book group. We have decided on the following songs - 

Rama lama - Sons And Daughters

I Think I’m Paranoid - Garbage

These both fit into the criteria of having a scottish background as the singer from Garbage is Scottish and Sons And Daughters are a Scottish band. The songs suit Angie’s voice and are a bit different to the usual “pick” for college gigs. I quite like that they are a bit more grungy and different as we usually don’t really get to play that type of genre in college to it’s full effect. I am thinking about doing some backing vocals in some of the tracks as it seems like it could add a lot to the tracks. 

24th April - 

This is a great chance to have a full band rehearsal, unfortunately Donal is in another band so we only have him for part of the class although because we all know our parts, we can get a lot done in a short space of time. 

We have got quite a lot done today, we ran through the structures quite a few times and worked on getting the right feel and overall sound of the tracks. Dignity is quite straight the whole way through so we have tried to dip the dynamics slightly at the piano solo and in other places to add some dynamic. Rama Lama and I Think I’m Paranoid are coming together well, Dechlan has decided to use a seven string to save him having to tune down for the Garbage track. So far sweet dreams has proven to be the hardest track to get the genuine sound with, I have been messing around with the sequencer at home using MIDI programming but it is hard to find a genuine sounding MIDI synth to replicate the Sweet Dreams sound. Brunon is going to record a loop using his keyboard which has the right synth settings and send it over, at the next rehearsal we will try using the sequencer live and see whether or not we need it. We do still need another rehearsal before the gig as the tracks could be a lot tighter overall, although they are definitely coming together very quickly. I have decided that using my Roland electric set up is going to be too much, I don’t think it really needs the electric drum kit because what I’m playing has such an electronic feel to it anyway, I don’t think that the roland kit would sound particularly good in the auditorium and it is a lot of setting up just for one track, there are a lot of bands to soundcheck on the day so this may save time too. 

27th April - (SOLO PRACTICE) 

I am having another run through at home to try out the sequencer as Brunon has sent me the sound clip of the synth part which he recorded on his loop pedal. I have struggled to find a tempo for it, I am assuming that the phase effect on his keyboard which helps make the sound produced seem very genuine doesn’t have an exact tempo setting, It must just be a setting knob on the keyboard without an exact numerical value to it. This has meant that because it is an audio file rather than midi, when I try to quantize one part of the file to a click, it warps the audio which sounds horrendous and is very out of time. It doesn’t help that I have garageband, which is fine for basic recording and editing, however I have realized that for playing live with this type of set up, it is just simply too basic. Ideally, I need a programme like logic in which I can select independant outputs for tracks. The click track in garageband just comes through the main output, which wouldn’t be what an audience would like to hear. By the sound of the sample that Brunon sent me, he really has put time into getting the right patch sound for sweet dreams, so really it doesn’t actually seem that we will need the sequencer. 

1st May -

Today we have tried Sweet Dreams with and without the sequencer, I tried it with the sequencer without the click track, this would be fine if the synth riff continued throughout the entire track , although because it drops in and out, it is impossible to keep in time with without a click track when I’m concentrating on what the rest of the band are doing too. If I had a click, this wouldn’t be an issue. We weren’t too sure what Annette would think of sweet dreams without the sequencer and electronic drum kit, although she reckons that we have the feel, power and sound that the track puts across in a live setting, so I think we have done a good job with that one. I have also given backing vocals a try and it is coming together quite well. Rama Lama is a challenge to play and sing with, the drum part is quite busy although because I can almost switch off and play the part without really having to think too much about it, I can concentrate on the vocals in the chorus. I really like how dynamic Rama Lama is, it builds up to the chorus, then drops right back after each chorus.  We have managed to really get the right feel for Dignity, it seemed a bit too slow and sloppy to listen to, so we had decided to try pushing the tempo a bit and this has worked. It has a nicer feel to it and doesn’t drag as much. Brunon has figured out a nice keys part for I think I’m Paranoid which actually fits really well. It almost sounds like a second guitar. 

We have decided to arrange another rehearsal before thursday, although all the rooms are booked out solid in college so we will arrange a rehearsal at ColourSound Studios in Edinburgh for tomorrow. This way we can also have Donal for the entire rehearsal and we can just finalise everything. 

2nd May -  

We have a rehearsal at Colorsound today 12-3, this should be plenty of time to just get everything finalised and have a couple of run throughs before the assessment. I am feeling quite confident about it, the only problem I had was that Sweet Dreams wouldn’t sound right, however after yesterdays rehearsal in college, I am a lot more confident about it. 

Today we have really just worked on getting comfortable playing the tracks as a band, they are starting to sound really tight. We didn’t really have too many problems with anything. Dechlan and Brunon both have the right sounds for different tracks, Angie has seemed a lot more comfortable with the lyrics, I have managed to get the backing vocals down to a decent standard which I am quite happy with and they actually add a lot to the track. Tomorrow we plan to have a quick run through with Annette before or after soundcheck as she is doing some decorative backing vocals on Sweet Dreams. 

3rd May - 

Today is the day of the assessment, we have a quick run through with Annette at some point when she is free, soundchecks then the gig later on tonight. I personally am quite confident after yesterdays run through so I think we will be all set! 

The assessment went really well, I feel quite confident in my playing and even the backing vocals seemed to go quite well. Everything seemed to sound tight on stage and everyone put on a good performance. Angie was especially animated on stage so this allowed me to play out a bit and settle in, giving me more of a chance to perform and enjoy it. I would need to see a recording of the show to really critique the performance but after speaking to some people who were in the audience, they all seemed to enjoy it which is one of the most important things! I am confident that I didn’t make many noticeable mistakes, nothing really stuck out in my head as being too bad, so I am really happy with how it went! 

Performance Classes Overview

During the course of the performance class, I admittedly have had to miss a few classes due to different circumstances to do with outside commitments, which is not great from the college point of view, however I have only been missing college classes for the benefit of my overall drumming ability and to gain experience in the industry. 

When I have been in performance class, I have been punctual with time and I have also done as much prep work as I could have done beforehand so I knew what I was doing when we got to class. Unfortunately due to the setting of the class, sometimes I did not find out which piece we were playing until that day, this posed a challenge to learn the piece as quickly as possible although still learning it as per the recorded version we were using. I have had a lot of practice of this type of learning as even before college this is how I learned to play drums, by listening and playing back. Recently I have been involved in playing with a function band who are part of an agency of bands who all have similar sets. This means that if you know each song inside-out and have the right structural version under control, you have no problem with being scouted in to play with other bands on the agency at very short notice. 

Performance class has been a great way of experiencing different styles of playing with other musicians other than what you would usually be used to. When I have been involved in this I have tried to be as stylistically accurate in my playing as I could technically be. A main issue I have noticed in my playing recently is that because I have been playing so much outside of college in a particular style of playing (more rock/pop based), which is taking up so much of my free time alongside working part time, I have not had as much time to really give the more adventurous styles of playing which I would like to get under my belt a real chance, which is admittedly, from an academic point of view, not great. I do however feel that I have come on leaps and bounds in the style of music which I have been playing. I feel that my internal time has improved when playing live or with other musicians also playing with a click in the studio or live has now become much more natural. Through playing in different venues and different rehearsal environments I am more clued in to knowing how to refrain my volume and intensity in different circumstances but still keeping the tone I am used to producing which is something I have always had a problem with but this has now become much easier and more natural. I even feel that my stamina and grip technique have improved. Playing live at the intensity I do when I play the louder and heavier styles of music is hard work, I noticed this especially when I was on tour, having to be 100% on the ball each night and being able to get the same amount of intensity and level of accuracy each consecutive night. 

I am well aware that I will more than likely not be able to make a whole living simply by playing the styles of music that I enjoy and am used to. However at the moment, playing the way I have and am known to a few people for has got me much further than I had ever anticipated. Of course I want to progress my playing into different styles and really get into depth with my technique and feel to be able to play these different styles to the optimum level. The unfortunate fact at the moment is that I have not been able to make as much time for it as I would have liked to. 

Obviously, I can only be graded on what happens in college, so I have still been trying to put more than the expected amount of work in to every aspect of the course and I am actually proud to say that I have dealt with it the way I have. I have learned a lot about myself and how I can deal with a lot of pressure on a daily basis but still be able to get through everything and be happy with the outcome. Like I say the only thing that I wish could have been different would be that I could have put much more into my technique and feel when playing other styles of music although I feel that I have progressed a lot at what I have been doing so this I think I can say I am quite happy with. 

DPC class - Musician Effected by Cultural Influence

Ginger Baker, one of the all time legends of rock drumming, with a career spanning over 5 decades, one of the pioneers of the live drum solo who toured the world with his band Cream and many others, world renowned fo being one of the masters of time and rhythm, has only very recently started work on solo projects and clinic work after a long struggle with drug addiction.

Now In his early 70's, he spends most of his time at his secluded ranch in South Africa, to where he fled after having effectively been thrown out of other countries for different reasons to do with tax evasion and the like. He was known to be one of the worlds most flamboyant performers, to the point where people who saw him perform live said that they could see "The Devil" in him.

It is always sad to see a pioneering legend of an industry turn to drugs and for that to grind their career to a halt in such a way. He was always known to be of an extremely arrogant nature, he would say what he thought of you to his face. If someone had a problem with him, he wanted to come and say it to his face, not so he could sue you, so he could "hit you back". I personally don't think that the drugs would have helped this in any sense, I believe it would have made him even harder to have a conversation with. There are scenes from the recent documentary where he actually hits the journalist in the face, so there is proof of this rather than it just being word of mouth.

The independent article reads that every morning he would be living off a shot of morphine and basically live in his leather chair. I personally don't see why, knowing what drugs can leave you like,  you would want to do down that road in the first place. Strangely, the article reads that after setting up his kit again (it had been moved by his girlfriend, who got a mouthful for moving it) even though he was so frail and on morphine, when he played it was like he was still on stage with Cream.

That being the case, I have come to realise that to say that outside influences like drugs, alcohol, depression etc. can effect someones "creative output" can be perceived as quite a vague term. I think that it definitely harmed Bakers social ability and possibly his drive to want to play to an audience, to want to play in a band, however if the creative ability is still in his person such to the point that he can still play drums as if not a day had passed, then I don't think its particularly fair to say that the drugs had harmed his creative output as a musician. Some people say that musicians or "creative" types write better material when they are suffering from things like depression or alcohol abuse as they are possibly more likely to show the pure feeling that is inside their mind. I personally think that it is hard to say whether these points are true or not unless you have been in that situation yourself, although to say that, everyone perceives different situations in their own way. One person could say that they had written the best songs of their career while "on drugs" whereas another could say that those songs were the worst of that persons career while they were "suffering from addiction".

Baker clearly had a massive down point in his career when he secluded himself away from the world, although I'm not particularly convinced that that was just down to the drugs. He was always known to be a nightmare to be around, so maybe it was partially his own conscious choice. The drugs clearly played a part in his health downturn, although he is still alive and playing now. He has allegedly now come off drugs, and has started doing drum clinics for Ludwig, although there are recent videos of him playing DW drums. He seems like quite a hard character to follow but its fair to say that the drugs never got the better of his drumming ability. When he talks, he sounds frail and weak, and even looks it on the surface, just not when he plays drums.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=fEzlj-Y8_H0 - Baker on Drums
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83XdEBl0KUg - Documentary clips
http://www.enotes.com/baker-ginger-reference/baker-ginger
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/ginger-baker-the-devil-looks-after-his-own-1879629.html
http://www.gongtopia.com/Discussion/Baker.html

DPC class - Analysis of ZOHO Use

During the course of this year, we were involved in a project which involved us scouting bands for an audition in college. We were using the project management tool ZOHO to keep in touch and organise deadlines and tasks for each of us. Admittedly, I could have used ZOHO more productively, however when we were working in such a small group (3 of us) I found it much easier to either text or email if possible, as I personally was doing a lot of the work when I was not by a computer. I am aware that there is now an app for iphones that links with ZOHO and that the project tool can be used by email, however when I am out and about, I am not always able to use email due to reception issues in come cases.

ZOHO is a great tool, however with my recent experiences organising the tour, gigs, rehearsals, calls, studio time and meetings, I have found that if you are stringent in how you organise your emails and text contacts, this can be a very effective way of keeping in touch quickly and easily. I can see myself using ZOHO for larger scale projects which involve more people, I think would be a lot more useful in that type of setting. I personally spend most of my waking hours on my phone while on the move, so a fast, responsive, easy to use ZOHO app would be a great thing to have. Even when I was trying to use the emails that it sent, they were sometimes badly laid out to the point where I couldn't actually read what it said!! This, understandably, did not help.

I am aware that the projects next year will be much more intense and on a much larger scale, so I think that ZOHO will come into much better use at that point, however it was good to get a taste of how it works and how effective it could potentially be when used in the right setting.

DPC class - Comparison of Professional Site

During the course of the year I have been working on my personal website -

www.stevenmorrisondrums.com

I have put a lot of work into it and I am keeping it up to date with all the current projects and gigs that I have running. I have a lot of information on it about me, my current bands, endorsements, gear, press, links and photos, amongst other things like having my own stevenmorrisondrums.com business cards and my steve@stevenmorrisondrums.com email address as I purchased the domain name.

I have chosen an industry professionals website to compare my personal one to. This industry professional is Steve Gadd.

http://www.drstevegadd.com/index.htm

Steve Gadd is a world renowned session drummer who started his drumming career in the late 1940's and is still to this day touring and playing around the world. Needless to say, his website has much more content and information about everything he has done over the years so there is a lot more to read.

Personally, I think that my site has most of the same ideas, like the personal biography, current projects, tour schedule, discography, endorsements and similar. Over the course of the past year when I have been building this site I have taken guidance from other professionals sites along the way which has led to my site having most of what I need, nothing too random, over the top or disinteresting.

I am not particularly convinced of the layout of Steve Gadd's Menu selection on the left hand side of his site. It runs in alphabetical order, although I find it quite easy to get a bit lost on the menu and it seems quite randomly ordered. I specifically tried to make my menu easy to navigate, without having too many page breaks I think it is a lot easier to find what you are looking for. I like the fact that he has a lot of personal information and pictures from around the world, you can find out a lot more than you could usually find on someones personal site. I just think that there is so much there, and It could possibly be laid out in a less complicated way which would make it much easier to navigate.

Clicking around his site, I think I have taken a lot of hints from professional sites, even things like the gear list and an in depth description of the gear I use are similar to what Steve has on his site. I think that if I keep going as I am with detailing everything I do and keep it all up to speed, with any luck in the future my site will eventually have a discography the same length as Steve Gadd's.

DPC class - Opportunities for Independent Musician

I think that the idea of 'making a living' in the music industry would generally be a dream come true for any budding musician, however through the opportunities I have had this year I have realised that there is a lot more to it than what meets the audience on the surface.

Obviously I am still trying to find my feet in the industry, although I am more or less certain that I will make myself a living one way or another in the industry, realising now that I have earned the right connections and opportunities to hopefully make that happen if I keep on working as hard as I currently am at it.

Through some online research, I have realised how many other drummers there are who more or less offer the same basic idea. They offer session playing and lessons in their local area along with usually playing in an original or covers band. It seems to be the standard. I believe that the problem I have with regards to getting into session work, is that the employers of session musicians would look for a  wealth of experience over someone who is willing to learn and truly throw all they have at something. Usually it helps to be a session drummer who already has a name for yourself, unless you are hand picked through audition processes, or work for agencies.

Searching for "session drummer uk" this is the top hit on google -

http://www.mattmcdonough.co.uk/

A perfect example of what I have mentioned, and exactly where I would ideally like to be in my career within a couple of years.

Online session drumming seems to be a new way of doing things. The ideal positives about this are that you do not have to worry about any travel expense or carting your full set up back and forward from a studio. If you are lucky enough to have an entire studio set up capable of producing a high standard of audio recording then you are already set up for it, all you need are the drumming abilities to be able to cater to a wide range of artistic tastes.

I think this is a great idea, more and more people these days are using home set ups, so if you follow the trend then the likelihood is that the work will follow. I personally love being in the studio and pushing my abilities to get a great drum take. The downsides to this process are the fact that you are not actually playing in a live setting with the band to get a real feel for the track before you record it, also that you would have to have some really high standard gear to produce the same quality as a professional studio, so it would be a true investment to get that up and running in the first place.

DPC class - Copyright on Personal Site

I personally can see copyright being a particularly grey area of the creative industry these days as I think that it is more than likely a lot easier to "get away" with infringement on a small scale than it was say 10 years ago before the take over of social network/youtube and other online sites like lime wire or mega upload (although there was a recent conviction of the founder of mega upload, however this was infringement on a huge scale and it was not a short process). 

In saying this, I am not in anyway implying that infringement is the right way to go because I also believe that free download/ file sharing sites are contributing to the fact that the music industry has come so far downhill in recent years. If you spend £6,000 writing, recording, publishing and touring an album, unless you have a lot of money to spare and are not trying to make a living from music, Ideally you would hope to make at least some or all of that money back through sales. I think that in the days before free file sharing sites, when the only way to get your hands on a decent reproduction of the album was to buy a hard copy, it could have been a lot more possible to make a decent amount back from your sales of records/ merch/ tickets. Obviously there were still things like cassette mixtape recordings and such from radio play but I don't think that would stunt your sales anywhere near the way free download sites do these days. 

That said, when I was creating my site I had to be aware of copyright for different media aspects, including music recordings, photos, trademarked names (magazines/Newspapers/ brand logos), newspaper/magazine articles and videos. 

Through a previous college course studying photography, I have a basic understanding of what photo copyright entails. It is similar to music copyright (in its simplest form) in that as long as you have the genuine permission of the copyright owner to use their photo, then it is usually ok to do so. I usually make sure that they are credited wherever possible for the photography and I provide a link to their site if possible. 

There have been a couple of instances where the publishing of newspaper articles that I was involved in haven't been possible due to copyright. The Birthday Suit were featured in The Sun Newspaper and I was recently involved in a Press Release for the Scotsman and Evening News. Naturally, I wanted to show these articles on my website, the best way to do this would have been to scan the hard copy of the article and put this on my site, although after contacting the copyright department of The Sun they had said that this may not be a great idea "just incase" of any issues. Another slight problem was that I have the OK from the Evening News' Photographer that it is ok to use the photo from the press release on my site, along with a mention and link to say that the copyright is owned by the Scotsman however I am not able to use those photos for any other means. I asked about using them for another press release and was told, understandably, that this was not possible. 

I don't actually have any music physically posted on my site other than links to youtube videos, however I do have links provided on my site to sites which feature music by my different bands. I have the permission to use these links and have them on my site by the people who built those sites (excluding the link to my personal facebook). 

Another way in which I had to be careful with copyright was using my endorsement companies logos on my site, Although part of the endorsement agreement was that I promote each brand as much as I can so really it wasn't a problem after the agreement had been made.

I believe that I am complying with legal copyright requirements because I am not exploiting the media in any way, I am not making any money directly from it being on my site either. I simply am showing what I have been involved in so far in my career and all I really feel I am doing is advertising these papers, photographers and sites in a very positive way. Of course if a problem was to come up, I would like to get it sorted in the best way possible.

Performance Blog, Tour With Rod, Sessions with Broxburn & Livingston Brass Band for Scottish Championships

The past few weeks have been hard work, however it has definitely payed off and I have learned a lot of lessons about time management, how the industry works with different promoters and gigging cultures around the uk, what it is like to be thrown in at the deep end with a high pressure reading gig and have to learn a lot of different techniques in a very short space of time, amongst many other lessons learned. Unfortunately, I missed the last couple of weeks of performance class, including Jazz week and Salsa week, as I have been on tour with Rod Jones and The Birthday Suit around the UK. I was still involved in a couple of rehearsals and recordings for these two weeks, I played "Take Five" and I was involved in percussion for "Guantanamera". Further analysis of these processes will be posted in a later blog.

Although I have been noting everything that happened, as I realised how much I have been learning when I was playing with these professional musicians out on the road.

The tour with Rod was an unbelievable experience, playing all over the UK to so many different people as the headlining band was a truly amazing thing to do. Seeing press reviews, advertising and other online presence along with people approaching us at gigs for photos and autographs was a lot to take in, although It has definitely set my sights on where I want to be and where I am aiming for with my career in music. Rehearsals for the tour were relatively short and sweet. With the main two being two weeks before the tour for four hours, and one other a week prior to the tour, again for four hours. That being said, with the level of musicianship of the members of the band, that was all we needed. Its great to know that you can relax in the thought that the other members of the band know exactly what they are doing and they will always be on top form when they need to be. That way you can relax into your own part and not have to stress about whether or not everyone else is with you. That being said, being on absolute top form every night is hard work on your mind as well as physically, especially when you are playing every night putting on a visual performance and a technical performance, and on the road for at least a few hours everyday. On top of that, occasionally the setlist would change and songs would get "pulled out of the bag" on the night, so being able to keep up with that was a real test of character. Another unbelievable test of nerve was when the full set in Manchester was filmed and recorded professionally, 5 or 6 cameramen all onstage and around the crowd (which was around 100 strong), along with one right next to me filming my every move. It was a great experience, although truly a nervewracking one to know that everything I did was going to be evidenced on film AND recorded audio. The lesson learned was that if you play like you are known to and always do, then the camera will capture this and show everyone how much you love what you are doing. This is exactly what I did. Throughout the tour I had been told by many people, most I had never met, that I was interesting and entertaining to watch on stage simply because I get so lost in the music and just enjoy being on stage playing drums, so I am looking forward to seeing the final product.

Reading this back it seems that it sounds that I didn't enjoy the hard work, that is far from the case. I live to push my boundaries and challenge myself and I am actually really proud of how I have handled the past few weeks. I feel that I really had my head screwed on and made good impressions with people, including Rod and the guys from The Birthday Suit, the promoters from around the UK, Sean Murtagh who deals with my stick endorsement with Los Cabos Drumsticks, Clare Truan who deals with my endorsement with Lion Cajon Drums amongst others I met on tour like the guys from The Birthday Suits  PR company A Badge Of Friendship, Producer Dave Eringa and all the other bands who supported and opened for us at the shows.  I already have dates in the calander for Wickerman Festival, Rhythms Of The World Festival in Hertfordshire and also waiting on confirmation on T in the Park to play with the Birthday Suit plus other dates currently being arranged. Another surreal experience was going to John Henry's and Matt Snowball's Music suppliers in central london, seeing accomplished session musicians just walking around the street outside and also tech supply sheets for Matt Cardle, Noah & The Whale and The Vaccines, I have made a connection with Kent who deals with the Idlewild account in Matt Snowball's suppliers so I can get gear shipped from London if needs be. A strange lesson I learned in Manchester was when I was talking to a few people after the show about everything that had been going on, how we had trouble with a van that failed it's MOT and the desperate struggle to find a replacement. A few days later, a review appeared online written by one of the people who I had been talking to, quoting me, my name, age and things I had said. Obviously I had been telling good stories and had nothing in anyway negative to say but it made me realise that in that situation of being the "headline" band, you really have to watch what you say and how you act at all times as you never know who could be in the crowd or who you are talking to.

Alongside this, I was asked to play with the percussion section in Broxburn & Livingston Brass Band for the Scottish Championships on the 11th March. This has been a steep learning curve as I had never really attempted to play in a section before. Also, I had no idea that the week before the contest, there would be a late rehearsal practically every night that week and also an early one on the day of the championships, still having college and work to deal with alongside these rehearsals has been really hard going, although I feel quite good about keeping everything afloat and being able to deal with having so much on at once. Admittedly I unfortunately missed my drum lesson on the friday due to me stupidly messing up my schedules, although I am keeping on top of everything that I am doing in my lessons and everything for my solo assessments. I can definitely feel that everything I'm doing is counting towards developing my overall musicianship and playing skills, helping me make important contacts in the industry and just getting the vital experience that I need to get to the next stage.

The past month has without a doubt been hard work although I have lapped up the experience for all it was worth, loved every second of it and really learned a lot from it all. I can feel in myself that I have progressed in my playing, as well as in my mind with how I deal with the pressure of having lots of different things to do. My diary is always full, although I don't see this as a problem in the slightest. I live to be busy and I enjoy the rush and buzz. I especially love the feeling of accomplishment when you pull it off, put on a great show and everyone goes home happy.

REH - Rehearsals and Technical Difficulty Notes

This year in college I have really been pushing my technical playing ability and I can finally feel that it is starting to come through in my everyday playing. 

The pieces that I have chosen to play for my end of year assignment are as follows - 

High Maintenance - Big Phat Band

What Is Hip - Tower Of Power

Blackbird Special - Stanton Moore 

I feel that through choosing these tracks, apart from them being a complete contrast to what I am used to playing, the drum lines are very thoroughly thought out by the player on the tracks. They are not just playing any old beat, they have actually worked out the patterns that they play and that have mastered that technique of playing, which makes them extremely hard to learn quickly. 

I played the Tower Of Power track for my solo assessment in January and I actually feel that it went very well. Unfortunately over the christmas period I was stuck in work more or less every single day and it was hard to find the time to rehearse the track as much as I would have liked to. This however opened a new door to how I practice. I had less time to practice, so this made me focus on what I really had to get right and work on that alone. Having less time made me really focus my practice time to get the most out of it which I think actually progressed my playing over christmas without me even realising it had happened. 

Even with High Maintenance, which is a high tempo modern Jazz Big Band piece, I can feel it settling nicely into place, the drum solo and parts where the horns move through bars are getting progressively easier to play. 

Another side of this, was learning the songs for the Music For Scotland audition. For this I had to learn the original drum part to play as close to the original as possible. It's so much different than playing a "cover" you are getting payed to replicate that song to people who are used to hearing the recorded and produced version, so you have to be better than the record when you play it live, which is quite an intimidating thought, although it is a great challenge which I really enjoyed. It looks so far like I have been accepted to work with the Music For Scotland agency along with a band of great musicians and singers from college, I am really looking forward to that!

Performance Block - Week Commencing 19th Dec 2011 - 20th Jan 2012

I have really enjoyed this performance block in comparison with the first one, more or less because this time I have done so much more playing and performance in college as opposed to at home. I feel like I have really progressed my playing over the past few weeks and over the christmas break.

The first week of performance saw the Drum workshop with Richard, this was a new experience for most of us as we decided to compose a drum core piece to play at the christmas concert. With only one day to write and rehearse a piece from scratch it put all of us under a lot of pressure and really brought the best out in all of us.

This block, I have played in both the big band and folk ensemble, which I really enjoyed as it is a different setting and style of playing than what I'm used to. In big band, we played Flight of the Foo Birds, You Make Me Feel So Young by Frank Sinatra and also High Maintenance by The Big Phat Band. It was great to get a chance to get to grips with High Maintenance as I plan to play it for my end of year assessment with the Big Band.

Over the Christmas break, I was working a lot, so I struggled to find time to practice for my solo assessment when we came back to college, this actually made me really focus when I was practicing as I didn't have as much time to get to where I needed to be, this started a new outlook on practice for me as I focus a lot more on what I need to practice in a short space of time rather than spending hours and hours practicing not really getting anywhere or pushing myself.

When we came back from the break, I joined one of the Small Jazz Ensemble workshops which was really cool. Scott gave us a lot of really good pointers for playing in a small ensemble, like to really listen to what each person is playing and feed off each other, feeling the tempo as a group rather than individuals etc. through playing in the Big Band, I also got a chance to get involved with Dale Birrell's Creative Music Technology Big Band Piece. This involved him recording parts of the big band, and sampling them using his laptop during a live performance. This was a great experience as it was completely out of the ordinary to have a "laptop" solo during a piece.

Colin's Songwriting workshop was a great help, I always seem to struggle when I'm trying to write anything other than a drum part, it was great to get an insight into Colin's way of thinking and to feed off Ideas from others in the workshop too.

On the last day of the block, I was in the studio with Owen and Ciaran playing some more Folk sets. This was cool as I was playing cajon, so it was a different setting to what i am used to playing in the studio, playing without a click track on some sets makes you realise how you need to work on internalising time, it was great to get a sense of how tight folk ensembles can be, all knowing the structure, repeats and stops for each set.

I really enjoyed this performance block as I did a lot more playing than last time, I felt a lot more involved with different bands and workshops. The only issue I think is that a lot of stuff still clashes, however this would be expected as there is so much going on at any given time.

College Work and Gigs

Been a busy few weeks with gigs with The Birthday Suit and Dirty Rose, due to this I have unfortunately missed out on a couple of lessons with Richard in college but we will catch up on these. I have been working on new techniques for dynamics that he gave me and also on picking my solo assessment tunes. I think one of these will be "High Maintenance" by the Big Phat Band, also Blackbird Special by Stanton Moore, both will envolve using brass sections and are both very technically challenging.

I also missed the recording of "funk" week in performance class. I had originally been involved with the original rehearsal of " Stealing Watermelons" by the Chambers Brothers. I got one of the DFM drummers to stand in for me when I was in Dundee gigging. The process of rehearsal for this band was really good, I actually really enjoyed playing the track as it had a really nice feel to it when everyone was playing it and locking in with the groove.

I have been working on some modal tunes for improv class working from the worksheets that include tracks like " So What", "Impressions" and others. 

Today in performance class is Jazz week, so I will find out what track we are playing and start working on it today! 

Performance Week Two

Monday 24th - Had folk band again, we went through the sets that we had been rehearsing in previous practices, unfortunately I had missed the last folk practice due to a clash with another timetable arrangement.

Tuesday 25th - Rehearsed with Owen, Jodie, Jake and Kieran for the masterclass just before a drum lesson in the morning. We are going to play Bloodbank - Bon Iver, Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder (with brass) and No Rest - Dry The River. This all came together quite quickly although we will need another rehearsal, which will be a week today. Today me and Jordan spent some time mixing and editing the video recordings we did in the studio.

Wednesday/Thursday - I was not needed for any of the catch up sessions and unfortunately couldn't make it in to college as I had to work both these days.

Friday 28th - A couple of the band members couldn't make Friday for a rehearsal for the Masterclass, I did not realise that there was an option for us to get involved in the DFM performance workshop.

Improvisation Personal Review Assignment

So far for improvisation I have not been drumming at all. I have been learning scales on keyboard and improvising over backing tracks in different keys. I can understand why this will benefit me musically, although I feel like I am practicing keyboard more than I am playing drums. So far I don't feel any more accomplished at improvising on a kit, and i'm not particularly sure how I will be graded on improvisation.

I have been continuing to practice scales on a keyboard, however it feels like I am trying to learn a second instrument.

I understand how this is helping me musically, and I feel like I have a much better understanding of how keys and scales work together.

Strengths -
I feel very confident in my drumming and usually improvisation is no problem at all when I am drumming, I am just not sure how this will be graded and I don't feel that my confidence in drumming really shows in this class.

Weaknesses-
I think my weaknesses in this class are being quite slow at working out the theory and connecting it with my playing on a keyboard. I believe that I can understand the theory behind the scales and keys but I am not particularly fluent in playing them on a keyboard which makes me look relatively bad at it.

Improvements -
To improve by next performance block, I will ask my drum tutor more about improvisation on a kit and I will hopefully have a better understanding of how I will be graded, I will also keep practicing the scales on keyboard, although I don't see why I should be graded on a keyboard for this class. I do however understand the importance of the theory behind the improvisation so I will continue to try and understand this to the best of my ability as I believe I have a decent understanding of it already through my theory classes.
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Pieces Studied-

High Maintenance - Big Phat Band            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y5r-4Wte2A

This piece is a very up tempo Big Band piece. Quite jazzy in feel as the feel is counted on the "two and four". There are some amazing harmonies used throughout the piece making full use of the band. Also there is an endless amount of room for solos, with a really nice backing rhythm and hits to compliment the soloist. There are a few sections where the melody is off beat, and where the phrasing starts half way through the bar, creating some really intricate rhythmic ideas and feels, which also makes it very challenging to play.  My plan is to play this for my end of year performance with the big band. I may transcribe some or possibly all of it myself to try and get better at transcribing and to give me a better knowledge of harmony and rhythm notation.

Splanky - Count Basie   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBTSoLzZ3-U

This piece has quite a laid back feel to it, again can be played with a big band, the main riff is not dramatically rhythmic but sits very nicely in the rhythm. The piano plays a lot of 7th and diminished chords as with most in this style of playing, again giving it that jazzy edge to the sound. Splanky also has the classic question and answer style of playing, which compliments the soloist in certain places also giving some intertwining rhythms. There is quite a lot of dynamic contrast throughout the piece. 

So What - Miles Davis       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNTltOGh5c&ob=av2n

This piece has a very nice laid back swing feel to it, walking bass throughout. The main riff is a very simple but very effective rhythmic idea, which moves up in melody, then back down again. The basis for the soloists is very bare and simple which puts a lot more focus on the soloist, they really stand out. Repetition seems to be quite common in this piece as the man riff is very repetitive. Even in Davis' solo, the same rhythmic ideas seem to keep coming up which creates a lot of intensity.

Performance Week 1 + Holiday Recording Session

During the performance week, I unfortunately didn't get many chances to play kit, other than playing snare in folk group on Monday, every other day seemed to have clashing workshops which meant that I missed out on some practical groups. I attended the Jazzy Lecture which helped with understanding when some deadlines were and clarifying what we had to do to meet the criteria, although I found some of the theory pretty hard and I felt like it was quite far on from what we are actually doing in theory class, having to know this year how to score out pieces in different keys and for different instruments for assignments comes as a bit of a shock to the system. Unfortunately there is only room for three kit players in Jazz band, so I missed out on this as well. The drum and bass workshop was very interesting and gave me some new ideas in ways of playing, but as of yet I have only been able to really try these out in my own time at home, as I don't seem to be getting many opportunities to play in college.

During the holiday, Jordan Linton and I had a day in the studio to try out recording some drum videos which went very well, it was good just having the studio between the two of us as we work together well and I think any more people would have just made it very rushed and crowded.

Last Week of Improv Class and first few days of performance weeks

In Last weeks improv class, we started out by playing our tunes/ solos, which seemed to be a success in or classes part. We then played one of the tunes, and passed a solo of a chorus around the room. I was playing drums this week which I have to admit is a lot better for me than keyboard has been up until now.

The first few days of performance week have been a bit hectic trying to get my head around what is actually being asked of us for different classes and trying to figure out which of the clashing workshops to attend. I went along to folk group on monday which is a new experience for me but I really enjoyed it, hopefully I will get to play a bit more drums over the next couple of weeks as this hasn't really happened up until now.