a) What are the maintenance requirements of my instrument?
How to maintain kit:
First you have to disassemble the drum kit so you can look at the certain parts you need to clean. Then for example you can get your snare drum and clean the outside of the drum so it doesn't rust. You could buy new parts for the drum kit if certain parts are very dirty and are in the condition where it cannot be cleaned no more. You should clean the tension rods with fine wire wool to get any grease off. To clean the cymbals you can use Lemons, each cymbal uses about half a lemon. also you could use vinegar if the other method does not work, then after you have done this you need to rinse it off with water and it should be clean again. Using a soft clean cloth for cleaning/polishing is one of the best known ways. You have to apply the polish/wax, then carefully wipe it off turning the cloth over frequently. It's easier and more thorough to polish the hardware before re-attaching them.
How to replace the drumhead -in order to do that i need to:
Remove the old heads from the drum and clean any dust or debris from the rims. Then, set the new drum on a flat surface and place the head and counter hoop on the drum.
Make sure the head is centered to insure even tension. next, finger tighten the tension rods and after that Place your palm on the center of the drum and apply pressure.
Finger tighten the tension rods again, but this time apply light pressure on the hoop above each tension rod as you tighten or you could use a drum key to tighten them. Then after this step you are done.
b) What Can I undertake personally?
I can get the technicians to help me also with the harder things that i cannot do with the drum kit to clean. Or I can teach myself these methods and learn to do it all independently. Its would be better if i teach myself though, so incase a teacher can't assist me, i can do it myself. But since i know how to do these steps on how to maintain the kit, if i did need to i would be able to do all of this myself by just looking at the steps, its also very good to be able to do it so i learn to be more independent and also learn a new skill at the same time.
1.2. Personal Health and Safety Issues
a) What Health and Safety issues are there that you need to consider when playing your instrument, and when approaching your playing style?
Is there any loose parts in the drum kit?
I need to check this each time to make sure while i'm playing non of the parts will break off and going flying off around the room. This could be very harmful what if one of the parts was to hit another student in the room or me. that's why you also have to be very sensible and careful while using the drum kit.
Is there a lot of dirt on the kit?
You don't want to catch any germs from playing the drum kit and also anyone else around you. that's why i would make sure the drum kit is always clean enough to be played.
Are you playing the drum kit in the correct way?
You need to be able to actually play the drum kit correctly as, if you play in the wrong way or using the wrong techniques, you could hurt your hands or wrist. But if you know how to play with good posture on the drum kit then it will be ok. A way for me to make sure this doesn't happen is observe the way a professional drummer plays or i could ask my drum teacher to help me with my techniques so i can prevent any problems to happen in future for my safety. Also if you over play eventually strain which can be very bad as well as it will effect your other tasks you will be meant to do.
b) How should you review your own approach to these issues when playing your instrument?
Everytime before i start playing i'll check if there are any loose parts on the drum kit or if it's not clean I can just get a wipe. The more i practice taking these precautions, the easier it will be for me.
2.1 Reviewing Personal Goals
a) What are the personal goals that you would like to achieving in playing your instrument?
Drummer targets:
- I want to be able to reach a good grade in drums.
- To have a good technique in the way I play.
- To be able to compose my own drum beats.
My deadline for these goals will be by the end of the school year, in order to give me enough time to achieve these goals.
b) How do you intend to achieve these personal goals?
I want to be able to,improve by being given advice by others that are very good at drumming already to help me achieve my goals.I could get my advice from my drum teacher in lessons, as it's easier to do so since it would be a one on one chat instead of going to others so i can get the most out of it. In this way it will make it easier for me to achieve my goals. I now have a deadline for when i need to achieve my goals, which is by the end of the school year, which is when i will reflect on how i've done this year and make an evaluation on it. In order for me to achieve my last goal, I could start off by looking at examples of drum beats from songs to try and get some ideas from that and also, similar to the first part, i could listen to music and listen carefully to hear the drum beats. ( and easier way to do this is by listening to instrumentals from songs, it could even be songs that i listen to normally so it would be something that i'm already used to.
The agreed plan with my teacher is to:
1. Attend and take part in 1 hour of practical lessons per week, for a minimum of 15 weeks.
2. Attend and take part in a 20 minute lesson for my instrument, for a minimum of 15 weeks.
3. Review and reflect upon my lessons and progress each week on my blog, for a minimum of 15 weeks.
c) Blog of all rehearsals - you must state what you have achieved, and what you plan to do next week.
Week 1
Today, I played the drums to the song 'Counting stars'. At first I was on the small drums because someone else was on the normal drum kit. Then when we actually started practicing to the song, that was when I started play on the big drum kit. I made my own notes for the song, that went well with the track. I made sure that when i played with the whole class that I was in time with everyone else.I have decided to choose the songs; Cant feel my face by The Weeknd and Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. I chose these songs because I like these songs very much and feel it fits my style of music perfectly. In order to complete my 8 minute performance I need to be able to be; in time with the back track, make sure I'm hitting all the right notes and that I practice so that can perfect my performance, therefore it will all go well. another thing I could do is maybe, record myself playing and then after that listen to the songs, and compare the two to see if they sound the same.
Week 2
Today, I practiced the songs 'Can't feel my face' and 'Billie Jean' for my recorded music performance.I found practicing good and kind of hard at the same time. I need to practice more in order to perfect the pieces of music i'm performing on the drums. I need to work on my fills, and them to my pieces, to improve them. Last week, I had my first drum lesson with my tutor. We practiced one of the songs that i'm doing for the recorded music performance, which was 'Can't feel my face'. It went ok, but there is a lot more i need to work on, which is why i'm going to keep on practising.
Week 3
Today, I was practicing the songs i'm doing for the the recorded music performance. The lesson went really good, since I got all the notes right, and i was playing a few parts of the beat to the music, and it was sounding good. It went ok, I have definitely seen an improvement on my drums since my last lesson which i'm very happy about. So, i'll take this lesson as a way to guide what to do next to be able for me to play to really well.
Week 4
Today, I was perfecting my pieces of music i'm doing for my recorded music performance. Practice went well today. All my focus was on my songs that I was playing to. It went very well, and I have done well. What i need to do next is make sure when i'm playing with the music, that i'm in time and can improve on what I get wrong. I can do this by listening to the song while playing and look out for extra parts that i've been missing out and while doing this i can check what certain parts the drum comes in at.
Today, I carried on with perfecting the pieces I have chosen to perform for my recorded music performance. It went well. I was trying to add new things to make my piece better. Therefore, I can perform my piece next week and get it recorded. So in order to make sure when i record, it will all sound well so ill get feedback from peers to see if it sounds good in preparation for it to be recorded.
Week 6
Today, I recorded my music performance for 'Can't feel my face'. At first, I had a run through the whole song to make sure I perfected it. I was happy with the way that the performance went and had some positive feedback from some of my peers. This was really good that i got the feedback so i can also reflect what didn't go so well so that i can improve that in future for it to be better.
Week 7
Week 9
Today, I was practicing the song Billie Jean. I added some more parts to my piece to improve it. The parts I added were fills to make it better. And i've started playing it up to beat with the song and covering all the bits i didn't before, in order to make my performance as good as it can be. I also need to play with more confidence to have a good performance. I can practice these skills by playing in front of my peers.
Week 10
Today, I practiced and finished my Billie Jean performance and i'm ready to record. In order for me to be prepared for my recorded music performance, I need to, make sure I do all my run throughs of the song before the performance and make sure if there are any parts i'm still getting wrong are fixed. Thi is important that i do this in order for there to be no mistakes in the performance.
Week 11
Today, I had more time to add in parts and correct certain parts of my piece. To improve, i think i need to get in more practice time in lessons. Although, I have been making a huge improvement in my drums lately in lessons and independently. So, by next week i should have recorded my piece and upload it. That's my target for next week.
Today, i practiced with Joe and we were practicing our grade drums work, which helped a lot as we could show each other where we are with our grades and we could share feedback with each other to help improve. In this way i could see how i've been getting on and not only comment on my drumming by myself as it's hard to know if i'm doing well or not.
Today, i was practicing my song from my grade book called "Alabama". This is the new song i will be using. I'm just learning my notes and getting used to playing along to it. In order to make sure i'm on track, next week i'm going to look back at youtube because there is a video of a guy playing to "Alabama". I will also go to my drum teacher to help to see how i'm doing with the song.
Week 15
Today, I got a lot of practice in. I was practicing my grade music on drums. My progress on drums is now starting to improve which is really good to know, and in future i can maybe help others improve as well. This helps me with my confidence of being a drummer as I can help others with their own music.
Week 16
Today, I was lucky enough to have a room by myself for the majority of today's lesson. Therefore, that meant I could get a lot of practice in which was really good. And soon I will be able to record which is very good, as i wanted to a while ago but i changed the song. One I have recorded this song I can then move on to another to add to my recordings.
Week 17
Today, I was doing my usual routine which is; going to my room and getting my drums grade book out of my bag, then I go through my notes of the song i'm doing and start practicing it to see if there is anything that needs improving or cleaning to make sure its ready to record. There are still some things I need to finish for it to be complete like, making sure it is in time, which is why I started using a metronome which really helps and its definitely starting to show.
Week 18
Today, Josh and I were helping each other and started playing to one of the songs that Josh was listening to and he started playing on piano and I assisted him on the song with my drums and it sounded really good. We are planning on working on it again soon to see where it goes. This could be another song to add to our performances.
Week 21
Today, I was practicing my new song for grade music which is called 'Run Down'. I'm finding it alright but to improve next week I need to get it in time with the song and stop making a few silly mistakes at the end of the first line. A way I can tackle this problem is by listening to the original version of the song and Hera the exact part the drums come in and start playing in time and also need to talk to who I'm working with to sort out timing issues completely. Once this problem is out of the way it will sound so good.
Week 22
Today, Josh and I was practicing our song, using his ipad for the instrumental and went through the song and made a lot of progression for us to be able to record next week. We just Nigel to learn the lyrics then we are completely ready. Once we have recorded him singing we will put it all together and it will be done.
Week 23
Today, Josh, Nigel and I have been practicing the song we chose and have almost finished and will therefore be able to record.I have finished my part of the piece, Josh is working on his and Nigel is learning the lyrics and is almost done so we have had a lot of progress today. We have learnt from this, as in future we will make sure this wont take as long as it did so that we don't waste anytime.
a) What comments has your tutor made about your progress?
I am doing well in drumming but if a practice a little bit more i would fully improve in drumming in order to make me a good drummer in the long run.
b) What are their reports on your:
i) technical ability
iv) control of the instrument
For each recording, write an evaluation of what went well in the performance, and what you would like to work on next.
This is the recording I did with Josh and Nigel. This is like a rough copy, so it still needs alot of improving and editing. For example we couldn't get it into time so that is something we definitely need to cover if we want to use this song for our performances.
Today, I practiced my next piece for the second part of my recorded music performance. The song is Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. I think the practice time i'm putting into my piece pays off. In my practice I get alot done. Soon i'll be able to record my last performance. At the moment I'm trying to add fills to my performance, in order to make it a better performance.
Week 8
Today, I was listening to he song Billie Jean to listen in to any key parts that I need to go over and improve. My practice time with the song is going well, and with the progression that i'm having I will be successful in recording my song when it gets to that time. Next week, my target is to have completed my run throughs of the song in preparation for my recorded music performance.
Week 9
Today, I was practicing the song Billie Jean. I added some more parts to my piece to improve it. The parts I added were fills to make it better. And i've started playing it up to beat with the song and covering all the bits i didn't before, in order to make my performance as good as it can be. I also need to play with more confidence to have a good performance. I can practice these skills by playing in front of my peers.
Week 10
Today, I practiced and finished my Billie Jean performance and i'm ready to record. In order for me to be prepared for my recorded music performance, I need to, make sure I do all my run throughs of the song before the performance and make sure if there are any parts i'm still getting wrong are fixed. Thi is important that i do this in order for there to be no mistakes in the performance.
Week 11
Today, I had more time to add in parts and correct certain parts of my piece. To improve, i think i need to get in more practice time in lessons. Although, I have been making a huge improvement in my drums lately in lessons and independently. So, by next week i should have recorded my piece and upload it. That's my target for next week.
Week 12
Today I practiced my song but i struggled since my kit was not fully working as there was parts that were mixed up and pieces of the drum kit missing. Due to this i did not get to record my piece, so i'm going to record in my next lesson which is tomorrow. Next time, i will make sure it is working and if not i will either look for a different one or ask for assistance to fix it.
Week 13
Today, i practiced with Joe and we were practicing our grade drums work, which helped a lot as we could show each other where we are with our grades and we could share feedback with each other to help improve. In this way i could see how i've been getting on and not only comment on my drumming by myself as it's hard to know if i'm doing well or not.
Week 14
Today, i was practicing my song from my grade book called "Alabama". This is the new song i will be using. I'm just learning my notes and getting used to playing along to it. In order to make sure i'm on track, next week i'm going to look back at youtube because there is a video of a guy playing to "Alabama". I will also go to my drum teacher to help to see how i'm doing with the song.
Week 15
Today, I got a lot of practice in. I was practicing my grade music on drums. My progress on drums is now starting to improve which is really good to know, and in future i can maybe help others improve as well. This helps me with my confidence of being a drummer as I can help others with their own music.
Week 16
Today, I was lucky enough to have a room by myself for the majority of today's lesson. Therefore, that meant I could get a lot of practice in which was really good. And soon I will be able to record which is very good, as i wanted to a while ago but i changed the song. One I have recorded this song I can then move on to another to add to my recordings.
Week 17
Today, I was doing my usual routine which is; going to my room and getting my drums grade book out of my bag, then I go through my notes of the song i'm doing and start practicing it to see if there is anything that needs improving or cleaning to make sure its ready to record. There are still some things I need to finish for it to be complete like, making sure it is in time, which is why I started using a metronome which really helps and its definitely starting to show.
Week 18
Today, Josh and I were helping each other and started playing to one of the songs that Josh was listening to and he started playing on piano and I assisted him on the song with my drums and it sounded really good. We are planning on working on it again soon to see where it goes. This could be another song to add to our performances.
Week 19
Today, I was practicing a instrumental me and josh were making and nigel might start helping us aswell which is good. In the second half of the lesson, I was continuing with my grade songs in drums and made a lot of progress today. Every time I practice a song on the drums, I feel that I get better and better with the way I play in terms of techniques.
Week 20
Today, I practiced with josh and nigel, and i'm picking up teamwork skills by working with them and making progression as a drummer at the same time also. We were playing to a song called labyrinth today that was good. We are making progress with the song which is good just so I know how I need to play to the song and to add to recordings maybe to look back in in future to know my mistakes and errors and how I can improve in my part.
Week 21
Today, I was practicing my new song for grade music which is called 'Run Down'. I'm finding it alright but to improve next week I need to get it in time with the song and stop making a few silly mistakes at the end of the first line. A way I can tackle this problem is by listening to the original version of the song and Hera the exact part the drums come in and start playing in time and also need to talk to who I'm working with to sort out timing issues completely. Once this problem is out of the way it will sound so good.
Week 22
Today, Josh and I was practicing our song, using his ipad for the instrumental and went through the song and made a lot of progression for us to be able to record next week. We just Nigel to learn the lyrics then we are completely ready. Once we have recorded him singing we will put it all together and it will be done.
Week 23
Today, Josh, Nigel and I have been practicing the song we chose and have almost finished and will therefore be able to record.I have finished my part of the piece, Josh is working on his and Nigel is learning the lyrics and is almost done so we have had a lot of progress today. We have learnt from this, as in future we will make sure this wont take as long as it did so that we don't waste anytime.
3.1 Review of your progress
a) What comments has your tutor made about your progress?
I am doing well in drumming but if a practice a little bit more i would fully improve in drumming in order to make me a good drummer in the long run.
b) What are their reports on your:
i) technical ability
My drum teacher said when i'm playing on the drums I look how a drummer should.
ii) dexterity
ii) dexterity
I have good technique with my hands when playing, but need to read my song notes more carefully.
iii) stamina
I have good stamina when playing drums, as when I mess up on the beat I can re-do it and get up to pace with the song to make it sound good and in time.
iii) stamina
I have good stamina when playing drums, as when I mess up on the beat I can re-do it and get up to pace with the song to make it sound good and in time.
iv) control of the instrument
I made sure i had a good grip with my thumb near halfway on the actual drum stick, so that when i was playing, I didn't drop the drum sticks.
c) All recordings and dates of these recordings
c) All recordings and dates of these recordings
For each recording, write an evaluation of what went well in the performance, and what you would like to work on next.
This is the recording I did with Josh and Nigel. This is like a rough copy, so it still needs alot of improving and editing. For example we couldn't get it into time so that is something we definitely need to cover if we want to use this song for our performances.
This was my solo recording to 'Can't Feel My Face' by The Weeknd. In this recording, I could tell i was in time for the whole of the recording. This was good but next time maybe I should't use a backing track? I say this so i can hear how it sounds fully with no help of when to come in and when to finish. But overall I thought I did well on my recording.
3.2 Final Evaluation
a) What are your achievements, in relation to the personal goals you chose at the beginning of the course?
I've most definitely made more progress as a drummer, in terms of my technique and reading music and also understanding, which therefore is making me all the better long term as a drummer. But, i'm mostly proud of my drum technique as they have improved so much. As when i used to practice it would effect me when i play but everytime i play now, it works and my drum teacher agrees that when i play i look like a drummer.
b) What are the strengths in your progress?
c) What do you need to continue to work on as a performer.
Maybe having a bit more confidence as a performer, and make sure not to make any silly mistakes. I want to carry on playing the drums, and improve by trying my hardest. I also need to continue with using my goals as a checklist for when it gets to my performance to act on and evaluate my final performance. A way i can become more confident is by performing in front of my peers, and fortunately for me i am normally working with them so this can be fixed easily. we a few practice performances I should be ready for the final performances.
No comments:
Post a Comment