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After rehearsing with Disco InFearne-o I get some lunch, the canteen does a lovely chicken paella. Onto my afternoon rehearsal with red velvet.

We get down to business and discuss which song to record next week - the vocalists push for I want you Back (Jackson 5), I'm apprehensive for 2 reasons - 1, it's the most challenging song in our set and 2, it will be the hardest to play with a click. This is primarily due to several pauses in the song where we will need to come back in together in time.

After raising my concerns we try the song out and are finding it tricky. We discuss further and while One of these nights (Eagles) is our simplest and most developed song instrumentally, the vocalists are not keen - we decide on Heart of Glass (Blondie).

Rehearsing Heart of Glass with a click proves much easier. There are some tricky sections where I struggle to keep time and change my part, but the 4-on-the-floor beat helps keep me grounded with the click.

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I had some nice time off over the easter break, though I still got together with most of my bands in that time to rehearse. Here is a recording of Abstract Decision learning Black Sheep by Metric, I'm pretty happy with how this one is coming along, but I'll need to work on not speeding up when it moves to 16ths in the chorus.

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Playing with all my bands this week was so much fun. I didn't have a perfect set, but across 5 sets I had some pretty strong moments and there's at least one song in each set where I'm happy with my playing throughout.

Getting so much time on stage this week has been great experience and an opportunity to experiment with the live setting, something that's hard to practice in a rehearsal room.

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First try of Misirlou with the brass band

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Dominic keeps landing me in it, he's dropped out of the brass band and I've been asked to take his spot. There are 3 songs to learn and I only have a few weeks and a handful of rehearsals, the concert is on May 7th.

I really enjoy this experience playing with brass players, whilst I can’t read music at all these players all have a great feel for time, not always the case with pop musicians - so I am able to play more creatively without the band depending on me to keep them right all the time.

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Abstract Decision's original song - Never Mind

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This week we recorded our original song, Never Mind, in the Music Box studio. I'm happy with how it came out, though I wish I'd been more consistent with my playing when we were practicing and recording - I didn't have a solid plan and never played it the same way twice, when my beats and fills aren't consistent and set in stone the band can't rely on them for cues.

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This week I did what I could to rehearse and hone myself, though I got a good tip from my drum tutor - this far out from a gig, there's only so much you can really do, and the best thing is to go into it relaxed and confident. I listened to good music, took it easy and tried not to injure myself - I came off my bike last week and nearly broke a wrist, which would have meant me letting a lot of people down... But luckily that didn't happen, so the show goes on.

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All the gear I brought to the mash house with me.

Hats: Paiste 16” Big Beat/Dark Energy mix

Crashes: Zildjan K Custom Dark 16/18”

Ride: Paiste Big Beat 22”

Accoutrement: drum key, ear plugs, sizzlers, sticks, felt mallets, Snareweight dampeners

Glenn had to stay home unfortunately.

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So far this year I have had the opportunity to play in many bands in UAL 3, as well as filling in drummer shortages in the UAL 2 and HND courses. In only a few months I've been able to develop from a drummer with no band skills to one with a great deal of band experience and musical tools; I've learned techniques for quickly charting out songs, developing dynamics and movement within a piece, and keeping the band in sync with good timing and musical cues.

I have also gained experience working within teams with very different personalities and strengths, which has taught me about getting the best out of people and mediating friction and disagreements.

In choosing the band pathway for my final project I hope to develop these skills further and be a positive influence within my bands.

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Behold some of the drums that I have picked up this year

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Practicing the main drum beat from Valerie by the Zutions

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This week Franek and the Disco decide to swap ‘churches’ by flipturn out of the set and replace it with Valerie by the Zutons. The main groove for this song takes a bit of getting used to but is very rewarding.

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Below is a list of cover songs I will be performing with each band, with key information and resources I have chosen to study. There are both drum covers and live band performances, so that I can study both the in-depth drumming technicalities and how the drums fit into the context of a live performance.

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Super Trouper – ABBA

Tempo: 118 BMP / Key: C

Drum cover (not great)

Live Band cover

Straightforward disco beat with distinctive open hi-hat flourishes. I picked this one up quickly without too much trouble.

Airplanes – B.o.B / Hayley Williams

Tempo: 93 BMP / Key: F♯/G♭

Drum cover

Live Band cover

Capturing the feel of the sampled drums in this moody hip-hop track isn't the easiest. I keep my playing stripped back and focus on emulating the kick drum beat from the original. Leaving everything else simple gives the rest of the band plenty of space.

Black Sheep - Metric

Tempo: 120 BMP / Key: B

Drum cover

Live Band cover

Not my usual style of drumming, I play very little hard/heavy rock. However this song hasn't been too difficult to pick up. The structure is very simple and easy to keep track of, and the immediate cuts from heavy cymbal noise to stripping everything back sound good and clean. I'll need to work on the drum beat that goes on for 16 bars after the chorus, this is a little out of my comfort zone and will be difficult to maintain.

Tek It - Cafune

Tempo: 147 BMP / Key: G♯/A♭

Drum cover

Live Band cover

On the surface quite a simple song, but some tricky elements to get to grips with and a fast tempo. The little 'barks' in the intro are taking some time to get to grips with as the 2nd and 3rd one are on the and of 4 rather than the 1.

Cut from set

Empire State of Mind – Alicia Keys / Jay-Z

Tempo: 174 BMP / Key: G♯/A♭

Drum cover

Live Band cover

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Our House – Madness

Tempo: 121 BMP / Key: C

Drum cover

Live Band

A classic song with a simple structure which I'm quite familiar with. However, the kick drum follows the piano and bass line, which is totally alien to my right foot. This has been a work in progress for a few months and continues to be, though I'm much more confident with it now and it's proven to be a great exercise in improving my kick drum on off-beat notes in other songs.

Mówię Ci, Że – Tilt

Tempo: 138 BMP / Key: E

Drum cover

Live Band

This song is nice and short with a punk rock feel - I tend to overplay it with too many ghost notes on the snare, adding my own funk feel which I think is cluttering up the song. I also tend to start the band off too quickly, which is a problem elsewhere, so I'm trying to be mindful of tempo going into this one.

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) – Billy Joel

Tempo: 134 BMP / Key: D

Drum cover

Live Band

Live Band (2)

The original drums on this track use 8th notes on the hi-hats, I tend to play 16th notes with my right hand as I like the feel of this better. I am also doing more with the kick drum which is only on the 1 and 3 in the original, I'll maybe try and row this back as I don't want to be overplaying it. There is lots of room for little flourishes in this song, and sections where the drums cut out, and I'm learning that not playing in time is sometimes harder than playing.

What You Know – Two Door Cinema Club

Tempo: 139 BMP / Key: F♯/G♭

Drum cover

Drum Cover (2)

Live Band

I like this punchy indie song, the disco beat in the chorus is easy enough though I need to find something interesting to do during the verses, where in the track there is some interesting percussion that I can't easily emulate.

Valerie – The Zutons

Tempo: 169 BMP / Key: F

Drum cover

Live Band

Drum Lesson

I'm more familiar with the Amy Winehouse cover of this song, and did a lot of listening to that before realising we were doing the original version, which has quite a different drum beat. The beat in the Zutons version has taken a bit of work, but Sean Payne's lesson linked above was extremely helpful in getting to grips with it.

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Murder on the Dancefloor – Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Tempo: 117 BMP / Key: C♯/D♭

Drum Cover

Live Band

Getting to grips with 16th note grooves has been one of my biggest challenges as I hadnt tackled them before this year at college, with this song especially. Now that I have had a few months to refine my technique I am able to be a bit more aware and creative without dropping tempo, transitioning smoothly into new sections still needs some work.

This Charming Man – The Smiths

Tempo: 104 BMP / Key: B

Drum Cover

Live Band

This charming man had a bit of a learning curve for my right foot, though this was complimented by what I was learning for Our House. Like our house, the kick follows the bass with off-beat notes that I still find tricky. Besides that, it’s fairly repetitive and straightforward with minimal fills/crashes, so I’m able to get through it without too much hassle. There's a missed beat at the end of the intro which is tricky to line up, I need to keep a close eye on the guitar during the intro and come in on the 7th beat.

Venus – Shocking Blue

Tempo: 128 BMP / Key: B

Drum Cover

Live Band

Venus is pretty simple to pick up, the structure chops and changes a bit so I have to be mindful of where we are in the song. I haven’t quite decided how I want to play some of the sections, I could play a tom-tom or ride cymbal groove during the chorus, but not being decisive about what I’m playing can end up sounding a bit flat in rehearsals.

Wild World – Cat Stevens

Tempo: 153 BMP / Key: C

Drum Cover

Live Band

The drums on cat Steven’s original track I found extremely confusing, and with everything else I’m learning I do not have the bandwidth with to start learning it; luckily I have found Mr Big’s cover, which follows a classic rock feel that I am much more comfortable with. There is some interesting left hand syncopation on the snare drum in their version which has taken some getting used to, but this has sounded good in rehearsals and improved my drumming elsewhere immensely.

Not Strong Enough – boygenius

Tempo: 127 BMP / Key: C♯/D♭

Drum Cover

Live Band

This is the first song we chose and learned as a band, which was easy to get to grips with in some areas but tricky in others. The breakdown strips back to just a marching snare drum pattern and vocals for 8 bars, which I find quite daunting and it’s easy for me to mess up. Still, I love the song and we have gotten pretty good at playing it.

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Dance the Night – Dua Lipa

Tempo: 110 BMP / Key: B

Drum Cover

Live Band

A pretty short and simple song on the face of it, capturing the modern synthetic pop feel of this track has proven tricky. There is a shaker in the forefront of the track while the drums play a simple four on the four floor with straight 8ths on the hat. Capturing the shaker feel has proven tricky and neither of the vocalists have been keen on doing the shaking. There is also a distinct clapping sample at the end of each phrase in the verse, which would be quite satisfying to play live - this would require a sample pad however and complicate my setup, and add to my to-do list which is already quite extensive.

Super Trouper – ABBA

Tempo: 118 BMP / Key: C

Drum Cover

Live Band

The band chose this song before I arrived but as luck would have it I’d already learned it for Abstract Decision.

Messy – Lola Young

Tempo: 111 BMP / Key: A

Drum Cover

Live Band

Laid back angsty spoken pop song with nice simple drums and structure, quite happy with this one. We speed it up a bit at the end to raise the energy and give it a punk-pop feel.

I Want You Back – The Jackson 5

Tempo: 197 BMP / Key: G♯/A♭

Drum Cover

Live Band

Quite a tricky song to learn, the original has a few quirks and sharp bends. Again, it was difficult to convince anyone to shake a tambourine, and emulating that feel myself during the verses has been challenging.

Heart of Glass – Blondie

Tempo: 115 BMP / Key: E

Drum Cover

Live Band

This song has a classic and distinct disco drum grove, with a lot of work being done by the left foot. Getting to grips with this alongside the changes in hi-hat groooves has been tricky, but extremely satisfying and beneficial in other areas.

One of These Nights – Eagles

Tempo: 110 BMP / Key: G

Drum Cover

Live Band

Nice simple structure to this one, it has a distinct hi hat pattern which I got comfortable with surprisingly quickly. It’s easy to play and has nice slow classic rock fills and transitions, with plenty of space for the instruments to play over.

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For this project I will create a blog which will follow my experience of working with 5 bands to build a set for our live performance at the Mash House. This will include notes and reflections from weekly rehearsals, details of all of the songs and song elements, my own research and other resources. To make this work I will need to keep on top of taking diary entries and making detailed notes on rehearsals, maintain good communication with my bandmates to share thoughts and ideas and work through any issues.

The blog will grow as the project progresses. It will include my project proposal and rationale, information on the band and what resources we already have going into the project, and a timetable detailing what we will do leading up to the performance. I will add diary entries each week detailing what happened during our rehearsals and my thoughts and reflections, as well as what research I have been doing to support our work. After the final performance it will include the video footage, and my reflections/debrief after the project is complete.

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Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder

Tempo: 119 BMP / Key: C♯/D♭

Drum Cover

Live Band

I struggle to get the triplet feel of this song feeling fluid and groovy, often losing time. We only have drums, bass and one guitar in the band, so keeping things interesting is a challenge.

I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor

Tempo: 117 BMP / Key: C

Drum Cover

Live Band

The 16th note disco groove is quite simple and carries on throughout, but I need to focus on keeping it feeling groovy and consistent. There's a pause and re-entry into a chorus in the final 3rd, keeping the band on the same page for this could be challenging, but effective if it goes well.

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now – The Smiths

Tempo: 114 BMP / Key: F♯/G♭

Drum Cover

Live Band

Another Smiths song with a pretty simple structure and familiar drums, this one is easy for the most part with some tricky quiet parts where keeping the other instruments in time can be tricky - perhaps I should try and keep time with my hihat during these sections.

Boys Don’t Cry – The Cure

Tempo: 169 BMP / Key: B

Drum Cover

Live Band

This one is a little fast for me to keep up with but pretty easy on the whole. I've tried playing it a little slower, the vocalists might prefer it this way but the other instruments want it fast.

Creep - Radiohead

Tempo: 105 BMP / Key: E

Drum Cover

Live Band

An iconic song, the drums are familiar and pretty slow so easy to pick up, though the double bass note played in each bar throughout the song can be challenging for my right foot. There is also a drum fill which spans 2 bars in the 2nd chorus, which is more fill than what I'm used to, so I'll have to do some practice on this.

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Plan:

Work with band to finalize our setlist and work out what will be required to meet our goals and challenges.

Perform research into the chosen songs, listen to studio recordings, live performances and covers to help work out drum parts.

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Plan:

Individuals should have a good understanding of their parts by now. It’s critical that issues are raised sooner than later in rehearsals, if we notice individual parts are not fitting we should be blunt but construtive about this. Getting feedback from lecturers will be crucial to address any issues.

Continue with independent study and repetitive listening to songs to ingrain in memory.

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Plan:

Do a small amount of relaxing over the holiday period, but continue with independent study and practice.

Band should ideally still meet throughout the holidays to rehearse.

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Plan:

Rehearse, provide and receive feedback, work on what needs improving such as transitions betweens songs, dynamics and fine tuning.

Continue with independent study and repetitive listening to songs to ingrain in memory. Keep padlet up to date with diary and research entries.

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Plan:

Rehearse, provide and receive feedback, work on what needs improving such as transitions betweens songs, dynamics and fine tuning.

Request access to auditorium for rehearsing in a stage setting, this will be better experience than a practice room.

Continue with independent study and repetitive listening to songs to ingrain in memory. Keep padlet up to date with diary and research entries.

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Plan:

Rehearse with band, provide and receive feedback, work on what needs improving.

Continue with independent study and repetitive listening to songs to ingrain in memory.

Request access to auditorium for rehearsing in a stage setting, this will be better experience than a practice room.

Do lots of practice and final preparation for the live band performances.

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Plan:

Transport my cymbals and other gear to venue, play the drums live for our final performance.

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Plan:

Write my evaluation and submit the final project.

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All song tempo and key information sourced from songbpm.com, accessed 14/03/2025

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1. Misirlou - Greek Folk

The Greek folk version of Misirlou typically features a tsifteteli rhythm, which is a syncopated 4/4 beat commonly used in Greek and Middle Eastern music.

SoCal Folk Dance (2016) Misirlou Variations. Available at: socalfolkdance.org (Accessed: 21 April 2025).

2. Makin Whoopee' - Laid back swing

I haven't done much jazz up to now, I'm hoping I can do this one justice. I'm looking at using brushes on the snare for the swing pattern.

3. El Choclo - Tango

This is a totally new type of rhythm for me to get to grips with, but I found a version which I really like the look of and will be working on learning, video attached.

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El Choclo [LIVE DRUMCAM] 🚢 MSC Bellissima 🚢

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Squished vid of Red Velvet playing One of these nights

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I will be evaluating my own work, the work of others and our collective work throughout the project and in the final submission. These reflections should be deep and not a simple box-ticking exercise of listing what has happened. Having to document these things in a shared blog might change the way I reflect on things and share feedback, perhaps making me think more carefully and deeply before doing so.

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I woke up late today and am 5 minutes late for rehearsal. Good news is that I wasn't the latest. Joyce arrives shortly after, and Zoe some time after that. Nadia is off sick.

I get set up and once we have vocals, we discuss what song to record next week. We try I will Survive (Gloria Gaynor), Joyce is still struggling with getting the lyrics in time. We then try Heaven knows I'm miserable now (The Smiths), which goes much better, despite it being Joyce's first attempt since joining the band. Looks like we're going with this one.

We go over the song a few more times. We also try out Boys Don't Cry (The Cure), and Joyce does pretty well for her first attempt at this one too. After a few more goes at the Smiths tune, we call it and go for lunch.

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Rehearsal is upended today because both of the bands scheduled to do their live recording today are missing several members. Poor show!

Franek at the Disco step up. I was looking forward to getting a session with each of my bands before our recording, but I can make do.

My first time in the studio is awesome fun. I get the kit how I like it, the toms needs a slight tune but aren't unsalvageable like the rehearsal room toms generally are. The front skin on the kick drum sounds a bit crap, rather than try to tune it I put a towel against it to deaden the sound.

We decide to perform Mówię ci, że by Tilt. We ask for a click at 138 BPM - turns out we don't need to use one. I'm happy as this band in particular have good chemistry and very seldom time.

The session is great fun - we do 3 takes, the 3rd being best, then do the mime takes for the video. After a photoshoot we pack up, and I go to see the other band for what time remains of our Wednesday rehearsal time.

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After a long running and heated debate about the band name, we finally ran out of time and chose 'Disco InFearne-o', a play on Fearne's name and the 70's classic by The Trammps. I'm happy with this outcome but would have preferred our original name 'The Yampers'.

All of my bands have a Music Box studio session coming up next week, so we decide to pick a song and focus mainly on that. We choose 'Not Strong Enough' by Boy genius, the song we have most experience with. We decide to try practicing with a click, as we expect to use one in the studio.

The rehearsal goes well, running the song many times and looking at our other songs to get a break. Playing with a click is challenging, I will need to practice this solo. I often go out of time when thinking about moving to the next section or doing a fill. I think Connell is playing some incorrect notes on the bass, I'll need to find a way to bring this up with him tactfully.

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Caleb, Damien, me, Franek, Fraser, Rachel, Sean

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Franek at the Disco and 7JC normally rehearse at the same time slot so I go between rooms. I drop into the rehearsal room after my recording session, there's only 10 minutes left.

I'm informed of some changes to the set list, we're dropping Empire State of Mind (Jay-Z) and adding Tek It (Cafuné) and Black Sheep (Metric). I'm disappointed as I was looking forward to Empire and had been focusing my practice on that drum part, but the band are happy so I don't see any reason make a fuss.

I'll need to write notation for both these songs and work out my part for next week. I'll also need to let the rest of my bands know that we don't need to use a click.

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Having 30 songs to learn in 4 months has really kept me busy, though at times it's been exhausting. Now that the mash house gigs are finished, I can go back to playing what I like and at my own pace.

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Next week we’ll be recording Never Mind, our original song, for the last of my music box recording sessions. I’m excited for this one.

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Rehearsing Mówię ci, że with Franek at the Disco

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I had great fun recording with my bands in the studio this week. I'm pretty happy with how the songs came out, though I notice that I tend to play faster when the pressure is on - I will need to work on this for future.

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Connel, me, Robert, Fearne, Fraser, Ewan

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Heaven Knows I'm Miserable now with Freak Scene

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I've listened to this playlist sometimes several times daily, to the point I can hardly stomach some of these songs for the next while. But it's a very effective technique for getting structures into memory, and for ingraining different rhythms and changes in the song.

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Rehearsing One of These Nights with Red Velvet

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Naia is doing a great job running the Red Velvet instagram page, it’s being updated every week and helping to promote the gig.

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this song is going pretty well, though I need to work on timing the entry into chorus after the pause at the end of the pre-chorus.

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Freak Scene - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

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This week I played an open mic in Edinburgh with Dry Eyes, though sadly I was only drumming for them while their drummer Dominic was in Brazil. The good news is the performance went very well, I didn’t miss a note, and the band is asked to do a showcase for the next open mic - the bad news, Dominic is coming back so I’m no longer in the band…

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my drum set for Brass Band at St Pauls Cathedral, Edinburgh

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In my time at college, I've learned how to count and chart out songs - something a session musician needs to be able to do quickly and accurately. Once I've got a song in memory I don't always need a chart, though it can be very helpful to keep track of where you are at a quick glance.

I've gotten better at learning by ear, or by watching a drummer too. I've had to do a lot of this for my research, watching drum covers etc.

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Our House with Franek at the Disco 30/04

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We had to rehearse without Franek this week, so just the disco without vocals. It’s a good opportunity for the instruments to work on structure without vocal cues. I’m quite comfortable playing this song now, though still fudge the transition in and out of the main kick drum pattern some of the time.

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My favourite and most used fill, the Pat + Debby Boone

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I took the easy route for a lot of the songs, sometimes using my own techniques and interpretations rather than learning the drums from the record note-for-note; with the amount of songs I had to learn, this is the only way I really could have done it.

Had I only had a few songs to learn, I would have gone into each song with more depth and learned more intricate fills, grooves and techniques, which might have given the songs a bit more movement and dynamics.

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I wasn't thrilled with my performance on El Chocolo or Makin' Whoopee, but I was in my element for this one. Getting to play with the brass band in such a cool venue was great fun.

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Erin, Jakub, Diego, Ed, Theo, Matthew, me, Brooklyn and Theodora

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I have had a delightful year studying at Edinburgh College. The UAL 3 course has been just right for me, giving me plenty of time and space to focus on playing the drums and improving my musicality. It's been gratifying to get to play in bands on the courses above me too, and I enjoyed getting to play with those bands without the additional classroom time and assessed work that goes with them.

Sadly I could only afford one year away from work, so my time at college is over for now. But that won't stop me drumming. I've made some good friends at college who I'll be keeping in touch with and hopefully playing with regularly too.

I'm proud of myself for having supported so many bands and enabled people to play with a drummer when they might not have had one otherwise. It forced me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to develop new techniques, on the drums and in music/band work generally.

I'm extremely proud of my bandmates for all the hard work they put in too, and for their amazing performances at the end of year show. I wish them all the best in the rest of their studies, and if they need me they can call anytime.

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Freak Scene - Chris, Joyce, Zoe, Ethan, and me