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.

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. 

• 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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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

Write my evaluation and submit the final project. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• 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.