Fleetwood Mac - Go your own way

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I felt as though this weeks performance went well as I was able to quickly learn the track. We also didn't really get to rehearse and improv was needed on the day due too our singer being ill and having a different bass player also on the day.

EBI:

Nerves where definitely high this week and overthinking was a big factor. I feel it may be down too it being my first week and I was worried bout being judged, but next week I know I will feel more confident as I am more confident with my group.

This week we started our project in module unit S1 and S2. First we had a study session where the project was explained too us in depth, what was needed to be done and when to do it by. Then I prepared for the next day which included drum tech, production and pre-production.

Next was my drum tech class which was use-full to settling in to our groups and it taught me a good amount of warm ups and brain trainers to help me with awkward rudiment movements such as paradiddles around the kit while offsetting your hi-hat pedal and bass drum pedal. Finally out tutor took us through the track of the week which i had practiced previously but it was nice to get another point of view on the track.

Our next lesson of the day was production which was use-full in understanding how this lesson while affect our project. After half an hour or so we moved on to micing techniques and polar patterns.

Next was Pre-production and performance. We where split into groups and listened too our track one more time before we rehearsed. Rehersal didn't go great as we were finding it hard too lock in and the band dynamic was a bit off as it was everyones first week so people were awkward, however we went home that day and all practiced a bit more. The performance went okay (as seen in the video) and we played the song with a different singer / singers and bass player on the day.

Finally this week we had navigating the music industry, which was use-full too learn about different ways on how to make money within the industry as well as learning and watching content about the rise and fall of the industry over the last few decades going from 1970 till the collapse of the industry in 2003 due to piracy and then back to its new rise in the mosren day.

The next day I had drum tech class which consisted of rudimental practice and alternating hi-hat and kick pedal control. This was particularly tricky as im used to my hi-hat opening and closing on all down and up beats of the bar to keep me in time, or in line with the snare to accent. Pulling away from my comfort zone to help develop my skills.

In production we were discussing the use of buses in a studio interace and how to link amps and pre amps into logic through there use. A bus is simply a way to group multiple audio tracks together into one singular track.

Then it was pre-production

Production tools

Bus's

This week in study group we went over our SWOT analysis which entailed us going through out strengths, weaknesses, our opportunities and threats. Above you can see what I put for each target mark. Apart from that this lesson was used to develop our diary's and add evidence from throughout the week.

Then we had a drum tech class the next day in which we went over various rudimentry patterns as well as running over 8th and 16th notes, first on the drum pad, and then moving it to working around the kit.

Next was my production lesson which just involved me us being introduced to MIDI and how we can work around it in pro-tools/ logic. I would of liked to learn how to use midi in general and not just the focus on guitar input as with my electric kit i like to use plugins and record midi straight into logic, providing me with a good use for demos and work such as my current project.

Finally we had pre production along with our performance.

Pre production went well and it felt as though even though we were in different groups to the week prior everyone still got on. Personally i have never listened to Hendrix so this week playing crosstown traffic was very new to me but the performance went great with minor mistakes. I was maybe pushing a little in the verses and the ending was undesided between us but overall it went well.

Bruno mars - treasure

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I think that I was able too keep a solid groove throughout the track and pull everything together nicely. The tempo was a good speed and everyone was locked in together. This allowed for a very good and effective run through of this track.

EBI:

Band communication could of been better as there wasn't a huge amount of eye contact. I also could of had a bit more stage presence to give off the affect of intrest.

We created and rehearsed our new ack tat we will be using for our live and DAW tracks. It went well and after the session we went back to our guitarists studio and created a vocal less demo that will be submitted as my formative assignment.

Next week I will also have too record one of my performances as a live demo.

First on Tuesday I had a drum tech class, we covered an array of basic patterns and went over  shuffles specifically using the ride. This was our fist introduction into jazz patterns.

Then I had production in which we went over how to recorded electric guitar and the importance of DI when tracking it. This was use full as it gave me an overall better understanding off guitar recording and although my only instrument is drums, having this knowledge allows me to help set up and record my guitarists if we are ever in the studio together.

Then was per-prod and our performance which just simply involved running over the whole track. This week the song was son of a preacher man which is one of the easiest songs we have had to run through yet. I think that I held the groove well and the beat was solid however I could work on running over the songs more before a session.

Roy Shucker. (2012). Popular Music: The Key Concepts - Routledge https://www.routledge.com/Popular-Music-Culture-The-Key-Concepts/Shuker/p/book/9780367768409?srsltid=AfmBOoqHtNmx0Jp1FXsVuInKs2YBUWGrJ9z2_nkundDj9y2wABgQsl4S

My chosen weakness to research is rudiments as at the moment my only strong points are singles doubles and paradiddle varients. When I say varients I mean that I improvise different sticking versions of a paradiddle while playing.

For this reason I have decided to focus on a different rudiment called a six stroke roll. Reading this on sheet music can be tricky so I did watch and listen too someone playing the roll, then slowed it down and analysed. I usually find that eye and ear playing can be easier than sight reading.

Harvard reference:

Wessels, M. (2023). SIX STROKE ROLL - Vic Firth Artists & Education. [online] Vic Firth Artists & Education. Available at: https://ae.vicfirth.com/education/40-essential-rudiments/40-essential-rudiments-six-stroke-roll/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2024].

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Then we had production. This week we were going through EQ. This week was still use full however once again it would of been nice to do something drum related as I will probably never use EQ for a guitar. Although I do think that for my project I will just end up using my electric kit which will only need levels changed and will have EQ and other stuff added already.

Then we had pre production as-well as my performance. This week we were going over Cochise which I was so excited to play as it was more suited to my style. I thought I played solid and everything went smooth with no negative feedback. And the band I played with connected well with everything song good.

The song this week was still into you by Paramore, which i surprisingly enjoyed throughly. The track was definitely the most most complex one yet and finally Ia was able to put some attention into song of the week. Unfortunately in our group we only had one guitarist which left the band sounding pretty empty and our one guitarist burnt his thumb and couldn't use it on the day we performed, but we were solid as a group and it went well.

I did mess up the sticking pattern for the big fill coming pout of the bridge. Only a drummer would of noticed though as I just hit the toms in the wrong order so not much was noticeable, however I was annoyed we only got one run through and I didn't get a chance to correct myself.