The real life blog of Ilkeston resident, Kim Keeton; aspiring musician and creative whatsit. Follow in my footsteps and discover the ins and outs of my not so simple life, to read about what I do and all that I enjoy.
#music #photography #life
So, last week saw me helping out in a new department (well, new to me) and made me open my eyes a little wider to the ever shrinking creative techies... and creatives in general to be fair. I finally was introduced to Georgia properly by Melissa, the new gal on my course. Even though I'd seen her through my first year, I'd never met her properly before. She's the only one doing the BA this year (in Theatre Tech, I believe) also teaching on the side and needed a hand peeping for a performance. Ok, all I did was help set up a few raised platforms and chairs but it was fun and hard work, paid of with thanks. I didn't mind being a spare pair of hands and it was nice to feel useful. I'll probably end up helping them again at some stage.
After this was more band practice with the level 2s. What a way to tire myself out. We played a gig full of catchy original songs yesterday to end the year and what fun that was. I treated my band to some cowboy hats and decorative materials to celebrate the debut of our No. 1 hit "Christmas in the Country." God, that song is so fun to play. Not a straight face in the room. I already know when I'm due back in January to resume helping them. They are amazing to work with.
Now, deadlines are catching up with me but I'm still on track. The big-ass Foley project is due in by the end of this week as well as our group mixing project, all just before we break up for Christmas. We gave our presentations today for our realise proposal. I'd say I did well to say I had no confidence in what I was talking about yesterday and did well, to blag my way through. Seemed to last long enough too, I thought it would be much shorter. It did actually go well and I think I know what I want to do more than I think, it's just taking it from my head and realising it.
These last few days will be the last push before the break. I've still got a little bit of work to do but not much. I'm fairly content with how I've managed my workload this term, even though I have managed to stress myself out a few times. I'm hoping I finish the Foley stuff completely by tomorrow so I don't have to worry about it on Friday. I've enjoyed the project and it's been a new recording/mixing experience but we weren't half thrown in the deep end.
I need to get into the habit of blogging regularly again. I had forgotten how therapeutic it was.
I'm not sure if the stress has finally caught up with me, but I'm finding myself to get annoyed by the littlest of things today. As I arrived in a car park, another car was taking up to spaces. The car park was almost full and I debated leaving them a note. The woman arrived back to her car as I was about to leave mine, so instead I walked past her and muttered under my breath "fucking idiot" deservedly. Before she looked at me with judging eyes for me judging her of her disgraceful parking.
I nipped to ASDA and another thing happened whilst queuing. The guy behind me, pushed his shopping right up, towering over my divider on the conveyor belt. Ever heard of personal space? Christ. The irony was when the next shopper behind him placed their shopping over a foot away.
I'm sat in the library now and all of these things are still niggling at me, along with the unnecessary chatter of the library and the racket of others keyboard mashing. It puts me off my own rhythm for typing academic work. On top of all of this, I have another deadline due tomorrow. It's not a biggie, but I still have a fair bit to do on it, including referencing. How does one reference ones ears? Hmmm...
In other news, I brought myself a new tool for procrastination Sunday morning, making the most of works double discount event. I only have one game at the moment; Zelda. The best, obviously. I'm enjoying it so far. I forgot how much they changed the appearance of the Great Fairy. That caught me of guard yesterday whist discovering upgrades. I'm thinking of maybe getting a new game nearer or after Christmas depending, but I also want some new effects pedals to play with, Logic and a digital console.
This last week and then some has been very difficult with deadlines to meet and band politics in-between. I handed in my first report for the term this morning with around 2500 word, more like just over 2000 minus quotes and referencing. I made a start on it a couple of weeks ago but didn't really hit the ground running with it until Monday. In my first entry I managed to total around 700 words and within the last week I've added approx 1800 (inc. referencing and quotes). I've been busy, but I've enjoyed it and been lavishing in feeling headstrong for the first time in months. I feel as if it helped having a stressful weekend, for things to return to the not-so-normal life of uni and just get on with it.
I keep forgetting what I'm missing though and when I remember, it hurts. I've had a lot of distractions to keep my thoughts at bay and only recently realised I must have gone without thinking about some things for at least a week. I'm getting stronger from it, but I'm not afraid of the tears. My only fear is if the tears were ever to show seemingly random whilst at college.
My band is currently held together by two fine threads with one missing; we will be looking for new members soon as things have gone a bit "tits up" as they say. It's been a good run and it's a shame. Everything felt right and now it's as if its barely anything again. At least this gives us a chance to start from the ground up, but for now we are keeping the same name and it have become more of a project all over again.
I have another deadline for next week, a presentation to prepare and a short film score to write (complete with Foley sounds which are almost all recorded) both to be handed in before the Christmas break. It's doable, certainly and I'm definitely in a good position. I'm wanting to make a start on reports that will be due in after the Holidays while I'm in the right frame of mind, but as I write this I can sense my thoughts telling me that that isn't going to happen, not at least while I have another assignment due.
The dub project was also finished today... I don't think I've mentioned this yet in my blog. I was doubtful at the very start, almost the classic "Matt's just getting us to do what he likes" but, I've come to like it and have enjoyed the group project more that I thought I ever would. I will upload the track we performed today as our submission later next year when it is clear I can do so without being told off. I'm really proud of what we've achieved and can't wait to showcase it. Who knew delay pedals (et all) could be so much fun!!
I was driving home behind a lady who hadn't switched on her lights. It was as dark as it is now. I flashed my lights at her several times, I think she noticed but couldn't work out what I was trying to tell her. At the lights just down from Waitrose in Wollaton (headed towards Ilkeston), I headed for the right lane as she entered the left and as we were both stoped by the red light, I got to tell her using some form of vague sign language for lights and mouthing words like, "Switch your lights on."
She switched her lights on, waved thank you and I let her go first to continue her journey safely, also saving her being stopped by the police!
I have my first presentation of the year tomorrow. It is ready, I keep telling myself, but I can't stop thinking about adding extra bits and potentially over doing it. I've been in the studio again today, with guitarist Jake Marriott working on our band's EP. We were just working on guitars today and managed to get through all the tracks. We were a little pushed for time and we're probably going to spend at least another day on Jakes guitar, for the solos and doubling up the tracks.
In other exciting news, I'm starting to get pumped about rebooting The Nottingham Improvisation Club, so much so that I've started designing a vague website that other students can use. I have a new idea with this, that I'm still unsure of, that'm not going to announce yet as I still need to be in contact with the right people at college to sort it and organise it. For now, I can only wonder of the possibilities. I feel like I'm in a strong position. All the hard work from last year paid off and I feel respected, if not slightly awkward because everyone talks to me. Social anxiety gets the better of me sometimes as I experience on my first day back, but after getting in conversation with some of the level 2s, this could work.
I think I will end my night with a little GTA. I've been working myself hard today, both recording and producing in the morning, to working on assignments this evening. I stayed in the college library until 6pm today. I'm happy now I've sussed the login and they have full versions of the essentials installed again, plus my favourite: Microsoft Publisher. You have helped me make many logos my friend, including my bands and the clubs and others which were great, but refused.
So, one of my fast approaching deadlines for practical work is becoming an easy target. I knew this particular project would be easy, considering what I contribute, but it feels like after yesterday we now have more structure which I seem to lead with my guitar. I brought my SY-300 in yesterday which helped make a difference. It kept the skank of the guitar, but added a synth tone, the one I selected wasn't too harsh and seemed perfect. I came up with a simple melody line which followed the bass and ended with a harmonic note with a pitch bend. When it all gets caught up in the delay it sounds fantastic, but it's very easy to lose timing over all the delayed notes if the drum track is removed, even using Logic's beat counter is difficult to find a way back.
This is quite positive to say before I had doubts about this one and now I'm quite excited by it. There are two groups and I think its fair to say we are the most prepared. The others we not in yesterday and we now have two attempts recorded, the second being far superior. Ali brought in his dub siren too, which makes some fun noises. I can't wait to perform this one now. It is mostly improvised and that is the beauty of it. The delay responses are happy accident and the music is mellow and relaxing, the perfect sort to forget about other assignments.
Saturday saw an early start for a new adventure. I had booked this weeks ago and become so excited about it that I didn't really realise how time consuming it would be until a couple of days before. I usually work Saturdays, but I managed to be allowed to work only half day once I got back. I went with Chantelle, a friend who is unsure about Uni and I was happy to learn that she enjoyed the day. Places like these establishments are eye opening.
The drive down was easy and we parked up just after 9am in the guest car park. Free parking - bonus points! I was anxious walking up to the check in of how the day would go, but it seemed by the end there really was no need to be. There was a welcome talk from the Vice President to start the day. The room he presented in filled up extremely fast that by the time we had reached the floor we were being directed into a different lecture theatre to watch his talk via a live stream; which was extremely impressive. Considering I was there to see the tech department, to see such a high standard of technology outside of that was comforting. No technical issues, no broken equipment in sight, just a slightly dodgy cameraman.
After the first talk had finished, we had about 15 minutes to get to the next welcome talk specifically for Technology in which their music department is based. In that space of time, I asked my friend to take some landmark photos of the day such as the one on the right, stood next to a very welcoming wall. The technology department is in the Queens Building and the lecture theatre we were in next was pretty breath taking. Decorated with wooden acoustic treatment and strange, yet not-enough-to-distract lights. As music is only a fraction of the department, it wasn't mentioned all that much. This didn't really dishearten me because the talk was still aimed at a diverse range of individuals.
It felt like there was so much to do. We had a small break in which I conversed with a few current students before heading to the next lecture room for a talk with Dr Bret Battey. He was very welcoming and enthusiastic and went into detail about what the course is about. It's sad to think that if I go I will miss out on certain things as I only wish to do my final year with them. After the talk, we all dispersed from the room which was fairly small yet full, to be toured around the department. We started with the studios in the Queens Building. The facilities absolutely blown me away. The quality of the studios, packed with up-to-date tech, various mixing consoles and preamps and live rooms which are able to be patched anywhere you need them. They even have a radio booth which they shown us and it is possible to patch the studios to the radio booth to broadcast a live session. Madness! These are facilities I can only dream of while I remain in Nottingham.
After all the fun of the tours, we had about an hour and half for lunch so it seemed right to explore the city. I'm unfamiliar with Leicester so we didn't get very far. We got as far as finding the closest McDonalds and dived in (we were getting really hungry, it was about 1pm by this point.) We still had one last tour to go back for to view the mastering studios and performance space, which was worth the wait. The journey home wasn't as fun. On the way back I had a small accident getting out of the city, but the car, myself and my friend still made it back in one piece, just very teary and shaken up. The thought of the costs and damage to my insurance premiums is still enough to set me off.
Otherwise, this was a fantastic day. I had so much fun and may have gotten a little to excited, but I need this right now. Something to be excited for. The feeling hovering around the department at college at the moment is dire, although seems to be settling.
Since I my body rudely awoken me at around 5am this morning I hadn't been very optimistic and I had surrounded myself in doubt as to how the day would pan out. I didn't need to be in college until, so I debated playing a quick game on the Playstation before I needed to be properly awake and out of the door. Maybe there was some excitement in waking up so early, but it wasn't very prominent. I had laid out my clothes and packed my bags the night before, so I didn't have too much to do and I didn't need to leave the house until after eight. I probably left a little later than I should as I ended up running across the road for the bus. I don't usually do this, but I would recommend it as the run resulted in a free bus ride (I think the driver was running later or something.) I was probably a little too emotional to deal with the kindness of the gesture, it was a good job I kept my sunglasses on.
I already had my headphones ready for the journey. I've been listening to a lot of Nicholas Wells recently, and Grand Ultra, that or the usual Green Day or Simple Plan. I was in town for just after 9am and seriously debated getting the bus up to Uni from Victoria Centre to Clarendon. I usually drive, but Goose Fair is on so I'm not used to such conundrums. It was a difficult choice, but I chose to walk in the end. It takes about twenty minutes if you don't stop for a breath. It's quite a hill, good o'l Mansfield Road, still all too familiar.
Naturally, I arrived half an hour early. I noticed while crossing the road the staff car park seemed emptier than usual. Normally, it would be full. It felt almost illusive to step inside. NCN logos still plastered everywhere yet, its now Nottingham College... Officially. It makes me wonder when they will let go of the whole NCN and Central names displayed as partnership, or if they could ever agree to that. It's odd. It's weird to be back. The department is smaller and if I'm too honest looking very sparse. One positive is that it makes it a niche community of creative minded people, for both staff and students. I sat upstairs once I arrived and everyone (that knew me) said hello; Rob, Andrew, Andy, Harry, Jacob. It was nice to feel welcome, but a little overwhelming and anxiety tipping. It wasn't until about 09:55am that the rest of my group started to show, Rob was second in followed by a new girl called, Melissa. She seems really nice and we got off to a comical start in sharing stories, I just wish I had been in a better frame of mind to build conversation rather than be cynical.
We had a long introduction to what we will be doing for the next few months. The two big projects at the moment are foley and soundtrack to video and some kind of Dub track. Despite listening endlessly today, I'm not sure I know exactly what I'm doing. Things are still being moved around to accommodate the changes, the Midi keyboards have changed colours and been moved around, but there are still no funds for new Macs. Admittedly, I'm quite disappointed. Not just because of the lack of new equipment, that would be unfair, but its clear that it's needed when there were so many petty technically issues today. These are errors beyond control of the lecturer, but when it happens regularly throughout the day, it certainly looks unprofessional and slows down the pace of everything.
I'm unsure what to make of this academic year, even though I've already been openly pessimistic to the other students, maybe even suggestively to staff. In a way, strangely I'm happy to know that my future will not be at Clarendon after this year, if what I have heard about the BA is correct. I'm still in the process of looking elsewhere and will need to review my personal statement before the end of the year. The current options seems to be NTU, DMU or Confetti since they aren't too far. I have an open day booked for DMU next weekend and I'm rather excited for it. There is a chance I could be going alone, but it will be worth it to find out more.
Although, I fear that I can't mention what it is that is truly troubling me, I do believe that I'm though the worst of it now. This last month has been difficult, but things are starting to take shape again as I start my second year. Enrolment was short and sweet. I filled out my forms with a DCSU pen, which I didn't realise until the end. The painful irony was enough to tickle me, making my tutor give me strange looks as I giggled away. I bumped into Zanna, our HE Engagement & Employability Officer and reminded me of the responsibilities I had picked up last year as a rep. I had thought of ditching them through anger, but maybe after all it is best if I grit my teeth and stay on the team. With my course, it's not like there are many of us to represent. There were a couple missing at enrolment and our course has again gotten smaller. I believe there are severn of us this year. I'm interested to meet the new students and see the numbers for their courses.
Popers, not buttons...
In other news, I brought my first waistcoat yesterday. It seems to go well with my worn-navy jacket, tried with an autumnal blouse I bough last year. It is tanned leather and warm to wear out at this time of year. I fear that I may by more. I just need some posh shoes now.
Also, the band is doing well. We are up to our third gig now and have a couple more booked in for the rest of the year. For our last gig we played at The Maze with Talking to Frank, Super Furniture and Scott Bugg & The Vital Few. We are still at a stage where we don't particularly earn anything, but with the effort we have all put it hopefully it won't be long until that starts. I'm hoping to arrange some studio time at college for us soon, but I guess I need to get back into routine first although I'm hoping to pop the question this Thursday. We are more than ready.
The eighth day was the worst and bares news that I'm still coming to terms with. I have fallen behind with my frequent blogging due to laziness but, now I feel like I'm missing something else completely. The good news is I'm away from work for just short of a couple of weeks before I'm due to enrol for my second year. I'm excited but, I can't show it. There are too many ideas inside my head; some useful, some more raging and self-destructive.
In terms of my summer research project, if I'm completely honest with myself I have been lazy with that too. I'm behind on my reading. Work has been slightly more demanding in terms of shifts which I can't say "No." to and in the time in-between I feel I should rest, although doing so causes more stress by not being productive. There is some progress however as last Thursday I conducted an interview with fellow band mate, Jake Marrion. This turned into a day of discussing band politics and what to do next and probably made me the most excited in a while, but the next day soon killed that off and I still need to transcribe that interview.
It's amazing how dependant we become for certain people in our lives that have more influence on what we do than others due to their kindness, selfless attitude and inspirational qualities.
I'm currently reevaluating myself and feeling that I need a new shoulder to perch on, but with our putting too much strain on their backs. I already have a good idea who that may be and of whom it will definitely not. I can sense already that this year will be more difficult with lesser support, but I did well in making the most of it in this last year which reflects in my overall grades. I am aiming for higher this year and nothing less, but I also want to offer my support to others where I can. In terms of projects, Kill the Moon are hoping to record soon, also hopefully at Clarendon. The plan in my head is to use RS1 and mostly do it ourselves maybe with a little help from AO or any students that wouldn't mind manning the desk and pressing the record button rather than running frantically between rooms.
I'm having to reimagine how this year could pan out. It's strange. I had a vague idea in my head before and now I have to contour a new one. I'll have to figure something out for The Nottingham Improvisation Club. I really want to keep that going, regardless although not until early next year to allow new students to get comfy rather than throw them in the deep end. Anyway, enrolment is the 27th of this month and I'm looking forward to it somewhat. I'm not as excited as last year, but I can see this as a recurring pattern from the times before where things get regrettably worse during academic years as time go by.
The healthy breakfast didn't last very long and I have almost finished my second pack of 32 pop tarts. This is probably somewhat connected to my productivity, but I have also felt like I should live a little while I can.
It's been a while since I posted on here so I feel like I need to post updates from the last month. Well, I went to Alton Towers for the 10th time on the 7th with Bekkie. It was a toss up between the Monday or the Tuesday before Bekkie headed back to Finland and we definitely made the right choice. The weather was perfect all day and we managed to get on everything twice before 3:30pm and collected lots of photos with the digi-pass as proof.
I brought myself a Nemesis t-shit, which I'm rather fond of because myself and the ride share the same year of birth, although that is worrying slightly. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed with Galactica (Air re branded). The team outfits were all a bit "Startreck-y", I'm surprised they haven't been sued and also it was my first time experiencing VR. My head set didn't configure properly and so the visuals were slightly to the side when they should have been aligned with the track which made it extra effort to see stuff. The audio playback was pants too. Not very loud nor good quailty. I will give them kudos for the the level of creativity in the content of the 360° animated journey, although I feel like the VR takes away the thrill of rollercoaster experience. We did go on it again (as Air, if you like) and it was much better (other than worrying that the head set might flight out and hit us in the face) more bad news is that they've removed the camera from the ride.
In other news, my new band had our first gig at the Tap 'n' Tumbler in Nottingham and it's fair to say were well received. Grand Ultra headlined. This was the same week on Thursday, August 10th and my, we didn't half prepare for it. Tuesday and Wednesday saw three hour rehearsals and I brought myself a new gig worthy bass amp. The following Thursday after the gig we finally had the talk about changing names. It was a struggle, but we finally decided on "Kill The Moon". I won't say why, I'll save that for the interviews. So much better than Robots, which makes me so much happier. I will post a link to an album on Flickr from Thursday's gig below.
Other than all of the above (baring in mind it is now the 29th), I haven't really done much other than more band rehearsals. I'm starting to fall behind with my research project and struggle to find motivation, although I have around 4000 words now which impresses me. Our next gig is at The Maze on 5th September, so we are preparing for that one at the moment but also trying to write some more originals.
It's a quarter past one in the afternoon and I've not long managed to pull myself from my slumber to toast some pastry. I've been going to bed late recently, around two in the morning and I'm paying for it. This has made me become lazy, since most days I don't really have anything I need to get up for I will spend most if not all of the morning in bed. Pop tarts have become my regular breakfast food, today I have a pair of the strawberry ones in front of me. I tried to be healthy by having a cheap variation of Kellogs Crunchy Nut, but that didn't last very long; all the same with me and any healthy foods really.
I do however have a lot to do today, at least in my head thats what I keep telling myself. I need to spend some time on my Summer Research Project as I've neglected it this week and I also want to have my proposal finished by the end of this month. That was one of my goals that is still easily achievable, but my other "to have read two books by the end of the month" is not so. In other news, the new band is going well. We have out first gig on August 10th, but we don't now where it is yet? ...We are currently called Robots, but we will be hosting the Tournament De Nomenclature to pick out a better name that we can all fairly agree on. We currently have three original songs that are about there and just need a little bit of tiding up in terms of structure and we have a couple of covers in mind. We don't seem to have a set genre, which I like. Our first original song has sort of an alt-rock vibe, our second punk and our third; creepy ska. We are at the point where things are starting to get exciting.
There's nothing worse than burnt icing on a pop tart.
I felt like my head was in the right place at the start of this week. The temperature wasn't too hot and I made a solid start to my project, but both today and yesterday have been a struggle. I've managed to add 300 words or so today and to be fair to myself, I did go out yesterday. I was introduced to the Nottingham Library which has an impressive collection of books that I now want to get my head stuck into, but this has been one of those awkward days where I really struggle to motivate myself. I have however, tidied my room. I have much more space to move about more easily than when there was a coffee table in the way, it feels more open although I still think I need a second desk.
Despite being slightly productive, I feel like I've done nothing and sat staring at a screen with my mouth open all day. My main problem is Facebook. I find myself endlessly scrolling, sometimes for hours with no person gain other than the odd meme, a friendly post or wholesome video. This doesn't make me want to delete my account. I have a lot of friends and contacts that I only really connect with because of Facebook interactions, groups and chats, even creating friendship links with some people in America. It really can be a fascinating site, but it's so addictive.
For now, I'm going to get changed (I've been wearing shorts all day and it's not really been all that warm) and I'm gonna grab myself a McDonalds. I have a thing for their BBQ wraps, just like I have a thing for anything BBQ. They are better than the measly KFC ones. So much more chicken. When I get back I will try to trick myself into doing some work. Anyway, food.
So, today I originally planned to dedicate an hour to my summer research project in terms of reading followed by another hour dedicated to Bach harmony. Lets just say, I never made it to that second dedicated hour. My reading took me in a new direction. I noticed Thorn's repetition of the words "Authenticity" and "Artifice" which made me question everything I was truly aiming for and anything I have ever done musically.
I had already started writing my proposal, but without a title which I now have. It feels a bit bland, but it feels right. There is no question in my title which feels slightly wrong but, I've decided to go for "Understanding Music: The Artifice of Performance". I now have some topics I want to cover listed in a table of contents and have already included some figures for imagery. I have set up 15 pages for these topics and they seem to be in a comfortable and reader-pleasing order. I think for now, I will only reveal the title of this work so far as I still have some uncertainties and I'm feeling slightly overworked today just by dedicating so many hours today. My total word cord is nearing towards 1400 and I'm feeling quite proud of what I've produced so far, with all of it's emptiness. A part of me only hopes that it is not just all bullshit as I haven't yet referenced anything.
This is exciting.
For now, I'm going to treat myself to an hour or so of games before I have to leave for tonights band practice session with my new band, Robots. I'm still not keen on the name, there's just something about it being so simple that bugs me and I recon if we keep the name it could cause problems. Maybe I'm too fussy, but a band name is an important thing. If anyone can suggest anything any better, let me know!
So, that's it now. I shouldn't be officially setting foot back in college until at the very earliest, late September to enrol for the second year. I say officially because I can already see myself managing to find a reason to enter beforehand. It seems strange this week, the lingering thought that I have nothing to do but I seem to have a new collective of untethered work to keep my head in gear. My research project (although I haven't yet fully settled on a topic) is coming along nicely and I'm finding myself tucking into Tracey Thorn's book, Naked At The Albert Hall. I have a couple of ideas and a hunch and I've given myself until the end of the month to figure out what the hell I'm doing.
Last week was a nice end, only visiting college once on the Thursday for what I guess you could call a "lesson". A very long lesson. NR wanted to teach me Bach Harmony and so we arranged this for 10:30am. With a half an hour break or so around 12pm, we didn't finish up until around 3pm. I was quite impressed with myself for being able to keep focused for so long, until I started to lose it a little at the end, just through tiredness I guess. It was a nice way to finish the year anyway. It almost feels like we've gone full circle. Me and NR used to do music theory bits seemingly all of the time, it's most of what I recall from my lvl 3, only now I have a folder full of Chorales awaiting their Alto, Tenor and Bass parts. I've given myself a target to at least do one or two per week. This should keep my head busy. I'm also trying to get into a habit of giving myself a schedule, like for today I have dedicated an hour to reading and an hour to harmony, leaving enough time to visit the gym later before band practice.
"That's twice today my cat's got right under my feet and I've had to catch myself as if I were a falling vase..."
To which I got a tongue in cheek reply...
"Since when did a vase gain the skill of catching itself whilst falling?"
Well....
Imagine both my head and torso as the vase, my legs as the podium it sits upon. My arms quite naturally are my balance extending to my fingertips, where so much as adding muscular tension through my arm, to the knuckles of my thumb and four fingers could keep me stable. In the situation where my podium starts to wobble as a reaction to an unexpected feline tickling below my knees and around my ankles, my arms counteract to prevent the vase from falling thus keeping it intact. To catch oneself involves extending outwards, physically reaching out at the air to keep the vase from falling using a combination of arms, legs feet and hands, predominantly my podium and balance as well as coordination with the very top of the vase. Once the feline had dispersed and my feet had resumed the right placement, it was safe to adjust myself accordingly and remove any embarrassment which may have encountered from memory.
This analogy starts to fail once the vase smashes completely, when an accurate comparison would mean that I would be at the least "shattered" or more seriously, "blown up" or "dead", when actually I would have just fallen to the floor.
If you hear a yelp or meow, you've probably stood on a cat.
Last Friday, for the first time in years I went to the theatre to see a comedy play. I wasn't really sure what to expect as my dad had brought the tickets, so I only knew that it was going to be hilarious. We were seated on the second tier and as we waited I noticed some piano playing coming from down stairs. We wandered back downstairs as we had plenty of time to waste and I noticed a lady sight reading at the grand piano on the first floor. I thought it was CD playback until I got halfway down the stairs, hearing the acoustics thinking, "Oh my god, that sounds live!" I was quite proud that I recognised some of the tunes as well, including Misty.
The play started before it started (if that makes sense) where the guy playing the sound operator to the side of the stage, was asking the audience if anyone had seen a dog. It was good warm up in knowing what to expect and he went on to inspect all three seated areas of the Theatre Royal. Some views close by us suggested that he borrow their dog, but then went on to say it's sick. He then started asking people if they had a healthy dog that he could borrow... obviously for the show.
The play was full of slap stick comedy, someone was always being hit in the face, trodden on or knocked out completely. The first half was amazing and easy to follow, extremely entertaining. The second half, after I had had an interval of ice-cream was a little more difficult. More things started happening at once and the stage started to fall apart slowly, until at the end their was nothing left besides the framework the set was held up by after the wooden panels collapsed to the floor, ending with the smash of the chandelier (which I saw one of the actors pull the switch for!), fantastic show overall, just a little confusing at the end!
As you may have guessed, I don't like not being busy. Already, I'm finding myself to have too much time and not really know what to do with it and so, I have decided to take on a summer research project to keep myself occupied. I've put together a reading list that is very ambitious, considering before last year I didn't really read anything expect Facebook posts and the odd news article, the page count totalling 1220, some of which being very big pages. It is also ambitious as it takes me many months to read a 250ish paged science fiction novel, but this is much more serious. I'm thinking this is what I will need to do to prepare myself for my final year. Yes, I'm already thinking about it. I have been all year.
As I've said, this is going to be quite a big project in terms of how time-consuming it will be and I will probably need to set myself targets which whether I meet them or not, I can later reflect on. Will it just self-motivation or will something else get in the way?
I want to do this properly. Maybe, not as if it was for my dissertation in the not-so-distant future, but I have already started writing a research proposal. I need to know what I'm going to get out of this and doing this is the best way not only to help meet targets, but to improve my academic skills. Also, I need a refresher on writing proposals. I find them to be quite tough after only ever writing my first two this year; the first one was scrapped for its vagueness. To improve my academic skills is one of the main aims and to give myself more practice, even if I don't feel like I get anything out of this in the end. I believe I will and I hope to have a solid conclusion of some sort, but it will be a true test of self-motivation; something I claimed to be of high importance nearing the end of last year.
Reading List: Understanding Music, Antony Hopkins. This Is Your Brain On Music, Daniel Levitin. On Sonic Art, Trevor Wishart. Naked At The Albert Hall, Tracey Thorn. Stravinsky, Francis Routh.
Not only does June mark me for officially getting old, somewhere in the later end was when I first started playing guitar around ten years ago. Guitar wasn't my first instrument, but this doesn't make my "actually being a musician"stance any further extended. Before starting to learn guitar I would only play simple melodies and chord progressions on a keyboard that I didn't in any way understand aside from recognising a tune. That was the early days of training my ears without knowing. It wasn't until I started to learn guitar that I started to understand structure and learn full songs.
My dad brought me my first guitar in June 2007; an acoustic solutions 3/4 size strat copy. It was more than enough to learn with as I taught myself open chord positions for the first six months, prior to starting lessons at school where I was taught power chords and the pentatonic scale. This was around the point that I learnt my first full song on guitar, Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends." It wasn't until my first year at college (10/11) that I learnt barre chords properly and was introduced to other scales and modes to memorise. Everything seems a blur after this point, to which now I can just pick up a guitar and play... most things.
Bass is a different story entirely and sort of happened by accident. Naturally, the ability to play guitar is a transferable skill when it comes to playing bass. In standard tuning the notes are the same, it is its the positioning that differ slightly because of the thicker strings and larger gaps between the frets. It felt easier at first since there are less notes and less chance of playing chords, but it can easily become much more straining on your hands and fingertips. It didn't take long to adapt. I felt a bit forced onto it at first since there were too many guitarists on my level 3 course, so someone had to step up (or step down) and play bass and that someone was me. Learning to play bass forced me into learning scales and arpeggios more sufficiently so I was able to play walking bass lines without too much thought. I do remember playing Olly Murs "Dance With Me Tonight' and enjoying it a little too much.
I've missed a lot out, I know I have. There's a lot more to learning an instrument that just practicing at home and I believe a lot of the real stuff; the real musicality, comes out when working in a band setting or ensemble of some kind. Where each instrument has its function and its own fundamental right and value and when everything works together, harmoniously it can be a magical experience. Not every band practice is like this with the odd mistake here and there, but when everyone is in tune with each other as well as the instruments, great sessions like these are key to musical development. I've certainly experienced a few this year.
I do remember all those that have taught me and had a lasting impact, starting with Kristina Troke who first introduced me to the the instrument and the basics before I owned a guitar of my own. Emma Priestly, my encouraging school music teacher who unfortunately left me in the dark.My very first guitar teacher Richard (Who's last name I don't think I've ever know), Nick Alexander (my teacher through 08-10) who supported in doing my first ever performance with another of his students. Andy Scoffin (lessons through 10/11) for the generous amounts of Hendrix, Van Halen and ACDC tabs, immense musicianship, inspiration and helping me perfect my techniques with his sometimes harsh criticism, and more recently this year, allowing me to work with his students. Kirsty Proctor, (10/11) for showing me the odd thing here and there during my first year at college and generally being awesome tutor and role model (Minus the Guinness), Dmitry Fedotov (10-13) for helping me grasp that vital link between music theory and guitar playing and more inspiration. It would be rude not to mention Nick Redfern, who took the time to help me further with music theory after exploring modal functions (12/13) and then this year has furthered my development as a guitarist though improvisation sessions and the opportunity to perform with him. I quote him to summarise, "Music is a partnership."
This week will see me visit college just the once for a Nottingham Improvisation Club (NIC) (why do I still call it a club?) meet on Wednesday which coincidentally is also the date of my birth. I don't have much else planned for my birthday because most of my closest friends are either on holiday or working. Tough times being an adult, although I am hoping to go to Alton towers again soon.
I'm not sure how many days I will be in college the week after, as I'm meant to be recording again but I said that last time and it just didn't happen. Plus, I'm not even sure everyone is available now people are starting to disperse for holidays. Wednesday, possibly for recording. Thursday, definitely for a barbecue. That's right. I am also performing with the NIC, mind, or rather just Nick, but I will also be on the receiving end of free food as we welcome some of the new students with such food and expertise and the odd comment of, "Yeah, it's alright." to really entice them.
It's odd to think that after Thursday next week I won't be setting foot in college again until at the very least September. Or at least I don't plan too. It will also be early July. This is a worrying factor. I was crossing off the days of my calendar just wondering where the hell June went. June has been both the easiest and the emptiest month and it has flown by. I'm still dreading finding what to do with my spare time which I seem to have copious amounts of as a result of only working weekends. Today was rather successful, mind. For the first time in ages, I went to the gym. It must be months since I last went, I have literally just been wasting my membership so, I made the most of it today with also using their spa facilities. This was much needed after such an intense year that has finally become visible to see to the end.
So, the first year of my course officially ended two weeks ago, but it still doesn't feel like the end. I've still being going into college most days to still give myself a bit of a routine, but the truth is I haven't really got anything to do. Wednesday was meant to be more productive than it should have been this week. I was meant to be both practicing and recording with the year 2s, but that didn't happen with one of the band members failing to appear and another disappearing in the afternoon. It is unclear whether the recording of the band will still be happening with everyone dispersing and making a break for the summer. I was also needed for a meeting, which arguably wasn't worth the effort, but Wednesday wasn't a complete waste. I did still play host to the improvisation club which is now usually just myself and Nick, but its fun and sometimes challenging to get out of the repetitive drive.
I spent Thursday sorting out the recordings from the prior club session, breaking them down into more manageable tracks and cutting out the bullshit such as a church organ rendition of ABBA "Money, Money, Money"complete with a Bach styled Fugue. For fucks sake. Mind, it is funny to listen back to, though this song continues to haunt me and I predict that it will for at least the next two years.
Today was nice. I sort of invited myself to and end of year "last supper" styled lunch with the year 2s, provided by Breadders. It was a nice feast and a good end to the year that isn't quite over yet. The will be one last Improvisation club meet up which will be treated as a rehearsal mostly (with the certainty that no one else will show) to follow on to a final short performance the following week on Thursday the 6th. The college have arranged a bit of a barbecue event to welcome all the new students, meaning I should get free food too! After that, I think that may be all for the year. Its a strange feeling. It's almost like I don't want it to end. It is unusual to have no routine and still have to discipline myself to remain vaguely productive. I don't want to waste the summer by enjoying it to much and then regret not studying when I return from having too much fun.
It feels weird not having as many responsibilities again. The most I have to worry about currently is the buying presents for upcoming birthdays and then preparation for my own. As I type this, I am still sat in the college library and I wonder, why? I came in today because we had arranged for an opportunity to show each other our final productions and videos, but this didn't really go to plan. I was the only one that showed as well as Adam, but he was busy working on other things so couldn't really join in. Nevertheless, this wasn't the end of it. Matt, my tutor let me watch the others work from his USB stick and even though this meant we missed out on giving each other feedback, I still got to watch and listen to everyone's work and think to myself about the ideas that I liked.
In other news, I got a new phone yesterday; Sony Xperia XA1. It's strange to think that the length of my new contract will see me through the rest of my stay here at New College Nottingham, or Nottingham College as I should call it now. They merged with Central on the 8th of June, thus forming one of the biggest colleges in the UK. It's not been that well hidden as most reps have known or been told about it some way or another and then this filters through to the other students, like myself. I found out before I was declared the student rep for my course. This has been branded as exciting, anyway although I guess most things will remain the same until they have the new build. Anyway... New phone. I've been playing with some of the camera toys and "creative" features and I've fallen in love with a few of them. There is this kaleidoscope one and another that would be useful for making some trippy music videos over the coming years.
So, that's it. That is the first year of course officially done after finishing my last assignment a couple of hours ago. The truth is, I don't now what to do. I have a few things still coming up within college with the FE students but I'm still not entirely sure of their happenings. There is recording session that needs to be done and practice sessions which will hopefully take place over the next couple of weeks. The recording session is sort of planned for the 21st this month, and I will still have the improvisation club to run... if anyone decides to come to the sessions.
Next week feels like it is going to be too easy, with only having a couple of things to come into college for. Working with the intro students for their video project might not be happening, but hopefully I will know for sure by Tuesday.
It's a weird feeling at the moment; to have nothing to do. I don't like it. I quite like being busy and having things to do and I really hope that I don't fall into the pitfall of playing video games constantly. The easiest and best form of entertainment. I have many books to read, one of which was given to me yesterday and many more that I've brought myself throughout the year.
This is the real challenge. Not to go off the rails.
Today has been a strange one... As routine slips away and my classes and regular habits have disappeared, moments to prepare for the final gig of the week as well as mostly finish off that I assignment that I never knew about (but it's fine because no one else knew either).
I've had three gigs to play this week over the course of three days. The first gig with the intro students Tuesday evening was excellent. I have agreed with myself that I do not like the Pearl drum kit that the college have in the venue, I can just never get comfy with it and it always feels awkward to play which makes me play rather rigidly. I didn't make too many mistakes and Kirsty finished the night off with a speech that I may have not listened to entirely, even though I thought I did (I turned up for practice today and it wasn't happening).
Wednesday saw an two acoustic performances from me at the NCN Adams building, well the courtyard (which is rather pretty). The idea of the whole event was to promote the college and its courses, more specifically HE course which seemed a little odd as most going to Uni this year would have probably already made their decisions by now and most that were there seemed very young. We didn't get too much of a reaction, partly because we were tucked away. I had been stressing about the happenings of the Improvisation Club performance; which actually went ok. Better than ok, actually. I really enjoyed it. It was just me on guitar and NR at the electric piano, but it was enough and we played three improvisations which each had a different character. We got some really good feedback too. (This is the part where I should rant slightly about not actually needing the students, but still want to keep trying with the idea and purpose of the club, but I'll keep quiet... hmmm). It's a shame because it's a privilege to perform with NR and I think the others would agree even if they have avoided the opportunity yesterday. The second performance that day was an acoustic set with the level threes which also was my first time playing a cajon which I had to get used to rather quickly earlier in the day. The cajon is quite easy to play making it easier to avoid mistakes and I think for that reason I preferred yesterdays gig over tonights. Yesterday was so much more enjoyable and tonight there just seemed to be a lot more pressure.
The final gig tonight went really well, even I did make a few mistakes. The pride from the night was AO's comment, "Probably the best originals night ever." He seemed very impressed by everyone, just a shame he's not the one that marks their work. I was playing drums tonight, mostly very prog-gy since that what we had wrote. The was a variety of genres between the bands which made for an odd contrast. The best part of these gigs has been not having to help pack down. I got told off the first time, so I decided not to bother helping this time around for either and just watch and wait for them to be done it.
I had a rather surreal experience driving home from the gig tonight. As I was driving through Wollaton I remember feeling like I wasn't there at all. An outer body experience? It was really weird and I've never experience anything like this before, apart from passing out once before... I still had full control of everything, I just didn't feel like I was there. I've sort of linked it to my dream from this morning that was so realistic it was almost believable, in fact I woke up believing it had actually happened. The dream was about work, but not how it would normally be; I turned up partly in my pyjamas. I also left earlier that I should have done and ended up returning for the rest of my shift. What is going on? I think I was also stressed about getting to a polling station in time. But, no; the experience seemed much like the Matrix and is difficult to explain.
I still have that one final assignment to complete and submit tomorrow and thats it! I'm done. I'm not going to know what to do with myself! I do, however know that I will still be in and out of college for little bits that I'm still uncertain of with the other students for the next couple of weeks, after that I'm stuffed. I have books to read and I desperately want to get back into going back to the gym, hopefully I'll pick up a few shifts to pay for it too!
I'm currently waiting for my music video project to upload to YouTube, given the file format that I typically use exported straight from iMovie (.mov), this could take a while... in fact, YouTube predicted 2 hours and 30 minutes at the start.
As much as waiting for this will feel like forever, I know for sure that these next few days are going to fly by but that does not mean that they are going to be any less valuable. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, starting with some last minute guitar recording at 9am for a friend on my course. I don't know what I'll be playing yet but, hey! It will be good experience as a session musician and nice to be back in the studio which I have isolated myself from, bidding only to use what I have at home. With most of my work now complete there's not really going to be anything for me to do in our actual course sessions tomorrow afternoon, so instead I've decided I will practice with the intro students as they will need me more in preparation for their gig in the evening. I will however need to find time to actually finalise my eportfolio and submit my work in the next couple of days. That should be easy enough.
Wednesday will equally as busy as tomorrow, only I will be able to get home a little earlier and then Thursday will see another late finish succeeding the final gig of the week with the level 3s. As much as it all seems to be a mad rush, I've been really looking forward to this week. It's going to be a challenge; to have everything ready, to have everything done. Finished, then celebrate with performances, making lots of noise on the drum kit which I'm now familiar with.
I do feel quite sad this week, that it is becoming evermore official that the first year is stamped and done with. I have already found another purpose to still be in college, however. I will be involved with the intro students music video project and will be needed for recording and possibly filming. I'm assuming I may still be practicing with the level 3s too so that we can get their original music recorded as that still needs doing - Great, prog and odd time signatures under pressure!
Me & Bekkie after filming on location #2, 01/06/17.
My calendar still shows the face of April as I rush to finalise all of my final productions. Yesterday, saw a last minute filming session assisted by my good friend Bekkie who did the ol' point and shoot trickery for me to later edit. The music video is now nearing completion and just needs a little bit of tidying up here and there, otherwise I'm very happy with it. I feel like there's a nice mix of events, enough to remain interesting throughout.
A couple of days ago, I rearranged the coffee table in my bedroom (completely emptying it of everything) and covered it with a plastic bin bag. I had brought some emulsion paints weeks before (on the day of the conference) and a cheap speaker that I found in a charity shop for a couple of quid to experiment with and film the result, which is now included in my music video. It wasn't as messy as I thought it was going to be, but it was very difficult keeping the unpredictable splashes away from my camera lens. Thankfully, the camera is my own and it did clean off so, that doesn't really matter. However, I ended up with a mess, but a nice mix of pastel colour which seemed almost completely by chance.
I've managed to knock this video together really quickly, but it is not rushed. The video is near five minutes long and on average I've had roughly two two hour sessions producing the final product. As I mentioned before, there are a few parts that need tweaking, but that should only take about another hour if I remain focused, meaning that once it is finished I would have spent approximately an hour per minute. When I think about it this way, it makes me realise how much work I've put into this. The good news is that I'm on track for meeting my final deadline and possibly even handing it all in a day early. That's really quite something for me, aha! Usually, I'm bang on the day, just a few minutes before. No, this needs more attention and isn't something I could get away with scrambling together last minute. I wouldn't even think to trust it to export and upload on time. It would never work!
In other news, not only have I got all of my final deadlines next Week but, I've also got three college gigs to play; one with the intro students on Tuesday evening, one at the NCN Adams building for a HE showcase event on Wednesday and then one with the level 3 year 2 students on Thursday evening - that one being the most demanding, but I should also say, "save the best 'till last."
As May comes to an end, which we can only hope she does, I look at my calendar and notice it still hanging with April not yet fully crossed out and done with. Again, I have been busy. Too busy to cross out days with my sharpie and turn the page, soon to be pages following the new month. I haven't looked at the image for May once, which is a shame as I know it's a good one (I have The Piano Guys calendar and, I know it's an multiple mirrored image trickery of Steven Sharp Nelson playing his cello from the Adelle cover).
The Clockwise Man - Justin Richards.
All, that besides I don't have much left to do now. Just three things which are predominantly creative. My track, music video and eportfolio/website thing. I pretty much finished my track earlier, now I've just got to focus on my music video as my eportfolio is very nearly done with just a few things left to add and upload. The layout is sorted. The main challenge this week is going to be the music video, even though I know I can make a music video in a day if I get desperate. I've done that twice before, once shooting the footage the same day. I don't have much footage to use at the moment, but I plan on recording some paint nonsense soon. Experimental stuff, pouring it into speakers (knackered ones, obviously. That or I'll protect them with something). I plan on doing some "On-location" shoots too on Thursday, with a little help from a friend we could probably get some good usable frames.
On the plus side, I finally managed to complete a book I started reading in November. It just goes to show how busy I've been, but then again I'm quite the slow reader anyway which is probably why I'm still shit at sight reading; that and I don't practice enough.
Today I attended my very first conference, organised by The Association of Colleges; The Scholarship project. A coach had been booked by my college to take all delegates, some presenters. It was an odd journey there. The coach was near-half full of lecturers and then two students; myself and Hailey, who I briefly conversed with whilst we were both waiting by the reception area. The conference was in Leicester and whether was dull. There wasn't much chatter on the coach, I had packed my iPod and Gameboy so I was all set to be antisocial.
When we arrived it started to rain lightly, but that didn't matter too much as we were going to be in doors all day. Once we had registered and been given a booklet each, we helped our selves to free refreshments. I went for the hot chocolate which was a little too hot and burnt my tongue. I spent most of the day following NR. He invited me so it made sense. This also included being a bit of a personal assistant/carer for the day, having to hold his handbag several times, wait. He decided to come with us for the coach ride from Nottingham for some reason even though it would have been much easier for him to drive. Having sat down and been creatively photographed whilst reading booklets and sipping our drinks, a familiar face appeared; Liam Maloy. I remember him vaguely. He used to lecture at NCN although, he never taught me, I just saw him about. He seemed to remember me somehow despite never having a conversation with him previously. That was nice.
Announcements were made and we were all scooted into the main Conference Hall for a welcome talk, highlighting the reason for and opportunities of the day. It rung true to me when collaboration was mentioned. So far this year, that has what it has been about for me; not only working with the performance students, but campus society and some efforts of my course as well. This lead nicely into a talk from Dr Johnathan Eaton on "Scholarship for an Uncertain Future" where he pointed out the technological advantages students have and how even he cannot predict where the future of higher education is going because more often than not, the students are more clued up with the technology available than the lectures; he used his son as an example. His son loves his bike. One day his son took his bike apart and he thought, as a dad that this was going to cost him. His son said, "No, dad I will fix it." and so he did. Dad comes back, the bike is back in one piece; he asks him how he did it. He says he watched DIY help videos on Youtube. Dad, Dr J Eaton was blown away by this yet, for me, this is something I would probably do, having instant, almost constant access to the internet. Maybe not to fix a bike, but to improve my understanding of something I'm interested in or to learn a new song. If I'm honest, its not very often that I read although I do try.
This lead nicely into the first research breakout sessions, which were divided into three lots of three where you could only see one set of three per three. Sound confusing? I stayed in the main conference room whist NR rushed to get his second hot coco. We wasn't really sure what we wanted to see but the options for this room sounded interesting and it seemed easier than moving about and trying to navigate a building we were both unfamiliar with. The first presentation was lead by students from Derby College called "Business and management graduate employability" and about what employers look for and how often they ask for degrees over core skills. The next talk was lead by Michelle Keegan from Central College about "Challenging behaviour among College HE students and its implications". The increase of violent behaviour and how students feel like they are owed an education and their qualification because they are paying for it. I don't see this that much within my class focus, but I do notice the different behavioural habits across the levels that I work with. Lastly, there was a talk from Matt Bunn, also from Central College about his industry; sports photography and whether or not you need a degree over experience. This of course is arguable with all creative industries with the advancements in technology, the ease of access and ability to teach oneself. He show us professional photos, some taken by himself to show the sort of quality he would expect to see printed in a news column against more armature shots that had been released online, some that had the football photo shopped making for "fake news".
Lunch was an new experience and was free. I panicked at the lack of usual foods I would normally consume; pizza, pasta, chips and so had to settle with lasagne as I had experienced some of its contents before. Four wedges on the side. Choosing my dessert was much easier.
The first talk after lunch was in the main conference hall again. Everyone seemed a little more spread out, away from the front of the stage opposed to what was advised earlier for the better view of the camera. Gobinder Gil lead a presentation of the theory of emotional intelligence which I found rather compelling and made me question my self management. I don't do well with managing my emotions. I notice them and how I feel but, I don't seem to always control them very well, especially more recently. I do well by not punching certain people, as I found the other week. Considering I used to be quite violent towards some of my friends at school, that is progress. I'm a long way from then. The days of kicking everyone in the shins, running away, to be kicked up the arse in return. Oh, I cried when I got my first detention. Reflections aside, this was very interesting. Throughout, he reminded us that he could also read further into his research and studies by buying his books which became quite comedic, but the repetition works for good advertising; he did try hard.
For the last two research breakouts we decided to see, we had to move upstairs to the Travis Perkins Room. We missed the first the first part of Liam Maloy's talk as I needed the loo, although it felt good to get NR back by dumping my bag on him beforehand and then coming out to see him sat down, waiting patiently. Anyway, Liam's talk was about "The comparative educational philosophies of the music/songsof Sesame Street and Muppet Show." It's surprising just what they got away with placing in children's educational songs and what political references and unsuitabilities they have. There was a second talk lead by Steve Spence, representing Derby College. I felt like his was the most vague of all talks, the title being, "Thinking: a complex thing"; the main idea being to given insightful approach to how we think and the implications of this in the classroom. He paced about often, moving allover the room. He brought attention to everybody's attention and how difficult it is to measure. The irony of myself staring out of the window adjacent to where I was sat while he spoke about was too much. I was listening. He shown us a few illusions which played tricks on the mind, some that I had seen before, some that I could second guess but still were tricky. He shown us the apparently famous selective attention test where you have to count each time the ball is pass. I counted the passes, but failed to notice the obvious.
Can you count the passes?
As everyone started to filter out from the last conference, Nick hoovered the remaining sweets from the tables and placed them in my bag. As we were about to leave the building and depart for the coach, Liam wished me all the best with my studies which was nice considering I still feel like I hardly knew him. The journey home was rather nice. Nick sat with me on the coach back and we had a bit of a natter. I tried to reflect on the day in conversation, but I think my head was too busy still taking in all of the information, I did manage to relate to some of the talks and gossip. It went quiet for a moment, enough to notice the smaller environment sounds of the rain hitting the windows and then the wipers smearing it away. The sound of the wipers was something that could not be unheard and was a comedic noise that was highly amusing. I pointed it out several times, simply because I could not not listen. When we arrived back, it was still raining and was just as damp in Nottingham. Climbing down the steps on the coach, Nick started to whistle the anthem of the windscreen wipers, of course.
This certainly was an experience and I'm so glad I was invited. I imagine this will be the first of many. The booklet for this conference has advertised the AoC College HE Research and Scholarship Conference in Birmingham on 27th June later this year, which I hope to go too. It has been a rather intense day, but highly rewarding with the amount of knowledge shared and received. The odd thing about today was, not that I felt out of place in any way, but that I felt almost level with teaching professionals across the East Midlands. This probably came from how open the event was, not that I made the most of that this time around, I was playing it safe and getting used to a new environment; a new experience. I have fully enjoyed all of this and can't wait for the next one! (Just hopefully my head can sustain it).
These last few weeks have been a struggle in regards to meeting deadlines, both starting and finishing off assignments that I had completely forgotten. Simply slipped of my list! So, I've been hard at it meaning I've been quiet here. I have a lot of updates to announce, in terms of progress and new things. I already mentioned one in my previous post, but it worth mentioning it again due to it's success; The Nottingham Improvisation Club. We have had three sessions so far and a decent turn out each time, with two performance opportunities coming up on behalf of the college. We are at the stage where we have had suggestions and valuable feedback to make improvements to make the club even more enjoyable which have been considered and plans for the next session are already in place. All being well, we will be improvising to visuals, specifically an sci-fi silent movie. I have been trying to keep a journal of the clubs happening to track our high and low points and the success. I've have produced a short report for all the members to read regarding their feedback as we hit our first month together this Wednesday.
Tis be practice gig season again! Last Thursday I played a short practice gig at college with the almighty level 3, year 2s. They have been coming up with some mega original material that often challenges my drumming abilities, but the ideas and musicality is fantastic. I did mess up a little, but I'll let my self off due to the complexity and the fact that I've still only been playing drums for less than a year. I think even my rapid progress was enough to leave the Scoffmeister shocked, he was full of praise. Also, I played another practice gig today with the level 1s. We only played one song as our second original wasn't quite ready and my even be completely scrapped. I really hope not, for the amount of work we've all put into it.
This week I'll be finishing off my presentation ready for Tuesday next week. The presentation is generally about barriers artists can face once they make it into the music industry. I've focused mostly on Linking Park with the way their sound changes frequently and how their fans react to this. I'm a little apprehensive about this one, as I now have to do it a day earlier than everyone else so that I can attend a conference. I am looking forward to the conference mind, even if it is a bit of a mystery currently. The East Midlands Scholarship Conference 2017. The description is a bit vague, but I feel like it will be a valuable day and it's certainly something to look forward to.
It's quite hard to believe that my first year is almost over now and the final few deadlines are fast approaching. Once my presentation is out of the way, all that remains is to finish my final track, produce a music video for it and then a website as an online portfolio of what I have done throughout the academic year. A lot of it feels like a bit of a blur now as it all starts to come to an end, especially with all of the the other little things on the side with working in various college bands, but I know I have learned and gained so much. It's nice to have the respect of the FE students as I work with them so much and even those that I don't work with have seen me perform and shown their admiration, one even said I'm a great role model. Equally, it's an honour to have the opportunity to work with them. Most of them are so talented and it's a nice reminder of what I had to do for my previous courses and how I can achieve that so easily now.
April has been the birth of many new ideas as my creativity seems to have been heightened by new inspirations. The first club meet for "The Nottingham Improvisation Club" happened on Wednesday with a turn out of eight, not including myself and NR who's helping me run this as co-founder. With ten people in one band practice room, it did rather warm but the session was quite focused and I would say quite successful.
I have set up a Soundcloud for the club and uploaded the recordings from the session. There are some amazing moments in these recordings when performers play the same rhythms which become interesting when you remember that none of this is arranged and it is all improvised.
Although this week had an amazing beginning which lead me off with such huge levels of inspiration, things seems to have slowed. I keep finding myself paused, lost in thought so much that I will stand for several minutes in one spot, dazed and not move until the thought stops and I realise I'm just standing there. I think I'm still hurting from the loss my Uncle. It was his funeral yesterday, which makes it feel all the more real that he is gone. It's hard to concentrate on work at times like this and I have a lot to catch up on after lunch today, many words left to type for my assignments and a message to finish off to initiate the Nottingham Improvisation Club.
I've been looking forward to today since I first found out about the possible happenings since February and had got even more excited once the date was confirmed. Today, Zoe Martlew came down to NCN Clarendon to give us a cello recital in the morning and to do some improvisation sessions in the afternoon with lunch in between provided by Reddest.
It was a small turnout in the end, but having a small group made it a nicer experience and easier to learn and listen over the hight of puns and occasional perfectly timed one-liners. The morning performance was incredible, though there were a few technical problems, but the amazing PQ sorted it. As a cellist myself, sort of, I was mostly trying to watch out for techniques I could out try for myself (I really need to practise my bowing, maybe even take a few lessons as recommended).
Lunch was an entertaining saga consisting of chasing around the pot of butter we had to share and avoiding anything contained in a jar; olives, small pickles, ect. I remember taking two slices of bread from one loaf and only managing to butter one slice as the butter had disappeared to the other end of this huge group dining table we had formed by pushing four desks together in the classroom upstairs.
After lunch we played a few games, it sounds childish but it was very fun. The first, throwing bean bags in sequence while adding in more and more continuing. The second, a clapping a game which I had played before. These were just to get us warmed up for our improvisation session which seemed to open a whole new world for me. Inspiring is how I would describe today. I now hope to set up an improvisation club at college to get more students involved and hopefully create within that group an ensemble confident enough to perform. The idea is that the club would follow similar rules to todays session (maybe even create our own) to bridge away from how most (especially guitarists, like myself) would view a solo as the only time they would improvise while the rest of the rehearsed band plays on and leads back into a chorus or verse, removing the narrow perspective.
As the first time playing something completely improvised with such a flexible structure, today has certainly opened my ears and mind to a new intricate style of play that I certainly want to explore again. As Zoe pointed out in our session, you really do start to listen to the intricate details of what is happening within the music, even the sound of the room, the overtones and its quite fascinating how it seems to guide itself, but of course it cannot. It is a combination of the phycological connection between the players while playing and their own personal musical intuitive formed by their backgrounds and teachings thus forming a unique array of sounds.
This term has probably been the most stressful month and a half of my whole life with all of the deadlines I've had to meet, I'm just glad now that they are all out of the way. Unfortunately, I've still got two assignments to catch up on over the holidays which means I'll be spending most of my time off in college finishing work to be handed in the first week back. I'm quite content with this if I'm honest. If I try to do my work at home I'll just get distracted and it will be nice to have a couple of productive weeks. No practice sessions (at college), no nothing. I have a arranged to meet up with a good friend tomorrow and then a practice session on Friday in Newark to try out for a band. That should be interesting!
I will still be working my usual weekends whilst deciding about the new contract changes Adsa are introducing. An extra £1 for added flexibility is the general jist of it, but there's something about it that leaves me unsure. It is likely that I'll have a funeral to attend over the holidays, but I'm currently unsure whether I'll be going or not. It's not long now until April 10th, when Zoe Martlew will be coming to Clarendon to give workshops and hold improvisation sessions. I've been looking forward to this since early February now and it is fastly coming around. I will be bringing my cello in (which will be a lot of hassle as I learnt the last time), I'm not entirely sure why, but I guess I'm hoping Zoe will teach me something. I'm still an amature at cello playing and I've not had much time to practice over this term, not even before the recording we did. I need to get back into it before next week, but I've still got all of my work that I need to focus on.
Today was the extended deadline for our collaborative music technology performances and I think it's fair for me to say that we're all glad that it is now out of the way. I was personally stressing a little with wondering if we were going to be a man down (which we was), but Rob kindly stepped in last minute to play drums for us. I ended up returning the favor by playing guitar with his tribe because they were also missing a member. It just helped to give their piece a sense of melodic direction rather than just a rhythmically driven track. I tried to add a few harmonies in the "verse" section too, and I learnt that it is quite difficult to learn the entirety of an original piece when played on a pitched instrument within the hour, but it was certainly a good challenge.
Given that I've had two practice sessions and two performance sessions today, I'd say that they all went very well. I want to grab the videos and audio recordings from my tutor, Matt for the memories. I've never seen The Venue's stage packed so tightly with gear.Thinking about it, it was difficult to operate the foot switches I was using because of all the cables hanging around my feet. I really need to finish off my recording journal and evaluation for this Friday; preferably before. I've really not been at all focused again this week, maybe it's just the new season bedding, but I felt so tired and ill yesterday. I'm thankful that this hasn't continued through into today, that I'm managed to shake of whatever that sick feeling was yesterday and I just feel the tiredness now after the evens of today.
I'm quite irritated with myself, if I'm honest. I've put myself in that situation again where I have a lot of work to do within not a lot of time. I won't get much of a break over the Easter holidays, but that's not what's bothering me the most. I need to learn to finish work soon rather than start it and then either forget about it or off-put it until the deadline looms. I want to make a promise to myself now for next year that I will start to work like this and not put myself in these situations. I've procrastinated enough this week to forbid starting this moto now, as much as I want to I really am struggling with the motivation just because I'm tired, yet I will happily type up this blog post to try and put me in the right mood.
I have work to be submitted by Friday, I'm worn out from today's performance work and have very little motivation to complete anything else. Still, I'm sat in the college library trying to force myself to concentrate and do some work because I don't want to go home yet because it's raining.
Ok, so a funny moment happened earlier during band practice and it's worth mentioning because our keyboard player, Marcus wants to forget that this ever happened to save any future embarrassment. We rehearse the jazz standard, "Misty" as a part of our setlist in preparation for the gig next Thursday. The song is originally in the key of Eb Major, but to suit our session vocalist Lauren, we've transposed it down by a perfect fourth to Bb Major. It took me a short while to transpose the chords in my own time outside of rehearsal so that I could figure out a new bass line, whilst my friend Marcus here simply presses a button to change which key he's playing in. In fairness he does sight-read from the score which is an amazing skill but, this transposition function is a lazy approach and I'm not quite sure why they co-exist on electronic pianos. Just because they could? Maybe.
Anyway, imagine this; we had just finished practicing, "Misty" after a couple of goes and had decided to run through Mary J Blige's "Family Affair". We have our own intro for this song and then we're all straight in for the same thing over and over again until the end of time... I mean, the song. Hannah, our drummer counts us in on the high-hat. Intro into the verse. Something doesn't quite sound right. What's going on?? It sort of works, but sounds completely different to how we had been playing it before although we we're doing it all the same. We all suddenly realised what was wrong. The transpose button was still on from playing "Misty" and we all burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. I've never laughed so much in a practice session through all my experience. It's musical mistakes like these that are the best, just maybe not on stage. It took us a while to calm down, to switch off the transpose function and start again. The irony is that AS had mentioned that this can be a typical problem on stage, remembering to switch off the transpose function when starting a new song. I guess it's better to experience hiccups like this now rather than on stage next week.
I don't think I will ever forget this, nor will I let Marcus forget this either!
I don't feel focused at all today. I think this is because I'm still recovering from the stress of this month and I got caught in the rain. My trousers are still wet and so are my Nikes which I've dirtied by walking through puddles and over the field to take pictures of ducks. My feet are not quite swimming anymore, but they're still uncomfortably damp. My rucksack is still wet too and feels cold to touch. I've been sat in the college library for the last half an hour or so trying to dry out, but my plan doesn't seem to be working as I'm just starting to feel the cold more.
It's a good job that I haven't got to do much today, I just have a practice session at 1pm and that's all I'm required for today. We will hopefully be finishing off an original song today which we started working on the other week, I'm just hoping I can remember my drum part because I feel like that is not possible at the moment given my current concentration levels. I feel a bit brain-dead.
I could do with preparing myself for the next hour until lunch and see if I can make much sense of me. Maybe I just need a couple of Ibuprofen tablets to perk me up today. I still need to shake off this illness which I've had since late January.
These last few weeks have been absolutely mental, but very positive and productive too. The last time I posted was the day before my Live Sound assessment which I was worrying about. Well, the good news is that I got my grades back for that last Friday when I went to see AO about my written assignment for the same subject and he told me that I got a Distinction for set up and a Merit for everything else, desk wise. I'm quite happy with that. I really wanted to get a Distinction for both and it bothers me that I know why I didn't achieve it, just from forgetting to pan the tracks that I worked on.
I also had a gig the same night as the assessment which went really well and was quite rewarding. The gig was with the intro students I've been working with, who are considered generally to be lowest ability and its been nice to watch them progress as I have with my drumming.
I've been spending more time practicing with the lvl 3, year 2s who are working on original tracks which means I get to play my own original stuff, allowing me to explore what I would actually like to play provided it fits with the song. Considering we all have similar musical interests, minus the metal so much; it seems to work. We're a bit "Pearl Jammy" at the moment with the combination of guitar riffs the guys are punching out and the slow and heavy drums I add in. We only have one original that is full complete so far, but we have another two on the way!
I've also been doing a similar thing with the intro students new project, where they are experimenting with song writing. We have an intro, verse and chorus so far and it's sounding very good to say we have just had the two practice sessions all together.
I've just been finishing off the most part of my research proposal that really, maybe I should have handed in on Wednesday. Yesterday I just decided to completely rewrite it as I managed to find something to base it on. A part of my problem is that I hadn't done any research beforehand which was why my previous one was so lacking and bland. "You can't write a research proposal without doing any research." - NR. Life lesson of the week. That's all sent off now. It's nice to not have to worry about anything for a couple of days, until I have to focus on my literary review next week!
Right now, I have a lot of things going through my mind. I'm not so much worried about the assessment itself more everything that is surrounding it. This week, I have four deadlines. One tomorrow - this assessment for Live Sound. Then I have two deadlines on Wednesday, one that is a Music Business assignment and the other a simple research proposal for Music in Context. I'm not really that worried about either of those two, especially now my Business one is almost complete and reading very well if I do say so myself. I still have some last few bits to add like a reference list and a few extra bits, I have about 200 words spare with my word count.
I have a gig tomorrow night after lessons have finished and hopefully will be doing the practice one in the daytime too. I believe both are in The Venue, which I still like to call "The Recital Room" as it is it's former name that I'm more familiar with.
I'm mostly worried about my Live Sound Assignment, combined with the other levels of work that I have to do that are preventing me from making a proper start. The assessment I mentioned tomorrow should be a breeze if I can manage my own patience and step up the leadership a little without telling everyone what to do; after all, we all have to take it in turns to show off the skills that we have learnt. I think I'm a little more relaxed after todays short practice session setting up the PA, channeling some drums and having a chat with AO. He seems pretty confident that I should get a good grade, I just hope I do enough and don't forget anything.
Mostly for the purpose of my Music Industry assignment on the internet, new media and music I have been reading "The Naughies, A Decade That Changed The World." by Tim Footman. I've just been focusing on Chapter 8 - And The Band Played On, as he talks about iTunes, the iPod, Napster causing the industry's decline, YouTube and Glastonbury. Maybe, I'll have a glance at the other Chapters once it is back in my possession (One of my lecturers wants to borrow it because it's good).
It's been a busy week already and it will certainly be a busy month. There is absolutely no stopping this month because if I stop, I fail. I have found sometime to give myself a bit of a break this week, but I don't think its possible anymore. I need to switch to non-stop overdrive just like January to make it through March, but I knew this anyway and I've not really helped myself with my lack of essay writing. I'm currently finishing off my music business assignment that is due in next Wednesday and I'm just shy of a thousand words from finishing it. I'm, hoping that I can get it complete today, mainly because to be on target with the rest of work I really need it out of the way, plus then I can still get some feed back tomorrow possibly.
Working with the level 3, year 2's is becoming interesting. We had a bit of a slow start with forwarding ideas to me about songs, but I think we're getting there now and starting to sound like a new band. Their project is to write and perform half an hours worth of completely original music, which is quite a challenge for me too. I'm playing the drums for them and still don't have all that much experience (or at least I feel I don't feel confident enough, AS recons I've had enough time on a drum kit), I do surprise myself sometimes. We have had two practices now and today we managed to run through the whole of one song, A completely new song that I had to figure out a drum part for and I actually feel quite proud of myself.
It was nice to have a chat with A.O. today about my groups live sound assessment next week. It's made me feel a bit more confident about everything anyway regarding how he will be assessing us and knowing exactly what I don't need to be worrying about. Now, I just need to continue working on my essay so I can start his!
