So starting group piano lessons tonight. I have no idea what to expect and I have no goals or agendas for the experience. I'm not sure that I've ever taken a class or lesson on an instrument when I really didn't care if I ever actually learned to play it...it was just for fun and basic background info. It's kinda weird.
I admit, though, that it has crossed my mind that if it goes well I might whip out the Casio and steal the "Motorway to Roswell" outro (at 4:07 in video below) from RS after my bass line ends. Or play the organ breakdown in Bam Thwok (at 1:23 in video below...though I kinda love CT playing it on tap guitar).
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Monday, January 6, 2014
Piano
So I just signed up for 10 weeks of adult beginner group piano lessons.
O.o
It's in line with 1) looking for more stuff to do (yes it feels necessary) and 2) being impulsive. Luckily, this is the kind of impulsive that only puts me out $150 and makes my Thursdays a little hectic this spring. Which is a-ok.
When I was little I wanted to learn to play piano and acoustic guitar. I loved the way that both sounded. My dad had an old chord organ (later he bought a second, more modern version) and sometime between ages 5 and 10 I taught myself to play it. Basically you played the right hand like normal and the left hand you played chords with a single button, kind of like an accordion. I don't think that I taught myself to read music, so the note names must have been written above the notes for the right hand.
Anyway, that was the extent of my experience with keyboard until I was about 25 (despite having been bought an electric keyboard in my teen years, which I still have). At that point I was living in a house with a piano and feeling ambitious, so I tried to teach myself to play. I actually did okay. At the time I was also teaching myself finger-style guitar in two lines (bass played with thumb, melody with fingers), so I kind of had the hang of reading music in two lines. I didn't advance very far by the time I moved out of that house, but it was at least a start.
Since then I've sort of lost interest in keys. I don't really like the sound of the piano anymore...or the acoustic guitar either really. I've moved on to harder rock. But I still think that keys provide a fantastic theoretical foundation for writing music. And it is a great mental exercise in limb independence. And I've always wondered what the pedals were for and how they worked.
So, ya know, what the hell? I hestitated at first thinking "oh maybe I'll do that SOME DAY but now doesn't seem like the time." Then I noted that the 10 week class goes until May...and that's a long time from now. If I wait for the next round of classes, it'll be next fall. Now is as good a time as any, and honestly, now is probably a good time to have more things to do. And, having taken classes from this particular program before I know, they aren't very high pressure. If I bail on some or don't do so great...it isn't a big deal. So...like I said...what the hell?
O.o
It's in line with 1) looking for more stuff to do (yes it feels necessary) and 2) being impulsive. Luckily, this is the kind of impulsive that only puts me out $150 and makes my Thursdays a little hectic this spring. Which is a-ok.
When I was little I wanted to learn to play piano and acoustic guitar. I loved the way that both sounded. My dad had an old chord organ (later he bought a second, more modern version) and sometime between ages 5 and 10 I taught myself to play it. Basically you played the right hand like normal and the left hand you played chords with a single button, kind of like an accordion. I don't think that I taught myself to read music, so the note names must have been written above the notes for the right hand.
Anyway, that was the extent of my experience with keyboard until I was about 25 (despite having been bought an electric keyboard in my teen years, which I still have). At that point I was living in a house with a piano and feeling ambitious, so I tried to teach myself to play. I actually did okay. At the time I was also teaching myself finger-style guitar in two lines (bass played with thumb, melody with fingers), so I kind of had the hang of reading music in two lines. I didn't advance very far by the time I moved out of that house, but it was at least a start.
Since then I've sort of lost interest in keys. I don't really like the sound of the piano anymore...or the acoustic guitar either really. I've moved on to harder rock. But I still think that keys provide a fantastic theoretical foundation for writing music. And it is a great mental exercise in limb independence. And I've always wondered what the pedals were for and how they worked.
So, ya know, what the hell? I hestitated at first thinking "oh maybe I'll do that SOME DAY but now doesn't seem like the time." Then I noted that the 10 week class goes until May...and that's a long time from now. If I wait for the next round of classes, it'll be next fall. Now is as good a time as any, and honestly, now is probably a good time to have more things to do. And, having taken classes from this particular program before I know, they aren't very high pressure. If I bail on some or don't do so great...it isn't a big deal. So...like I said...what the hell?
Friday, February 1, 2013
Last Bass Lesson 1/31/2013
As mentioned recently, I decided to quit taking bass lessons. I had started taking them on a whim so I guess it isn't surprising that I would stop basically on a whim too. The last lesson was a little disjointed, but mostly what I got out of it was a tip to make Came Out of a Lady easier to play (barre with first finger instead of second, use 2nd/3rd/4th to press down together for the high note, and generally don't worry about it, it is an ornament)...and we talked about strategies for memorizing...including playing without the recording, slowing down the part, singing the part and trying to match what I'm playing to what I'm singing rather than trying to match what I'm playing to the movie in my head of the written notes going by, and...of course again...don't worry about it. Hit the prominent notes and if the rest gets screwed up who cares?
The bass lesson experience was useful right at the time that I needed it. But I'm ready to fly solo for awhile and maybe not fret so much about the outcome.
In the end she feels more like a mentor and friend than a private lesson teacher. And I think that I ought to keep using her as such...that when questions or uncertainty arises that I just email her and say "hey let's get together to chat". And I'll throw her 25 bucks.
The bass lesson experience was useful right at the time that I needed it. But I'm ready to fly solo for awhile and maybe not fret so much about the outcome.
In the end she feels more like a mentor and friend than a private lesson teacher. And I think that I ought to keep using her as such...that when questions or uncertainty arises that I just email her and say "hey let's get together to chat". And I'll throw her 25 bucks.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Lessons
I'm debating quitting bass lessons. I feel like I'm not putting forth any kind of effort with regard to lessons and the structure provided by the teacher is probably too loose. Not that I want a more restrictive structure. I think it has been helpful to take the lessons as a kind of...check in and see how I'm doing. The answer is "I'm doing fine". I could be doing better...but that would require PRACTICE and STUDY. It has occurred to me recently that my problem may very well be not that I don't work hard enough...but that I indeed work TOO hard. I've got some tips to head out into the world with now and I can check back and reapply myself with those as needed...but I think I'm done. My only questioning about quitting is if it is an impulsive thing to do. I don't think it is. I can always pick up again. I think this has just run its course for now. The money and time could probably be reapplied elsewhere better.
UPDATE: I did quit. This week will be my last lesson. It is a relief already. She gave me only a mild lecture about needing an instructor to help hold one's feet to the fire...a lengthy email that actually ended up seeming more like her evaluating her own situation as a student than her evaluating mine. I think I've been holding my own feet too close to the fire lately though. It is maybe time to cool them for awhile. There will always be time to press onward with determination. For now I think I need to rest a bit in loving-kindness.
UPDATE: I did quit. This week will be my last lesson. It is a relief already. She gave me only a mild lecture about needing an instructor to help hold one's feet to the fire...a lengthy email that actually ended up seeming more like her evaluating her own situation as a student than her evaluating mine. I think I've been holding my own feet too close to the fire lately though. It is maybe time to cool them for awhile. There will always be time to press onward with determination. For now I think I need to rest a bit in loving-kindness.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Bass Lessons 12/27/2012
I've given up on the post naming convention of "lesson one...lesson two" because I'm lost as to where I am now. So on to using dates instead.
Last night I had her slowly take me through the major scale in thirds exercise in both one position and also the two octave across all four strings in multiple position thing. I think I get it more now. I really need to work on this. It was funny to ask her to slow it down...because it messed her up. She's so used to doing it fast it was hard for her to slow down and deconstruct it.
She emphasized that the exercise is about keeping your fingers close to the fingerboard to improve efficiency. My fingers do not want to hear that. Especially my middle finger, which seems hell bent on flying up and flipping off the audience constantly. Seriously. It is like it is on a spring.
We spent a little time talking about the blues...and about blues scales and about what the bass plays. We also talked a little bit about pentatonic scales. I followed about half of what she said. I've pretty much forgotten it all now. I'm really not sure that any of it matters.
I keep thinking that if I just try...that I will understand music theory. But I just don't. I mean I get super simple stuff...but even that I have trouble remembering (like the intervals of the major and minor scales...or what the key signature for various keys are). But the more complex stuff totally goes over my head. It reminds me a bit of electronics...no matter how hard I tried or how much people tried to explain it to me I just couldn't understand. My brain is apparently built for certain things only.
Again I'm left not knowing where to head with lessons next time. Perhaps something will occur to me by then.
Last night I had her slowly take me through the major scale in thirds exercise in both one position and also the two octave across all four strings in multiple position thing. I think I get it more now. I really need to work on this. It was funny to ask her to slow it down...because it messed her up. She's so used to doing it fast it was hard for her to slow down and deconstruct it.
She emphasized that the exercise is about keeping your fingers close to the fingerboard to improve efficiency. My fingers do not want to hear that. Especially my middle finger, which seems hell bent on flying up and flipping off the audience constantly. Seriously. It is like it is on a spring.
We spent a little time talking about the blues...and about blues scales and about what the bass plays. We also talked a little bit about pentatonic scales. I followed about half of what she said. I've pretty much forgotten it all now. I'm really not sure that any of it matters.
I keep thinking that if I just try...that I will understand music theory. But I just don't. I mean I get super simple stuff...but even that I have trouble remembering (like the intervals of the major and minor scales...or what the key signature for various keys are). But the more complex stuff totally goes over my head. It reminds me a bit of electronics...no matter how hard I tried or how much people tried to explain it to me I just couldn't understand. My brain is apparently built for certain things only.
Again I'm left not knowing where to head with lessons next time. Perhaps something will occur to me by then.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Bass Lessons: Sometime After Week Two
Well I suck. I bitch about other people starting blogs that they don't stick to...meanwhile I completely forgot to blog the last 4+ months of my bass lessons. I only managed to blog the first and the second lesson (and a preamble). I'm not sure how many lessons I've had since then. They are supposed to be once every two weeks...but we've had to skip some due to schedule conflicts. If July 12th was my first lesson...in theory we COULD be up to 12 or so by now...but it feels more like maybe 6 or 8. I really have no idea at this point.
We haven't really settled into any kind of pattern with lessons. I come in and ask whatever questions are on my mind and she tries to address them. I don't actually play much at all. It is mostly talk. I'm ok with that...because I feel like I never have a chance to ask music questions of people without feeling dumb. So I ask her all of my dumb questions cause she's nice.
This week we talked a bit about building speed by keeping fingers close to the fretboard. We've talked about this before. She suggested playing things really slowly and deliberately to create a solid and good technique foundation. She also suggested playing really fast...faster than I have to...because then you just CAN'T play with bad technique.
We talked about finger patters for major scale exercises where you alternate 3rds.
We talked about 7 chords and dominant 7 chords and 9th chords...and some other chords...and adding those scale degrees to bass lines.
I said I struggle with learning things by ear sometimes. She said knowing theory can help you figure stuff out...but sometimes you just have to go painfully slow and find the note.
She suggested we work on jazz stuff but I said I hate it...so we'll see if it comes up again. We're also debating teaching me to read music for bass. I don't think that I need to learn this...but I'm oddly curious about it. I should be a quick study because I already know how to read music...including bass clef...I've just never done so for bass.
We're drifting a little bit and I probably need to come up with a plan of attack.
We haven't really settled into any kind of pattern with lessons. I come in and ask whatever questions are on my mind and she tries to address them. I don't actually play much at all. It is mostly talk. I'm ok with that...because I feel like I never have a chance to ask music questions of people without feeling dumb. So I ask her all of my dumb questions cause she's nice.
This week we talked a bit about building speed by keeping fingers close to the fretboard. We've talked about this before. She suggested playing things really slowly and deliberately to create a solid and good technique foundation. She also suggested playing really fast...faster than I have to...because then you just CAN'T play with bad technique.
We talked about finger patters for major scale exercises where you alternate 3rds.
We talked about 7 chords and dominant 7 chords and 9th chords...and some other chords...and adding those scale degrees to bass lines.
I said I struggle with learning things by ear sometimes. She said knowing theory can help you figure stuff out...but sometimes you just have to go painfully slow and find the note.
She suggested we work on jazz stuff but I said I hate it...so we'll see if it comes up again. We're also debating teaching me to read music for bass. I don't think that I need to learn this...but I'm oddly curious about it. I should be a quick study because I already know how to read music...including bass clef...I've just never done so for bass.
We're drifting a little bit and I probably need to come up with a plan of attack.
- I think that I really need to be working on playing major scales (and the associated 3rds exercise) with a metronome EVERY DAY. I think this can help with all that I struggle with...speed, knowing the relative positions of notes on the fingerboard, getting used to playing all over the neck. She's already given this advice, but I need to apply it.
- I think that more important than jazz...I might ask her to help me to know more about blues. I hate blues too, but walking blues bass lines are so useful for so many things. And pentatonic scales...I really don't understand those.
- I think that I would like to know more about reading music for bass. I could probably teach myself this but I won't.
- Asking for her help on whatever it is that I'm working on and struggling with at the time. Right now I'm not working on any new songs, so that's a bit why I feel like I'm drifting too.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Bass Lessons: Week Two
I had intended to come prepared to my second lesson. But I didn't.
We talked about increasing speed in light of impending ska. She showed me how I should keep all four fingers down on the fingerboard with light pressure. So in other words...if you are fingering with your pinkie...the rest should be down too...not up in the air. I didn't even realize I did this...but I totally do. We also talked about thumb position...but it doesn't seem that crucial so's long as you have it in the center of the neck and not with your palm collapsed on the side.
I always finger 1, 2, 3, 4 on frets 1, 2, 3, 4...but she's shown me a few times now that sometimes you really want to finger the 4th finger on the 3rd fret...to avoid fatigue and increase speed. I had seen this in some other instructional videos too. Up higher on the neck you can go 1 finger for 1 fret...but lower it makes sense to collapse. At least sometimes.
Reminded...need to run scales with a metronome. Just alot. All the time. Even chromatic scales. Whatever. Just put your fucking fingers on the fucking fingerboard already you dumbass. Also...do mindless right hand exercises all the time to increase speed and consistency. And we talked about how it is harder or easier to "pluck" strings depending on where you place your right hand...and that affects speed too.
And then she pulled out Guitar Pro and Transcribe (similar program is Transposer) two software packages that I totally want now. She talked about learning parts that I admire (which I kind of already knew was a good idea, but I've perhaps not fully pursued). She printed Rhiannon and Come Together for me...and mentioned Daytripper. I guess I've been thinking using tab is cheating...but it didn't seem to bother her. She showed me how she looks songs up on Guitar Pro...and if they aren't on there will use Transcribe to figure the part out herself. Or she'll watch YouTube to see what is happening. Conclusion...all is fair in love and war. Why do I create these bizarre rules for myself about what is legitimate and what is cheating?
We'll have to take a break until September 6th due to conflicts. "No big deal cause I'm not really working on anything in particular" said me of the break. With a furrowed brow "But if nothing is pushing you to work on it you just won't" says she. Yup. True dat.
More time with the bass. That's it.
Rhiannon, by the way, is remarkably easy and repetative. A little exhausting, but not that hard.
We talked about increasing speed in light of impending ska. She showed me how I should keep all four fingers down on the fingerboard with light pressure. So in other words...if you are fingering with your pinkie...the rest should be down too...not up in the air. I didn't even realize I did this...but I totally do. We also talked about thumb position...but it doesn't seem that crucial so's long as you have it in the center of the neck and not with your palm collapsed on the side.
I always finger 1, 2, 3, 4 on frets 1, 2, 3, 4...but she's shown me a few times now that sometimes you really want to finger the 4th finger on the 3rd fret...to avoid fatigue and increase speed. I had seen this in some other instructional videos too. Up higher on the neck you can go 1 finger for 1 fret...but lower it makes sense to collapse. At least sometimes.
Reminded...need to run scales with a metronome. Just alot. All the time. Even chromatic scales. Whatever. Just put your fucking fingers on the fucking fingerboard already you dumbass. Also...do mindless right hand exercises all the time to increase speed and consistency. And we talked about how it is harder or easier to "pluck" strings depending on where you place your right hand...and that affects speed too.
And then she pulled out Guitar Pro and Transcribe (similar program is Transposer) two software packages that I totally want now. She talked about learning parts that I admire (which I kind of already knew was a good idea, but I've perhaps not fully pursued). She printed Rhiannon and Come Together for me...and mentioned Daytripper. I guess I've been thinking using tab is cheating...but it didn't seem to bother her. She showed me how she looks songs up on Guitar Pro...and if they aren't on there will use Transcribe to figure the part out herself. Or she'll watch YouTube to see what is happening. Conclusion...all is fair in love and war. Why do I create these bizarre rules for myself about what is legitimate and what is cheating?
We'll have to take a break until September 6th due to conflicts. "No big deal cause I'm not really working on anything in particular" said me of the break. With a furrowed brow "But if nothing is pushing you to work on it you just won't" says she. Yup. True dat.
More time with the bass. That's it.
Rhiannon, by the way, is remarkably easy and repetative. A little exhausting, but not that hard.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Bass Lessons: Week One
I had my first lesson with H last night. Mostly she showed me lots of stuff. It was alot to take in, but not too much. At the end of the lesson she tried to write down what we'd done (which may mean that she picked up that I wanted this from my inquiry email).
Take-aways:
On the drive home it struck me that I'm really interested in R Ring right now and that they play music without a bass. So writing parts for their songs would be a perfect exercise. So I think I'll use that as a jumping off place...along with refining the parts for Halle and Sarah's songs. Those are the two things I think I'll bring in to lessons. At home...mostly I just need to play the damn scales every day and learn the pattern and start thinking more about relative intervals. It'll come if I just do the work.
This morning I sat down before work and figured out a bass part to Hundred Dollar Heat pretty easily. Mike plays a bass line of sorts on the guitar, so it was cheating a bit because I was more following along with him rather than writing my own part, but it was still a good exercise. It also showed me that I pull alot from the other players...like the strumming style...in the case of Hundred Dollar Heat it is wide open and syncopated at the start in the verses and then becomes more driving and 8th note based and dense in the chorus. I followed along with that instinctually. I guess I always think of this as cheating...like when my bass drum line follows Twan's bass guitar line or J's vocal...but maybe it isn't so much cheating as just serving the song.
I think that I get really caught up in whether or not I'm complicated or technical enough...on whether I'm going to be "found out" as a total hack. But maybe fitting in doesn't make you a hack...it makes you a sensitive musician. And there's the whole thing about...the million dollar riff doesn't come along every day. Not every song can be the catchy song from hell. And they don't all have to be. I don't know. I have alot of basic practice work to do...but way more than that I have alot of mental work to do. I need to stop telling myself these stories about how well I play or what I ought to be doing and just...play. As much as possible.
I don't know who I am as a bass player yet. How could I? It's too soon. So I should stop putting myself in boxes and tearing myself down. I'm like a teenager in my bass life. I've got this whole long life ahead of me and who knows who I'm gonna become. I should give myself the space to have an adolescence without so much pressure to grow up.
Take-aways:
- I should learn the 2-3 octave "box" patterns for major and minor scales. Just gotta do that. Other scales probably aren't so very important at this point.
- I should be thinking about intervals and relative placement on the fretboard...so like knowing if I'm on the root...where else does the root live...and where do the 3rd, 5th, and octave live. Like the scale boxes, this is just memorization and repetition. the other intervals are important too...but maybe less so at first. And they will come with knowing these main ones. She also highlighted the importance of the 9th, which I've never thought much about before, but it does sound nice.
- We talked alot about the role of various scale intervals for major and minor scales in playing against guitar chords. She encouraged me to think in terms of bass lines against chords...rather than about scales and theory per se. And this is already how I think, so that was good.
- She talked about passing notes and moving from one chord to another and how to think about a progression.
- Despite the above, she encouraged me not to get lost in the theory, though. To more just play and try things and not be afraid to mess up and to just learn what sounds good. To do this she suggested recording guitar chords and playing along and trying to write various parts. Just noodle and figure it out.
- She said that it is always nerve wracking to write parts on the fly even if you know what you're doing. So there's nothing wrong with being prepared.
- She reminded me that strategic accents can really change up a part
- What you play will often come from listening to the rest of the band. More on this below.
- I got a little confirmation on correct technique. With the left hand think of a claw...and with little pressure on the thumb. Don't let the fingers flatten. Use a soft touch. She recommended running scales with a metronome at various tempos and said that if you do this enough good technique just comes because you can't play fast without good technique. It was a similar exercise to the one I've seen before and already knew was a good idea. She also said "but maybe you don't care about playing fast" which was a nice point. I do think these exercises are easy and worthwhile though.
On the drive home it struck me that I'm really interested in R Ring right now and that they play music without a bass. So writing parts for their songs would be a perfect exercise. So I think I'll use that as a jumping off place...along with refining the parts for Halle and Sarah's songs. Those are the two things I think I'll bring in to lessons. At home...mostly I just need to play the damn scales every day and learn the pattern and start thinking more about relative intervals. It'll come if I just do the work.
This morning I sat down before work and figured out a bass part to Hundred Dollar Heat pretty easily. Mike plays a bass line of sorts on the guitar, so it was cheating a bit because I was more following along with him rather than writing my own part, but it was still a good exercise. It also showed me that I pull alot from the other players...like the strumming style...in the case of Hundred Dollar Heat it is wide open and syncopated at the start in the verses and then becomes more driving and 8th note based and dense in the chorus. I followed along with that instinctually. I guess I always think of this as cheating...like when my bass drum line follows Twan's bass guitar line or J's vocal...but maybe it isn't so much cheating as just serving the song.
I think that I get really caught up in whether or not I'm complicated or technical enough...on whether I'm going to be "found out" as a total hack. But maybe fitting in doesn't make you a hack...it makes you a sensitive musician. And there's the whole thing about...the million dollar riff doesn't come along every day. Not every song can be the catchy song from hell. And they don't all have to be. I don't know. I have alot of basic practice work to do...but way more than that I have alot of mental work to do. I need to stop telling myself these stories about how well I play or what I ought to be doing and just...play. As much as possible.
I don't know who I am as a bass player yet. How could I? It's too soon. So I should stop putting myself in boxes and tearing myself down. I'm like a teenager in my bass life. I've got this whole long life ahead of me and who knows who I'm gonna become. I should give myself the space to have an adolescence without so much pressure to grow up.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Bass Lessons: Week 0, Preamble
It begins again.
I keep trying to take music lessons or classes over and over and not being able to stick it out over and over. This has been been true the length of my musical experience except in those times when I was forced to take lessons by parents.
I'm not sure if I have an inability to stick with structured activities or if I don't like being helped by others or what. But it is chronic.
I met a gal at GRC who seemed personable enough, and so I'm going to take a few bass lessons from her and see how it goes.
I'm not entirely sure what I want out of lessons.
I think that I learn best when I have things written out in tab + hear a recording and/or see a video/person playing it. I feel like I'm kind of a slow learner. I tend to take things away to a dark corner and mull and fiddle and eventually get it...but in lessons (mostly with respect to drums since I've not taken many bass lessons) I've often had a sort of performance anxiety. The teacher will say...do this...and then I have to figure it out right there on the spot, which freaks me out...and then whatever we did usually isn't written down or recorded so I can't refer to it later and practice. So I get discouraged.
What I'd like going forward is to feel like I can hold my own in your average kind of rock band. Like I could answer a Craigslist ad for a bass player and not be laughed out of the room. Nothing fancy, but maybe a bit more than the root note based stuff I've always fallen back on. I'd like to be able to write simple but effective parts for original songs...and be able to work out more songs by ear and not need the tab hints so much.
I've recently just begun to teach myself a bit about playing "in the box" and I sit down and jam with friends who write originals once in a while. I feel like that's helping and I'd like to build on that ability to write complimentary bass parts. I think that I understand scales and the theory behind them...but I don't have that stuff memorized or well applied to the fingerboard. And all of that theory feels overwhelming.
So we'll see how it goes.
I feel like my potential on the bass is greater than my potential on drums. It comes more easily to me and is more fun for that reason. It's also a lower profile job than drums and I like that.
I keep trying to take music lessons or classes over and over and not being able to stick it out over and over. This has been been true the length of my musical experience except in those times when I was forced to take lessons by parents.
I'm not sure if I have an inability to stick with structured activities or if I don't like being helped by others or what. But it is chronic.
I met a gal at GRC who seemed personable enough, and so I'm going to take a few bass lessons from her and see how it goes.
I'm not entirely sure what I want out of lessons.
I think that I learn best when I have things written out in tab + hear a recording and/or see a video/person playing it. I feel like I'm kind of a slow learner. I tend to take things away to a dark corner and mull and fiddle and eventually get it...but in lessons (mostly with respect to drums since I've not taken many bass lessons) I've often had a sort of performance anxiety. The teacher will say...do this...and then I have to figure it out right there on the spot, which freaks me out...and then whatever we did usually isn't written down or recorded so I can't refer to it later and practice. So I get discouraged.
What I'd like going forward is to feel like I can hold my own in your average kind of rock band. Like I could answer a Craigslist ad for a bass player and not be laughed out of the room. Nothing fancy, but maybe a bit more than the root note based stuff I've always fallen back on. I'd like to be able to write simple but effective parts for original songs...and be able to work out more songs by ear and not need the tab hints so much.
I've recently just begun to teach myself a bit about playing "in the box" and I sit down and jam with friends who write originals once in a while. I feel like that's helping and I'd like to build on that ability to write complimentary bass parts. I think that I understand scales and the theory behind them...but I don't have that stuff memorized or well applied to the fingerboard. And all of that theory feels overwhelming.
So we'll see how it goes.
I feel like my potential on the bass is greater than my potential on drums. It comes more easily to me and is more fun for that reason. It's also a lower profile job than drums and I like that.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Fundamentals Week 12
Cha Cha and nine stroke roll.
I've checked out. The most interesting thing about this week is that I've been playing cha cha in a TD song and didn't know it.
I turned in all the evaluations and told them I was disappointed in the course and wouldn't be taking more.
I've checked out. The most interesting thing about this week is that I've been playing cha cha in a TD song and didn't know it.
I turned in all the evaluations and told them I was disappointed in the course and wouldn't be taking more.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Fundamentals Week 11
I didn't turn in my assignment for Week 10.
This week is more jazz...swing...and para diddle-diddles. I probably won't turn in this week's lesson either though I read all the materials and watched the videos.
It isn't like me not to turn in assignments for a class...but I guess that I just feel like I'm not getting anything out of turning them in at this point except feeling bad about myself. He gave me a D on the last assignment even though I emailed him and told him how much I was struggling. I'm not taking the class for credit...so the grades are kind of demoralizing since I'm not doing well. I wish that they weren't giving grades...just a "complete/incomplete" would have been better for me. And his comments aren't helpful...amounting essentially to "you are doing it wrong...you need to practice more." Duh. I know that. So turning things in have just become an exercise in stress and feeling bad about myself.
For sure this class didn't turn out the way that I thought it would. I thought I'd be so much further along at the end...but I'm really not. It reminds me of the last time I started lessons and thought I was going to advance so quickly...only to be crippled by the things I was struggling with and having to quit.
It's a strange and delicate balance between accepting where you are and feeling okay with that and working and striving to be better. It isn't lost on me that drumming is a metaphor for all the other things going on in my life right now. But I think that I'm learning that before you can really strive to be better...you have to REALLY accept where you are at. Otherwise no amount of effort will ever feel like enough.
And so I'm giving myself a pass on this class. I'm still taking in the information, but I'm not letting it beat me up. And I'm hoping to get back to a place where drumming is fun again soon rather than having it make me feel bad about myself.
This week is more jazz...swing...and para diddle-diddles. I probably won't turn in this week's lesson either though I read all the materials and watched the videos.
It isn't like me not to turn in assignments for a class...but I guess that I just feel like I'm not getting anything out of turning them in at this point except feeling bad about myself. He gave me a D on the last assignment even though I emailed him and told him how much I was struggling. I'm not taking the class for credit...so the grades are kind of demoralizing since I'm not doing well. I wish that they weren't giving grades...just a "complete/incomplete" would have been better for me. And his comments aren't helpful...amounting essentially to "you are doing it wrong...you need to practice more." Duh. I know that. So turning things in have just become an exercise in stress and feeling bad about myself.
For sure this class didn't turn out the way that I thought it would. I thought I'd be so much further along at the end...but I'm really not. It reminds me of the last time I started lessons and thought I was going to advance so quickly...only to be crippled by the things I was struggling with and having to quit.
It's a strange and delicate balance between accepting where you are and feeling okay with that and working and striving to be better. It isn't lost on me that drumming is a metaphor for all the other things going on in my life right now. But I think that I'm learning that before you can really strive to be better...you have to REALLY accept where you are at. Otherwise no amount of effort will ever feel like enough.
And so I'm giving myself a pass on this class. I'm still taking in the information, but I'm not letting it beat me up. And I'm hoping to get back to a place where drumming is fun again soon rather than having it make me feel bad about myself.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Fundamentals Week Ten
Here we are at week ten...jazz. Two more weeks to go. I've barely looked at this week's assignment. I can't wait for this class to be over.
Which isn't to say that the entire experience hasn't been valueable. Certainly it has. One thing I've learned is that there is a delicate balance between challenging and demoralizing. Not challenging enough = boring and you quit. Too challenging = you feel incompetant and quit.
And this is perhaps why CJ has been such a wonderful experience...it takes some effort and there's always tweaking improvements to be made (and the potential to fall down on your face at any moment)...but it isn't TOO hard. It is possible to accomplish what you set out to do and feel like it's presentable.
Martin Atkins tweeted something or other recently about the drive that people have to be excellent musicians. Like a drummer wanting to be "as good as X." What he said essentially was...forget it. You will never be as good as X...and in the meantime life is passing you buy. Get out of fucking bed and be the best you that you already are and get something done. Otherwise...you will be demoralized and spend your lifetime noodling in your basement never getting to where you want to be.
Certainly this doesn't mean giving up trying to get better or working your craft...but there is some degree of...you only can work with what you have. Making significant improvement will be slow. So either give up or make what you have work. Not a bad philosophy for life in general in point of fact.
What I could give two shits about:
-jazz
-latin/afrocuban music
-crazy fast double bass metal
-crazy complicated progressive music (Applicable quote from last night's rehearsal "Rush were fascists." -RS)
What I care about:
-looking like I know what I'm doing
-feeling like I know what I'm doing
-playing some good old fashioned pop, punk, rock with other humans
-pushing myself a LITTLE bit, but not so far that it really hurts physically or emotionally
-learning more songs
Near the start of playing the drums I said that my drum heros were Dave Hower, Gina Schock, and Tre Cool. I've mastered some of those beats now...and I still say that's who I like to listen to. I've learned to appreciate Bonham...but Pert, Moon, or the billion others out there I'm supposed to like. Meh.
I'm guess I'm lucky because my goals probably line up well with my abilities and potential for improvement. Maybe I'm settling. But how is it settling to like what you like and not be interested in what you aren't interested in.
So probably some time soon I should really try to stop feeling bad about not being good at things that I don't give two shits about.
Which isn't to say that the entire experience hasn't been valueable. Certainly it has. One thing I've learned is that there is a delicate balance between challenging and demoralizing. Not challenging enough = boring and you quit. Too challenging = you feel incompetant and quit.
And this is perhaps why CJ has been such a wonderful experience...it takes some effort and there's always tweaking improvements to be made (and the potential to fall down on your face at any moment)...but it isn't TOO hard. It is possible to accomplish what you set out to do and feel like it's presentable.
Martin Atkins tweeted something or other recently about the drive that people have to be excellent musicians. Like a drummer wanting to be "as good as X." What he said essentially was...forget it. You will never be as good as X...and in the meantime life is passing you buy. Get out of fucking bed and be the best you that you already are and get something done. Otherwise...you will be demoralized and spend your lifetime noodling in your basement never getting to where you want to be.
Certainly this doesn't mean giving up trying to get better or working your craft...but there is some degree of...you only can work with what you have. Making significant improvement will be slow. So either give up or make what you have work. Not a bad philosophy for life in general in point of fact.
What I could give two shits about:
-jazz
-latin/afrocuban music
-crazy fast double bass metal
-crazy complicated progressive music (Applicable quote from last night's rehearsal "Rush were fascists." -RS)
What I care about:
-looking like I know what I'm doing
-feeling like I know what I'm doing
-playing some good old fashioned pop, punk, rock with other humans
-pushing myself a LITTLE bit, but not so far that it really hurts physically or emotionally
-learning more songs
Near the start of playing the drums I said that my drum heros were Dave Hower, Gina Schock, and Tre Cool. I've mastered some of those beats now...and I still say that's who I like to listen to. I've learned to appreciate Bonham...but Pert, Moon, or the billion others out there I'm supposed to like. Meh.
I'm guess I'm lucky because my goals probably line up well with my abilities and potential for improvement. Maybe I'm settling. But how is it settling to like what you like and not be interested in what you aren't interested in.
So probably some time soon I should really try to stop feeling bad about not being good at things that I don't give two shits about.
Friday, March 9, 2012
More Week Nine
So I'd almost given up on week 9...like decided not to turn in anything. I sent the instructor some questions and he sent me a totally canned response that amounted to...practice more. Not helpful.
I think what I've been struggling with in large part is not having good audio examples. The lesson basically shows only a measure or a few of each part of the pattern. I'm sorry...that's just not a long enough loop. And pulling other examples from the world is hard because they invariably have all of the parts together...not in isolation.
Then I found this:
Super great stuff. Just what I needed. And he's also very reassuring about...this is going to take a while to learn.
So I wish I'd found this days ago...but at least I have it now. I think that I'm going to try to learn JUST the bell part and turn that in tonight (going out of town for the weekend). But seeing this makes me feel like it MIGHT be worth revisiting some day...whereas last night I was thinking that I would avoid anything like this forever on.
Maybe I'm just not at the right level for this class...but I don't REALLY think that's true. I think I probably am at a fine level for the class. I just don't think the care is being taken to deal with unfamiliar topics. I thought that the very first week when supposedly they were introducing reading music for the very first time and by the end of the week had us doing a super complicated piece. I already knew how to read, so that wasn't hard for me...but for someone else it would have been ridiculous. And now we're on the things that feel ridiculous to me. And there doesn't seem to be any acknoweldgement of that. To me, if you can already do this stuff...why are you even taking the class? So in that case, it ought to have more consideration of things being hard for people.
I think what I've been struggling with in large part is not having good audio examples. The lesson basically shows only a measure or a few of each part of the pattern. I'm sorry...that's just not a long enough loop. And pulling other examples from the world is hard because they invariably have all of the parts together...not in isolation.
Then I found this:
Super great stuff. Just what I needed. And he's also very reassuring about...this is going to take a while to learn.
So I wish I'd found this days ago...but at least I have it now. I think that I'm going to try to learn JUST the bell part and turn that in tonight (going out of town for the weekend). But seeing this makes me feel like it MIGHT be worth revisiting some day...whereas last night I was thinking that I would avoid anything like this forever on.
Maybe I'm just not at the right level for this class...but I don't REALLY think that's true. I think I probably am at a fine level for the class. I just don't think the care is being taken to deal with unfamiliar topics. I thought that the very first week when supposedly they were introducing reading music for the very first time and by the end of the week had us doing a super complicated piece. I already knew how to read, so that wasn't hard for me...but for someone else it would have been ridiculous. And now we're on the things that feel ridiculous to me. And there doesn't seem to be any acknoweldgement of that. To me, if you can already do this stuff...why are you even taking the class? So in that case, it ought to have more consideration of things being hard for people.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Fundamentals Week 9
So the assignment this week is to make up a drum part for an Afrocuban playalong...and I've pretty much convinced myself that I can't do it because I can't get the key Afrocuban patterns, Bembe and Abakwa:
I just watched the first assignment turned in my one of my classmates. As far as I can tell...he didn't use the patterns AT ALL. He just made up another part. So I'm totally doing that. Flunk me...whatevs...it ain't for credit and this shit is making me sad. Ask a fish to climb a tree and they will feel stupid all their lives. I'm all for challenging myself...but I'm done climbing trees.
On a side note...feeling overwhelmed and stupid after trying to learn those Afrocuban patterns I sat down at the drums and played the actual music that my actual bands play. I haven't been practicing any of it for months because I've been kind of demoralized about drumming in general. I had a great practice session and nailed lots of stuff and totally felt aok. Thank god.
I just watched the first assignment turned in my one of my classmates. As far as I can tell...he didn't use the patterns AT ALL. He just made up another part. So I'm totally doing that. Flunk me...whatevs...it ain't for credit and this shit is making me sad. Ask a fish to climb a tree and they will feel stupid all their lives. I'm all for challenging myself...but I'm done climbing trees.
On a side note...feeling overwhelmed and stupid after trying to learn those Afrocuban patterns I sat down at the drums and played the actual music that my actual bands play. I haven't been practicing any of it for months because I've been kind of demoralized about drumming in general. I had a great practice session and nailed lots of stuff and totally felt aok. Thank god.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Fundamentals Week 9
This week is Afrocuban...which I suck at as much as I do Latin. I am white to the core.
This week's assignments seem pretty much impossible. I'm not kidding. It's ridiculous. Just stupid four way independence. And we aren't reading our part we've writing it. I've also got less time this week too because I'll be out of town this weekend. So I've got through Friday night to make it happen. I'm pretty sure what I turn in will be sad, sad. I'm sure the instructor thinks I'm lazy and not trying hard enough. Blargh.
This week's assignments seem pretty much impossible. I'm not kidding. It's ridiculous. Just stupid four way independence. And we aren't reading our part we've writing it. I've also got less time this week too because I'll be out of town this weekend. So I've got through Friday night to make it happen. I'm pretty sure what I turn in will be sad, sad. I'm sure the instructor thinks I'm lazy and not trying hard enough. Blargh.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Observations About Drum Skills
The entire Berklee experience has been a bit demoralizing. As low as my confidence in my drumming was before...I realize now that I'm not even as good as I thought. One thing in particular that has come to my attention is that I have a horrible internal sense of time. I used to think I was pretty good at this...but no.
CJ recently started playing "Blown Away" and there's this part where in the middle of the song the bass line hangs its ass out with nothing but the vocal and I've been painfully aware that I really don't know if I'm slowing down or speeding up or holding steady. I just pray for the drums to come back in two measures later. And that's what I've noticed with the Berklee lessons too. For instance, this week the assignment is a pretty easy 12/8 tune. But there is a 3 beat (well, 9 beat I suppose) cymbal wash and then a "10,11,12" fill into the song. I totally lose my place during the cymbal wash...so that when the rest of the instruments come in on the next downbeat I really have no idea what the tempo is anymore. I have to make micro-adjustments to get with the recording. By the end of the first full measure I'm with the recording and can keep with it pretty well.
I'm used to either playing with a live band (who will adjust to my changes in tempo) or with a recording that has the drums on it (so that I can stay with the drummer the whole time). But if you remove the element of someone else playing...I get lost. I don't have an internal "pulse".
This is a really bizarre thing to realize after having played for 6 years. The solution is to play with a click more often and work with turning it on and off and see if I stay with the imaginary clicks. This is hard, of course, because that means not playing along to recordings...which is kind of boring. Short of just doing exercises...I suppose I could play the drum charts for songs from my books along to a click but without the backing tracks.
Bleh.
CJ recently started playing "Blown Away" and there's this part where in the middle of the song the bass line hangs its ass out with nothing but the vocal and I've been painfully aware that I really don't know if I'm slowing down or speeding up or holding steady. I just pray for the drums to come back in two measures later. And that's what I've noticed with the Berklee lessons too. For instance, this week the assignment is a pretty easy 12/8 tune. But there is a 3 beat (well, 9 beat I suppose) cymbal wash and then a "10,11,12" fill into the song. I totally lose my place during the cymbal wash...so that when the rest of the instruments come in on the next downbeat I really have no idea what the tempo is anymore. I have to make micro-adjustments to get with the recording. By the end of the first full measure I'm with the recording and can keep with it pretty well.
I'm used to either playing with a live band (who will adjust to my changes in tempo) or with a recording that has the drums on it (so that I can stay with the drummer the whole time). But if you remove the element of someone else playing...I get lost. I don't have an internal "pulse".
This is a really bizarre thing to realize after having played for 6 years. The solution is to play with a click more often and work with turning it on and off and see if I stay with the imaginary clicks. This is hard, of course, because that means not playing along to recordings...which is kind of boring. Short of just doing exercises...I suppose I could play the drum charts for songs from my books along to a click but without the backing tracks.
Bleh.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Fundamentals Week 8
This week is 12/8 (and other compound time signatures) and flams. The assignment is shorter than in recent weeks and more improvisational, though the etude is a little tricky. This week shouldn't be quite as stressful as other recent weeks.
Only four weeks left after this week.
Week 9, Afro-Cuban 6/8: Afro Blue
Week 10, Jazz Shuffle: Things Ain’t What they used to be
Week 11, Swinging: April in Paris
Week 12, Cha Cha: Naima
None of these are styles that I am familiar with and I suspect I will be frustrated from here on out.
I was thinking this weekend that it may not be in the cards for me to be a certain kind of drummer...and that maybe I ought to focus on improving what I CAN do and what I could potentially be good at. Something I think that might be a really good idea is just nailing down my sense of time. I've realized that I used to think that I keep good time...but I don't. I don't have a strong internal pulse. Working with a metronome more would probably be a really good thing...in particular...starting an exercise or song by playing with the click...then turning the click off maybe with a foot...and trying to keep the pulse...then turn the click back on and see if I stayed with it. It's such a simple thing...but really a great skill to have.
I've also been playing along with some Pixies tunes and would like to nail down being able to play those songs. They aren't hard but there are challenging things in them that I'd like to master. Trompe le Monde is a song that really challenges me and I think truly learning to play it would be an attainable and useful exercise.
Anyway...I'd just like to get back to enjoying playing rather than having it make me feel bad. After this class is over I was to think about where to go next and maybe trying to get back to playing for fun and just getting better at what I already can do. It would be nice, for instance, to gain confidence playing The Drain songs.
Only four weeks left after this week.
Week 9, Afro-Cuban 6/8: Afro Blue
Week 10, Jazz Shuffle: Things Ain’t What they used to be
Week 11, Swinging: April in Paris
Week 12, Cha Cha: Naima
None of these are styles that I am familiar with and I suspect I will be frustrated from here on out.
I was thinking this weekend that it may not be in the cards for me to be a certain kind of drummer...and that maybe I ought to focus on improving what I CAN do and what I could potentially be good at. Something I think that might be a really good idea is just nailing down my sense of time. I've realized that I used to think that I keep good time...but I don't. I don't have a strong internal pulse. Working with a metronome more would probably be a really good thing...in particular...starting an exercise or song by playing with the click...then turning the click off maybe with a foot...and trying to keep the pulse...then turn the click back on and see if I stayed with it. It's such a simple thing...but really a great skill to have.
I've also been playing along with some Pixies tunes and would like to nail down being able to play those songs. They aren't hard but there are challenging things in them that I'd like to master. Trompe le Monde is a song that really challenges me and I think truly learning to play it would be an attainable and useful exercise.
Anyway...I'd just like to get back to enjoying playing rather than having it make me feel bad. After this class is over I was to think about where to go next and maybe trying to get back to playing for fun and just getting better at what I already can do. It would be nice, for instance, to gain confidence playing The Drain songs.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Fundamentals Week 7
We're on the home stretch now. This week is half time shuffle (and also paradiddles) and the assignment is Rosanna by Toto:
I can play the song. I can't play the song AS WRITTEN...but if you asked me to play it on stage at High Noon ten minutes from now I could do it kinda. I'm having a little trouble both with playing the hi hat as fast as I'm supposed to, keeping it up for 9+ pages, and getting it along with the bass drum. Bass drum + snare I can play pretty much correctly.
There's an etude which I'm totally going to not play right and I kind of don't care.
For sure my attitude has shifted on the course...probably for the worse in terms of playing well...but probably for the better in mental health terms. I'm still doing the work...but trying not to take it so hard that I'm not at a certain level. I'm where I am...and that's the only place I can be.
I can play the song. I can't play the song AS WRITTEN...but if you asked me to play it on stage at High Noon ten minutes from now I could do it kinda. I'm having a little trouble both with playing the hi hat as fast as I'm supposed to, keeping it up for 9+ pages, and getting it along with the bass drum. Bass drum + snare I can play pretty much correctly.
There's an etude which I'm totally going to not play right and I kind of don't care.
For sure my attitude has shifted on the course...probably for the worse in terms of playing well...but probably for the better in mental health terms. I'm still doing the work...but trying not to take it so hard that I'm not at a certain level. I'm where I am...and that's the only place I can be.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Fundamentals Week Six
This week is samba...which it turns out bossa nova is a variety of even though we treated it separately. It'll be another rough week...though maybe not as bad as I thought. For some reason the variations in the lesson seem more intuitive to me than I'd expected. We'll see.
While I think this course was valuable, I don't think that I'm putting enough time into it to get as much out of it as I might. And I feel myself starting to hate it a little bit and hoping for the day when it will be over. So it was an interesting experiment, but I think it is just too hard on me emotionally.
I'm not sure how I get into a daily practice that is sustainable. It is very much like exercise of any kind...you know it is good for you but you have a hard time motivating to do it. And the less you do it the less able you feel to do it...and so on.
I want to advance my skills and to be respected. But at the end of the day...it really just needs to be fun...right? I mean no one gives a shit that I'm doing this...it's supposed to be for fun. What a wonderful thing it would be to actually have fun with no judgements on if I was good enough or not? Pixies gets close to that (minus vocals anyway) and this is why I love it so...but it is also why I discount it as "too easy".
I'm pretty much inconsolable and the architect of my own misery.
While I think this course was valuable, I don't think that I'm putting enough time into it to get as much out of it as I might. And I feel myself starting to hate it a little bit and hoping for the day when it will be over. So it was an interesting experiment, but I think it is just too hard on me emotionally.
I'm not sure how I get into a daily practice that is sustainable. It is very much like exercise of any kind...you know it is good for you but you have a hard time motivating to do it. And the less you do it the less able you feel to do it...and so on.
I want to advance my skills and to be respected. But at the end of the day...it really just needs to be fun...right? I mean no one gives a shit that I'm doing this...it's supposed to be for fun. What a wonderful thing it would be to actually have fun with no judgements on if I was good enough or not? Pixies gets close to that (minus vocals anyway) and this is why I love it so...but it is also why I discount it as "too easy".
I'm pretty much inconsolable and the architect of my own misery.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Fundamentals Week Five
This week is bossa nova. My talent in the latin rhythms is not...good. But of all of them bossa nova is the one that I get the best. Probably because it is relatively simple, relatively slow, and ubiquitous in American culture.
Last week's lesson was horrible on so many levels...but I take heart in the fact that everyone else in the class thought it was horrible too. I got a C+...which is probably the first time in my life that has happened (I failed an English paper once for not following directions...on purpose...but I've never gotten a C before I don't think...of course...I'm probably blocking out Nuclear Engineering grad school now that I think of it). His comments were not helpful. I made quite clear that I was struggling with the assignment and his comments amounted to "you did it wrong"...which I had already full well admitted. The professorship is minimal here.
And again I have to say that the care and organization of the course is subpar. For instance...it was implied this week that we had already studied accents. We have not. Accents were thrown into an assignment...but they were never explained or discussed. Same for dynamics in general...they've been thrown at us...but not truly examined. In this week's lesson it says we will start 32nd notes this week...only we started them last week. And I got zinged for playing both etudes last week when we were only supposed to play one...well THAT wasn't made clear AT ALL. Oh...and in some places he'll say to play things at 50 bpm...then somewhere else it'll say 60...for the same portion of the assignment. Just really bad editing and consistency checks all around. It'd be ok if this was cheap...but it isn't at all. Lazy...sloppy.
Last week's lesson was horrible on so many levels...but I take heart in the fact that everyone else in the class thought it was horrible too. I got a C+...which is probably the first time in my life that has happened (I failed an English paper once for not following directions...on purpose...but I've never gotten a C before I don't think...of course...I'm probably blocking out Nuclear Engineering grad school now that I think of it). His comments were not helpful. I made quite clear that I was struggling with the assignment and his comments amounted to "you did it wrong"...which I had already full well admitted. The professorship is minimal here.
And again I have to say that the care and organization of the course is subpar. For instance...it was implied this week that we had already studied accents. We have not. Accents were thrown into an assignment...but they were never explained or discussed. Same for dynamics in general...they've been thrown at us...but not truly examined. In this week's lesson it says we will start 32nd notes this week...only we started them last week. And I got zinged for playing both etudes last week when we were only supposed to play one...well THAT wasn't made clear AT ALL. Oh...and in some places he'll say to play things at 50 bpm...then somewhere else it'll say 60...for the same portion of the assignment. Just really bad editing and consistency checks all around. It'd be ok if this was cheap...but it isn't at all. Lazy...sloppy.
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