Instrumental Lesson Diary

Music Lesson 1 - 30th September

Today I got a run through of the lesson times for this half term, however we didn't have enough time to learn anything. I got advised to choose a song of my choice to play along with and doing fills with the music.

Music Lesson 2 - 7th October

Today we came to a conclusion of what song to do for prep. In the lesson, I played the song to Mr Phillips (The Weeknd - Can't feel my face). I chose the song because the drum beat was interesting and almost followed the guidelines to the drum beats in which I have already been working on. We played through the song on the drums and examined the small parts of the drum beats including the open hi-hat (every 4th time only) and a small fill every so often. Overall, a very useful and productive drum lesson to officially begin my year of instrumental lessons.

Music Lesson 3 - 14th October

Going into further detail on the drum fill and the release of the hi-hat on every 4th bar. We practiced on the drum fill at first over the song and then practiced it at a slower pace. I then used my practice in the song to play effectively to Mr Phillips.

Music Lesson 4 - 21st October

At first, we looked at the videos in which we recorded the lesson before and I completed them quickly. After this, we used the start of the lesson to then play the beats at  my own pace without the song. This went successfully, which means that we played with the song at a faster pace and used the practice of the fill and the open hi-hat to play in the song. It went smoothly and successfully. After this Mr Phillips advised me to play around and experiment with the open hi-hat.

Music Lesson 5 - 28th October

In this lesson, Mr Phillips suggested playing to a new song as I completed 'Can't feel my face'. I chose the song: 'Mr Writer - Stereophonics' as I was also doing the song in music to perform. Mr Phillips wrote down the drum tabs for the song and showed me the different beats needed. He then played for the song and I recorded it. My prep for the next drum lesson was to practice the drum beats in the videos.

Music Lesson 6 - 4th November

In this lesson, we went through the videos and he showed me the different fills that I could do as an extra. This drum lesson was short because today's lessons had a late schedule.

Music Lesson 7 - 11th November

Today we finally got to grips with the videos that we did and parts of the song 'Stereophonics'. I completed all the videos, however one exception was that I needed to apply two bass drums  in the 3rd and 4th beats.

Music Lesson 8 - 18th November

Today we went through the videos for Mr Writer for the final time, and I completed them extremely quickly (on the first try). After that there were other videos that Mr Phillips recorded for drumming he wanted me to try. I went through them all correctly on the first try. It went successfully. Overall, today's lesson was successful.

Music Lesson 9 - 2nd December

After my drum teacher being absent on the 25th November, we recapped on the things we were doing two weeks before by drumming to the beats that he set me to do.

Music Lesson 10 - 9th December

This lesson we didn't have enough time to move on to the next activity to complete, however we had come to a final conclusion on the fact that I had completed the beats with ease.

Music Lesson 11 - 16th December

This lesson Mr Phillips wanted me to apply these techniques of knowing the different fills to play into music. To do this he used an easy example of music to play along with (so that I could apply fills) which was James Bay - Let it Go. He played it and I discovered a beat to play along with it and then I started to attempt to apply fills. At first, I found it quite hard on the spot. Therefore Mr Phillips set me prep to do, which was to practice over the winter break on all the different fills that I could apply by using the counting method along with the beat of the song.

Music Lesson 12 - 6th January

In this lesson, we had a conversation on the fact that I got a drum kit for Christmas. This means that I could now practice the tasks that Mr Phillips had set me in order to improve. Due to the fact that I had practiced Let it go by James Bay on the drums over Christmas we had almost completed the song. Mr Phillip's advice was to carry on practicing and to get a good understanding of where I need to apply fills and different beats in certain areas. Now that we had completed that, we then talked about starting grade 1, by getting a book online. We had run out of time however it was a successful lesson.

Music Lesson 13 - 13th Jamuary

In this lesson, we had a conversation about the fact that we couldn't use the grade 1 Rockschool book and how I need it for my next instrumental lesson. We then carried on working on Let it go by James Bay. This went successfully, however he still wanted me to tidy up the small parts of the song that would make my drum beat sound even better.

Music Lesson 14 - 20th January

In this lesson, me and Mr Phillips sorted out how I forgot my grade 1 booklet. Because of this he wanted me to show him my drum part for Let it go by James Bay. We went through the song and he was impressed by my use of a variety of fills in different places of the song. Then he told me what I could do to improve my drum part including: adding a crash every so often, changing the beat on the bridge and moving onto the ride in the chorus. Overall this was quite a productive lesson.

Music Lesson 15 - 4th February

Today I brought in my Grade 1 booklet, and Mr Phillips advised me to play Kaiser Roll, the first song to play in the book. He showed me all the individual drums in the book and how to read each beat. He advised me to look over it and listen to the track.

Music Lesson 16 - 10th February

In this lesson, we slowly went through Kaiser Roll, going into detail on the small individual beats. As we went through the lesson I started to get used to the notes and what pace I should be practicing at.

Music Lesson 17 - 8th March

With the absence from both me and my teacher on different occasions, we got to grips and recapped on what we did a couple of weeks before. This means that we covered the Kaiser Roll song and it went successfully. After this, Mr Phillips showed me the next song that we needed to do, which is Bend and Snap. This song consisted of lots of different beats including the crash, the ride, the open hi-hat etc. He told me to go and practice this song at home.

Music Lesson 18 - 16th March

Today me and Mr Phillips carried on looking at Bend and Snap. I hadn't played it to him before, as he only set it for me to do the week before. For preparation for this lesson I practiced throughout the week on the track and I gradually learnt most of the song. However as I progressed through the song when I showed it to Mr Phillips I found it difficult around the later part of the C section and then the D section. We looked closely at these sections. While we were practicing, Mr Fuller (my Performing arts teacher) came in the room and he stated I was making an exceptional amount of progress with my drumming. Overall, this was a very successful lesson.

Music Lesson 19 - 30th March

After missing a week's lesson, I came in with practice on the song 'West Coast Rollin' which I hadn't done before. I had got to grips with the A section and B, however the rest I wasn't familiar with. Parts of the song we went into detail with such as the fill and whether I should start the fill with my right or left hand. This lesson was successful as I got more of the song done. Me and Mr Phillips discussed having allocated times after school so that I could practice and carry on my progression.

Music Lesson 20 - 4th May

After missing a month of music lessons due to exams and the holidays, we went back into Grade 1; I prepared by practicing the song at home. We went back into playing West Coast Rollin and it went quite well since I had such a long break from lessons.

Music Lesson 21 - 11th May

Today's lesson went really well. I prepared by practicing the track at home with the metronome and the song. We went through the song and I completed it. Mr Phillips then introduced me to Deep Trouble, the next song in the book. He told me to look at the song and carry out 3 practice sessions within the next lesson.

Music Lesson 22 - 18th May

In today's lesson, we looked at Deep Trouble. I came with a limited amount of practice time, so I wasn't completely prepared for the run through. We went through the A section which was quite easy, however the B and C took longer and we didn't finish it. Mr Phillips advised me to set practice times so that I could achieve the maximum progression that I can, which are Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Music Lesson 23 - 8th June

To prepare for this lesson, I practiced 3 times before on Deep Trouble and I got through all sections of it. This time I went through the whole song without making mistakes and Mr Phillips was impressed. He then advised me to go straight onto Munky Fusic, which I personally think is by far the hardest song to complete.

Music Lesson 24 - 14th September

After a 6 week break, I practiced all of the songs (including Kaiser Roll, Bend And Snap, West Coast Rollin, Deep Trouble, and Munky Fusic). I mainly focused on sharpening up on each of the previous songs other than Munky Fusic, so I haven't completely finished Munky Fusic. We went through Munky Fusic however I struggled with the start of part B.

Music Lesson 25 - 21st September

Today we looked at Munky Fusic again however I hadn't completely prepared for it. This meant that we could only look at the early sections of the track. I got through section A however I made little mistakes. The other part of this lesson consisted of me and Mr Phillips talking about making music on different softwares as I was interested in it. This time to prepare I will put more effort into practicing Munky Fusic.

Music Lesson 26 - 28th September

Today I came more prepared with practice on the song. We went through however certain parts I found difficult whilst playing with the music, but without the music I was fine. Mr Phillips showed me a way to overcome this by making myself play what I find difficult, and carry on playing it until can overcome it. He made it clear that he felt that it doesn't matter how many practice sessions you have; it matters how use your time and whether you complete what is required to be done. This conversation occurred because I had practiced 3 times prior to this lesson, and I didn't achieve as much as I could have. This means that this time, to prepare for my next drum lesson, I will practice and focus properly on the song (Munky Fusic) so I can do my Grade 1 exam and progress to grade 2 as fast as I can.

Music Lesson 27 - 5th October

Today I took his instructions on board and basically completed the song. After only having one practice session, I got through section A, B and C - with only the last bar of the song to tweak. Mr Phillips said to me that if I can complete a song with that level of calibre then I should be doing grade 3 or 4! Today I learnt that if I handle my time well then I can progress more. For prep I will go over all the songs that I did in the book to prepare for my exam.

Music Lesson 28 - 12th October

Today I came with practice on each song in my grade 1 booklet. On each song I needed a few more practices because of little mistakes. However after all of this Mr Phillips was happy with the fact that I have completed grade 1. We negotiated about whether I should take an exam for it, however he said it might be too late to book. For preparation he gave me some drum exercises to do with fills, etc. I will also look at grade 2 and possibly look into booking a grade 1 exam (if I can take the exam soon). However, if I cannot take the exam soon then it will delay my progress in drumming, so I will go straight onto Grade 2. So, for prep I will practice varying the sort of drum grooves that I will play, and also fills.

Music Lesson 29 - 19th October

Today I came with practice on some of the drum fills. Mr Phillips tested me on my fills and applying them into music. It went well and he was impressed. We then talked about moving snare drums and bass drums in grooves to make it more interesting. It was useful and also very fun. He said that I should do this frequently at home, because not only do you rarely get bored about it, it is good practice to get used to playing different fills and groove. The week before this I didn't have time to book an exam nor buy the Grade 2 booklet, so he advised me to get the booklet over the October holidays. Therefore, over the holidays I will practice different grooves and fills. To help me do this I may draw out some drum tabs to guide me when playing, and so I have a clear diagram to look at when I am drumming.

Music Lesson 30 - 2nd November

To prepare for today's lesson, I looked at the short and simple drum tab he gave me and I also wrote out one of my own. This drum tab is vaguely the same drum tab as 'Gravity' by John Mayer - a song which me and my group are performing in my music PA lessons. He explained to me that this sort of beat differs from the back beat, which doubles in quavers and semi quavers etc. I then told him the other songs I am doing in music (All along the watch tower, etc). However, for 'Sunshine of your love' I told him that I thought that the back beat went well with it, and he said that is a mistake that every drummer makes, and I should stick with the beat for the original song. This means that for prep I will look at the original song along with drum covers and try to learn it so I can bring it to next lesson for us to develop.

Music Lesson 31 - 16th November 

Having missed a lesson, the week before, I had practiced about 4-5 times to prepare to learn some of the songs for my lesson with Mr Phillips. For example, I went through ‘Gravity’ by John Mayer and looked into it in detail. I discovered the certain crashes, the overall groove and the slow pace it is at. I also looked at ‘Why Georgia’ and ‘Sunshine of your love’ (mainly Sunshine of your love) so that I am ready to learn it. In the lesson we looked at the intro of Sunshine of your love, and he showed me the groove and the fills. We spent most of the lesson doing this and ‘All along the watchtower’ and I recorded him playing to the intro of All along the watchtower, and he also wrote down the drum tab for the groove on ‘Sunshine of your love’. This lesson was productive, but he said that if I need to learn Sunshine of your love by January then it will have to be learnt very quick, so it is a bit of a doubt.