I am quite disappointed with the outcome of this project. This could’ve been a really good project with an interesting performance at the end of it. However, due to technical limitations and my poor time management, it didn’t fulfill it’s potential. I spent the first few weeks trying this project with fusion music, but I decided to change it due to the fact I was struggling with the technology behind it and decided it would be easier to play genres I was more familiar with. I also spent way too long on my first track, as it took me a long time to find good stems, match them all up, create the arrangement I wanted, create the clips and learn to use a push whilst playing drums. If I properly researched this side of the project I would’ve had a better project however, I didn’t want to waste time so I dove head first into it, which ended up not working for me. My own poor time management and me being slow at learning the technology lead to the performance not being as good as it could be.
Another thing that would’ve helped me is if I properly stuck to my practice schedule. Even though I made one, I did not follow it 100%, this was due to the tech side of it taking up the majority of the project. I also could’ve made a better one that was more detailed, this would’ve helped more and would’ve helped me stick to it.
The tech side of it could’ve been improved. It ended up with me only using an electric drum kit and a push controller. My original idea was to have a hybrid kit, so have parts of an acoustic kit mixed with the electric kit at college. However, due to time limitations, I ended up just sticking with the electric kit, which is detrimental to the performance. It’s also a shame only one of the songs uses the push controller and triggering. It would’ve been good to have a sample pad, instead of a push controller. This would’ve meant instead of having to press the pad with my fingers and ruining my flow, it would’ve been part of my kit and would’ve been easier to integrate it into the performance taking me less time to get good with it.
I could’ve used a different drum kit sound for the different songs, as it sounds good for Pachamama, but having that drum kit for pop songs sounds a bit jarring. I was having trouble with the hi-hat on the electric kit, as it was temperamental and only worked when I hit it at certain angles, this made me use the hi-hat less than normal, and why sometimes when I am hitting it, you can’t hear it.
Pachamama went quite well, it showcases me being able to use the push while playing and shows how I re-arranged the track to make it my own. However, the intro is still a bit too long, it would sound better if it ended after one full chord progression instead of more. I went wrong in the transition between the last build-up and chorus, I fixed it and got back into the song. However, it was noticeable to the audience and sounded a little bit unprofessional. The last main bit is quite poor, I struggle to keep up with the song and the fills aren’t very good. I also never played the part where the instrumental and drums cut out for 2 bars, that was a very good section and due to how I arranged it on the day, it didn’t make the cut.
Stronger went quite well, the breakdown in the second verse was a good change and fit really well. The chorus is still very weak on the drumming side of it, I couldn’t think of anything that fits better but it isn’t very interesting. The change between the different hi hats could’ve been smoother, but overall it is improved. My kick drum pattern isn’t very good in this performance, there aren’t enough variations on it to make it interesting. I changed the ending to what I wanted it to be. I am still slightly going out of time though in parts of this song. This could’ve been a lot better if I changed the drum kit sound and used drum triggering, and made my own arrangement as the song is very long for a solo performance, I cut it off early however, it would’ve been better to be able to trigger the ending so it looks and sounds more professional. However, I didn’t make any mistakes and it was a good enough performance.
Treasure went quite well, the fills do need improving as there weren’t very many of them and none of them were really that interesting. I also made the verse and chorus sound very similar as the kick and snare patterns are very similar. The hi-hat is different though between the two parts. The breakdown was quite mediocre on the drums, the snare didn’t fit that part at all and I could’ve done something much more interesting. This is probably the weakest of the three, it is the least interesting to watch as a performance. With a different drum kit sound and more work on the fills, this could’ve been a lot better, but no mistakes make it a good enough performance.
I didn’t look or interact with the audience at all either when I was playing or inbetween songs. All I did was name the next song and say hello or goodbye. This is something to work on as it will make me a better performer and keeps the audience more engaged.
All in all, this project was a failure. I didn’t research enough about the music technology or manage my time well enough to make this a good performance. I don’t think a solo performance is something I will do again in the future, as I prefer to play in a band and I don’t think I have a future in this specific area.
Some improvements are:
Better time management skills
Sticking to practice schedules
Better research that I will be able to apply
Keep improving my drumming
Keep improving and experimenting with music technology