Evaluation
For this initial assessment, I covered Molasses by Haitus Kaiyote (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ynj2lBHV_0) on the drum kit. I chose to perform this piece because I enjoy listening and playing along to funk and soul music. I often find it challenges my musical ability and they can be very technical; especially on drums. This song uses techniques like dynamics, rudiments and advanced coordination which I have shown throughout.
In my performance, I used improvisation in specific parts of the song, for example the fills nearing the end of the piece and the use of ghost notes (skip to 3:30). I also used crescendos, a dynamic technique, on the low tom during the break to fill out this section as the original song has no drums here. Another area in which dynamics were used was when I was playing the crash as the main cymbal, because of this i decided to make everything else considerably louder so it matched the volume of the crash. Some sections of the song are swung, compared to most of the song which is straight. This sudden change in feel seemed strange at first but after a few tries I managed to play it!
What Was Successful?
One thing I did well in the initial assessment was the actual recording and sound quality of the drums. I recorded the drums with a drum mic and an audio interface, which was recording through Reaper on my laptop. The single drum mic was set in the middle of the two rack toms and behind the snare. This is so it picked up all of my drum kit as my audio interface only has one XLR channel. When it then came to editing the drums, it became apparent that I had to add the effects (compression, EQ, bass enhancer) to my whole kit instead of just adding the bass enhancer to the bass drum for example. This proved to be difficult however with a few tweaks I managed to get the drums sounding a lot better. As well as good audio quality, I used a Canon DSLR camera to film to footage, meaning I had 1080p filming resolution, so the video was in full HD; you can see every detail and move I make. I edited the video on Adobe Premiere Pro CC, meaning I could add the title still at the start and sync up the backing track to the video.
Another thing I noticed that I was successful in was my hand and foot independence. The coordination between them sounded and felt very secure and consistent. In spite of that, I felt like I could have used my left foot on the hi-hat pedal as well to show even more hand and foot coordination.
In this video I also showed a good posture. I found that I used to slouch whilst drumming so this is one thing I have been improving recently. I have also found it has massively improved my ability to move around the kit so i can reach drums that may be harder to reach and I can move my hands to different drums and cymbals with a lot more ease and speed.
What Wasn’t As Successful?
Something I struggled with during this initial assessment was the synchronisation of the video and the backing track. I tried many different ways to sync up these things so that the timing was spot on, however unfortunately, I couldn’t get it quite right.
After looking back on the footage, I feel that I could have improved the scenery to make the video more interesting to watch, because its not just about the sound; the video also can make a big difference to the overall feel. I could have added some interesting lighting, perhaps to reflect the style of music I was playing. I could have also added props like plants and things on the wall like fairy lights or pictures to make the video more fascinating. Because the drum kit is so large, I couldn’t have moved it to a more scenic area, however if I was to play a different instrument, I most definitely would have considered this!
A final thing I struggled with was getting the fluency and timing as accurate as possible. some parts in the song had stabs at awkward timings which I really struggled to get right. Because the drumming can be quite fast paced in some areas, this made my fluency slightly worse as this decreases the accuracy of playing. In some areas I stray ever so slightly from the actual tempo of the song, but I resolve it very quickly.
What Could I Improve Next Time And How?
One target for my next performance is that I will make sure my timing is more on point. This will ensure that the fluidity of the song will be secure and the pulse will be consistent throughout. I will do this by rehearsing more beforehand to a backing track or even a metronome. I intend to take more time with learning the songs so everything is memorised; this will add to the improved timing and fluidity I wish to achieve.
Another target I have set is to research and learn how to become more confident using a right hand lead as well as left. I will do this by watching YouTube videos and reading up on how I can improve this technique. Because I play open handed, playing along to songs with drummers who use the cross handed technique can be difficult as they can perform certain maneuvers better and can move around the kit differently. I also want to become more confident in switching from a left to right hand lead if I ever needed to as this will make my next performances much more easier.
My final target for my next performance is to be able to work with other music students to form a ensemble. This would mean I no longer have to work along with a backing track but with actual instruments and other people as well. I feel like this will hugely improve my drumming abilities and will improve my confidence as an both a solo artist and a group artist. Working live with a group will also have a more convincing communication to an audience than a solo performer playing to a backing track.