I have finished my Gantt chart today, it looks great.
Been studying my graded drum exam books and a few other non-graded drum tuition books analytically over the last couple of days and breaking down just what elements are being taught, using this as a guide to suggest the things I should include in my own chapters.
I need to finalise my chapter title list today or tomorrow, then I should have more than enough to talk about at the presentation next Friday. Will hopefuly have a finished presentation by the end of monday, will be able to take it in to uni on Tuesday to see if it works, and then spend the next couple of days rehearsing in preparation for Friday.
Friday, 9 December 2011
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
And a few books
Should have included this in the last post, but educational books:
As well as these I have several drum tuition books:
- Orff-schulwerk, applications for the classroom, Brigitte Warner, 1991, Prentice Hall. Inc.
- Approaches to Learning, a guide for teachers, Jordan, Carlile, Stack, 2008, McGrawHill Open University Press
- Second and Foreign Language Learning Through Classroom Interaction, Joan Hall & Lorrie Verplaetse, 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
- Teach Music in the Primary School, Joanna Glover & Stephen Ward,1998, 2nd edition, Cassell
As well as these I have several drum tuition books:
- The Art of the Drummer, John Savage, 12th editiom, John Savage's Music Books.
- The Ultimate Beginner Series, Rock Drum Basics, Brechtlein, Finkelstein &Testa, 1995, CPP Media Group.
- Rock School Drums, Grade 6, Grade 7 & Grade 8, Ward, Pitt & Troup, 2006, Rockschool Ltd.
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Drum Kit Grades 1-4, 5-8, Snare Drum Grades 1-2, 3-4, Jack Richards et al, United Music Publishers Limited.
Here are a few of the sites I've been looking at by the way...
- Mostly in relation to learning methods and education. Not sure if the hyperlinks will work, but I have them all bookmarked.
- Useful sites
- Music Education Lesson Plans - Music Theory
- Benefits of Teaching Music to Children, Effects of Music on the Brain: Educational CyberPlayGround
- Major Methods of Teaching Music to Kids - Orff, Kodaly, Suzuki and Dalcroze
- The Orff Approach - The Orff Method, Orff-Schulwerk, Music for Children
- The Human Brain - Exercise
- Second and foreign language learning ... - Joan Kelly Hall, Lorrie Stoops Verplaetse - Google Books
- learning through repetition - Google Scholar
Monday, 5 December 2011
Oops
I've been neglecting this blog a little. Um, work is coming along well, it's all research at the moment, trying to find ways to back up my methods. It's a little hard for me because I've been drumming for 11 years now and I know how it all works, but I know I can't just say "well that's how it is" in my viva so I'm trying to find case studies, reports, etc. to explain why drumming (and music in general) is taught the way it is.
Been thinking about the actual recording of the drums as well, whether to close mic everything or to try to get a more natural sound with a pair of stereo mics. Will probably record both ways and do a listening test, ask people which they think sounds clearer and go with whichever has the greatest clarity.
Place in the market is the other thing I'm struggling with, I've been to the local music shop and had a look at the books available. It really does cover a lot of ground already, although the drums section was just one shelf, there were more books for recorders; while the guitars had several rows of shelves full of books. I could say that part of my aim is to make drum education as vast and varied as guitar is.
I bought the educational version of Cubase 6 today and should have it installed after Christmas. I will also be getting an electric drum kit for Christmas, which I will be able to use to test out chapters of my book for evaluation and improvements, as well as checking written drum beats for playability!
Been thinking about the actual recording of the drums as well, whether to close mic everything or to try to get a more natural sound with a pair of stereo mics. Will probably record both ways and do a listening test, ask people which they think sounds clearer and go with whichever has the greatest clarity.
Place in the market is the other thing I'm struggling with, I've been to the local music shop and had a look at the books available. It really does cover a lot of ground already, although the drums section was just one shelf, there were more books for recorders; while the guitars had several rows of shelves full of books. I could say that part of my aim is to make drum education as vast and varied as guitar is.
I bought the educational version of Cubase 6 today and should have it installed after Christmas. I will also be getting an electric drum kit for Christmas, which I will be able to use to test out chapters of my book for evaluation and improvements, as well as checking written drum beats for playability!
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Finalising my idea
I had a meeting with lecturer Gareth Jones today to discuss my idea of writing a drum tuition book, it really helped me get a better idea of where to go with it.
I think tasks for now are to look into what's already available in terms of drum tuition books and see what they offer and if there is anything they don't cover (my initial thought on this based on other books I've read is drum care and maintenance guidance) to see if I can pin point a specific audience for my book.
I also need to do research into learning and teaching, since this will be an educational book of sorts. This is a pretty large area, but I can focus it on techniques for learning motor skills over say more academic learning. Not that I should rule it out completely, but the whole learning/ education methods thing is a vast area and I should try to keep myself from getting too distracted by less relevant material.
I will also need to be making a schedule soon, to see how long I think it would take to do the whole book, and then plan how much (how many chapters) I will produce based on that given my time restraints.
Final product will probably be a complete table of contents for the book, and just a select few chapters as demonstration with the audio accompanying these chapters.
Another thing discussed was testing my book on people; whether to do this as part of the writing process (write a chapter, try it out, see if it works and make improvements) or to do it after the book is written and use it as a form of evaluation is something I need to make up my mind on.
I think tasks for now are to look into what's already available in terms of drum tuition books and see what they offer and if there is anything they don't cover (my initial thought on this based on other books I've read is drum care and maintenance guidance) to see if I can pin point a specific audience for my book.
I also need to do research into learning and teaching, since this will be an educational book of sorts. This is a pretty large area, but I can focus it on techniques for learning motor skills over say more academic learning. Not that I should rule it out completely, but the whole learning/ education methods thing is a vast area and I should try to keep myself from getting too distracted by less relevant material.
I will also need to be making a schedule soon, to see how long I think it would take to do the whole book, and then plan how much (how many chapters) I will produce based on that given my time restraints.
Final product will probably be a complete table of contents for the book, and just a select few chapters as demonstration with the audio accompanying these chapters.
Another thing discussed was testing my book on people; whether to do this as part of the writing process (write a chapter, try it out, see if it works and make improvements) or to do it after the book is written and use it as a form of evaluation is something I need to make up my mind on.
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Blog design updated!
Sorry if you weren't wearing shades when you opened up my blog.
Here is post from other blog. Did it a couple of weeks ago I guess... C+P GO!
I had my first lecture this morning and caught a glimpse at the level of work required in third year. There was also mention of keeping a blog of our work, so I figured I’d start early to get in the swing of it.
I have a couple of ideas for my major project; recording an album or starting a record label sound relatively straight forward, but would require a lot of dependence on other musicians, as well as dedication on their part and mine to compose 40 minutes worth of material. I can’t see myself going through with it at a practical level.
I also have an idea to make a drum tutorial book, with scores and accompanying audio which I think would have enough depth. Plenty to research about into different styles of music from around the world, a business module for the book, and also the opportunity to do some composition and recording. Will speak to a lecturer about it soon and see if he thinks it would be a good project.
In the meantime I still need to actually put Cubase on this fancy new pc.
Here is post from other blog. Did it a couple of weeks ago I guess... C+P GO!
I had my first lecture this morning and caught a glimpse at the level of work required in third year. There was also mention of keeping a blog of our work, so I figured I’d start early to get in the swing of it.
I have a couple of ideas for my major project; recording an album or starting a record label sound relatively straight forward, but would require a lot of dependence on other musicians, as well as dedication on their part and mine to compose 40 minutes worth of material. I can’t see myself going through with it at a practical level.
I also have an idea to make a drum tutorial book, with scores and accompanying audio which I think would have enough depth. Plenty to research about into different styles of music from around the world, a business module for the book, and also the opportunity to do some composition and recording. Will speak to a lecturer about it soon and see if he thinks it would be a good project.
In the meantime I still need to actually put Cubase on this fancy new pc.
My work blog
Just making a post to see how blogger works... I've already made a couple of major project related posts on my tumblr blog, so I guess I should copy and paste them over at some point.
My idea at the moment is to write a book filled with drum tuition and various sample drum beats, and produce an accompanying CD for it. I need to book a slot with Gareth to get his opinion on it, but I think it covers enough of the modules; notably Computer Based Music (both what Brian has covered and the more theoretical side of it that Pete teaches), Studio Recording (as I plan to record the drums myself) and Business (as I will draw up a business model for the book as if it were to be published).
It also explores new areas, which I think is something that will be looked at positively? I like that it is a less generic idea than recording an album, I think the lecturers will like that too, and as a drummer it should keep me interested.
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