It was another of these gorgeous days we've been having. I woke up and was greeted by sun streaming through my wooden blinds and the humid sounds of warmth and sun.
The plan for the day was roughly like this; a bit of skype chat with C, then some serious drum practice, then some more serious drum practice. Easter is one of those rare times when the shops in these parts are mostly closed, so it becomes like one of those old fashioned Sundays, when people couldn't shop and were forced to go to church. Or stay at home and talk to people of course, something that I can't really do anyhow!
It's nice, though rare, to be able to set aside the best part of a day for practice and my most problematic issue was my choice of footwear. The temperature demanded attire consisting of shorts and flip flops yet the practice required different footwear.
My new Lacoste blue trainers were the obvious choice for the music side of things. I was worried about their blueness when I bought them, something that K has pointed out as a problem but A seemed to approve of. In the end I spent some time switching between shorts (combat style) and flip flops and jeans and trainers when practicing. There was a quick hour during which I got lazy and practiced in the shorts and slippers, but of course my bass drum work suffered.
I'm working from a book called the New Breed. It's one of those drum "bibles" that everyone is supposed to study from and my new teacher, the esteemed Mr Dolbear, has got me doing stuff from this. It's quite intense, but satisfying in a major way and one of those books that will stand me in the goodest stead possible. In fact it's so intense and satisfying that I can almost feel my playing improve as I master each bar and each section.
The bars and lines were punctuated by glances at the river, casual spells of spying on the passers by, the boats, the swans and the general ambience. It's a cool way to practice, as ways to practice go.
Early evening came a massage. As I type this I'm feeling the effects of it, hoping that the slightly scary looking masseur didn't overdo things and that I'll feel good, not aching, in the morning.
And, in the new episode of the new series of Hawaii Five O, Steve McGarrett's sister has been kidnapped.
Now that's serious!
5 comments:
i went for easter mass, the forecast said it would be 70 by evening, so i figured i could wear the uggs, i stepped out and it was sweltering, so flipped of the boots and threw on the sandals. gosh i was so glad cos the church was sweltering hot...these darn weather forcasts are never accurate !
ps : silly me, i never realized drum playing also required one to study a theory ( like one would to play a piano etc)...i just figured you feel the beat in your vains and you drum a way to what feels and sounds natural ...
Maya - Uggs to sandals is definitely from one extreme to another!
I think drums is one of the easiest instruments to bluff. Lots of people can kick out a basic groove without being "proper" drummers, but for those who are quite serious, which I am, there's lots of learning as with any other instrument.
Yes...i know, but i so hate over dressing, and these were not the beachy flip flops, rather the leather thong type ones.
& yeah I'll bet. So the drummers of Lankan bands like Wild Fire and Misty, those drummers ...do they know to read music or they just 'play by ear' ? ( i'm assuming you know) :p
Maya - I know Chris Dhason (CJ), who was the drummer and one of the founders of Wildfire and he's a pretty serious student of all things drummy. As for the guy in Misty I'm afraid I don't know him. But there are many drummers in SL and all over who ply by ear, some of whom are excellent players too.
Glad to hear about your leather slippers!
I enjoyed the sunshine in your fine city yesterday :D A ride through central london on those new hire bikes and almost getting killed by London traffic makes it all the more enjoyable. So many people in London and wedding fever..great atmosphere !
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