“From All Corners” concert: (L05 & L02)
Throughout this activity, we have learnt two songs and rhythms, and I got to explore two different types of drums, the repinique and the snare. The main difference between the two drums was the one was playing the bass of the song while the other made lighter sounds, but also I had to hit the drum more often and often quicker. The repinique was easier because I didn’t hv to hit the drum as often as the snare, and one of the skills I had to learn was varying how hard I hit the snare with the sticks. For example, if you hit the snare 4 times, you may emphasise on the 4th beat of the hit to make it louder than the rest. This also contributes to the rhythm.
As we practiced more, we got better at coordinating together and and playing in sync. One of the biggest challenges I think is that there are times when it is really hard to hear what you are even playing because it is so loud, so you can’t even hear if you are playing correctly or not. Although there isn’t much I can do to overcome this issue, simply practicing and listening to others made me more able to rely less on what I am actually playing, but also listening to what others are playing. This was important because as people are listening, they are listening to everything at once so you have to play accordingly to the beat of the song and everyone else.
We were the first performance in the concert, and although I was a bit nervous, there was also the middle school samba band so there was quite a lot of us, which made me less anxious. It was super fun playing together!
Graduation walk : (L04)
Apart from the warm weather and hundreds of parents and students around the school plaza, I had a lot of fun drumming and playing what we have been working on for the past months. Throughout this activity, I think my motivation and perseverance made me more able to play in count (to the beat) better, which is a very useful skill when soloing in jazz, which I also started this year. It was a pleasure to play in the graduation walk and in the concert! Maybe I’ll even join next year.
