Ash Turner

Category: MA

  • Set Lists

    Still putting together ideas for my first recital. Here is a rough set list so far. The plan is to have everything confirmed by Christmas, so I can get any charts done, ready for rehearsals in the new year:

    Billy Cobham – Sorcery

    Sting – Seven Days

    Alan Pasqua – Proto Cosmos

    Stanton Moore Trio – (Late Night At The) Maple Leaf

    The Gadd Gand Live – Watching the River Flow

    Steely Dan – Aja

     

    Other Posibilities:

    Frank Zappa – Andy (Zappa Plays Zappa version)

    Jeff Beck – Play With Me

     

    There are more songs here than what I need, but I’m starting to narrow them all down now. I’m sure some will still change at some point, but hopefully I should have a list confirmed soon!

  • Alexander Technique

    We had a great workshop on the Alexander Technique with Niamh Dowling. I was a little sceptical at first as I had no experience of this whatsoever, but it really has made me realise the importance of good posture, relaxation and movement. The more I look into it, the more critical it seems to be in terms of performance, and especially drumming in my case. I’ve been working on it quite a lot, and have been trying to improve my posture. I wrote up my experience of the Alexander Technique, and how I have tried to incorporate it into my performance and every day life. Here is a segment of my write up, showing some of my thoughts:

    … I have also tried to improve my posture when sat at the drum kit. I felt that if I was hunched forward then I’d be restricting arm and muscle movements that should be natural and unforced. Again, like when I was walking around after the initial workshop, I felt a good few inches taller. This made me feel as if I was playing on top of the drums, rather than into them. However, I have a few dilemmas with the Alexander technique. For example, in certain scenarios, I feel as if I should be hunched over to play a certain feel or groove. I have noticed that I do not intentionally do it, but I just slip into these different positions and postures throughout my performances. I think ideally, I would be sat upright with good posture to allow full freedom of movement. However, I find that performance and drumming for me can at times become consuming to the point where you are unable to think. Of course throughout a performance, I am constantly thinking about where I am in the music, whether or not there is a chorus coming up and so forth. But a lot of the time, I feel like an audience member who is hearing the music just how they personally think it should be heard. I have heard many performers describing being ‘in the moment’, and for me that is exactly it. I have noticed that my posture will rise and fall with the dynamics of the music for example, and the type of song naturally changes my posture. I think for me, it is a case of keeping that self control and proper technique, without hindering performance and creativity, and I also wish to ascertain to what extent this is possible.

    I feel as if this new way of thinking has opened some additional doors for me, and for the first time ever I have started to consciously think about my posture when performing. So far, I have found that when applying the technique I can generate more energy when required, and also conserve energy throughout a performance. This is all new to me, and I hope that as I explore the potential of this technique I’ll eventually reap the benefits. I’ve also managed to find lots of articles, journals and things on the web relating to the technique within drumming. You can find more information on the Alexander Technique here.

  • Drumming & Learning

    I’ve been down at Blueprint studios with Bryan working on a few more ideas and concepts. The other week, we were looking at the system demonstrated by Gary Chaffee in his book “Sticking Patterns” to work on independence, tightening the groove, polyrhythms and stick control. My technique has been at the forefront of these lessons, and it is gradually getting better. I’m trying to eliminate the bad habits and just become a better drummer. On Tuesday, we were working on my left hand technique a little more, and playing through the Sting track that I had been looking at. My tutor also thinks it would be good for me to play a track and sing some backing harmonies over the top. Nervous at the thought, as it is unexplored territory for me, but it could be good. Food for thought..

  • Seven Days – Kit Transcription

    I thought it was apt to end the week with another track I’ve been looking at called ‘Seven Days’. The track is by Sting, and it appears on his album ‘Ten Summoners Tales’. The whole album features some great drumming by Vinnie Colaiuta, but this track is one of my favourites. The track is in 5/8, but the way he moves the hi-hat accents makes the groove flow without feeling disjointed as you would expect. Vinnie uses this same technique on the track ‘St Augustine In Hell’ from the same album. Here is the track, and a transcription that I managed to complete over the past couple of days:

  • Sorcery – Kit Transcription

    Here’s the Drum Kit transcription I did for Cobham’s ‘Sorcery’:

  • One Month In

    It was exactly month ago today that I started this blog, two days after officially starting the MA course. What have I learnt over this month? Well I’ve started to take a step back and analyse my playing and my practice. This has been helped tenfold by the reintroduction of instrumental lessons with a great teacher. I know where my own strengths and weaknesses are, and I know what I need to do in order to improve on those. But sometimes I think it takes someone else to look at your playing and show you the bigger picture. What I have come to realise in learning to play an instrument proficiently, is that the further along the learning path you walk, the bigger and harder the steps become to take. Progressing through graded exams, there is always a clear focus on what the next step is. But once you get past that, you realise on drums for example, the smallest change in articulation or stick technique can change the groove from sounding good to great. I think I’ve known this for a good while, but it is only when you really try and do something about it that you actually realise it. I think that I have made good progress for a month’s hard work, and I’m sure that I’ll progress throughout the year. All in all, I’m chuffed with how it is all going, and I’m enjoying researching, working academically and trying to improve what will ultimately take me a lifetime to master.

  • Sorcery – Lead Sheet

    I didn’t get much chance to do some drumming today, but I did manage to transcribe another song and create another lead sheet. This time it is for the track Sorcery by Billy Cobham. This track again is quite funk-fusion-jazz orientated, and would link in well with ‘Proto Cosmos’. In the process of transcribing these, I finally managed to work out how to get Coda repeats to play back in Sibelius. I had given up, putting it down to one of the world’s unsolved mysteries, but I’m glad to say I’ve cracked it! Again, no midi files or transcriptions anywhere so I did this all by ear. The next step I suppose would be piecing together a band that will play all of this! (Click to enlarge)

    You can hear a preview or purchase the track at Rhapsody, or Amazon (the one I tend to use).

     

     

  • Proto Cosmos – Lead Sheet

    Today began behind the kit in one of the booths, working away at some ideas. I’ve narrowed down some songs that I may possibly play in the first recital. I played through the track ‘Proto Cosmos’ a couple of times before deciding that it may be worth while doing, and I decided to go with it for a number of reasons. The track (more specifically the version I looked at) combines elements of technical flair, whilst allowing the space for some good flowing groove. The song itself is pretty much just a head, followed by solos from guitar/keys/bass etc, but there is a lot that can be done with it. So anyway, I sat down and transcribed the version below. I’d seen another transcription online, but I’m not sure if it was all correct, so I just sat in front of Youtube / Sibelius with a guitar and keyboard. I’ve no doubt some chords and notes will be changed along the way, but this gives you the general idea of song.

    Here they are, track and lead sheet (click to enlarge):

  • Final song thoughts of October

    This week is what’s known as ‘personal development week’. I’m hoping to get a couple of songs down with some rough charts etc by the end of the week. I’ve stumbled across a song which I think I will learn and play with a band if possible. It seems like a lot of fun to play, displays elements of groove work and also some technical parts.

    The track is by drummer/percussionist/vocalist – Sheila E, and it is a song called ‘Joy’. It’s from her 2007 album ‘Heaven’. As you can imagine from the title, the song is quite gospel orientated, but it contains elements of funk and jazz. The track isn’t anywhere on youtube, but here is a guy named Ramon Sampson (Meinl Cymbal artist & Guitar Center 2009 champ) playing a cover of it (Which is actually quite close to the original).

     

     

  • Jazz, Swing, Rehearsing

    Since the last update I’ve been quite busy. I’ve been finding my feet again in terms of writing and referencing correctly in APA. One of the tasks set was to review a journal article, and I found a great one that I thought would help with my studies:

    Butterfield, W, M (2010) Butterfield, Race and Rhythm: The Social Component of the Swing Groove. Jazz Perspectives, 4(3),301-335.

    An interesting read, and gave me a good few things to think about. The article aimed to analyse the correlation between the swing groove and race, and it also broke down the actual mechanics of the swing groove. Very interesting and worth reading, but it still leaves the question ‘What is Swing?’ wide open.

    I also looked at the performance aspect of Joshua Redman’s ‘Jazz Crimes’ within a compositional context. I managed to pull most of the chords off the internet, which seem ok, work some out and notate a chord sheet for the two main vamps. It’s a great song with a lot of chromatic phrases within the chord changes, melody and improvisational sections. The track itself is very groovy from the drums, whilst still keeping that loose jazz feel within the solo / breakdown section. Below is the transcription I pulled together and worked out:

    Other than that, I’ve been away rehearsing and also going through ideas with Bryan during my instrumental lessons. One thing I’m now starting to consciously think about and develop is my ability to actually think about ‘points’ within a piece of music, and use them as a reference for keeping time and consistency within my playing. That, and my actual technique are things I’d never really thought about before I started having instrumental lessons again. As a musician when listening to a piece of music that I want to play, I analyse what is actually going on and think about what tools I need to use in order for me to play that piece. I feel that now, I’m trying to extend that ‘toolbox’ and arsenal of techniques to improve my playing. I can see that the way I think about music is changing, and this seems to be helping my playing a lot. All I can do really is keep heading in that direction, and I see no reason why I wouldn’t be a better musician at the end of it.