Monthly Roundup #36 - February '21

Hey folks, and welcome to my update for February! You guessed it, another month of lockdown restrictions doesn’t necessarily make for the most interesting read, so I’ll keep it brief! As has been the case in recent months, I’ve been balancing my time between delivering online drum lessons, while continuing to use the down time as productively as I can. Fortunately it looks like I’ll be able to return to doing some school drum lessons in March though, so that’s come as good news!

First up, on the online teaching side of things there’s nothing new to report this month… There’s my usual crop of online students, most of whom have been seeing me throughout this period. Every now and then, one of my other students who hasn’t been taking regular online lessons will get in touch to book in a one-off lesson to check in on things and have a bit of a refresher, but for the most part the online teaching timetable has become pretty well established with the regulars! On the bright side, three of my four schools have invited me back in March, so it looks like my free days at home are numbered! It will of course be wonderful to get back to delivering most of my lessons in person once again though, and hopefully it’ll be for good this time!

My trusty Zoom Q2n has turned out to be one of the best purchases I’ve ever made over the last year thanks to it’s webcam feature!

On the subject of that free time I’ve had on my hands recently, as ever I’ve been keeping it up with the practice side of things, as well as generally trying to stay ahead on the ever-present to-do list while I’ve had the opportunity! On the practice side of things, I had a brainwave recently which I’m chuffed to bits with… Essentially, I quite like using a timer during my practice sessions as a way of forcing myself to repeat a particular exercise for a specified amount of time, without deviating from what I’m supposed to be doing! For example, “I’m going to play nothing but paradiddles for the next 5 minutes”… that kind of thing. Anyway, previously I’ve always used the timer on my phone, but inevitably it ends up becoming a distraction when I go to stop the alarm, and I end up doing something else besides practicing! So, I had the bright idea of getting myself a kitchen timer to keep by my kit! Not only does it mean a distraction-free timer, but it also serves as a clock (always helpful!), and most excitingly of all, being magnetic, it sticks to a music stand! One or two of you may appreciate where I’m coming from with that, but everyone else will probably think I’ve been locked up for far too long in order to get excited about such things…!

My latest bit of gear - a kitchen timer! How exciting?!

Something far more cool that I’ve been especially enjoying over the last couple of months, has been dedicating a decent amount of time to my bass playing, while I’ve had the time to do so! As mentioned last time, I’ve had an on/off relationship with the bass guitar for a few years, but given the opportunity I’ve set my efforts on getting it off the ground while I’ve been unable to spend my days visiting schools etc as I normally would. I’ve been really pleased with my progress since the latest lockdown came into effect, and I’m starting to feel more and more at home on the instrument. My hope is that if I can keep it up and then maintain the steady progress once a more normal routine resumes, that at the very least it’ll be a fun, musical hobby for me to enjoy; or at best, another way to enjoy making music with others! Time will tell, but whatever standard it reaches, I’m having great fun with it while brushing up on a load of the harmony side of music that can be all too easily neglected as a drummer.

My Sire bass, which I’m absolutely delighted with - I see what all the fuss is about!

You know what’s next - our monthly drum hang! This time around we focused on posture, ergonomics and setups, as it’s a topic that came up last time which left us with plenty more to discuss. As ever, there was also plenty of opportunity to catch up with one another (virtually, of course!), and it was great to see everyone again. As much as I’m looking forward to being able to return to doing our drum hangs in person once all this is behind us, I’ve been so grateful that we’ve been able to keep it going over the last year. We’ve got a wonderful community of drummers, and being able to catch up with them each month continues to be a real highlight for me!

Had a great evening with some familiar faces for our monthly drum hang.

Well, that’s about it for this month! Here’s hoping that as restrictions are gradually lifted one by one, that these will get a little more interesting again, eh?! I’ve got another week or two of lots of time on my hands to continue using to my advantage before I get back to some of my schools again, so I’m off to get productive while I’ve got the opportunity! Until next time, take care and all the best! Ed.