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Big Band Jazz. Part 2 — Reading Music As I talk about my experience with a Big Band I can’t help but also talk about consciousness and the art of learning. I’m trusting that you DON’T need to be a drummer or musician to enjoy this article – but... -
The Gigging Life in Rural France I expect every area has its local circuit of regular gigs. There are always certain venues that feature in a band’s gigging diary. This would apply to any town or city and beyond them a wider rural area. A city often has designated... -
Big Band Jazz. Part 1 — Preparation The old Boy Scout motto of ‘Be Prepared’ comes to mind as I begin this short article on preparation. It is very relevant to my current circumstances (and after all I WAS a Boy Scout). Upcoming projects mean I must prepare myself... -
The Magix Buss—Part Three: What makes a good drum recording? For some time I borrowed a video camera off a chap I know and filmed myself playing drum solos in our (attached) barn. I was quite pleased with the results. Some time later another chap informed me that the sound... -
The Magix Buss—Part Two The next step in my home recording journey came with some Magix software (Samplitude)…Magix have grown over the years, back then their stuff was simpler and cheaper and I learnt how to engineer and produce from it. I thus decided to record my acoustic... -
The Magix Buss—Part One I have made every mistake under the sun when it comes to recording drums. Before 2006, my experience of recording (drums in particular) was in commercial analogue recording studios. Microphones… mixing desks… tape machines—the ‘red light’—an engineer! I have recorded in a number of studios... -
Waiting for the Buss I was having a conversation with my wife just recently. At that time the beginning of 2017 was looking thin on the ground for gigs and musical sessions. Nothing much was happening in general and typically, I was bemoaning this state of affairs. But...