Unit 13: Journal
Week 1: 02/03/26
I started this week by looking at different ideas on what to do my project on. By the end of the week I had decided to create a research based project. In my project I will be researching different drummers and styles along with including my own examples of using these techniques. I also created a timetable on what to follow each week for the project.
Week 1 Evaluation:
I am happy with how my progress is going this week, I managed to pick my choice for the project quite early on in the week which gave me some time to complete my timetable that I will be following for the project. I also managed to find what styles and drummers I will be researching which will be helpful when creating my presentation. Unfortunately I haven't yet began my research posts or any sort of blogpost.
Targets for next week:
My targets for next week will be to discuss my choice for the project with my lecturers too see if it's up to standard, I will also check to see if my timetable needs to be updated in any way. I will also need to begin my project proposal and finish off any unfinished work from previous units by the end of next week, therefore I will be able to start my project.
Week 2: 09/03/26
I started the week by completing unfinished work from unit 10 and unit 9, luckily it was very straightforward and it was done quickly, I only needed to update my posts and check if everything was correct, and add some extra details on my journal for unit 9. From Wednesday onwards I worked on my proposal and had a discussion with one of my lecturers to see if my idea for the project was okay to do and he thought it was a good idea and gave me some recommendations on different styles and drummers to research.
These are the research ideas that were discussed between me and my lecturer:
Week 3: 16/03/26
This week I was given two books by my lecturer to help me with my research, the first book was based off J Dilla and drum machines used by him, called "Dilla time". The second book I was given was called "African rhythm and African sensibility", this book deep dives into African rhythm and drumming. I completed my project proposal and handed it in. On Friday I attended a college trip to Rockfield studios, where we got to experience recording in a studio with a mixing desk rather than using a computer. We got to learn a lot on how to set up mics for a drumkit and how the mixing desk works and how to use it which was very helpful and will definitely be useful for recording my drum tracks later on. I also started on my project presentation.
Here are the two books I was given:
This was the drum kit set up in Rock field Studios
This was the mixing desk we used in Rock field Studios:
Week 3 Evaluation:
Unfortunately this week I didn't get much work done after completing my project proposal, I did make a small start on my project presentation but I missed my slot to present it due to it being unfinished. Luckily I have completed my project proposal and handed it in. The two books given to me this week will definitely give me more stuff to add onto my portfolio which I am happy about. I'm also very glad I attended the trip to Rockfield studios because I got to learn a lot more about recording traditionally in a studio by using a proper mixing desk, and also learning more about the set up in a studio.
Targets for next week:
My targets for next week include completing and presenting my project presentation, creating notes and scanning the two books for research and information. My last target will be to begin researching in general and updating all my blogs including my journal to stay up to date.
Week 4: 23/03/26
This week I made some progress by completing my presentation and presenting it. I created notes from two books I was given last week. I also sat down with one of my lecturers and he recommended different drummers i could research into which were James Brown for my Funk blog, Steve Reich for my African drumming blog and Buddy Rich for my Jazz drumming blog. I created a post for each research topic, and I watched some clips of each style to give me some inspiration for my own examples which will be included on the posts.
These are the notes I created to help me with my presentation:
Week 4 Evaluation:
I'm happy with this weeks progress especially getting the presentation done, I am also happy I have found different topics to include on my research. Unfortunately I have not yet started my general research which I should've done by now but haven't managed to get around to doing it yet. But I am glad I have managed to scan through the two books and make notes on the important information in them which will be added onto blogs. I also managed to update my journal up to date.
Targets for next week:
My main target for next week is to get some research done and hopefully completing a post. My second target will be to find people who I can interview, I have two already but I would like another. Another target will be to add the notes I made for the two books to be put on a blog so that it doesn't get lost. I will also need to book the studio at some point for after the easter holidays in order to create my tracks once my research is complete. I also need to make sure to follow my timetable because these past few weeks I have wasted a lot of time and I need to start following the timetable so that I can catch up.
Weeks 5&6 (Easter Holidays):
Over the two weeks I managed to get quite a bit done, I made a start on 3 out of the 6 blogs. I began with drum time signatures because I already have a bit of knowledge on this topic. I then moved onto African drumming because I already had notes made from the book given to me and I also did some research on Steve Reich and included it onto my blog. I then did a bit of research on traditional drumming and made sure to include Harvard referencing for each website/video I used. I also caught myself up with the timetable and made sure to update my journal.
Weeks 5&6 Evaluation:
I am happy with the progress I made over these two weeks, I'm glad I have finally made a small start on my research and made sure to include each link of the videos/websites I used rather than having to go back and include them later on. Even though I did make a start, I do wish that I could've done a bit more and focused at completing one post at a time rather than doing a few at a time because it would've been a more straightforward process rather than me going back and forth adding more stuff. I've learnt from this to only stick to one research post at a time rather than doing multiple at the same time.
Targets for next week:
My main target for next week is to complete at least one research post and to focus on one thing at a time. I also need to book the studio for later on in the month to be able to record my tracks. Following up from my previous target, I also need to find another person to interview.
Week 7: 13/04/26
This week I managed to write and record 3 songs in this week for my time signature blog. The songs I did were in the time signatures of 6/8, 4/4 and 3/4, which I documented on a separate recording journal blog. I didn't mix or master them but the songs were all recorded. I also managed to complete my traditional drumming post which included harvard style referencing at the bottom.
Week 7 Evaluation:
I am quite pleased with my work progress this week, having fully recorded 3 songs has definitely made me have more belief that the work will be completed on time. I am also glad that I have a seperate post based around the recording process because it has made my work a lot more organised and easily found. I have learnt that dedicating a whole day to a specific thing definitely speeds up process, for example I spent 2 days only focused on completing the traditional drumming post and the rest of the week dedicated to writing and recording tracks.
Targets for next week:
Targets for next week include completing at least 1 more research post, to write and record 2 more songs. I would like to begin mixing the 3 completed tracks. Also to ensure that my journal is up to date along with including pictures of evidence for each post that I have started/completed. I think these targets are pretty straightforward and I believe that I will meet these targets by the end of next week.
Week 8: 20/4/26
On this week I completed my African drumming post and my drum machine post. I included all of the references in alphabetical order at the bottom of both blogs and I also had notes from the book "Dilla time" which were added to the drum machine post. I also managed to catch up with my journal and did a small mix on my 6/8 track which I documented in my recording journal. The last thing I did this week was make a contextual post which I wrote down different contexts of my project which was recommended by one of my lecturers.
Week 8 Evaluation:
Personally I am not too pleased with this weeks progress, because I forgot to follow my targets from week 7 and I believe I could've done a lot more work this week. I'm glad however that 2 research blogs are finally completed and that I've made a contextual post, but due to the lack of focus these past few weeks I think I will need to start completing a lot more work within the next few weeks in order to hand the work in on time.
Targets for next week:
My targets for next week include completing 2 more research posts, mixing the 2 other tracks I have done so far and to begin writing the next 4 songs. I think these 3 targets will definitely bring me back on track with the project. I have decided only to do small mixes on each track because of the fact they are only short demos and won't be released on platforms for the time being. I do really need to start focusing on the work from now on due to the fact there is only 4 weeks until the hand in date and it will be hard to do loads of work last minute.
Week 9: 27/04/26
I began this week with completing my time signature post, and followed it with completing my Jazz drumming post. I also did some research on 5/4 drum beats and some 9/8 drum beats for ideas when writing my own demos for experimenting with time signatures.
Week 9 Evaluation:
I am quite pleased with this weeks progress, I am glad that I have completed my time signatures post as this will be very helpful for when i create my demos which are all in different time signatures, some of which I have never played before so the research has definitely helped me. I am also pleased that my jazz drumming post is completed which only means I have 1 research post to complete which is Funk drumming, plus my recording journal.
Week 10: 04/05/26
Week 11: 11/05/26
Week 12: 18/05/26
Comments
Post a Comment