well.....i'm back!

hi guys.

back online finally! am now in my apartment in boston writing this on my new apple G4 powerbook. how cool!

just finished orientation week. was hectic but interesting. took my audition and fucked up a little. just played so average, but am trying to refrain from sounding like the people who say "oh yeah but i dont normally play like that!" got my complete schedule for the coming week and am shitting myself. its mostly academic stuff....harmony, ear training, college writing, writing skills etc with only one ensemble per week, but im gonna try and sign up for the ones that need drummers. i knew id be doing the music stuff....thats partly why im here....but the actual curriculum doesnt include much playing. sounds like you have to make the playing opportunities....which is cool i guess.

very worreid about this singing stuff in ear training.....not only can i not sing, i could never sing in public, self confidence thing i guess. im dreading it. what happens if u refuse to sing?? and what do they do about the people who just cannot sing?

anyway, my family left yesterday and its been pretty tough. it all hit me at once after they left. up until then i was fine. i'm gonna go back and change some of the article i was writing for drummer mag as i feel so differently now than i did a few days ago when i wrote it. im sit up here at times and just think "what the fuck am i doing? why am i here? why am i signing up to be in the music business? i must be mad! i dont know if im gonna be able to hack it.....

but obviously college hasnt actually started, so i just need to give it a few weeks i guess. i didnt get mike mangini or dave dicenso as my private instructor...but im gonna try. but i suppose all the drummer want those guys.

someone is giving me gary chaffee's number.....what du think bout studying with him?

was very dissapointed with the practice facilities. minute rooms with pearl exports in. and the weird thing is your not allowed to bring any outside equip in. so no cymbals, no pedals etc. but sod that, i cannot practice without my double pedal. the kit in my audtion was terrible too. its just not fair for drummers....its no different to having a piano with middle C missing, or totally out of tune and battered, or a bass with a string missing.

if any former berklee-goers have any more tips that would be great.

take it easy.

LP

Quote:

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Originally posted by palmerlouie:
and what do they do about the people who just cannot sing?

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">In reality, very, very few people really genuinely cannot sing. It's predominantly a confidence thing (as you have already pointed out).

Watch out for the loneliness thing - it can creep up on you and before you know it you've withdrawn into a shell. It sounds like a bizarre concept to be lonely in a big city college environment, but it happens all the time. Keep facing outwards.

Oh, and three words: Legal Sea Foods.

I think that once you get started in your cirriculum and start networking with other musicians and really get in to the nuts and bolts of it all you wont suffer so much from the loneliness factor. But, man dig in and get in to the scene and do your thing. You know why you're there and what you want to accomplish. Just go for it. I remember my audition at Interlochen Arts Academy. I thought I was so well prepared and was ready for anything. I did alright but it certainly was not my best performance. As far as sight singing and ear training goes, I to it at IAA and you will be surprised at how well you will be able to sing. Keep in mind that you are not a vocalist so don't pressure yourself. Concentrate, listen, and learn. "Keep It In The Pocket". PT.

Don't worry about the singing thing. It's not such a big deal, but it will be if you refuse to do it. You'll flunk the class. Think of singing as a way to tune your ear and train the muscle memory of your voice. Hitting a pitch is a bit like learning to play triplets. After a while you can just feel them at different speeds. Good luck.

Brad

Hey Louie !
Its good to hear you are settling in ok.
About the loneliness thing...
I Can imagine how hard it must be being such a long way from home in a new country,
Hey i was 16 when i went to study at Drumtech in London and i got quite homesick at first and i was only 250 miles from home in manchester lol [img]eek.gif[/img]

But trust me it does where off when you realise that you are achieving what you set out to do !

Enjoy yourself and i think many other HOD's here will agree with me...
"Dont hole yourself up in your apartment"
Get out to Jam sessions because with your talent you will get noticed and time is on ur side and it soon flies... it seems like yesterday when i moved away to study and im 24 now [img]graemlins/gulp.gif[/img]

I think the 2 points i will sum up with is
1, Work Hard
2, Enjoy Yourself

Take care
Best wishes from Manchester (Well Bolton Actually ! )

Lee

PS: Go Do the Singing Lessons you might just enjoy it ! [img]graemlins/shhh.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Hey Louie, good luck to you from London mate, I hope that you're settling in well. You'll soon start to enjoy yourself I'm sure. I agree with what VDrummer and Lee have said. Get stuck in to the singing lessons mate, they are necessary and will stand you in good stead for the future. Other musicians will appreciate it if you develop your ears and aural skills and it will lead to you being a more rounded musician. Like you, I can't sing for toffee, but I had to do it throughout my years at music college. Don't be too nervous mate! I nearly shat myself the first time and I can still remember being in a cirlce of musos scatting over a blues or sommat and sweating until it came round to me!! You'll get over it though, just take a deep breath, control your breathing and keep calm! After you've done it once you can think fcuk it!! Go for it the next time!

I also second the comment about working hard. You're there for a reason and grab it with both hands. Do as MUCH playing as possible, go to as many jams as you can and take the opportunity to play with as many different people as you can.
Also, make sure you get to study with who you WANT to study with. It's YOUR time and don't settle for second best, you'll regret it in the long run.

Take care and have fun, [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Louie,

Don't worry. Relax and then....

<font size="4">CALL GARY CHAFFEE</font>

[img]cool.gif[/img]

If you can say it, you can play it.

If you can sing it, you can swing it.

Hi Louie!

Glad you made it in one piece. Pretty soon you will start to enjoy the freedom. You can do whatever you want my man! Have fun and absorb that music stuff!

I remember when I moved to LA, it was fairly overwhelming. Everything was cool when after about 2 weeks I relaized I was still hooked on my girl back home. Hit me like a ton of bricks except after it hit me I carried them for some time. That's always fun. Moving to away from home for the first time, going to a music scool, and heartache! YAY!!

Little did I know it was just. The. Begining.

Hi Louie,

the first few weeks are always hard and the one thing you must not do is give up. Going to college is always a bit of a wrench and then you start to meet a few people, then you got to seperate the turkeys from the eagles, fly with the eagles mate and you will get on fine.

Just treat the singing as an exercise in how far you can take something that you are not comfortable with. It's amazing how far you can go with something when you really push yourself. Remember us English people are conditioned not to put ourselves in embarassing situations and our fear of failure is enormous, yanks seem to be totally non-plussed about that stuff and you need to get with them on that.

Hang in there mate you are gonna love it.