INTRODUCTION
I signed up to do a course, Level 2 in Music Production in 20 weeks at the Islington Music Workshop, without doing a lot of research on what else was available. I was looking for a course with hands on, getting out of the house during the day and feeling like I was doing/learning something during the day. Looking at the brief course information it looked like what I was looking for. Little did I realise there was Level 1 course (though a friend had done that course last year and is doing the L2 course this year). Signing up being already in possession of a Mac and Logic Pro. I also did not get the intensity that the course was going to be.
A Bit About my Music Knowledge
This is why more research would have been a good thing, my lack of music knowledge. To be fair though I probably know as much about music as the average person. I was a chorister when I was really young, where I learnt the rudiments of musical theory as well as performing twice on Sundays in a church choir. but from the age of twelve/thirteen when my voice started breaking, I gave up the singing and turned my back on music learning. What I did though was listen to lots of music over the last 40 years or so building up a record collection of about 2,500 albums and have more recently taken to going to gigs. We are living in a period when it is easier to get tickets to your favourite band for a reasonable price. In the last four years I have been to see roughly on average a band a month and to a couple of festivals, Blue Dot and All Points East. I recently saw The Cure for £70 at Wembley arena, and while that may sound a lot, The Cure are as far as I am concerned a Premier League band, with a massive back catalogue stretching back to the late 1970s, well worth the money as far as I am concerned.
So to sum up I had been a chorister over 40 years ago for a bout 4 years, and I have a large album collection. Ah yes I also from early 2019 tried learning to play the guitar, my big issue being making the time to practice to keep the teacher I was paying stay interested in teaching me. Was a very frustrating time, with work which did not help at all. Picked it up for a few days and then put it down for a few months. I am sure many people have been there, once you get out of the habit it is difficult to get back into it.
The Reason for Doing the Course
As mentioned I have an interest in music and had a few failed attempts to play, with a couple of drum lessons when I was 18 with a view to joining a band and later a college course to play guitar and sing (not sure if I would call my warbling singing these days), but decided to go travelling instead. I recently dropped out of a Masters, my mind not in it and looking for something positive to do until the Autumn, when I will probably have to go back into the job market (if I had carried on the master’s course). The course suited the time line and the added chance to it down and be encouraged to pick the Guitar up again and have a good go at getting into the habit of playing it. No real expectations other than it would teach me how to use equipment I already had (Mac, Logic Pro X and a Guitar), introduce me to new ideas and be able to move forward with music a great hobby for the next few years, rather than just playing at it.
If I manage to get into a good organised routine, learn how to use the equipment to a good standard and move the quality of my guitar playing to grade three or four I will be very happy. As an add on to that though I am also interested in learning to play the piano, I found that the Steinway on the midi sounds great and would love to be able to play a few tunes so possibly to grade 1 or 2 standard by the end of the course. As of today there are only four months left so any greater expectations would probably be too much. That said depending on how much I like the course (which I already do), and how far and fast I progress in these four months, will adjust my future thinking.
The First Month of the Course February
The first month has been a bit of a roller coaster in that there has been a bewildering amount of information to pick up, especially for someone just starting to get to grips with the hands-on variety of music, making it. I knew it was going to be a tough month as there were always going to be a few distractions during the month, it didn't help that I was frustratingly ill (not badly ill) for most of the month. There were a couple of good distractions too, though they were not helpful in focusing on the course. I am hoping that in March I can both catch up as I should have very few distractions and can get into a good rhythm of work.
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