Improvements?

Beginning of year:This year for band i am trying for big improvements in my playing of all percussion instruments as well as music theory knowledge. Being able to connect the music we are playing to the things we have learned in theory will be very helpful in understanding the music. I feel like that is very important for a musician at my age especially since i am planning on going to school for music. Also for playing i hope to improve my mallet and tympani techniques which i have been working on with my new drum teacher. We work solely on classical percussion so i feel like by the end of the year i will have much more knowledge that i will be able to apply daily in class. I will practice these new techiniques and apply my new theory knowledge to the band classroom and hopefully have a very productive and fun band year!

will edmundson

End of Year: Overall I feel like I have definitely improved. I feel like overall I was mostly able to improve in my jazz and latin playing. I have developed as a classical percussionist but not to the same degree as jazz. I spent a lot of time practicing this year 2-4 hours each day which was a great habit to get into. But, because I got carpel tunnel I had to stop practicing but now I am beginning to practice again with a new approach and now I am better able to assess my playing. I view my injury as something positive because of these new ways to think about how I play. I have improved a little bit in my mallet playing. I have been able to achieve a warmer and fuller tone out of the instrument. My tympani playing I feel hasn't improved much. I just haven't had much opportunity to play tympani. My theory knowledge has greatly increased. I now listen to music and am able to identify certain things that we have learned in class like 4-3 suspension, picary third, dominant/tonic relations, and other things. I believe that I have improved a lot throughout the whole year and I hope to keep improving as I keep playing.