This Month

As it's getting towards the end of the second term at RNCM, I thought I'd better summarise what has happened in the month of March!

March started with a gig to celebrate St David's Day at RNCM! A very enjoyable gig playing with some members of the RNCM Session Orchestra, and some ex course members of the Pop Course! We played a set of Pop Covers that got people dancing, we were well received! It was a fun evening.

The next day, I went on a train to London with my friend and fellow bass player Frank Morgan. We went to Kensington Olympia to visit the "London Bass Guitar Show." This was a great day and a great opportunity to play some lovely basses and amps. Session Legen Guy Pratt gave a very informative masterclass and we were also fortunate enough to see a performance by Stevie Wonder's Bassist Nate Watts.

Me playing a Conklin 7 String Bass at the London Bass Guitar Show

Following this was the RNCM Revue, where I played as part of The Danny Ryan Jazz Quartet. It was a fantastic event with lots of impressive and varied music. The night held everything from Jazz to Classical, Percussion Duos to Rock Bands. It was in all a great showcase of all the fantastic talent at the RNCM.

Me playing at the RNCM Revue with the Danny Ryan Quartet

Within March we had our second "Ensemble Week" task of the first year of the course. Another busy week, this time with the challenging task of rearranging jazz standards. Everyone handled this task in an extremely creative manner, some using chords from the originals, others using melodies and lyrics in order to create completely different songs. The whole week was a true test of everyone's ability to arrange and create rather than merely learn songs.

The final element took place tonight! I've just got back from playing a gig with the RNCM Gospel Choir at Matt and Phreds in Manchester. What a gig! The energy was absolutely electric. Everyone sang well, everyone played well and it was a great laugh putting the tunes together and eventually performing them.

What a month.

Alasdair