(This is an archive copy of my now page update on 12th May 2021)

Face-to-face drum lessons are back!

Teaching online has been invaluable over the last year but I’m so glad to be back teaching at Colchester High School and South Street Students. I’ve missed seeing my students and colleagues in person!

Teaching online

I’m continuing to teach online lessons to my roster of students that live out of reach of Ipswich and Colchester. Teaching online is very different to teaching in-person and it’s nice having that variety.

Updating drum transcriptions

Earlier this year I switched from using a very old copy of Sibelius for making drum transcriptions and worksheets to Dorico Pro. It’s 1000x better. I regret not making the switch sooner.

I’m now working my way through all of my old transcriptions and updating them with the new software.

All of the updated transcriptions are now hosted on Buy Me A Coffee. In the two months since I started hosting the transcriptions there I’ve had around 200 downloads. Not bad!

Keeping fit

I’ve started cycling to and from the studio. Great exercise and means I’m using my car far less. Good for me, good for the environment!

Miscellaneous

I’m currently reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and How to Make the World Add Up by Tim Harford. Really enjoying both so far.

We recently started rewatching Community (for about the 100th time). Such a funny show. We are continuing to work our way through all of The Wire. If you haven’t watched it, you should.

Since moving last year, we bought a load of house plants. Trying not to kill them has become a fun new hobby. If you are new to house plants I recommend getting a Devil’s Ivy. They grow so fast and seem indestructible!

(This is an archive copy of my now page update on 1st March 2021)

Teaching drums online

Relearning how to do my job over the internet has been a really interesting experience. There are a number of things that I want to introduce to my in-person lessons when they eventually resume. I’ll definitely be keeping the online lessons going into the future for those that want them. I now have students dotted around the UK rather than just East Anglia! I’ve even taught some lessons to people living outside the UK. Prior to 2020, I never had to consider time zones when arranging lessons!

Transcribing songs

During the first lockdown I started transcribing a lot of songs for my students. I also decided to put them on my website for everyone else. As that turned out to be a popular move I’m doing it a lot more often! I have a growing list of subscribers to my Drumlist newsletter for those that want to be kept updated about new posts.

Keeping fit

One of the great things about Ipswich, is the number of parks! There are loads of them. So I’m trying to go for a walk every day. I also subscribed to Apple’s Fitness+ app. I highly recommend it. The trainers are great and there are loads of different workouts. I started running regularly last year, but stopped when it got cold. Hopefully I’ll be running regularly again by the next update to this post!

Miscellaneous

I’m currently rereading A Gentleman In Moscow. It’s my favourite book and I looking forward to rereading it many times! I’m also reading Conflicted and The 99% Invisible City.

We just finished watching series three of The Sopranos and Black Books. Felt like a time for a break from The Sopranos so we’ve started watching The Wire and for the moments when we need something more light-hearted, Peep Show.

Since moving last year, we bought a load of house plants. Trying not to kill them has become a fun new hobby.

Inspired by Derek Sivers, I've added a “now” page to my website. Check it out here.

Most websites have a link that says “about”. It goes to a page that tells you something about the background of this person or business. For short, people just call it an “about page”. 

Most websites have a link that says “contact”. It goes to a page that tells you how to contact this person or business. For short, people just call it a “contact page”.

So a page on a person’s website, that tells you what this person is focused on at this stage in their life, is called a “now page”.

Learn more about the ”now page” movement at nownownow.com/about.

ps. On a related note, highly recommend you read Derek Sivers' book Anything You Want.