Week 1: Carclew Fellowship (13-17 April)
What a week.
I’m exhausted. But definitely a good exhausted!
It’s been amazing getting to focus in such a concentrated way on percussion repairs and servicing. Apart from developing a huge shopping list of tools and products to buy upon my return to Adelaide, this fellowship has been incredibly beneficial and confidence building.
Learning from my mentor, Dave Egan aka The Sydney Drum Doctor, has allowed me to fill gaps in my knowledge base, clarify underlying principles and review previous projects. To help make sure all the new info sticks in my memory, I thought I’d share a little about what I’ve been working on this week.
Recognition Skills
Context is key. Knowing who made an instrument, when and with what components is crucial to ascertaining the best way to restore it to working condition. As such, a focus of this week has been building recognition skills, including:
Threads: knowing which companies used metric versus imperial measurements and thus how to identify different thread types and TPI (teeth per inch) measurements by eye.
Metals: knowing when different types of metal started being used, what they look like and their inherent proprieties, such as mild steel, aluminium (raw versus anodized), nickel plating, chromium plating and ferrous versus non-ferrous metals.
Glues: knowing which glues are best suited to different situations and how to use them properly, including PVA, polyurethan, contact (water-based and solvent-based), epoxy and superglue.
Instrument Construction
The more you understand about how an instrument is constructed, the better and more efficiently you can repair it when it breaks. I learnt a lot about percussion as a performer simply by using these instruments on a daily basis. But there’s always more to learn. For example:
Manufacturers: knowing how different companies changed their construction techniques over time and the quirks which appear in their work as a result.
Timpani: knowing the intricacies of clutch versus balance action pedal systems, how the different systems affect the drums’ ranges and how to recognise symptoms of different problems.
Tuning: knowing what sorts of sounds you want out of different instruments and where to find references, including for snare drums, toms, bongos, congas, timbales and djembe (the latter of which I’d never gotten to work on before so that was exciting).
Business Principles
Lastly, a few excursions to local schools, wholesalers and suppliers provided a perfect opportunity to discuss approaches to building Fulcrum as a business. Beyond expanding my practical experience, my ultimate goal is to connect with SA schools, community groups and performers and share what I’ve learnt by assisting them in maintaining and repairing their instruments.
Advertising: knowing how to build a client base and brand, including via fliers, stickers and targeted communication to potential clients.
Labour: knowing how to approach jobs practically and build clear expectations, while also knowing how much to charge for certain work and value your own expertise.
Networking: knowing who to know and where to go. I’ve been very grateful for Dave who has made a point of introducing me to key people in the industry and helping me identify resources.
Well, that’s all for today. Take care and happy playing!
