Hi everyone,
Here are your practice assignments for this week:
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Paradise by Coldplay as well as the rhythms that we have been working on.
How to practice it most effectively: Pay close attention to the two fast bass drum notes in the middle of the beat from Paradise. Be careful not to rush them or to play them too early. One thing that my help with this is accenting the hi-hat note on beat 3. Try isolating this part of the beat (as we did in your lesson) by playing just beat 3, then just beat 3 and 4 together. Loop this part and make sure that you are accenting the beginning of beat 3.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Say It Ain’t So by Weezer, particularly the Bridge and Guitar Solo sections of the song.
How to practice it most effectively: The song sounds really great! You can almost play the whole thing! Review the cues from the song that we talked about it your lesson this week: the lyrics in the bridge that line up with the double snare, and the repeated phrase in the guitar solo that comes before the drum fill. If you can always hear those cues in the song, then you will be able to follow the transitions in the song and always play the right thing at the right time.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Alexy
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The clave rhythm exercises that we worked on this week.
How to practice it most effectively: Count out loud both of the clave rhythms before you start. Remember that the third note of the rhumba clave is in a slightly different position than in the son clave. Then, practice playing each exercise with your left hand doing the clave rhythms, then with your right hand doing the clave rhythms. You should be able to do it both ways. Also, practice playing each exercise at different speed. See how fast you can play them without losing accuracy.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Oscar
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The endings of the first two sections in Log Cabin Blues.
How to practice it most effectively: Pay close attention to what each hand is doing in both of these sections. Often your right hand is following the right pattern of notes, but your left hand gets lost. If you can identify the right pattern of notes for each hand separately, then it will be easier to play them together correctly. Also, don’t practice too quickly. Play at a speed in which you can hit all the right notes and avoid pausing between sections.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Nate M.
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The new pattern from the Super Mario theme and the fills from Take the Money and Run
How to practice it most effectively: Take time this week to review each of the fills in Take the Money and Run. We have been doing this song for a long time now and sometimes the memory will start to slip when it goes on auto-pilot. Read all of the notes from your book and make sure you not mixing up the fills. Aside from this, the song is in really good shape! You’ve got a really great feel for the groove.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.