Harry

  • RECITAL: Would you like to play something at the ABC recital on Sunday, May 5? You could play unaccompanied (without the recording) or with the recording. I’m away next weekend and so David, another drum teacher, will be there in my place. Let him know if you would like to participate in the recital. If you have something in mind for what you would like to play, you can tell David that as well.
  • Practising. First of all, play along to some songs you like and have fun. Then, you can work on lesson stuff.
  • Practise the “Fly” drum beat along to a metronome at 40 bpm. Once you get that down, try it at 45 bpm, then 50 bpm. Remember: the metronome clicks on quarter notes. To check that you are playing the first part of the drum beat correctly, make sure you’re doing these 2 things:
    • Your hi-hat and bass drum are playing the first 2 notes together.
    • You are playing four hi-hat notes before beat 2 (where the snare drum comes in).
  • If you are still unsure as to whether you’re playing the drum beat correctly, record yourself playing on your phone and then watch/listen to it to see if you were playing the drum beat correctly.

Sam

  • RECITAL: Would you like to play something at the ABC recital on Sunday, May 5? You could play unaccompanied (without the recording) or with the recording. I’m away next weekend and so David, another drum teacher, will be there in my place. Let him know if you would like to participate in the recital. If you have something in mind for what you would like to play, you can tell David that as well.
  • Practising. First of all, play along to some songs you like and have fun. Rock out on the drums or improvise on the xylophone. Then, you can work on lesson stuff.
    • To improvise over Bank Account, use notes from the key of C#-minor (C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A, B).
    • To improvise over Arabella, use notes from the key of E-minor (E, F#, G, A, B, C, D).
    • To improvise over Gone Bad and All Mine, use notes from the key of B-minor (B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A).
  • Practise Bank Account on the xylophone (not the piano) along to a metronome at 55 bpm. Then, bump up the tempo to 60 bpm. Then 70. The recording is at 75 bpm, so once you’ve mastered playing it at 70 bpm to a metronome, you can play along to the recording next.

Jonathan

  • First of all, play along to some songs you like and have fun. Then, you can work on lesson stuff.
  • I made a nice version of steps for learning Bank Account. So, forget about how I told you to practise it in our lesson. Print it and just work on section “A” this week. The Rs and Ls above the notes tell you what the “sticking” is (which hand to use). Play along to a metronome at 60 bpm. Once you have played through all the patterns, do it again except at 70 bpm. The recording of Bank Account is 75 bpm, so once you’ve mastered 70 bpm, you can just play along to the recording next.