Hi everyone,
Here are your practice assignments for this week:
Aidan
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: 16th note beats with accents and the beat from Chameleon by Herbie Hancock.
How to practice it most effectively: Focus on getting the right motion in your elbow and wrist and maintaining that motion as consistently as possible. The elbow moves down on the strong beats and up on weak beats while the wrist does the opposite. This is how you play up and down stroke (strong and weak beats) quickly with one smooth arm motion. If you do it properly then you shouldn’t feel any tension in your arm.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Paradise by Coldplay as well as the rhythm review that I wrote in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: This week, be sure to look at the rhythms I wrote down in your book. Practice counting them out loud and then playing them on the snare drum. You want to be able to feel a consistent pulse while playing each rhythm. Try counting to four out loud while playing each exercises.
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 snare and bass rhythms that I wrote down in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: Focus on keeping a steady pulse on the bass drum while playing each rhythm. Try playing them at different speeds but remember that accuracy and consistency are more important than playing fast. With the last one, keep the pulse steady while playing the rhythm on the bass drum. Don’t play the bass drum too heavy here… it is no longer keeping the pulse so you can focus on keeping it nice and light.
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 middle section of Fool In The Rain by Led Zeppelin and the opening section of Log Cabin Blues.
How to practice it most effectively: Be sure to play all the accents in the beat from the middle of Fool in the Rain, and try to keep them all the same volume. The bass drum should be fairly light but keep a very steady pulse. Once you get the main rhythm of the accents down, then you can try throwing in extra accented rhythms like he does in the recording.
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 beginning of the beat from 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon
How to practice it most effectively: This is a tricky beat because it requires coordination between both of your feet and your hands and you also have to play the whole thing lightly (quietly). Focus first on getting the coordination down, particularly between the left foot and the hands. Then focus on playing it lightly and getting the volume of the snare drum to match the volume of the hi-hat.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.