Hi everyone,
Here are your assignments for this week:
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the drum fills that we worked on in your lesson together with the jazz rhythm patterns that are in your folder.
How to practice it most effectively: Practice playing four-bar phrases that end in a fill. This means playing the two bar rhythms twice and then replacing the second bar with a fill the second time. Try to play each fill together with each pattern. Once you can do this, then try moving between each pattern after you have completed a four-bar phrase.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Review the transition from the end of section 2 into the beginning of section 3 and then practice playing all the way through section 3 of Watermelon Man.
How to practice it most effectively: The fill at the end of section 2 is starting to sound really good! But now you have to make sure that you can transition smoothly from there into section 3 and play the beat confidently and consistently. Practice playing the section 3 beat several times in a row until it feels comfortable, and then fit it together with what comes before. Also, practice the two fills from section 3 in combination with the beat.
Jared
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Keep working on your drum roll and the ending of Bohemian Rhapsody.
How to practice it most effectively: With the drum roll, focus on making sure both sticks are bouncing the same amount and playing at the same volume. You’ll have to work the left had twice as hard as the right in order to even them out (because you’re right handed). Keep the sticks low to the drum and try applying a little bit more pressure to the stick to get more bounces. With Bohemian Rhapsody, focus on the last section and practice playing all the way through it with the fills.
Jude
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the hi-hat exercises with eighth notes that I wrote down in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: With these exercises, the most important thing is to keep a steady rhythm on the hi-hat. You should be able to count the notes “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.” Be sure not to speed up, slow down, or stop. Then add the bass drum and/or snare drum notes in each exercise on the correct number in the rhythm (ex: bass drum on one, snare drum on 2, etc.).
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice up to beat #8 on the newest page you received with the sixteenth note open hi-hat beats.
How to practice it most effectively: It’s important to play these beats slowly at first. The movement of the left foot needs to be very precise in order for the beat to sound right. So take it slow and make sure that the hi-hat it opening and closing at the right moments. Once the coordination feels comfortable, then try playing the beat a little bit faster. If it still feels comfortable, try even faster. Always listen carefully to how the beat sounds to make sure you’re playing it correctly.
Koel
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice up to the end of the long guitar solo in Sweet Child O’ Mine.
How to practice it most effectively: The hardest things about this song are 1) all the transitions, and 2) the speed. Don’t worry too much about the speed right now. Take it as slow as you need to in order to really feel comfortable with the beats and fills. Focus on practicing all the transitions between the different sections of the song. You need to be able to play from the end of the verse to the beginning of the chorus, or the end of the chorus to the beginning of the guitar solo (etc.) without hesitating or stopping. Once you can do this, then it will be easier to increase the speed.
Caroline
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice playing all the way through Can’t Stop and also take a look at the first four open hi-hat beats from this new page: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I8SUrntdFyWbpB7_WkqKxtpyrvv4afrc?usp=share_link
How to practice it most effectively: You’re doing really well with Can’t Stop. Just be sure to listen very carefully when you’re playing with the song to make sure that your beats line up correctly with the song. Be careful not to rush when things are easy or drag when things are difficult. With the open hi-hat beats, play them slowly and focus on how the movement of your left foot lines up with the movement of you right foot and left hand.