Hi everyone,
With the transition to ZOOM video lessons, I am no longer able to write down notes and musical material in the students’ books/binders. Instead, I have created PDF documents for each of you and dropped them into a Google Drive folder. The link to your documents is listed in the What to practice heading under your name below. You should be able to access the documents simply by clicking on the link. Here are your practice assignments for this week:
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice all the way up to Chorus 2 of “Good Times Bad Times” as well as the new triplet accent patterns: https://drive.google.com/open?id=17pjkCZ1jfMdjwRqFBMaPIG_hKMb3gQGz
How to practice it most effectively: Keep working on playing “Good Times Bad Times” together with the recording of the song. Try to really hear how the vocals and other parts of the song line up with the beat. This will help you to stay in time. With the triplet accent patterns, focus on keeping a steady beat on the bass drum and try to keep the volume of the accents consistent. See if you can play multiple exercises in a row without stopping.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the intro and all of verse 1 of “Smoke On The Water”: https://drive.google.com/open?id=10YGpSqgr9Z2SExyhXz7k1evG3C0t2VEc
How to practice it most effectively: Practice playing the full intro all the way through without stopping. Once you feel comfortable with it, then try playing it along with the recording of the song. Focus on keeping a really steady speed and listen for how your rhythm lines up with the guitar solo. With the verse, first practice each of the fills by themselves. Then try adding on one bar of the beat before the fill. Then add a bar of the beat after the fill as well. Finally, try to play through the whole verse without stopping.
Aidan
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice at least the first three lines of “Drum Corps on Parade” as well as your rudiments: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yJPRmQn7QZuvnmvhe8ji-CCGmJPGLDZi
How to practice it most effectively: Great work with the rudimental solo this week! Now try to play up to and including the first note of the seventh line. Remember to keep a steady pulse as you play. Also, try to really emphasize the accents and keep everything else much quieter. Follow the dynamics written on the page as much as possible. Identify which measures or sections are the most difficult and spend extra time working on them. Also, keep working on your individual rudiments.
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the intro and all of verse 1 of “Smoke On The Water”: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Dga1ZBRWaN_Ka4O1G009w-74c4VaZCj7?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Practice playing the full intro all the way through without stopping. Once you feel comfortable with it, then try playing it along with the recording of the song. Focus on keeping a really steady speed and listen for how your rhythm lines up with the guitar solo. With the verse, first practice each of the fills by themselves. Then try adding on one bar of the beat before the fill. Then add a bar of the beat after the fill as well. Finally, try to play through the whole verse without stopping.
Nate M.
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Keep working “Red Barchetta” by Rush as well as the rudiments we worked on in your lesson: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UJYz7hx_AeAM7Std0aj1Y1IyVd-8f86S?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: With the rudiments, focus on the double stroke rolls (5-stroke, 7-stroke, and 9-stroke) as well as the paradiddles, flams, flam accents, flam taps, and flamacues. With each rudiment, focus on the motion of you hands and arms. Generally the movement of your left arm should match that of your right. This will help to keep the sound even from sticks. Also, focus on keeping all your fingers on the stick and engaging them to control the bounce of the stick. This will help you be able to play with more consistency.
Nate O.
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the intro of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Guns ’n’ Roses: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lsS6FvGAobS96Y5mFUDE_7L1HGfAK0_s
How to practice it most effectively: Focus on keeping a really steady pulse as you play through the beats and fills. This is a fairly slow song, so you don’t need to worry about playing fast, but playing slowly and with a steady sense of time can be difficult. Read the notes on the page very carefully to make sure you’re playing everything accurately. Also, have a listen to the song and try to match what you’re playing to what you hear.