Hi everyone,
Here are your assignments for this week:
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Focus on page 3 of Tom Sawyer, playing it both with and without the recording.
How to practice it most effectively: The last step in learning this piece is being able to get through this middle section of the song without speeding up or slowing down. This is very tricky with so many notes to play. Practice playing it on your own while keeping track of the pulse in your head. Focus on staying steady. Then practice it with the recording and make sure that you can hear how your part fits in with the guitar and the vocals. Even if something gets a little off in the drum solo section, you have to lock back in with the guitar and vocal when they re-enter.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the new 16th-note beats, #1-6: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10YGpSqgr9Z2SExyhXz7k1evG3C0t2VEc?usp=share_link
How to practice it most effectively: Practice each of these beats in two different ways: first with only your right hand playing the 16th notes on the hi-hat (one-handed), and then with both hands alternating on the hi-hat (two-handed). With the one-handed method, keep it slow and focus on getting each bass and snare note in the right spot. With the two-handed method, try to gradually increase the speed without changing the rhythm on the bass or the snare.
Jared
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the new 16th-note beats, #1-6: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JX6UYuVpfhBjfawAizC8uiaZhTAKinrs?usp=share_link
How to practice it most effectively: Practice each of these beats in two different ways: first with only your right hand playing the 16th notes on the hi-hat (one-handed), and then with both hands alternating on the hi-hat (two-handed). With the one-handed method, keep it slow and focus on getting each bass and snare note in the right spot. With the two-handed method, try to gradually increase the speed without changing the rhythm on the bass or the snare.
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Review the jazz rhythms from last week and work on the new rhythms.
How to practice it most effectively: When practicing these rhythms, try to keep each part in balance. Try to stay light on the bass drum so it’s not too loud, and dig in on the ride cymbal and hi-hat to bring those parts out. With the snare rhythms, try to match the volume of your ride cymbal. Focus on the coordination between your hands so you know when to play with right or left only and when to play them together.
Koel
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Review the Intro, Verse, and Chorus of “When I Come Around” by Green Day and learn the new rhythm from Verse 2.
How to practice it most effectively: Practice each section of the song slowly and focus on developing consistency with the beats and fills. You need to be able to play each section with confidence. Then work on the transitions so that you can move from one section of the song to the next without slowing down or hesitating. Finally, put on the recording of the song and see if you can play along with it up to the second verse.
Caroline
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the new beat and drum fills from Verse 2 and Chorus 2 of “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer.
How to practice it most effectively: In verse 2, practice the transition between the original verse beat and the new beat. It’s important that you can play this transition without slowing down or hesitating. Then practice the new fills that come at the end of the verse and chorus. Once you feel confident with all that, then practice playing from the end of the first chorus to the end of the second chorus. Next week we will work on the bridge and guitar solo sections.