Hi everyone, Here are your practice assignments for this week: Aidan Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day What to practice: Son clave and Rhumba clave rhythms along with the foot pattern and eighth notes on the ride cymbal. How to practice it most effectively: First play just the clave rhythm by itself with a cross stick on the rim of the snare drum. Then add the eighth notes on the ride cymbal with your right hand. Then take out the ride cymbal and play the clave rhythm together with the feet. This may be tricky so you should do it a bar at a time (or half a bar at a time if necessary) very slowly until you’re comfortable with how the parts lock in. Then add the eighth notes on the ride cymbal back in and play all three parts together. 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: Practice the new drum beat that we worked on as well as improvising some drum fills. How to practice it most effectively: Read the beat from your book very carefully and make sure that you can hear the rhythms in your hear before you try to play it. Take it slowly at first until you’re sure that you have it right. Then, gradually try to play it faster as it begins to feel more comfortable. With your drum fills, focus on changing up the rhythms that you use (not always just straight 16th notes) and come up with a few ideas that you really like. Then practice playing those fill ideas over and over again so that you have your own mental catalogue of drum fills that you can play comfortably. How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive. Elliot Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day What to practice: The 6 accent patterns from your book How to practice it most effectively: Focus on keeping the rhythm steady when you play the accent patterns. You shouldn’t feel like you’re speeding up or slowing down at all. Also, be sure that the sticks are kept low, close to the drum when playing all the non-accented notes. Only lift the stick high above the drum when you are preparing to play an accent. 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 complex meter drum beats that we worked on a I wrote down in your book. How to practice it most effectively: Be sure that you can count each beat comfortably whether it is in 5/8 or 7/8. Identify each subdivision of two and each subdivision of three. Then count the beats either out loud or in your head while you are playing them. Once each beat is comfortable to play, then try switching back an forth between them while still counting. 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: 15-20 minutes per day What to practice: The beats with off-beat sixteenth notes on the snare drum. How to practice it most effectively: Read carefully each beat that I wrote down in your book. Identify the rhythm of the bass drum and snare drum. Then try playing the bass and snare together without the hi-hat. Be sure to count the rhythm in your head to make sure that you are playing it in time. Next, try adding the hi-hat part in together with the bass and snare. The hi-hat should act as your time keeper and everything else should lock in with it. 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 McKenzie Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day What to practice: The introduction to “Take the Money and Run” by Steve Miller Band. How to practice it most effectively: Read what I have written down in your book while listening to the opening of the song. See if you can hear each note in the recording. Then, try playing the intro slowly (without the recording) while reading the notes from your book. Be careful not to put the drag in the wrong spot or it will mess up your rhythm. Also, be aware of where the double left on the snare drum should be played. Try to get a consistent sound from the open 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. |