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: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the top line of rhythm from Syncopation page 38 the way we did in your lesson: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17pjkCZ1jfMdjwRqFBMaPIG_hKMb3gQGz?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Start by playing the rhythm by itself on the hi-hat. Remember to accent the notes that are either by themselves or at the end of a group of 2 or 3. Then play it again on the hi-hat and fill in the spaces in the rhythm on the bass drum. Finally, play the same thing again and add a note on the snare drum on beat 3 of each bar.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Finish up “Can’t Stop” by working on playing it all the way through without stopping: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10YGpSqgr9Z2SExyhXz7k1evG3C0t2VEc?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Start each practice session with a full run-through of the song. Try not to stop even if you make a mistake. After you get to the end, then go back and work on any spots that gave you trouble. Then finish your practice session with another run-through.
Damian
Recommended minutes to practice: 5-10 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the opening of “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac from the page I provided: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jaROP8emrq7yGkV13Mt_Js4NVtEz-sCl?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Practice the transition between the section with just bass drum and the section where you are playing the full beat. Count the beats out loud as you play. It is important to keep a steady pulse when you play and the counting really helps with that.
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the long fill from “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Dga1ZBRWaN_Ka4O1G009w-74c4VaZCj7?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Review each measure of the fill individually. Take it slow so that you play each rhythm correctly. Then put all four measures together and practice playing the whole fill without stopping. Once you are comfortable doing this, then practice the transition from the main beat into the fill and then back to the main beat.
Koel
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice beats 1-6 from the page of 16th note open hi-hat beats: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SCS8WVjfR1OZVlYmt8a1r2LTxo2NJOpN?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Focus first of all on keeping a steady 16th note pulse on the hi-hat. It is important that the 16th notes don’t speed up, slow down, or pause as you play. Then pay close attention to the movement of your left foot for each of the open hi-hat notes. Be sure that you know precisely when the left foot needs to move up and when it needs to come back down in each beat. Practice these beats slowly so that you can get the right coordination between your limbs.
Sylvie
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the first three lines of rhythm from Syncopation page 28: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KGeo9VGh3JOWzwpGhEe1DbXMRuQiG7lL?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: First practice reading through each line of rhythm and play it on the snare drum. Once you feel comfortable with the rhythms, then practice playing one bar at a time and moving the rhythms around the drums in different ways. Then, take one rhythm and practice playing it as a drum fill: play a simple drum beat three times, then the fill, then hit the crash and go back into the beat. Repeat this exercise with a few different bars from the page provided.