Hi everyone,
Now that we have transitioned 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:
Koel
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the first four 16th-note open hi-hat beats from the new page as well as the intro to “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SCS8WVjfR1OZVlYmt8a1r2LTxo2NJOpN?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Take it slow with the 16th-note open hi-hat beats. The opening and closing of the hi-hat needs to be a bit more precise than with the 8th-note beats. Focus on keeping a steady pulse on the hi-hat at whatever speed you choose. For the intro to Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, first practice the main beat without any of the fills. See if you can do it a few times in a row without stopping. Then, take a close look at the fills and see if you can add them in.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice beats #19, 20, and 21 on the Lesson 3 sheet as well as the beat from “Better Man” by Pearl Jam: https://drive.google.com/open?id=10YGpSqgr9Z2SExyhXz7k1evG3C0t2VEc
How to practice it most effectively: It is really important that you continue working on the exercises from Lesson 3. I know that practicing the Pearl Jam song is more fun, but these exercises are specifically designed to improve your rhythm comprehension, sight reading, and coordination. These are the things that will most help you to progress. As for the song, pay close attention to the rhythm of the bass drum and snare drum. Make sure that the quarter notes are given their full rhythmic value.
Sylvie
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Take a look at the rest of the beats from the new page of open hi-hat beats as well as the first 2 lines of “Syncopation page 29”: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MdzpAH-WlxUE2Be0mmnMOUHri-R2utTX?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Great work with the open hi-hat beats this week! Your coordination is really great! See if you can finish this page this week. Work especially on #s 9-11. Also, practice reading the rhythms from the first two lines of page 29 from “Syncopation.” Take it one bar at a time and play them first on the snare drum and then play them around the drums (like a drum fill).
Jonathan
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice playing beats using the 5 different rhythmic patterns on the hi-hat that we worked on together. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GxopIaGPN0UhwG3zk4gQWTnEaDDL7TWP?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Come up with your own rhythm to play between the bass drum and the snare drum. This will be the main structure of the beat. Then try playing it with the five different hi-hat patterns: eighth notes, sixteenth notes, eighth and two sixteenths, two sixteenths and an eighth, and off-beat eighth notes. Notice how changing the hi-hat rhythm changes the feel of the groove. Think about different musical situations in which you would use each of the 5 hi-hat patterns.
Samson
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the first 4 open hi-hat beats as well as the first two lines of rhythm from “Syncopation page 29”: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1x_PwofJ3uGhPIMOcJLsgEwb51g3kTCeu?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: For each of the open hi-hat beats, first identify the rhythms that you need to play on the snare drum and bass drum. Then practice playing this rhythm a few times in a row. After that feels comfortable, then figure on which parts of the beat you need to open and close the hi-hat. Take it slow and focus on whether your feet are moving up and down together, separately, or opposite from one another. Also, practice reading the rhythms from the first two lines of page 29 from “Syncopation.” Take it one bar at a time and play them first on the snare drum and then play them around the drums (like a drum fill).
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the 16th-note open hi-hat beats. https://drive.google.com/open?id=17pjkCZ1jfMdjwRqFBMaPIG_hKMb3gQGz
How to practice it most effectively: Take it slow with the 16th-note open hi-hat beats. The opening and closing of the hi-hat needs to be a bit more precise than with the 8th-note beats. Focus on keeping a steady pulse on the hi-hat at whatever speed you choose. Then, as they start to feel more comfortable, see if you can increase the speed.
Jonah
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice #16 from the Lesson 4 page as well as the 10 exercises from “Syncopation page 22”. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xgENtr7–sAhgC9zceezlfeYJwA6JWlY?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: With the 10 rhythm exercises from page 22 of “Syncopation,” first identify the pattern of eighth notes and 16th notes. Remember that the eighth notes are counted “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” while the 16th notes are counted “1e&a 2e&a (etc.)” Once you feel comfortable counting the rhythm out loud, then try playing it on the snare drum while keeping time with quarter notes on the bass drum. Once you can do this successfully four times in a row, then move on to the next exercise.
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the intro to “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Dga1ZBRWaN_Ka4O1G009w-74c4VaZCj7?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: First practice the main beat without any of the fills. See if you can do it a few times in a row without stopping. Then, take a close look at the fills and see if you can add them in. Remember that the first fill starts with two flams, which means hitting the drum with both sticks slightly out of time with one another. Then, play four sixteenth notes (one on each drum) and end with a crash cymbal on the beginning of the main beat.