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:
Aidan
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Review all the one-measure and two-measure beats from the “Lesson 6” sheet and practice putting together the first four bars of the solo from “Express Yourself” by Charles Wright. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yJPRmQn7QZuvnmvhe8ji-CCGmJPGLDZi
How to practice it most effectively: Try to play each of the beats from the “Lesson 6” sheet throughout the course of the next two weeks. These are a great warm-up to working on the Charles Wright song. Practice playing the main beat and the variation together with the recording of the song. Be sure that you can identify when the transition into the variation is going to happen. Also, work on playing the first four bars of the solo together.
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: All of the fills from “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock. https://drive.google.com/open?id=17pjkCZ1jfMdjwRqFBMaPIG_hKMb3gQGz
How to practice it most effectively: Work on learning each fill individually. Once they feel comfortable, then practice playing all of them together in alternation with the main beat. Ideally, you want to be able to play all of the fills in any order without losing time when transitioning to and from the main beat. Also, spend some time listening to the song this week and try to identify when each of the fills is played.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the bass and snare rhythm from the chorus of “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, together with eighth notes on the hi-hat. https://drive.google.com/open?id=10YGpSqgr9Z2SExyhXz7k1evG3C0t2VEc
How to practice it most effectively: Start by practicing just the rhythm of the bass drum and snare drum: 1…a 2 + (rest) + 4. Take it slow and be sure that you can count the rhythms correctly as well as play it on the drums. Then add in the eighth notes on the hi-hat. Keep in mind that the second bass drum note does *not* play together with the hi-hat. With this beat, just like with everything else, practice it very slowly at first until it starts to feel comfortable. Then try to gradually speed it up. Also, remember to count the rhythms!
Alexy
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice some of the beats from “Lesson 6” over the summer and do some listening to the recommended music below. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MOQ0wuxOjWJ3H46kSSuJleBV6eZMuaZi
How to practice it most effectively: We spent some time in your last lesson talking about orchestral music and the wide variety of percussion instruments that are used in orchestras. I encourage you to spend some time over the summer to listen to some orchestra music that features percussion and think about whether this is the kind of thing that you would like to learn more about. Here are some suggestions:
“Mars” from “The Planets” by Gustav Holst: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXOanvv4plU
“Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GifxbGICwCA
“Bolero” by Maurice Ravel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhhkGyJ092E
“Scheherazade” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsavov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNymNaTr-Y
“Symphonie Fantastique” by Hector Berlioz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK6iAxe0oEc
Oscar
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The ragtime exercises from “Lesson One” from George Hamilton Green and the beginning of section “C” of “Sonata” by J. S. Bach. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VYJX4ERbTiJ1d8ePZ2h7ldbheEz5yKpq
How to practice it most effectively: Working on playing each of the ragtime exercises this week. try to have them mastered by next week so I can hear you play each one at the beginning of the lesson. After that, we’ll move on to “Lesson Two.” Also, see if you can learn the first 3 or 4 measure of section “C” in the Sonata.
Nate O.
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Keep working on “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers over the summer and also listen to some new music to see what you might be interested in tackling in the Fall. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lsS6FvGAobS96Y5mFUDE_7L1HGfAK0_s
How to practice it most effectively: Great work on learning “Can’t Stop!” I think over the summer you should continue to work on playing it with the recording so that the timing and transitions will become even more secure. This would be a great song to play at a recital if we end up having one next year! Also, here is a list of some suggested music for you to listen to over the summer. This might give you some ideas for songs you would like to work on when we see each other in September:
– James Brown –
“I Feel Good” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1wOK9yGUYM
“Cold Sweat” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ0p7k-KzWM
“Funky Drummer” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoQ4AtsFWVM
– The Meters –
“Cissy Strut” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXI5Nuz6OHg
– Herbie Hancock –
“Chameleon” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbkqE4fpvdI
“Watermelon Man” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppJQKfqhFfE
– Miles Davis –
“So What” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylXk1LBvIqU
– Dave Brubeck –