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: Review the intro and comping rhythms from “Blue Train” by John Coltrane: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17pjkCZ1jfMdjwRqFBMaPIG_hKMb3gQGz?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Go over each of the comping rhythms slowly. Remember to keep the ride cymbal and foot patterns steady. Counting either out loud or in your head is super important! This will help you to put the snare drum notes in the right place every time.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the first four beats from the new page as well as the beat from Bitter Sweet Symphony: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10YGpSqgr9Z2SExyhXz7k1evG3C0t2VEc?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: With beat 1-4, practice them slow and be sure that you are reading each note on the page. Counting out loud or in your head will help with this. Also, remember that the bass drum notes which land on the beat should be given more weight than the ones that land off the beat. For Bitter Sweet Symphony, take a look at the notation and try reading the beat while playing it.
Aidan
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice transitioning between the two main beats in “Fool In The Rain” and also take a look at the new jazz rhythms: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yJPRmQn7QZuvnmvhe8ji-CCGmJPGLDZi?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Practice the transition back and forth between the first two beats in “Fool In The Rain.” Take your time with it (don’t go too fast) and be sure that you have the correct rhythm relationship between the right hand parts for both beats. Then add in the bass and snare notes together with right hand. Finally, add in the open hi-hat and the ghost notes. With the jazz rhythms, try to practice at least the first four rhythms on the new pages I have provided.
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice beats 8-9 on the page from last week (new copy provided) and beat 1 from the new page: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Dga1ZBRWaN_Ka4O1G009w-74c4VaZCj7?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Great work on all of these beats, Noah! Keep working through them slowly and then, once they start to feel more comfortable, play them a little faster. For the beat that includes ghost notes, practice it first without the ghost notes and then add them back in. This will help to make sure you’re getting bass drum part correctly before fitting in the ghost notes.
Nate M.
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the first minute of “Show Don’t Tell” by Rush that we worked on in your lesson: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UJYz7hx_AeAM7Std0aj1Y1IyVd-8f86S?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: The first main beat follows the melody of the song. If you listen to the beginning of the song a bunch of times, you can hear how the beat fits in with each note of the song. Listen especially for the crash cymbal note following the toms that comes right before the downbeat of a new bar. This is a very important part of playing this song. The second main beat (with hi-hat instead of ride) is simpler, but listen carefully for all the bass drum notes and be sure not to leave any notes out.
Nate O.
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice beats 7-8 from the new page and the beginning of “Welcome To The Jungle”: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lsS6FvGAobS96Y5mFUDE_7L1HGfAK0_s?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Take a close look at the bass drum parts in the new beats. Be sure that each of the off-beat bass drum notes is played in between the hi-hat notes with a steady rhythm. For the intro to “Welcome To The Jungle,” listen to the beginning of the song so that you can hear how everything fits together. Then practice playing the notation that I have provided.