Hi everyone,

Just as a reminder, unless you have a confirmed make-up lesson next week, you will not have your regular drum lesson on Thursday because of March break.

Will

Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day

What to practice: Review the last page of “Beggin’” and work on playing all the way through the song without stopping.

How to practice it most effectively: You’ve got everything you need now to finish this song. Remember that the very last measure has sixteenth notes on the hi-hat, quarter notes on the bass drum, and it ends with a crash on the last note. Focus on the rhythm on the hi-hat in the measures right before the end. Once you are comfortable with this rhythm, the try to play it together with the bass drum on 2 and 4. Then practice playing from the top of page 4 to the end. Then, go all the way back to the top of the song and practice playing all the way through!

Elliot

Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day

What to practice: Review each of the 12/8 beats together with the fills from the bottom of the page and practice playing along with “Oh Darlin’” by the Beatles: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10YGpSqgr9Z2SExyhXz7k1evG3C0t2VEc?usp=sharing

How to practice it most effectively: Review each of the fills individually. Remember that when you have groups of three eighth notes, the first group of three will be RLR and the second group will be LRL. When moving around the drums, be aware of which hand is moving first to each drum. Practice playing beat #2 along with “Oh Darlin’” by the Beatles. Remember that there are three different fills in this song that all start the same but have different endings. The first one ends with sixteenth notes on the snare drum. The second one ends with triplet sixteenth notes on the snare (groups of 9). The third one ends with a stop on the snare drum and a long pause before the drums come back in.

Damian

Recommended minutes to practice: 5-10 minutes per day

What to practice: Practice the shuffle beats and fills from the page I have provided: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jaROP8emrq7yGkV13Mt_Js4NVtEz-sCl?usp=sharing

How to practice it most effectively: Practice both the regular shuffle beat and the half-time shuffle. Remember that the rhythm on the cymbal is the most important part of these beats and it is the same for both of them. Then practice the fills from the bottom of the page by playing them together with the beats. Any time you see a quarter note (a note without anything attached to the stem) it means you have to leave a gap before playing the next note.

Nate O.

Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day

What to practice: Practice the sixteenth note accent patterns from this new page: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lsS6FvGAobS96Y5mFUDE_7L1HGfAK0_s?usp=sharing

How to practice it most effectively: Start by playing each accent pattern just on the snare drum. Then add the bass drum on the beginning of each group of four notes. Remember that the bass drum won’t always line up with the accents. Then, once you are comfortable with this, try moving the accents around on the toms. Be aware of which hand is supposed to play each accent. For accents played by the left hand, don’t try reaching across your body to the floor tom. Just keep all left hand accents on the snare or high tom.

Noah

Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day

What to practice: Practice the new Groove Essentials beat and variations: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Dga1ZBRWaN_Ka4O1G009w-74c4VaZCj7?usp=sharing

How to practice it most effectively: First figure out the rhythm of the bass drum and snare drum parts. Then look at the cymbal part and see how it’s rhythm aligns with the bass and snare. Then look at all the other small details in the beat and see if there is anything else you need to add. Once you’ve got all the different elements, practice playing it all together slowly. It’s better to play slowly with accuracy and consistency than to rush through it.

Koel

Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day

What to practice: Practice playing the 12/8 beats on this new page: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SCS8WVjfR1OZVlYmt8a1r2LTxo2NJOpN?usp=sharing

How to practice it most effectively: Remember that the eighth notes on the cymbal are grouped in 3s for all of these beats. This gives the 12/8 beats a distinctive sound and feel. They are a bit more laid back than 4/4 beats. Take your time with them and try playing them at different speeds. Also, have a listen to “Oh Darlin’” by the Beatles and practice playing along with beat #2 from the sheet.

Sylvie

Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day

What to practice: Review all of the exercises from “Lesson Four” and practice the 20-bar exercise at the bottom of the page: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KGeo9VGh3JOWzwpGhEe1DbXMRuQiG7lL?usp=sharing

How to practice it most effectively: Just like we did with Lesson One, practice each of these rhythms first just on the snare drum, then together with the ride cymbal and foot patterns. It is important that you can maintain the jazz ride pattern with your right hand while playing the written rhythms with your left hand and not let one interfere with the other. Practice it slowly and listen carefully to what each hand is playing to ensure accuracy. Remember that all the rhythms need to be swung!