Hi everyone,

I’d like to remind you all that there are no regular lessons next Thursday because of March break. Some of you have been scheduled for make-up lessons on Saturday, March 19th. You should have received a copy of that schedule from Barnaby. If not, please call the front desk. Here are your homework assignments for this week:

Michelle

Keep working on the three main beats from “New Divide” by Linkin Park. Practice them slowly! Don’t worry about being able play them fast. Focus on accuracy and consistency. With the intro beat on the floor tom, count the rhythm out loud before you play it, and concentrate on keeping the sticking the same every time.

Oscar

Practice the beats from “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin. Focus especially on the new beat with the right hand on the bell of the ride cymbal. Work on keeping the eighth notes in the right hand steady while you play sixteenth notes on the snare and tom. And remember to practice slow!

Ronin

Keep working on the beats and fills from “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” by Judas Priest. Next time I’ll have a full drum part typed out for you so we can start working on fitting everything together. Until then, make sure you are comfortable with all the fills and timing. Also, review the rhythms that you have learned up to this point and practice counting out loud before you play.

Leonie

Take a look at the 5 funk beats that we worked on this week. Practice each of them with eighth notes on the hi-hat and then with 16th notes on the hi-hat. Remember what we said about some notes being more important than others and be sure to give those notes more emphasis. Also, when playing with 16th notes, make sure that each snare drum and bass drum note is landing exactly together with the hi-hat.

Nathan

Practice the full verse beat from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana which I wrote down in your book. Focus especially on the transition into the chorus – make sure that you don’t speed up and that the rhythm stays very steady. Also, be careful not to play the bass drum at the same time as the open hi-hat in the first part of the verse.

Benjamin

Take a look at the two drum fills that I wrote down in your book. Try to remember what they sound like and count them out loud as your practice. Also, review the accent patterns that we did a couple of weeks ago. We’re going to come back to these in your next lesson and work on them some more.