Hi everyone,
Here are your practice assignments for this week:
Aidan
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The jazz/swing snare drum exercises that I wrote down for you.
How to practice it most effectively: Practice slowly and focus on feeling the pulse of the beat against the rhythm of the snare drum. First, play just the right hand and left hand together. Then play the left hand together with the feet. Then play the right hand with the feet and add in the left hand as you feel comfortable. It is very important to be able to hear/count the rhythm in your head before you play it.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the rhythm exercises from your book along with quarter notes on the bass drum.
How to practice it most effectively: First, count the rhythm out loud and play it on the snare drum. Feel where the main pulse of the beat is and make sure that each part of the rhythm is lining up correctly. Then, play slow quarter notes on the bass drum and play the snare rhythm at the same time. Make sure that your bass drum pulse stays very steady and that the snare drum rhythm is consistent.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: The new drum beats that I wrote down in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: Be sure to practice these beats slowly at first and only speed them up once you feel that you can play them comfortably. Count the rhythm of the snare drum and bass drum notes out loud before you begin. Then, continue to count in your head as you play. This will help to ensure that you are aware when you make a mistake and you can get back on track.
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.
Nate M.
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The accent patterns from your book.
How to practice it most effectively: The most important thing with these exercises is to play the non-accented notes softly in order to create an audible different in volume between the accents and the non-accents. Play each one slowly at first and then try them faster once they start to feel comfortable. Also, experiment with playing the accents on the toms in different patterns while keeping the non-accented notes on the snare. This is when it is especially hard to keep the non-accented notes soft!
How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.