Hi everyone,
Here are your assignments for this week:
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice at least four new comping rhythms from the new page provided and practice playing them along with the jazz backing tracks: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17pjkCZ1jfMdjwRqFBMaPIG_hKMb3gQGz?usp=share_link
How to practice it most effectively: Start by figuring out the rhythms in the comping patterns. Remember to count! This will help you to figure out how the rhythm is supposed to sound. Then, practice playing them with the right hand and foot patterns. Finally, put on one of the jazz backing tracks (start with 100 bpm, then 120 bpm, and then 140 if you want to try it) and play along with the tracks:
100 bpm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VmZwkqi0HU
120 bpm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpTYcnG5WYE
140 bpm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr2rLTQtRPo
Jared
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the 16th-note drums beats on the new page provided and also keep working on your drum roll: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JX6UYuVpfhBjfawAizC8uiaZhTAKinrs?usp=share_link
How to practice it most effectively: Practice the first six beats on the page. Remember to practice each one in two different ways: 1) with only the right hand playing the hi-hat notes, and 2) with both hands alternating on the hi-hat. Experiment with different speeds but always be sure to keep the 16th notes steady at whatever speed you are playing. Keep working on smoothing out your drum roll by going from soft and slow to fast and loud and then back again.
Jude
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the “drum fills” from your book by playing them in combination with the drum beat (#6 from the hi-hat exercises).
How to practice it most effectively: First, take one of the rhythms from your book and practice playing it around the drums. Then play the drum beat a couple times in a row and go straight from there into the rhythm, playing it around the drums. Once you feel comfortable doing that, then practice starting with the rhythm and going straight from there back to the drum beat. Finally, practice playing the drum beat a couple times, then straight into the drum fill, and then straight back to the beat.
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the two main beats and the first fill from section 1 of Watermelon Man by Herbie Hancock.
How to practice it most effectively: Focus on keeping a really steady pulse with the 16th notes on the hi-hat. This song isn’t very fast, but it needs to really groove, so it is important to maintain that pulse throughout the whole song. Also, pay close attention to which notes are soft and which notes are loud. Once you feel comfortable with the beats, then practice alternating back and forth between them and ending with the fill. The form should be A B A B A Fill.
Koel
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Focus on practicing the last page of Sweet Child O Mine.
How to practice it most effectively: The bridge and the final chorus are the last two sections that you need to learn in this piece. Work on the transitions between each four-bar phrase in these sections. You’ve got all the beats and rhythms down really well, it’s just a matter of being able to move from one to the next without hesitating or getting thrown off. Practice the transitions slowly and then try to gradually play a bit faster each day.
Caroline
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice all of the open hi-hat beats from your page and focus especially on #5-10.
How to practice it most effectively: These beats are really coming along! Just be very careful about the coordination of your left foot with the rest of what you’re doing. Don’t be late opening the hi-hat. It needs to be open before you hit it with the sticks. Also, don’t let your feet throw each other off. Practice keeping your heels down for balance and think carefully about how the movement of each of your feet relate to each other.