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: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Keep working on playing combinations of the accent patterns and also take a look at the intro of “Good Times Bad Times”: https://drive.google.com/open?id=17pjkCZ1jfMdjwRqFBMaPIG_hKMb3gQGz
How to practice it most effectively: Practice the accent patterns in the following combinations: #1 & #2, #3 & #4, #3 & #5, #2 & #6, #4 & #7, #3 & #8. Also try creating some of your own combinations by experimenting with different patterns around the drums. In the intro of “Good Times Bad Times,” focus on the combination of rhythms played on the hi-hat and bell in the third and fourth bars. Also do your best to figure out the rhythm of the fill in the fifth bar.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Try to finish off the page of 16th-note beats, especially #7-12: https://drive.google.com/open?id=10YGpSqgr9Z2SExyhXz7k1evG3C0t2VEc
How to practice it most effectively: Take a close look at the position of each bass drum and snare drum note in each one of these beats. Be sure that you can count these rhythms out loud before you try to play the beat. Take it slow and be very precise with every note. Once you feel comfortable with the beat, then try to speed it up.
Aidan
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the the flam rudiments and double stroke rolls as well as the first line of “Drum Corps on Parade”: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yJPRmQn7QZuvnmvhe8ji-CCGmJPGLDZi
How to practice it most effectively: Keep working on developing the bounce-pull technique in your left hand. Practice just playing double strokes with the left hand repetitively until it feels more comfortable. This will help with the roll rudiments. Work on the 5-stroke, 7-stroke, and 9-stroke rolls. Focus on keeping the volume of the rolls consistent. In the first line of the “Drum Corps on Parade,” try to figure out all the rhythms and rolls.
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the first four 16th-note beats from this new page: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Dga1ZBRWaN_Ka4O1G009w-74c4VaZCj7?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: Take these beats slowly and be sure to count the 16th-notes either out loud or in your head: “1e&a 2e&a 3e&a 4e&a.” Be sure to identify which part of the beat each bass drum and snare drum lands on. Practice each beat using the one handed method on the hi-hat and the two-handed method. Remember that when you play the two handed method, the right hand will move over to the snare drum to play on 2 and on 4.
Nate M.
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Keep working on your flam rudiments as well as the main beat from “Gotta Jibboo” by Phish: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UJYz7hx_AeAM7Std0aj1Y1IyVd-8f86S?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: The rudiments that you’ve been working on are getting better. Keep working this week on the flam rudiments: flam accent, flam tap, flamacue, and flam paradiddle. Focus on the motion of the sticks, raising them high to play the flams and keeping them low for the in-between notes. For the Phish song, focus on nailing down the main beat and practice playing it together with the song. Next week we’ll work on a few different variations.
Nate O.
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice playing all the fills from “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lsS6FvGAobS96Y5mFUDE_7L1HGfAK0_s
How to practice it most effectively: Review each fill by itself. Identify the rhythms in each on and look at how the bass drum and hi-hat notes line up. Once you feel comfortable playing each fill, then try practicing them in combination with the main beat. You should work toward playing all four fills in succession with the main beat played in between each one. Have a listen to the song to help you hear how the whole thing fits together.