Hi everyone,
Here are your assignments for this week:
Caroline
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the beat from “7 Years” as well as the one from “Seven Nation Army”
How to practice it most effectively: Take it slow with the beat from “7 Years.” This beat is considerably more difficult than anything else that we’ve done so far. Practice playing drags on the snare drum as well as playing them between the snare and the hi-hat/bass drum. These are a super important part of the beat for this song. With “Seven Nation Army,” practice the progression of beats that I wrote down for you. You can also try playing them together with the song.
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice playing sections “Tom Sawyer” together with the recording of the song.
How to practice it most effectively: Try to get used to the speed that this song requires by playing along with the recording. Pick the sections that you know the best and see how long you can play along with the song before you fall behind or make a mistake. Keep reviewing all the fills so that you can play them at the speed of the song and so you’re ready for them when they come up.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Review everything that we have done so far in “Black Dog,” especially the new section we just started this week.
How to practice it most effectively: The new section that we worked on this week starts with the fill that moves around the drums. Practice the fill and the beat that comes right after it. Listen to the recording as a reference for how the beat is supposed to sound. The most important thing is playing all of the crashes in the right spots.
Jared
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice beats 1-5 on the page that is available for download at this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JX6UYuVpfhBjfawAizC8uiaZhTAKinrs?usp=share_link
How to practice it most effectively: Look closely at the notation for each beat before you try to play it. Remember that each beat should be counted “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.” Take it slow and make sure that each bass drum and snare drum note is being played at the right time. Accuracy and consistency should be your first priorities. After that, when the beats start to feel comfortable, then try practicing them at different speeds.
Noah
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice the first two or three lines of rhythm from this new page in the three different ways that I showed you: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Dga1ZBRWaN_Ka4O1G009w-74c4VaZCj7?usp=sharing
How to practice it most effectively: First, practice playing each rhythm on the snare drum using both hands while keeping time on the bass drum. This should be fairly easy and you can experiment with playing at different speeds. Then, move the right hand to the ride cymbal and have it keep time with the bass drum while your left hand plays the rhythms on the snare drum. Finally, experiment with moving the rhythms around on the drums with your left hand while your right hand and foot continue to keep time.
Koel
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: Practice playing all the way through “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer and practice the first three lines of rhythm on this page: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SCS8WVjfR1OZVlYmt8a1r2LTxo2NJOpN?usp=share_link
How to practice it most effectively: Practice the new rhythms slowly while keeping the beat on the bass drum. If you’re having trouble, then leave the bass drum part out and just play the snare drum while counting out loud. Then, put the bass drum part back in and try again. Go through the rhythms one bar at a time until they start to feel comfortable. Then practice them two measures at a time, then four measures at a time, then two lines at a time, etc. Eventually, you should be able to play all the way through the first three lines without stopping.