Hi everyone,
Here are your practice assignments for this week:
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: #13-20 from the “Lesson 4” sheet and the rhythm review exercises that we worked on.
How to practice it most effectively: Review the concepts of rhythm that we have been talking about in your last couple of lessons. Think about what the “rhythmic value” is of each note and how they all fit together within bars or measures. Also, please practice beats #13-20 from the Lesson 4 page in your folder.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: The drum beats and fills from “Ride” by 21 Pilots.
How to practice it most effectively: Review the main beat from the song and practice playing it many times in a row without stopping. Focus on keeping a steady speed and playing each note accurately. Then take a look at the new material from the song that I wrote down in your book this week. Practice going through it bar by bar and then see if you can play this whole section start to finish without stopping.
Alexy
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: “When I Come Around” by Green Day and the open hi-hat beats that I wrote down in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: With the Green Day song, really focus on keeping a steady pulse through each beat and fill. Don’t practice faster than the speed of the song or else you will get used to rushing. Take it slowly and feel the pulse. With the open hi-hat beats, focus on what your feet are doing and make sure you know whether they’re supposed to be moving together or separately at any given time.
Oscar
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: Finish up Hungarian Dance No. 5.
How to practice it most effectively: Start by reviewing the middle section which was new last week. Don’t rely too much on your memory but rather look at the printed music each time you practice. Also review how many times you’re supposed to repeat each section (this will require looking at the music). Once you feel comfortable with this, then practice running the piece from start to finish and work on the transitions between sections.
Emily
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The pre-chorus and chorus from Arabella by the Arctic Monkeys.
How to practice it most effectively: Review the rhythms from each fill in the pre-chorus. Be careful to note the differences between the second rhythm and the third one. Once you feel comfortable playing them, then try running this section with the hi-hat foot playing eighth notes. In the chorus, again, practice both of the fills individually, then try putting them together with the beat. Once you start to feel comfortable with the pre-chorus and the chorus, then practice the transition between them.
Nate O.
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The jazz rhythm and triplet accent pattern that I wrote down in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: Review the jazz (swing) rhythm on the ride and hi-hat. Remember that the hi-hat is to be played with your left foot. This rhythm should have a particular feel to it. In order to understand this feel, listen to some jazz tunes on Youtube. Some good ones to check out are “So What” by Miles Davis, “Autumn Leaves” by Chet Baker, and “Sing Sing Sing” by Benny Goodman. Also practice the triplet accent pattern that I showed you. Focus on keeping the sticks low for the non-accented notes and only lifting them high above the drum when you are playing the accents.