Hi everyone,
Here are your practice assignments for this week:
Will
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: The new drum beats written down in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: Start by examining the notes in your book carefully. Try to count each rhythm out loud. You can write down the counting under the notes if that will help you. Then, try to slowly play each note on the page in rhythm. Pay close attention to when the bass drum plays together with the hi-hat and when it plays in between the hi-hat notes. Once you feel like you can play the beats correctly, then try to gradually increase the speed.
Elliot
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day
What to practice: The 16th-note beats and drum fills that I wrote down in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: Practice the beats slowly and try to be as consistent as possible. If you feel like you’re mixing up the bass drum and snare drum notes, then take it even slower. You want to try to practice at a speed where you can play everything correctly and smoothly. After that, try to increase the speed. Also work on connecting the fills with the drum beats.
Alexy
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The 16th-note fills written down in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: Use these fill concepts to work on moving around the drums. You want to be able to play these rhythms fairly quickly while moving from one drum to the next. Focus on keeping a steady pulse and playing all the rhythms clearly. Also, remember to let your sticks bounce when they hit the drum. Don’t let the tips stay on the drum after you hit it.
Oscar
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The rhythm review exercises that I wrote in your book.
How to practice it most effectively: Review each of the types of notes that we covered: whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. Take a look at the rhythm examples that I wrote down and practice counting them then playing them. Also review the different types of rests that we covered and look at the rhythms that incorporate rests. Again, practice counting them out loud then playing them.
Nate M.
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The third beat from “Spirit of Radio” by Rush.
How to practice it most effectively: This is an eight-measure phrase that repeats. Remember that the first three lines have 7 beats and the fourth line has 8 beats, so the counting is a little strange. Listen to the recording and try to follow along with the notes I wrote in your book. Then practice playing it slightly slower than the speed of the song. Once you can play it comfortably at that speed, then try speeding it up.
Emily
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The entire first page of “In Bloom” as well as the bridge beat.
How to practice it most effectively: Practice playing through the whole first page without stopping. Use the 16th-note fill that we practiced for the transition into the pre-chorus. Then if you’re feeling good about the first page, try adding the chorus from the top of the second page. Also, review the beat from the bridge of the song because this one is quite different from the other beats. Remember not to sit too close to the drums so your shins won’t hurt!
Nate O.
Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day
What to practice: The 2 beats that I wrote down in your book last time and the new 16th-note drum fills.
How to practice it most effectively: Be sure to take time to carefully read the notes that I wrote down in your book. Count the rhythms out loud before you try to play them and be careful not to mix up the bass drum notes and the snare drum notes. It is important to take your time with this and practice the beats correctly and consistently. The more time you play something the wrong way, the harder it will be to correct yourself. Don’t play too fast. Play at a speed where you can comfortably play the beats correctly, even if it is super slow!