It was a pleasure meeting you all! Jonny will be back next week. Two things:

  1. How to use a metronome to practice: Plug some headphones into a computer/tablet/phone and pull up this online metronome. “100” is the tempo (speed) it is automatically set to. To adjust the tempo, click the plus and minus signs, or click and drag the blue dot. The clicks happen at the same time as  quarter notes, so if you’re counting out loud, you’ll count “1” at the same time you hear a click. Then “2,” then “3,” then “4”. I also want you to count the “and’s” out loud – “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”. “Ands” happen in between the clicks.
  2. Getting “off the page”: This means being able to play the beats without looking at the written music, and it will allow you to focus on your playing more. Get off the page as soon as possible when practicing any exercise.

-Rob

Will

Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day

What to practice: The two beats from “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

How to practice it most effectively: Play along to a metronome at tempo=65. If you master that tempo, bump it up to 70. 

How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.

Oscar

Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day

What to practice: The main beat from “Cold Sweat” by James Brown.

How to practice it most effectively: Play along to a metronome at tempo=60. Try to get the tempo up to 80, moving in 5-degree increments (65, 70, 75, 80). Make sure that you know when you should open and close the hi-hat. Isolate the snare drum and bass drum parts if you’re having trouble with them.

How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.

Leonie

Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day

What to practice: The Intro and Verse beats from the Bee Gees song.

How to practice it most effectively: Play along to a metronome at tempo=60. Try to get the tempo up to 80, moving in 5-degree increments (65, 70, 75, 80). After that, play along to the recording.

How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.

Alexy

Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes per day

What to practice: Beats #9-12 on the practice sheet that I gave you and the accent patterns that were new last week.

How to practice it most effectively: Continue to count the beats out loud when you practice them. This is *very* important in helping you play them correctly. With the accent patterns, focus on keeping the non-accented notes as soft as you can by lifting your stick only a little bit off the drum. Play along to a metronome at tempo=40. Once you’ve mastered all the beats, bump up the tempo to 45. Then 50. 

How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.

Daniel

Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day

What to practice: Bossa Nova, Samba, xylophone worksheets

How to practice it most effectively: Focus on keeping the bass drum very light and bringing out the counter-rhythm between the snare clicks and the hi-hat. That is the main driving force behind this kind of music. The rhythms should be clear and locked in with one another. For xylophone, keep the stand low and pointing upwards so that you can see the keyboard with as much of your peripheral vision as possible when looking at the music. Practice reading+playing without looking directly at the keyboard. You’re going to play a lot of wrong notes, but after some practice, you’ll play fewer wrong notes. One day you might even stop playing wrong notes altogether. If you have a rest, you can glance at the keyboard, but I don’t remember seeing any rests on the worksheets.

How parents can support practice: Encouraging your child to practice regularly and helping them develop a routine is the best way to be supportive.