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 rhythms and drum beats from your book.

How to practice it most effectively: With each rhythm, first count it out loud to make sure you know how it is supposed to sound. Then identify which notes are to be played on the bass drum and which are to be played on the snare drum. Then play the rhythm while still counting it in your head. Then move to the drum beats and try to maintain a steady eighth note pulse on the hi-hat while playing the bass/snare rhythm. Watch out for the bass/snare notes that don’t land together with the hi-hat – this is the tricky part.

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: Both of the beats from “Cissy Strut” and the xylophone part for Super Mario.

How to practice it most effectively: Try to really give these beats the right “feel” when you play them. Listen to how the drummer on the recording makes certain notes louder than others and some notes he plays very softly. This type of nuance is what makes playing drums really interesting. The more you can do to bring out these aspects of the beat, the better!

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 new 16th note beats that we have worked on.

How to practice it most effectively: Take the time to count out loud each of the beats so that you know how they are supposed to sound. Then practice the beat at a speed that allows you to play it multiple times in a row without stopping. After you have done this, try to increase the speed incrementally while still maintaining accuracy. Also, try to eventually get away from always reading the beat. Try to remember how it sounds and play it from memory.

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

Nate

Recommended minutes to practice: 20-30 minutes per day

What to practice: The new 16th note beats that we have worked on.

How to practice it most effectively: Read each beat carefully before you try to play it. Count out loud the rhythm of the bass drum and snare drum. Once you have done that, practice the beat at a speed that allows you to play it multiple times in a row without stopping. The goal here is to develop accuracy and consistency in playing syncopated rhythms over a 16th note pulse.

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: The new 16th note beats that we have worked on.

How to practice it most effectively: Remember to relax your left arm and to play more softly on the hi-hat. This will help to increase your endurance and consistency in playing these beats. Focus on the rhythms on the bass drum and snare drum. Count them out loud and practice them slowly in order to play them accurately. The aim is to be able to play each beat several times in a row without stopping.

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: Snare drum rudiments, Xylophone lesson #1, and major scales up to 5 sharps and flats.

How to practice it most effectively: On the snare drum, focus on the flam and drag rudiments. pay close attention to your stickings and stick heights. Making these accurate and consistent will help to improve the sound of your rudiments. For xylophone, try to play through all of lesson 1 at least a couple times this week. Try to follow the guidelines from the sheets that I gave you two lessons ago. Also, be careful that your double stops don’t sound like flams. This is especially important in the rag time exercises.