Hi everyone,
Next week I will be away and you will have a substitute teacher. His name is Branden and he is a colleague of mine from U of T. He is a great drummer and an excellent teacher, so you will be in good hands!
Also, I made a mistake this week when I told each of you that next week is the last week of regular lessons. The last day is June 23, so you have two more weeks of regular lessons. I will likely be back on that day.
Here are your homework assignments for this week:
Oscar
Keep working on the jazz pattern and the different snare rhythms that we have been working on. Practice slowly and see if you can count out loud each of the snare rhythms while playing the jazz pattern. Also, take a look at the beat from Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin. Make sure that you can distinguish between the quarter notes and the eighth notes in the bass drum rhythm.
Ronin
Review all of “Can’t Stop” and practice as much of it as you can along with the recording. Next week Branden will have sheet music for you and you can go over the whole song with him. Remember to practice things slowly to help develop consistency in your playing.
Leonie
Practice the new jazz exercises that we started this week. Focus first of all on playing the jazz pattern (ride cymbal and hi-hat foot) together with each of the bass drum rhythms. Try this at a variety of different speeds. Next, try playing each of the snare rhythms together with the jazz pattern and the bass drum. Practice this part very slowly until it starts to feel more comfortable.
Nathan
Practice the new beats from “Closer to the Heart” and “Spirit of Radio.” Play them many times slowly before trying to go faster. As always, count the rhythms out loud before you play, and try to keep a consistent speed. Also, in the beat from Spirit of Radio, be careful not to play the bass drum at the same time as the open hi-hat. This will take some practice.