Hi everyone,
Here are your practice assignments for this week:
Nate
Review the syncopation rhythms that we worked on this week. Make sure that you can count the rhythm out loud before you try to play it. Identify the types of notes and rests in each rhythm (quarters, eighths, and sixteenths) and see how they line up with the beats (1, 2, 3, 4). Also this week, practice Supersonic in preparation for the recital. Listen to the song a number of times and listen for place where you can insert fills and crashes.
Aidan
Great work on Paradise! The song is really coming together. Continue to practice the beat and try to add in the extra hi-hat notes at the end of the bar. The most important part is that you can get back to the regular beat comfortably after adding the hi-hat notes. Practice this transition a number of times in a row each day. Also, practice the exercise that Adam gave you for playing sixteenth notes on the hi-hat. Practice it twice as much with your left hand leading as with your right hand leading. Relax your arms/shoulders and control your sticks mostly from the wrist.
Sam
Keep practicing the materials for your school music test, especially the bells and xylophone parts. Be sure to read the notes on the page and not just guess at what you think they might be. It is important for you to develop strong reading skills if you want to continue playing these instruments. Also, with the snare drum part, focus on keeping a steady pulse particularly when you are playing straight eighth notes. Be sure to bring out the accents and keep the non-accented notes lower in volume.
Harrison
Great work with the drum beats and rhythms! This week, practice playing them together as drum fills. Pick one of the beats and play it 3 times in a row. Then, without stopping, play one of the rhythms around the drums as a fill. At the end of the fill, go straight back to the drum beat and hit the crash on the first note. Mix and match different beats with different fills.
Alejandro
Practice all 5 of the drum beats that you have written down in your book. Be carefully not to pause in the middle of the beat. Keep a steady pulse on the hi-hat and don’t allow it to speed up or slow down. The most important thing with these beats is to stay steady and be consistent. Try to always play each beat at least 4 times in a row without stopping. If that becomes easy, then try playing them 8 times in a row.