Cormac;
What To Practice; all the chords for “Help” and “All Together Now”
How Long To Practice; 15 minutes a day
How to practice; while singing the song along with playing make sure that there are the correct amount of strokes per bar. Make sure that the thumb is placed correctly
How Parents can Support Practice; make sure that Cormac has a time and place to practice everyday. Maybe “jam” with him by singing along. Help him have fun with it.
Sam;
What To Practice; bass line for “No Woman No Cry”
How Long To Practice; 15 minutes a day. Regular everyday practice is imperative.
How To Practice; first look at the chart and remember what all the notes are. These are written in bass clef. Then put the song on and play along to it.
How Parents can Support Practice; as stated above, regular daily practice is of utmost importance for any improvement. Please make sure Sam hasa time and place for this.
Simon;
What To Practice; all new parts for “Goodbye Stranger”
How Long To Practice; 15 minutes a day
How To Practice; remind Simon what each note is before playing. We are now using standard notation, so find he notes first and pay attention to rhythm. Simon, don’t forget to check the clef!
How Parents can Support Practice; remind Simon to check the notes against the clef and to observe rhythms. Simon, as you know, is really enjoying Supertramp. One fun thing you can do to encourage this is to explore this band a little yourself and share it with him. I explained to Simon last week how much joy I got out of “being a fan”, meaning finding out information about the bands I liked. Perhaps just find some songs from them that you like and share them.
Felix;
What To Practice; soloijng ideas we have discussed.
How Long To Practice; 30 minutes a day
How To Practice; remember the ideas discussed.
How Parents can Support Practice; the music we have been discussing is jazz, particularly from the era approx. 1935 to 1945. Try having some of this music on around the house and share it with Felix. When you hear him practicing, listen for the similarities in what he is doing to the music from this time period. Tell him how great he sounds!
Kiran;
What To Practice; “American Woman”
How Long To Practice; 15 minutes a day
How To Practice; practice along with the original recording to improve timing.
How Parents can Support Practice; make sure Kiran has a regular time and place to practice
Josh:
What To Practice; review the solos in “Comfortably numb”
How Long To Practice; 30 minutes a day
How To Practice; play along with Pink Floyd!
How Parents can Support Practice; Josh and I talk a lot about music and the culture surrounding it. If you can, sit and watch the entire documentary “The Ramones; End Of The Century” with Josh. It is a very insightful look at that band but even more so the culture of New York in the early 1970’s.