Jack
Seeing the new progress Jack has been making, I would like start him on the Visual Drumset Method book. This is rather similar to what we have been doing, visualising different drum patterns, but now these help transitioning him into more conventional grooves. Work on the page printed at the moment, and once we have the book, we will work towards later page!
Adam
We started with some rudiments this class. To warm up for each practise session, play the exercise in the bottom. Play each version for around 4 repeats, with an aim to match the tone coming out of right hand and left hand and each additional hit. In other words, RRRR should ideally sound the same as RLRL or RRLL. Then we moved onto doing more of Enter Sandman. He did a great job learning the main groove and catching how it works in conjunction with the guitar riff when we play with the track. My next goal for him to connect from the intro groove, play the tom fill, and play into this main groove.
Nicolas
We started with a little warmup playing scales, then moved on to a page from George Hamilton Green’s Beginners Method for Xylophone. I started him on several exercises in F Major as that was the key that the Hymn of Freedom is in. These exercises are all about efficient movement and building dexterity in all the small muscle groups as well as movement planning. I pointed out to Nicolas that he should plan a trajectory for his hand before he plays, so his arm is not doing unnecessary movement. This is crucial to also playing faster passages in the future, but also having an understanding of mallet control. Practise the exercises assigned and also start giving Merry Go Around a read. A crucial skill to master here is the ability to play double stops and understanding voicing.