Christopher Hull is a percussionist and ethnomusicologist whose work focuses on tensions between tradition and innovation in contemporary music. As a passionate performer of solo, chamber, and orchestral percussion, he seeks to ground his work in his classical training while simultaneously transcending the conventions of the conservatory. With classical percussion degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Alaska Fairbanks, a performing arts certificate from the Arts Institute of Indonesia Denpasar, and his current studies in ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto, Christopher’s genre-defying work exhibits a world of experience.
As an orchestral percussionist, he frequently works with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the Hamilton and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestras, and Sinfonia Ancaster. He has appeared as a chamber musician and soloist in festivals such as Open Ears, International Gamelan Festival Munich, Young Artists Niagara, and Sacred Rhythm Jakarta, and can be heard playing drums, vibraphone, and synthesizer on commercial recordings by Call Me Moon and Treephones. He is also Associate Artistic Director of Toronto-based Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, commissioning and premiering new works for Sundanese degung, and director of the University of Toronto’s Balinese gamelan ensemble, Dharma Santi.
Get to know Chris…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Reading, cycling, and synthesizers
Musical influences: Jojo Mayer, Benny Greb, David Garibaldi, Gary Burton, Tony Miceli, Steve Reich, Glenn Gould, Bill Evans, I Dewa Made
Favourite food: Noodles
Least favourite food: Quiche
Favourite music: R&B, hip-hop, funk; Western modernism and minimalism; Balinese gender wayang; Sundanese degung; Orchestral; beatsce Favourite song:!
Favourite movie: The Departed
Favouirite movie music: Old modern romantic soundtracks (eg. Spellbound)
Favourite musical theatre/opera: West Side Story/Turandot
Best quote from your teacher: “When we perform, we smile. If we make a mistake while performing, we smile bigger.” -Dewa Suparta
Favourite quote: “I’m a man who leaves nothing to chance.” -Maestro Boris Brott
Favourite book: Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami
Best thing about teaching at ABC: The lovely students
Latest Homework from CHRIS
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Tuesday, March 18th
Lila
Warmups:
–8 on a Hand
–Single strokes
–Double strokes
–Paradiddles
Basic Beat Level 3.5 same as level 3, but RH plays on the Ride Cymbal
Step 1) Count “1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ”
Step 2) Play the Hihat with your Right Hand (RH) on all the counts
Step 3) Add in the Bass Drum with your Right Foot (RF) on “1”, “2”, “3”, and “4”
Step 4) Add in the Snare Drum with your Left Hand (LH) on “2” and “4”
Visual Drumset Method: exercise 12
–great! Number 12 still needs a bit more work to be consistent and comfortable
White Stripes: Seven Nation Army
–Great job!
NEW SONG ACDC: Back in Black
–This week, practise playing the basic beat along with the song
Josh
Warm-ups:
–Learn to sing along to Teddy Bear’s Picnic. Then, play along to the melody on your snare drum while keeping the beat on your bass drum, just like you came up with in today’s lesson!
Groove Essentials Rock Groove 5
–This week, add drum fills in every fourth measure
–Practice the skill of knowing when to deploy each fill. Depending on how long they are, they’ll start on a different beat
The Beatles: Ticket To Ride
–Awesome! Let’s start thinking about a new song to learn
Myles
Drumset Musician p83 Twelve Bar Blues playalong
–See handout to help visualize the 12-bar Blues form
–Add in drum fills prior to the different segments
==Xylophone==
Warmups (Three keys):
–Scale, one octave, ascending and descending, saying the note names as you play them
–Arpeggio
–Broken thirds, ascending and descending
Cirone Book: “Step Six” ex. 5-8
Eartraining: identifying thirds and fifths
Tones and I: Dreaming
–See Worksheet in google drive PLEASE PRINT NEW VERSION
Finn
Warmups (30sec each, counting aloud):
–Single Strokes
–Double Strokes
–8 on a hand
Visual Drummer: p19 ex 16-18
NEW SONG Bon Jovi: Livin on a Prayer
–The main beat for this song alternates between Visual Drummer ex. 13 and 1. Practice getting these up to speed to play this song
–Try learning the opening drum fill by ear
Koel
Warmups (1min each):
–Triplet Ex. 130bpm***
–Sixteenth-note exercise 95bpm***
–Sixteenth-note exercise ON THE BASS DRUM goal tempo: 70bpm
—-Try adding the sixteenth-note subdivision into your metronome to help with your rhythmic precision
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials: Groove 14 Slow (in google drive)
–This week, learn the main beat
–as a bonus, try learning Variations A and B
Francisco
Warmups:
–Stick Control first page ex. 14-18 (4x each, 120bpm goal tempo)
–Play eighths ca. 120-160 bpm (gradually building up the speed) using accents on the beats to help with the push-pull strokes
Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials book: Groove 1 FAST
–See the cheat sheet I made for the solo section in your google drive folder
–This week, work on building this solo up. We’ll finish this song off next week
Begin working on Groove 14 Slow (Groove Essentials) in yoru google drive
Noah
Warmups (1min each)
–Paradiddle Combo Exercise with Bass Drum on Quarter Notes (goal tempo 126)
Groove Essentials: Groove 14 Slow (in your google drive folder)
–Learn the basic groove and Variation B, try playing with RH on the hihat and then hand-to-hand sticking
Please bookmark the following links:
Your personal google drive folder
The “Frequently Used Resources” Folder
Aviva
Warmups (1min ea) goal tempo = 150bpm, playing two notes per beat (aka eighth notes)
–Single strokes (LRLR…)
–Double Strokes (LLRR…)
–Paradiddles (LRLL RLRR…)
Accent Exercises worksheet
–Work on these with a RH lead this time
–Play ex. 5-8 like fills (3 measures of beat, then exercise, followed by crash)
Drumset Musician p12, ex. 11-15
–polish these off for next week
–feel free to go on to the following page
Groove 1 FAST
–Try playing along to this MUCH faster track using a quarter-note cymbal pattern (use the starred examples from your folder)
Groove 2 Slow (chart and track in your personal folder)
–Learn the main groove and variations for next week
–Ignore the left-food hihat “chicks” for now, we can add those in later
Hole: Celebrity Skin
–Work on flowing through the intro section (false start)
–Correct the rhythm on snare in beat 2s of the Chorus groove
–Learn and build up the speed of the Chorus fill (bottom of handout)
Saturday, May 10
Jack
Great job concentrating and keeping time this class! We created a cool drum pattern to play with Thriller today and we will look to get familiar with the pattern next class!
Nova
We have now fully learnt Cupid and our goal is to record a video next week with myself on accompaniment! If stuck on a tricky rhythm, count out loud and get comfortable with the syncopation!
Aleksander
Great progress on Living on a Prayer! We played through until pre chorus. Practise it under tempo and when you feel more comfortable with the transition, go a little faster and eventually try play it at original speed with the recording.
You also grasp the triplet rhythm nicely, but make sure you play it in time! Give chorus a read, and we will aim to play through that next lesson!
Jonah
The Simpson
The tune is very very tricky and Jonah you did a great job nailing the notes! You also showed great understanding on how to practise tricky licks through repetition and practising step by step BUT you need to have the dedication to do it at home as well! In order to do your best on your performance coming up, try to familiar yourself with many of those licks as possible, and always remember to count!
Jared
Bring Me To Life
Bar 24 and 25 have been your nemesis of late! BUT you are closer than you think! The third and fourth beat of bar 24 and first two beats of bar 25 are super similar, which is the reason why you have been confusing them. Subdivide! Practise the RIGHT pattern, repeat! We will aim to go on next week, and play till bar 45.
Mario
Warm Up with triplet and 16th notes exercise, go for evenness and relaxation!!!
Great great progress on My Friend as we played through first page. We are now at 65 bpm right now and original speed is at 84. When possible practise with metronome at home and crank up the speed when you feel comfortable! We will read through till Guitar Solo next week!
Preferred Books for TCHRNAME Students
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