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, November 12th
Josh
Post Malone: I Had Some Help
–Practice Visual Drums #9 in your personal folder to learn the main beat in this song
–The pre-chorus fill (on the handout) goes flam-bass flam-bass flam-bass flam-bass on all eighth notes (“1+2+3+4+”). Practice this to make it comfortable, and slowly build up the speed to match the song
Myles – Xylophone week(Drums next week)
Xylophone:
–Review of C Major scale
–Simple Steps to Keyboard Percussion “Step Six” p. 12-13 (in google drive). Use “Step 5” exercises to help you find the notes
–Flashcards for note identification
–Next time we’ll do eartraining
Drumset Musician p81 ex. 9-12
NEW SONG Weezer: My Name is Jonas
–Drill the intro and main groove on p.1
–Today, we muddled our way through the WHOLE SONG. It’s not super complicated, but we’ll continue to work on the details each week
Finn
Warmups (30sec each):
–Single Strokes
–Double Strokes
–8 on a hand
–This week, practice putting a count (“1+2+3+4+) overtop of the Singles and Doubles.
White Stripes: seven Nation Army
–Great work! You’re a pro! Last steps now…
–Polish the syncopated variation in the chorus. Don’t forget to return to the basic beat afterwards!
Robbie
Warmups:
–Gminor and Bb Major arpeggios (G-Bb-D-G; Bb-D-F-Bb)
Canticum:
–Practice the notes with your index fingers on the piano to help with the sticking
–You know all the parts now, it’s just a matter of putting them all together
Halloween:
–Good work. Not too slow! Make sure to READ the variations in the snare drum part
Third Planet:
–“I don’t have a pen” rhythm at the end: be consistent
Francisco
Warmups (30sec/ea.):
–8 on a hand (80bpm)
–Singles (sixteenths at 145bpm)
–doubles (16ths at 100)
–Paradiddles (16ths at 100)
Stevie Wonder: Superstition–Everything up until the bottom of page three ***
–Play along and work out the fills you know. Next week we’ll cover the details that aren’t familiar
–Drills: R-L-K triplet rolls
—-Floor tom, Snare, kick, repeated
—-hi-tom, med-tom, snare, as written in the fill
–Listen to complete demo of “the big fill” in your google drive folder
Noah
Warmups (1min each per practice session):
–Single paradiddles 75bpm
–Double Paradiddles 75bpm
–Triple Paradiddles 75bpm
–Combo exercise: four of each paradiddle w/o breaks
Paul Simon: Late in the Evening
1)Memorize the sticking that holds this beat together
2) Master the sticking with the feet playing underneath at 75% speed (90bpm). Once mastered, add in the orchestration we learned today (find it in measure 2 of the chart in your personal gdrive folder)
3) Build the hands up to performance tempo (119bpm) without the feet. Start at 110 (today’s maximum) and gradually work your way up
Saturday, Febrary 8th
Jack
Warmups:
–Tragically Hip: 50 Mission Cap
–AJR: Bang!
Joan Jett: I Love Rock ‘n Roll
–Good work listening and following along with this song
–Next time, let’s try getting creative and filling in some of the natural gaps in the song
Benny Greb Rhythmic Alphabet
–Learn to play the SENTENCE we created this week all in one shot
–Be sure to count aloud while you play these rhythms
Aleksander
Warmups (30 sec each) goal tempo 80bpm playing four notes per beat:
–Singles, Doubles, and Paradiddles (four counts each for 1min)
–Flams, flam triplets
Drumset Musician: Sixteenth Note Ride Patterns (in your gdrive folder)
–Drill ex. 1-4, 2 min each
Lenny Kravitz: Are You Gonna Go My Way up until Chorus 2
–Page 2, second line, last measure: use the written sticking (flam, flam, LRLR R) to help coordinate your bass drum. Practice this measure along 2min before each runthrough
–p2, line 6, last measure: drill this 2min each time, making the bass drum land tidily on the “3 +”
Jonah
==Xylophone==
Warmups: see Xylophone Warmup Sheet in the Google Drive PLEASE PRINT
–This week, add in Bb Major and D Major
Reading exercises: please make sure to READ when we’re working on reading
Ear training:
–Identifying 3rds, 5ths, and 2nds
–Playing simple melodies back by ear
Bruno Mars: Locked out of Heaven CHORD CHART EXERCISE
–Learn the chords from the chord chart in your google drive folder
–Then, practice playing along to the Verse section in the song playing the correct chords
–We’ll take turns playing the melody and chords together with this lead sheet
==Drums==
Warmups:
–Paradiddle combo exercise with bass drum playing quarters. Accent the beginning of each paradiddle
NEW SONG Paul Simon: Late in the Evening
–You can find the chart for this song in your google drive personal folder
–This week we learned the main beat. Continue getting it clean and up to speed
Jared
Warmups:
–Stick Control ex 14-23 (90bpm***)
—-Play each exercise 4 times
Igoe’s Groove Essentials – Groove 1 slow (track 1)
–Same assignment, but now move the RH to the ride and put LF hihat “chick” on a) “2” and “4” (b) “1 2 3 4” and (c) “1+2+3+4+”
Funk Groove Eleven SLOW
Mario
Warmups (1min/ea) with Metronome at 100bpm (two notes per beat)
–8 on a hand
–Single Stroke Roll (R L R L…)
–Double Stroke Roll (R R L L…)
–Imagine the playing surface is a hot burner on the stove…get the stick down and up fast or you might get burned! Really quick contact–jump off the drum (piston/full strokes)
MGMT: Kid
–Building consistency will be key for this song. Play with your metronome (goal tempo ca. 126) to help develop this
Queen: Rock you
–Filling in the empty “4”
Joan Jett: Rock ‘n Roll
–Watermelon-watermelon fill off the top
–“apple pineapple” fill before chorus
Drumset Musician p27 (in google drive) – 8th-note Fills, ex. 9-12
–This week, focus on keeping the 8th-note steady through your fills
Mateo
Warmups (30 sec each) **pulling your thumb back:
–8 on a Hand
–Single Stroke Roll (RLRL…)
–Double Stroke Roll (RRLL…)
Drumset Musician p27, ex. 7-9**
–Aim to keep the flow of the eighth-note pulse STEADY
–try looping these exercises, so that the crash after the fill becomes beat 1 of the beat again
–count aloud!
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials, Groove 1 SLOW
–Drill Variation A this week, making it fit tidily along with the recording
NEW SONG Audioslave: Like a Stone
–This week, work on playing the main groove (same as exercise 3 from Drumset musician)
Preferred Books for TCHRNAME Students
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