Project Description
M.Mus (UofT) in-progress
B.Mus (Eastman)
Gordon is a percussionist and educator interested in performing, creating, and engaging within a multitude of musical styles, invested in how music might be embodied in a variety of forms through joyful exploration.
From Tampa, Florida, Gordon became acquainted with music through piano lessons, eventually moving on to drum set and marching percussion in high school. In 2019, Gordon completed his undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Michael Burritt. At Eastman Gordon performed and premiered works with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Eastman Percussion Ensemble, and Musica Nova in addition to serving for two years on the board of the student-led new music ensemble, Ossia.
He is also interested in the intersection between music and technology and has contributed to creative projects with the Eastman Audio Research Studio and the University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble.
Gordon is currently working towards completing his Master’s degree at the University of Toronto under the instruction of Aiyun Huang.
Get to know Gordon…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Spending time with family and friends, watching movies, reading, spending time outside, tossing a frisbee and playing Spikeball
Musical influences: Rush, Mutemath, Max Roach, My Brightest Diamond, Son Lux, Rachel Podger, Michael Burritt, Steve Schick, Paul Rennick, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Jess Ray, Mark Andre…
Favourite food: Kanafeh (Middle-Eastern dessert)
Least favourite food: Brussel sprouts
Favourite music: Rock, Jazz, Contemporary Classical, Indie-folk, Electronic
Favourite song: One favorite is Humble Heart by Jess Ray
Favourite movie: Another favorite is Tree of Life by Terrence Malick
Favourite movie music: Bernard Herman in Vertigo, Ennio Morricone in Once Upon a Time in the West
Favourite musical theatre/opera: Hamilton, Invisible Cities by Christopher Cerrone
Best quote from your teacher: “Listen…”
Favourite quote: Romans 8:37-39
Favourite book: The Giver by Lois Lowry
Best thing about teaching at ABC: Sharing music with the students.
Latest Homework from Gordon
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January 20th Assignments
Lucas
Recommended Practice Time: 15-30mins
What to practice: This week Lucas I want you to practice playing the Countdown exercise we learned. Its 4 strokes on the right hand, 4 strokes on the left hand, 4 strokes on the right foot, and 4 strokes on the left foot. You then do 3 strokes, then 2 strokes, then 1 stroke, and then all the way back up to 4 strokes again. The number of strokes for each limb will then go 4-3-2-1-2-3-4. Also be sure to have fun banging around the drum set too!
How to practice effectively: I know you’ve got a good handle on the exercise already, just try and make it as smooth, steady, and continuous as you can through all of the limbs and amount of strokes.
It was great working with you again, have fun this week!
Ella
Recommended Practice Time: 30mins
What to practice: This week continue working through the chorus of Violent Sun and work on getting through the whole song. Here is the transcription and here is the form chart.
How to practice effectively: Good work on the chorus, see if this week you can get it really solid. To work through the rest of the song you’ll see that I put what beat is played at each section in the form chart. I didn’t label them but you can match up the beats to the transcription. Beat A is the intro/verse, Beat B is the pre-chorus, and Beat C is the chorus. Here is a video of me playing the chorus for audio/visual reference and here is a video of the drummer Michael Spearman playing the song.
And here is some fun listening if you’re interested:
Imogen Heap, Speak for Yourself
Muse, Black Holes and Revelations
Good job this week, looking forward to putting the whole song together!
Jonah
Recommended practice time: 30mins
What to practice: Next week Jonah be prepared to play through Lesson 8.
How to practice effectively: Practice through the reading counting and playing like we normally do, we’ll be talking more about dynamics next week. And have fun learning the new fills!
Good work today Jonah, its important to work through the reading and I appreciate your efforts!
Samson
Recommended practice time: 30mins
What to practice: Next week Samson will be our last week running through Mario Beatbox. After that we will focus on working through Lesson 6.
How to practice effectively: Keep practicing Mario Beatbox at different speeds making sure to listen to the track and nailing the transitions and repeats. Start reading through Lesson 6 so we can run through it smoothly next week.
Really nice improvement on Mario Beatbox this week, its really on its way, keep it up!
Sylvie
Recommended practice time: 30mins
What to practice: This week Sylvie I want you to focus on getting comfortable with Beat B in the pre-chorus of Starlight as well as Beat C so that you can try and work through the whole song. Here are the transcriptions of the beats. And here is a form chart of the song.
How to practice effectively: Just go slowly through the beat and read it exactly how you would any other beat, once you get the hang of it its pretty simple! Then once you feel comfortable with all of the different sections try playing through the whole song and we can focus on transitions next week.
Great to see your progress!
Paulina
Missed you again today Paulina! Hope you’re ok!
Recommended practice time: 30mins
What to practice: This week I want you keep working on the coordination exercise, aim to get through the whole thing, as well as work through Lesson 1 and Lesson 2.
How to practice effectively: For the coordination exercise, continue isolating the patterns that give you difficulty. Repeat them, memorize them, engrain those patterns so that playing them is second nature. Then string them together and push towards playing the whole thing. For the Lessons I want you to clap and count the reading exercises and then once you feel comfortable with that try them on the drum looking for good strokes that start and stop at the top and good timing. We’re going to be using this book quite a bit so its not a bad idea for a purchase.
Heres an album I really like:
Preferred Books for Gordon’s Students
Click to buy them here, and they’ll come right to your house! What could be easier?
STICK CONTROL
George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control is the bible of drumming. In 1993, Modern Drummer magazine named the book one of the top 25 books of all-time. In the words of the author, it is the ideal book for improving: control, speed, flexibility, touch, rhythm, lightness, delicacy, power, endurance, preciseness of execution and muscular coordination, with extra attention given to the development of the weak hand.
Reading, Rudiments, and Rock Drumming
This beginner book contains the basic 3 R’s of drumming-Reading, Rudiments, and Rock, in an easy to learn format.
Intermediate Snare Drum Studies
The Art of Bop Drumming
The definitive book on bop drumming---a style that is both the turning point and the cornerstone of contemporary music's development. This comprehensive book and audio presentation covers time playing, comping, soloing, brushes, more jazz essentials, and charts in an entertaining mix of text, music, and pertinent quotes.