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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October 13th Assignments
Lucas
How many minutes to practice: 15-30
What to practice: This week Lucas I want you to work on playing the beginning Seven Nation Army up through to the pre-chorus. HERE IS A VIDEO OF ME PLAYING THE PART!
How to practice effectively: This is the transcription of Seven Nation Army and here is a link to the song. Sorry for all the technical difficulties today Lucas. This week focus on being able to transition from the beginning of the song to the part where the snare drum comes in. Focus on keeping solid time and try playing with the song slowed down for practice!
Hope we can make things work better next week Lucas!
Ella
How many minutes to practice: 30
What to practice: Play Paranoid Android at tempo with the song and work through as much of the bridge as you can. Here is the UPDATED transcription and a link to the music And HERE IS A VIDEO OF ME PLAYING THE PART
How to practice effectively: Really good work today Ella! This part is tricky so focus on just going through measure by measure and watch my video for reference. Remember, going slowly is best!
So cool to see you jump right on this part of the song, its tricky and you started nailing it right off the bat!
Jonah
How many minutes to practice: 30
What to practice: This week Jonah I want you to work on Three Camps as well as this new accent tap exercise. We’ll work on some more details for Rock With You soon so check for the transcription to updated by the end of Friday. Here’s a link to the song.
How to practice effectively: For the new accent tap exercise, go slowly and get the hands down before adding the feet. Additionally, remember to keep the taps down as low as possible. You can control this by making sure to stop the stick right after playing the accents by holding on with your back fingers. Three Camps might look a little boring but keep working at it, its pretty easy to pick up once you understand the beginning. For Rock With You, just keep jamming out and playing along, it sounds great!
Great job with the accent tap exercise today!
Samson
How many minutes to practice: 15-30
What to practice: This week Samson I want you to work through the Accent Tap exercise with the feet and work on trying to get the Dark Red beat up to 0.85 speed on youtube. Here’s a link to the song.
How to practice effectively: Really productive lesson today Samson! For accent-tap, keep working on it slowly with the feet and aim to get it to a place where you can get through the whole thing at like a medium-slow speed. Make sure that the accents are strong but not tense and that the taps are as low and quiet as possible. For Dark Red, start the beat with the song at 0.7 speed and see if you can work it up to 0.85. The most important thing here is to stay consistent and keep the accents and taps separated!
Great job this week Samson!
Sylvie
How many minutes to practice: 30
What to practice: Next week I want to hear you play So Much to Say all the way through the the B Section. Here is the UPDATED TRANSCRIPTION
How to practice effectively: Good work today Sylvie, now this week I want you to focus on the B Section part. I’ll have the transcription up here in the next couple days so keep an eye out. Take things slow and identify the tricky spots. Work them out and then start stringing it all together like we normally would. When you’re ready, try it from the beginning of the song through the B Section and work on smoothing out the whole thing!
Really good work on the second pre-chorus! You picked up the little taste of the B Section I gave you today really easily so keep that momentum going while you practice!
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.
