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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November 11th Assignments
Ella
Recommended Practice Time: 30mins
What to practice: This week Ella I want you to practice the coordination exercise everyday to either this song playlist or some of your own songs that are around the same tempo. Shoot for trying to be able to play through all the patterns at aa slow and medium tempo. In addition, see if you can play along to The Cure 10:15 Saturday Night, it doesn’t sound too tough so see if you can get the fun fills and what-not.
How to practice effectively: Take the coordination exercise slow and feel free to repeat each of the cells as much as you want. We want these stickings to become second nature to us so the idea is to shoot for groove and relaxation. Remember also to keep your sticks off the drum about 6 inches and always return to that position after each stroke.
Listening Assignment: Both of these albums are also available on any streaming site.
Rush, Moving Pictures
Muse, Black Holes and Revelations
Great work this week learning this exercise, keep shedding and finding new songs to play it with!
Jonah
Recommended practice time: 15mins
What to practice: This week Jonah, I want you to keep working through Lesson 5. Try writing in your counts this week in the second half of the reading and work on some of the grooves: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fjP57IAe-Ymn7m0k6gbsVCOTJuC7v8b-/view?usp=sharing
How to practice effectively: Keep counting out loud. That is the key forever and always. Writing the counts in will also be extremely helpful. Also try to find a consistent time each day to practice, that will help build consistency and confidence. As well as just having an excuse to have a ton of fun.
Great job with this stuff man, every week has been getting better, keep it up!
Samson
Recommended practice time: 15mins
What to practice: This week Samson I want to hear you play all of Crab Rave 2.0 with the music. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ftUXzChBoqx5DEHxrzhVO7its0877-TL/view?usp=sharing
How to practice effectively: Work with your metronome! Listen to it before you play and really try to groove with your ears, paying attention to the tempo and being able to tell when you’re not right with the music. Don’t rush but work through all the tricky bits and connect it all together.
I’m really impressed with how much progress we made with this today! Its so fantastic to see you light up about starting to understand the groove. I know our goal for next week is in your hands and achievable, so I challenge you to really go for it and push yourself in your practicing!
Sylvie
Recommended practice time: 30mins
What to practice: Continue to practice the second page of Lesson 7 and maybe brush up on the reading with the feet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ftXqa6lMhwDpCdQk2PAPfBg62cLradir/view?usp=sharing
Also learn this new coordination warmup and play it with some music you like at an easy tempo!
How to practice effectively: The coordination warmup is just a bunch of 8th notes with different stickings played over your feet keeping time like in the reading exercises, don’t be afraid to repeat each pattern more than written and see if you can notice the difference between when you play it well or not. The second page of Lesson is fairly straight-forward, I’m looking forward to learning some new beats!
I love the work you put in Sylvie, don’t be afraid to always have fun on the drums!
Paulina
Recommended practice time: 30mins
What to practice: This week work on the coordination warmup exercise and continue to get good sleep!
How to practice effectively: First just get the hand patterns down; focusing on keeping the sticks up at all times and propelling our stroke with 85% wrist, its easy to fall into the habit of too much arm. Then once you feel comfortable with the stickings, try them over the feet playing 1 2 3 4 and try to get them as in time together as possible.
Listening Assignment:
Muse, Absolution
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.
