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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Assignments 9/16
Great job this week everyone, you all are so talented and a pleasure to teach, here’s some fun stuff to keep working on this week!
Ella
Recommended Practice Time: 30mins
What to practice: Keep working on the exercise I gave you for Breezeblocks and see if you can work it up to 120 and play the whole song continuously at that tempo.
How to practice effectively: Start the exercise, (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GeniPdyacctVU39wDf0L8RxUJRf-uU43/view?usp=sharing) at a tempo thats easier maybe 110, and then slowly try and work it up to where it becomes too difficult. Then go back to the fastest tempo you can play it well and try all of the sections of Breezeblocks at that tempo, then work through the transitions and try playing through the whole song at that tempo. Even if its slow this will give you a good feel for what its like to play the song through. Also if you want to practice playing with the music try slowing the song down in the Amazing Slow Downer app and see if you can get it to work, DFTBA!
Jonah
Recommended amount of practice time: 15mins
What to practice: Lets try to practice the alternated hi-hat beat and the other new beat I showed you this week and see if you can come up with 4 new beats this week! Here is the link to print (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VtIaLwpfsLMJRMcrt5iQT2CxK2U9-AjR/view?usp=sharing)
How to practice effectively: Keep your hands moving and remember to play the snare drum with the right hand on 2 and 4. You showed me a cool new beat this week and I would love to hear it again, see if you can keep experimenting with how many snare or bass hits you have in the beat!
Samson
Recommended amount of practice time: 15mins
What to practice: Crab Rave transcription that I’ve made with the link here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W72vCXlAmClM3mpSlnmpPFwzMNo1OLAb/view?usp=sharing)
How to practice effectively: This transcription may be a little tricky but try your best and use your ear! Try to match what you hear in the song to what you see on the page and what you play. We’ll work on it some more next week and then come up with some parts for the Coconut song, Megalovania, the Spongebob beatbox beat, as well as coffin dance. If you have any more songs you want to cover let me know!
Sylvie
Recommended practice time: 30mins
What to practice: Hi-hat splash beats with 16th note fills around the drums! Experiment with keeping the same rhythm but different drums as well as trying out different rhythms in the space of the fill. Take a look at this page you can print at this link for help and other ideas (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W8F4cmiIVGe6KIga37Syw2eYaoPZqK2s/view?usp=sharing)
How to practice effectively: Absolutely great job this week Sylvie, you killed it with those hi-hat splash patterns! This week to keep getting more comfortable with those beats lets add some fills at the end every 4 bars or so. The page I’ve linked is from a book we may start working out of soon and it shows some beats with fills of different lengths, so try them out and get a feel for them and try them with the hi-hat splash beats you have too! Also go ahead and check out the hand patterns at the top of the page if you want something extra and fun to do!
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.
