Thomas Li

Lukas

For “More Than a Feeling,” focus on the following areas:

• Practise moving from bar 102 into bar 103, with particular attention to the coordination in bar 103.
• Make sure you understand how the eighth-note subdivision in bar 102 connects to the sixteenth-note subdivision in bar 103.
• Review bars 115 and 119 carefully. These bars are similar, and their muscle memory occasionally became mixed up during the play-through.
• Practise bars 115 and 119 back-to-back. This will force you to switch quickly between the two patterns and help you recognize exactly how they differ.

Next week, we will play through the entire song. Please also choose the next song you would like to learn.

Finn

We spent most of today’s lesson notating the chorus pattern for “Imposter.”

The main areas to practise are:

• The two-bar fill at the end of the chorus
• Identifying the single 2/4 bar that appears immediately before the fill

The shortened 2/4 bar may feel confusing at first, so keep counting carefully and notice how it changes the length of the phrase. We will spend more time identifying and feeling this metric change next week.

Once the chorus feels comfortable, we will begin connecting the sections and playing through the entire song.

Aleksander

We focused on the guitar-solo section of “Smooth Criminal” today. Please study this section carefully at home, especially the second line.

• Follow the notated sticking closely so that you do not become tripped up by the passage.
• If the coordination feels difficult, separate the hands from the bass drum.
• Learn the rhythm with the hands first.
• Once the rhythmic material feels familiar, add the bass drum back in gradually.

Guitar Solo Sticking

Koel

We played through the entirety of “YYZ” this week. Most passages are flowing nicely and being played accurately, but the tempo is not yet consistent between sections.

This often happens when moving between eighth-note and sixteenth-note patterns. Make sure you are subdividing carefully during every transition.

• Isolate the transitions between sections.
• Practise them with a metronome at a slower tempo.
• Make sure the pulse remains unchanged when the subdivision changes.
• Gradually increase the tempo only when the transitions feel stable.

Koel mentioned that he sometimes plays a section faster to accommodate the double-bass-drum part. If that is the necessary tempo for the double pedal, use it as the tempo for the entire song. Practise all the other sections with a metronome at that speed so the whole performance remains consistent.

Next week, we will play with the recording and choose a new song to learn.

Renaud

We polished the main groove of “Back in Black” and played it with the recording.

Renaud can maintain the groove until the vocal enters, when the guitar riff becomes more difficult to hear. Continue listening carefully for the guitar:

• Use the guitar riff as your rhythmic anchor.
• Notice how the drum pattern connects with the guitar.
• Keep the pulse steady even when the texture of the song becomes busier.

We also introduced the chorus pattern and discussed the lyrics that can act as cues for preparing the fill.

The goal for next week is to play from the beginning of the song through the end of the chorus. We will then begin looking for a new song.

Lukas

“More Than a Feeling”

This week, focus on playing the phrase beginning at bar 36 accurately. We worked through it during the lesson, and you can use the guitar line as a musical cue for how the drum phrase should be shaped.

Double-Stroke Coordination

Isolate the bar containing the left-hand double on beat 3, using bar 54 as an example.

Practise it in stages:

1. Isolate the different instrument groups.
2. Make sure the left-hand double is even.
3. On beat 4, move your right hand quickly from the snare drum to the hi-hat.
4. Repeat this movement until the transition feels smooth.
5. Put the complete pattern back into context only after the coordination is secure.

Bar 90 to the End

For our next lesson, prepare the music from bar 90, following the musical interlude, through to the end of the song.

Pay particular attention to:

• Bars 99–100: Treat these as one two-bar phrase. The energy should continue beyond bar 100 and arrive on the downbeat of bar 101.
• Bar 103: Isolate and practise this bar separately.
• Bar 115: Isolate and practise this bar separately.

Finn

“Imposter”

Finn did a great job becoming familiar with the number system from 1 to 6. He was able to repeat the bass-line pattern first by reading the numbers and eventually through auditory memory.

During the lesson, Finn played the xylophone part while I accompanied him on the drums.

Finding Beat 4

Finn is still occasionally having difficulty locating beat 4. Remember that the four-sixteenth-note pickup:

• Begins precisely on beat 4 of the previous bar
• Contains four evenly spaced sixteenth notes
• Fills the entire fourth beat
• Leads directly into beat 1 of the following bar

Count steadily through the previous bar and avoid beginning the pickup early. Continue practising the bass line with Dad’s accompaniment so that the pickup becomes secure within the full phrase.

I have also written out the melody of the song, which we will begin learning next week.

Aleksander

“Smooth Criminal”

We saw major improvement in the pre-chorus pattern this week!

For the coming week, begin working from bar 40 onward. Much of this material is based on patterns from the first page, but you will occasionally encounter a more difficult fill at the end of a phrase.

We worked on examples in:

• Bar 45
• Bar 49

When approaching a new section:

1. Identify the familiar groove.
2. Isolate the fill at the end of the phrase.
3. Learn its rhythm and sticking slowly.
4. Practise entering and exiting the fill.
5. Reconnect it to the surrounding music.

If possible, continue onto the third page and work through to the guitar solo. Spend some time investigating the difficult passages independently, and we will dissect any remaining trouble spots together next week.

Renaud

“Back in Black”

We had a shorter lesson today and will aim for a 45-minute lesson next week.

Our main focus was the AC/DC fill. Renaud learned the pattern quickly and played it steadily while I performed the melody on xylophone. We were even able to repeat the full phrase several times without stopping.

Next, we will:

• Play the pattern with the original song
• Listen for how many times it repeats
• Identify where the first variation appears
• Continue connecting the fill to the basic rock beat

Stick Control, Page 5

Continue working on the same Stick Control exercises assigned last week, focusing on the first column. Aim for even strokes, matching stick heights, relaxed movement and a steady pulse.

We will return to these exercises together during the next lesson.