B.Mus (Oberlin)
M.Mus (U of T)
Louis “Pino” Pino is from Dix Hills, NY and is a recent graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, having studied percussion with Michael Rosen and computer music with Aurie Hsu and Joo Won Park, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in percussion performance at the University of Toronto with Aiyun Huang. Pino began his musical career playing drum set and hand drums with several local ensembles, and moved on to study at the Juilliard Pre-College, where he received the Commencement Award upon graduation. When arriving at Oberlin, Pino had the opportunity to collaborate with many students at the conservatory and has come to premiere over 50 new chamber and solo works written by himself and his peers.
In addition to performing, Pino teaches a small studio of students and is an active composer of electroacoustic music. He often writes music for instruments and interactive electronics, and collaborates in creating interdisciplinary works with dancers and film artists. Outside of music, Pino likes to spend time cooking, hammocking outdoors, and competing in food challenges.
Get to know Pino…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Cooking, Hammocking
Musical influences: Chet Baker, Bela Bartok, Olivier Messiaen, The Strokes
Favourite food: Sushi
Least favourite food: Peanut butter
Favourite music: Hip-Hop, Contemporary Classical
Favourite song: Alvin Row – Animal Collective
Favourite movie: Taxi Driver
Favouirite movie music: Taxi Driver OST
Favourite musical theatre/opera: Saint François d’Assise – Messiaen
Best quote from your teacher: “Play pretty.”
Favourite quote: “ Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Master Yoda
Favourite book: The Stand – Stephen King
Best thing about teaching at ABC: Watching young minds grow a bit more every week.
Latest Homework from Pino
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Sep 4-9 Practice
Hi everyone! Welcome and welcome back!!! So glad to see my returning students and to meet the new ones, it will be a great year! Here are some things I would like you to look over in order to prepare for our next lesson.
Ella- Work on the Black Parade intro so it is comfortable. Ty to work it up from 65 to 80 over the week by increasing the metronome a bit each day. Do the same with the fast beat going from 100 to 140.
Eric- Solidify what we worked on in I Want to Hold Your Hand by practicing it along with the song at full tempo. It ios quick but you can do it! This will help your endurance. Try to keep moving forward through the song and learn any other beats he does. We will learn the rest of the fills during our next lesson (but feel free to explore them on your own!).
Jonah- Practice the rhythms I wrote out for you today and try to be able to play them for next week. You’re already getting it so well!!
Sylvie- Work on the opening rhythm to Spice nice and slow (the one I wrote out on your sheet). Separate it into small chunks then put them together. When you have that down, try to work on Fill #1 on its own, then try incorporating it into the disco beat (beat, then fill, then straight back into the beat).
Koel- Work on your hand to hand (RLRL and LRLR) as well as the paradiddles and flams. Keep your hands nice and loose like you do and make sure to check every now and then that your wrists are flat. Keep trying to get a nice rebound off of the drum head like we talked about today. Also take a look at the two rhythms I wrote out on your sheet and try to have those ready for next week.
Thanks a lot for putting in the time and effort towards improvement. If any parents or students have questions at any point about what we talked about in lessons or how to practice, please be in contact with the ABC desk and they will pass it along. Looking forward to seeing where this year takes us!!
See you all next week,
Pino
June 18 Lesson
Emily
- I’m reluctant to post a link to the Stick Control PDF on here because of copyright issues, but if you Google “stick control drum book”, it’s the first link that comes up.
- Stick Control, Page 5: Single Beat Combinations
- Practise lines 1-8 along to music of your choosing
- Also practise lines 5-8 with the Rs and Ls reversed
- Because the patterns are written a little differently in the book compared to how Pino and I wrote them on your page, adding the feet becomes a little trickier. You’re welcome to leave out the feet until I explain what I mean in our next lesson. You’re also welcome to experiment with how the feet are integrated and do what works for you (which I encourage).
- In Bloom
- Play the beats along to the recording
- If the recording is too fast, play along to a metronome [<— BLUE TEXT IS CLICKABLE] at 100 bpm, then bump it up to 105, then 111 (the song’s actual tempo).
- Don’t sweat it if you can’t play that fast bass drum part you figured out along to the recording. Consider it a bonus if you do.
I’m looking forward to hanging and drumming, Emily! See you in a couple of weeks.
-Rob
Preferred Books for Pino’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.
4-Way Coordination
Rockin' Bass Drum, Bk 1
Written in two volumes, these books include 2- and 4- bar rock and jazz-rock beats designed for the modern drummer. Both books are designed to develop the drummer’s skill in coordinating their hands and feet. The books also offer the drummer a repertoire of exciting rhythmic patterns.
