Happy Holidays to all, hope you are all having a restful break!

Jack

We have been building basic notation/score reading skills. In lesson we have notated several beats including the basic rock beat. Though it is simple, it does require some practising in order to play it continuously. At home, can try setting up pillows and different beating spots and see if Jack is able to read the score and recreate some of the beats we worked on during lesson. Also encourage Jack to create more.

Nova

Blink Gone: great work so far with the song. I have picked out the slightly more challenging drumbeat that is featured in th chorus for Nova to work on. If Nova is struggling to play the entire pattern, follow the step by step instructions on how to practise the beat as notated on the homework sheet. Note that the left right foot coordination and making the open hihat sound snappy will be the trickiest spots to work through. Always try to practise it with a metronome at a slower speed.

As for the guitar solo, Nova has been introduced to the notes but rolls are slightly tricky. Aim to play slower but even sounding notes first in groups of odd number (3/5) per beat and then slowly drive up the tempo. This will help loosen up the wrist and build finger strength required to play a good roll. When doing the exercise, note for how the finger is supporting the motion.

Adam

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XSqHcZP_SxYA0G4XB7aF2ZJOf4uSYwAn

Please use the link above to access the necessary practise material.

Drumset Musician p.11: so far Adam has mastered 1b, and is becoming comfortable with 1a, which is the main beat being used in the song we are working on. When struggling to play it, can always try to dissect each bar as two group of four beat, and play hihat on all beats, on beat 1 play bass, on beat 3 play snare. If comfortable with that pattern, challenge Adam to try 3a or even 4a which 3a we briefly worked on during lesson.

Back in Black: the third bar of this song is basically switching the first beat of hihat from our Drumset Musician 1a combination to crash cymbal, and the other tricky part at the moment is bar 6, which after the first two eighth notes, Adam should try to subdivide and count 123 and play a combination of snare on 1, hihat and kick on 2, rest on 3, and repeat three times and on the next 123, snare on both 1 and 2. We will try to play through the intro in next lesson.

Santino

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18i9qi5v97IA1fkPsVCMZupfPn3Uc6FUg

We started Can’t Stop by RHCP on Saturday. We worked on mainly the first bar of the verse and I have confident that with patience Santino can work through that pattern. Just a rule of thumb in practising, is to never try running before you can walk. Do it slow even when it doesn’t sound like the beat itself. Try working through the first four bars of verse and we will see if any trouble arises.

Nicolas

We had a little Christmas excursion into holiday music and made a small recording on Jingle Bell (which is available through the drive). Nicolas is fast and systematic at learning music, but let’s try to get in the habit of learning music through reading. Pick a song for what we wish to work on after holiday.

Jonah

Jonah has been making great progress on Smooth Criminal though we briefly stopped learning the tune when preparing for Hannaford concert. Over break, try working through guitar solo section which is from bar 78 to 86. This is a section we worked on over class, but is tricky to pull off without thoroughly understanding what is going on at every layer. Encourage Jonah to carefully study the score and workout a sticking that works for himself. Look forward to working on this with Jonah in person after the holiday.