B.Mus (U of T) in progress
Jeffrey Zhu is a percussionist with an interest in a variety of music and a passion for teaching. He grew up in Toronto and enjoys sharing music in the community of his childhood. He will involve himself in any musical opportunity he can get his hands on and performs regularly at the University of Toronto and in orchestras across Toronto.
Jeffrey is primarily a classical percussionist at U of T who continues to broaden his musical exposure outside of the university academia. At the University, he has performed with the U of T percussion ensemble, Wind Symphony, and the campus philharmonic. Additionally, he helped lead a Taiko (Japanese drumming) ensemble in high school giving him a unique perspective on percussion performance and education.
Jeffrey is currently working towards completing a bachelor’s in percussion performance at UofT.
Get to know TEACHER…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Biking
Musical influences: Aiyun Huang, John Rudolph
Favourite food: Peking Duck
Least favourite food: Garlic
Favourite music: Classical Orchestra, Big Band, and video game music
Favourite song: True Lovers’ Farewell
Favourite movie: Your Name
Favourite movie music: Fantasy
Favourite musical theatre/opera: The Sound of Music
Best quote from your teacher: “Very Musical!”
Favourite book: Watership Down
Best thing about teaching at ABC: Working with a large community vested in music
Latest Homework from Jeffrey
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April 4
Samson
Keep practicing the pattern from today and overall freedom with the bass drum. As a reminder: if “-” means rest and “|” means play,
–|| -||- ||-| |— is the pattern.
Lucas
Good work getting the subdivisions for the sixteenth notes down! Keep doing the same metronome work as before to reinforce your improvement and try to do it with the reading exercises.
Leo
Even though we didn’t quite get to the end of drum corps on parade, I think you know how it’s supposed to sound now as a whole piece. Try to put together everything and have it performance-ready as soon as possible.
Thea
Today was a lot of work on basics; hopefully, some of it sticks with you. Remember to find a way to make the repetitive exercises interesting and push your limits physically when you practice!
Tracie
Try to focus on the adjustments we made to your grip today and as I mentioned try to get your practice in earlier in the week if possible when all the directives are fresh in your memory. Remember to practice with a metronome at the smallest subdivision you play! We were at 240 bpm today for alternating strokes.
Mar 25
Nova
Good work today! We’ll keep reading some new music in lessons but for practice just keep repeating the basic rock beat pattern and paradiddles. The book I was using today is called “tradition of excellence — percussion” which would be good to purchase. It gives very good written instruction for basics and very simple exercises to start with. Another book I would recommend is “stick control”; every drummer/percussionist has had some exposure to this and it is used by beginners and professionals. It’s just a lot of simple patterns good for working on technique.
Jonah
Try to remember the xylo exercise I’ve shown you and practice it whenever you can; then, make sure to speed it up without compromising accuracy. Remember to use good technique (stay relaxed with lots of rebound) no matter what you are playing. Practice the pattern I showed you on the cymbal for atleast 5 min a day, as fast as possible where all 3 notes sound the same and you can continue for 5 minutes without stopping. The pattern is an 8th note and 2 sixteenths on repeat, not a triplet.
Preferred Books for Jeffrey’s Students
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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.
Tradition of Excellence - Percussion
Tradition of Excellence by Bruce Pearson and Ryan Nowlin is a comprehensive and innovative curriculum designed to appeal to today s students. The music; the dynamic look; the scope and sequence; the tools for differentiated instruction; the smooth pacing with careful review; and the included INTERACTIVE Practice StudioTM make Tradition of Excellence the fastest growing band method today!
100 Essential Drumset Lessons
100 Essential Drumset Lessons contains information, examples, exercises, and over 300 demonstration and play-along audio tracks covering a range of topics that every drummer from novice to professional will find useful. Its educational scope runs the gamut, including basic rock, funk, metal, hip-hop, blues, country, basic swing, advanced swing concepts, fills, technical exercises, metric superimposition, soloing concepts, odd time playing, brush playing, as well as Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and other world music drumming styles. It also includes advice on productive practicing techniques, transcribing drum parts, creating an original drum part for a song, and five drumset audition solos suitable for use at all-state auditions, music festivals, or recitals. Audio is accessed online for download or streaming and features PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, and pan left or right available.
