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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Nov 15
Samson
Good job today! We’ll keep reading that snare etude next lesson. Keep working on your rolls and try practicing offbeats with a metronome (only play on “and”).
Lucas
Your reading ability is really coming along nicely! Focus on making sure you hit the drum more consistently this week (less extraneous motion) and work on the paradiddles you are less familiar with.
Try speeding up the first reading exercise of lesson 1 and make it feel like a solo.
Leo
Try to grab a copy of “stick control” for yourself, it will stick with you for life especially if you decide to pursue a career in music.
Also, some free electronic resources you can use:
“drum dictionary” free on Apple devices (I have not found an android alternative) is a collection of drum beats with a built in metronome that you can play along with.
“Vic Firth 40 essential rudiments” which should be the first link with a Google search. Also something you can play along with; try to aim for silver on every rudiment category, just focus on paradiddles this week though.
I’ll help you learn notes on the xylophone if you want and we can work on your overall reading ability for the next while.
Happy winter everyone!
Oct 15
Charlie
Keep practicing stick control, we were up to 144 bpm today. Keep at it! Work on your doubles and see if you can Try some rolls.
Try to do 10 min of focused practice/day and listen to some songs you might want to play with.
Patricia
Try to practice a bit on your own and work on doubles a bit. Let’s aim to have you more comfortable with the basic rock beat as a priority.
Jonah
Try playing glorious days from your hannaford music. It’s one of the more challenging pieces there but I think you can learn it.
Try learning Mary had a little lamb on your keyboard at home and I’ll work with you on xylo a bit more next week.
Theo
Not sure if you’ll read this but in case you do, here are 2 resources I recommend all my students whether they have a kit or not:
Stick control is a great book for some rudimentary exercises, I’ll share the file when you come back for another lesson.
Drum dictionary is a free app on Apple that has an in-built metronome and a collection of drum beats.
Good work everyone!
Preferred Books for Jeffrey’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.
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.
