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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March 7th Assignments
Hi everyone! I had a great time tonight, it was really awesome to see some old faces! Here are some things to work on in the coming week:
Samson:
This week Samson try working on playing the jazz ride pattern with Such Sweet Thunder by Duke Ellington. Try to build it up like we did starting first with quarter notes on the ride, then adding the skip note after beats 2 and 4, and then finally adding the hi-hat pedal on 2 and 4. Here is a scan of what I wrote out in case you lose track of it.
Lucas:
Really great work today Lucas, it was really great to see how much you’ve improved! This week I want you to keep working on those Lesson 6 beats and play them for Jeffrey next week. Once you have a good handle on the beat, set a timer and try playing it for 1 minute straight without stopping, no matter what mistakes you make! The goal is to learn how to recover from small mistakes well. But make sure you understand the beat well first, this exercise is more to smooth out the bumps rather than fix major problems. I think it would be a good challenge for you!
Leo:
It was really great to meet and play with you Leo! Try working through that Bossa Nova pattern I wrote out for you and here is the beat from the song Runaway by Half Alive that we worked on in the second half of the lesson. I think Jeffrey would love to hear some of it next week. Heres a link to the song as well.
Feb 11
Jonah
Keep working on the snare etude. J want you to play it for me next ween with as few mistakes as possible, think of it like a test if that helps but still try to have fun with it! Work on your paradiddles the way we did today at the beginning of your lesson. Always practice with a metronome and it at 100.
Have a nice concert!
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.