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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September 6th Assignment
Hi everyone,
Nice meeting you all today! Here are your assignments for the week:
Lucas
Recommended practice time: 20-25 min/day
What to practice: Here’s a basic rock beat: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zEseEPD8pBX6eY7liOL7fvYGSkSjKOee/view?usp=sharing. Just keep repeating the pattern and try to add a crash cymbal hit on downbeat (beat 1).
How to practice: Try to use a metronome to work on making everything even. Use as many subdivisions as you need and make sure to keep it slow. Work your way up from 80 to 120 bpm. You know what it sounds like so be confident about it!
Samson
Recommended practice time: 20-25 min/day
What to practice: Here’s the pattern for the fill I wrote out for you today: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aERwyZrO48-V-TcbKBC4WNPCfuRpdcOf/view?usp=sharing. Just repeat the four-bar pattern and we’ll try and get you playing with music next week.
How to practice: Try using a metronome, you’re able to keep a solid beat but I think it can be even steadier. Having something there to lock you in will help you play with recordings too.
Patricia
Recommended practice time: 10-15 min/day
You can drop by Long and McQuade or probably any music store for a drumpad to work with until you get a drumset. Barnaby says he might be able to give you one if you drop by.
What to practice: Work on your single strokes (one hand at a time) and just keep it steady.
How to practice: Remember 60 beats per minute (bpm)= 1 beat per second. Quarter note = 1 beat. Try practicing quarter notes and eighth notes one hand at a time. You will probably need to use both hands for sixteenth notes.
Have a good week and good luck to those of you starting school!
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.
