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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Feb 7
Samson
Really good job getting through the snare piece! Let’s aim to take it up to 120bpm but work up to it from 100 or whatever youre comfortable with. Only speed up when you’re sure you can play with the metronome all the way through and remember to play lightly.
Lucas
Keep going with the reading exercises. The first one was pretty good today! Remember to pay attention to your grip and where you’re hitting the drum.
Leo
The fastest way to learn something is to do it slow. For the parts we’ve worked on, try 80-90bpm. Try going on to the end of the page but for anything new start at 60 bpm. If you’re really struggling then do it 2 bars at a time, in which case don’t move on from something until you play it 5 times correctly.
Thea & Rachel
Try to play stick control every day. We were at 144bpm today, it should be less than 5 min to run through the first 8 lines. If you can get a kit then just try to solidify the rock beat. If you find a song you want to learn just let me know; otherwise, I’ll just show you some basic jazz next week.
Tracie
Main priority is still to get your notes even. Remember to keep a loose grip and raise your wrists slightly. 110 seems like a good tempo for you but if anything feels uneven then slow it back down. Warmup at 90 bpm. Goal for next week is 120! Keep playing the rock beat and working on the short fills I’ve shown you. You can also try improvising a little which we’ll work on next week.
Really happy with everyone’s progress lately, keep up the good work!
Jan 10
Samson
All the rudiments you’ve learned are coming together nicely. The learning process for making breakthroughs is always painful but you’re improving a lot these days so keep at it! Really focus on fixing your posture and grip when you play anything.
Lucas
Main takeaway this week is practice everything with a metronome. Make sure you’re actually listening to it when you’re on your own and I’m not there to correct things. Make sure not to repeat mistakes!
Leo
I’m having you read new things constantly to really work on your reading, in terms of a long-term project please hack away at drum corps on parade. I’ll listen to that when I next see you.
Charlie
Here’s the link again: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10Ge9rCczPmU1IEunM5X81VUzmuyy_NbI
The etudes should keep you busy for a while if you just learn all of them. Remember to add bass drum on every beat both to work on coordination and timing. Keep working on the rudiments I showed you today too.
Good worn 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.
