Josh
We continued working on Numb today. We revised the hi-hat pattern and what seems to be hard for Josh is to remember about the paradiddle and its sticking after going back to bar 1. This has to do with the fact that Josh usually learn through his ears, and as a result, when he is asked to actively observe markings on the page that give him hints, he has a harder time with it. However he was able to add in the bass drum quite effortlessly and I am happy to see the progress he made with this intricate groove. For March break, though I understand he will be on vacation, I have assigned Wonderwall to him as a new song, and so I will like for him to print out the music, but also just practise tapping out the main groove that is notated on the Numb handout. Continue to practise Numb, and try to bring up the speed.
Zico
We started lesson with a play through of Fly As Me and I would like to congratulate him for his hard work paying off with the song. However there is one lick that he continue to be stuck with and I demonstrated to him how to dissect a phrase and practise it effectively. I gave him the challenge to play that same lick to me next class in concert speed. Now we also move on to Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder. The song is not too complicated, and I would like for him to learn the feel of the groove through listening to the song. Practise the push pull motion that is required for the swung pattern on hihat, and observe how the groove relate to the bass line and the horn section.
Noah
We played thr0ugh When I Come Around today. The song is quite easy for Noah to pickup, and I am seeing major improvement in Noah’s ability to keep a beat. The section that is hard for Noah to do that is the ride section, where there are some triplets and 32nd notes that slightly throws him off. I circled bars that needs more attention and next class we will start with a play through. We will move on to Smooth Criminal after.
Finn
We revisited Kids with a Gun. Great job with the coordination, but need to slightly control the sound quality of the open hihat. We will work on that in the next song, which is Otherside by RHCP. It is similar to Can’t Stop, another RHCP he played in the past. So I will like for him to practise the one intro bar with rim shots, and also revise the Cant Stop groove.
Henry
We continued working on 21 Guns this class. Henry is doing very well with the counting and observing the change in the pattern very well. We have worked till bar 23 and over March break I would like for him to aim to play from the start up til. bar 23 and if possible, learn bar 24 as well, as that completes the phrase. The score has the lyrics on top if Henry ever needs a tip for how the melody goes for each passage.