Lukas

  1. Warm-up: Stick Control, Page 5

Focus on the first column and practise with a metronome, starting at 75 BPM.

Things to remember:

  • Use a full stroke, similar to the motion of throwing a ball.
  • Pay attention to the natural bounce and recycle the bounce into the next stroke.
  • Match the stick heights of both hands. Let your left hand learn from your right hand.
  • Keep the backs of your hands facing the ceiling.
  • Your arms and body should form a triangle.
  • Maintain good posture and keep your shoulders relaxed.

The goal is not to play through everything. Take your time and focus on making these movements and habits feel natural.

  1. Song: “Hotel California”

Please upload the sheet music from Drumeo to the Drive so we can work from the same music.

Bass drum

  • Bring out the bass drum on beats 1 and 3 so these beats act as anchors.
  • Build a slight crescendo from the bass drum on the “and” of beat 4 into beat 1.

Isolate the instrument groups

Practise the groove using these combinations:

  1. Snare drum and bass drum
  2. Snare drum and hi-hat
  3. Hi-hat and bass drum
  4. Hi-hat alone

Try to maintain the same sound quality, dynamics, and musical shape even when the instruments are isolated.

When practising the hi-hat alone:

  • Crescendo through the two quick sixteenth notes toward the main note.
  • Remember the slight flicking motion we tried in class.

Small tip: If something feels difficult to play, vocalize the rhythm first. If you can sing it, you can play it!

  1. Sixteenth-note fills

Next, we will begin working on some sixteenth-note fills. I have uploaded two screenshots from the Drumset Musician book to the Drive if you would like to preview them before our next lesson.

If you are interested, this would also be a useful book to purchase as we continue building your drumming vocabulary.

  1. Song ideas

Think about any other songs you would enjoy learning and bring a few ideas to our next lesson.

 

Aleksander

1. Warm-up: Stick Control, Page 5

Practise the exercises using different combinations of hands and feet. At different times, replace:

  • R with your right foot on the bass drum
  • L with your left foot on the hi-hat pedal
  • Both hands with their corresponding feet

For example, R L R R could become:

  • Right hand – left foot – right hand – right hand
  • Right foot – left hand – right foot – right foot
  • Right foot – left foot – right foot – right foot

Experiment with different hand-and-foot combinations while keeping the written sticking pattern intact.

Practise with a metronome at 75 BPM. Focus on keeping every note rhythmically even as you move the pattern between your limbs.

2. Stick Control, Page 9

Work on all the exercises, with extra focus on the first four.

  • Play the bass drum on every beat.
  • Use the bass drum as your rhythmic anchor.
  • When playing triplets, spread the three notes evenly across the beat.
  • Let each triplet lead toward the note on the next downbeat.
  • The bass drum should remain steady. If you have to shift the bass drum to accommodate the triplet, something is likely out of place.

Always listen for the alignment between your hands and the bass drum.

3. Song: “Smooth Criminal”

Work on everything up to and including bar 7.

  • Follow the written sticking carefully in bar 7.
  • If you need a metronome reference, practise at approximately 85 BPM.
  • Aim to make everything as clean and precise as possible.
  • Every open and closed hi-hat sound should be clear.
  • Make sure each sixteenth note on the hi-hat lasts for its exact notated value.

Once the first seven bars feel comfortable and clean, continue working toward the end of the line.

https://youtu.be/CDl9ZMfj6aE?si=A1QrmwDIHwIJvTDp

 

Koel

I’m glad to hear that Koel would like to perform “Fool in the Rain” for his school rock-band audition!

I have recommended creating a shorter edit that allows him to demonstrate the full range of his playing. The suggested sections are:

  • 0:00–0:44: Verse 1
  • 1:14–1:28: Chorus
  • 2:14–2:50: Verse 3 into the samba
  • 3:34–4:20: End of the samba, fading out at 4:20

The finished edit will be approximately 2 minutes and 20 seconds long.

Practice Focus

Koel should focus on playing the groove as accurately and cleanly as possible, especially the triplet lick that appears every fourth bar of each line.

There is a tendency to compress this pattern when its rhythm is not played precisely. This can cause the beat to shift and eventually make the drumming fall out of sync with the track.

To work on this:

  • Begin under tempo. I recommend starting at 100 BPM.
  • Practise with a metronome before returning to the track.
  • Isolate the snare drum and hi-hat pattern.
  • Keep the hi-hat pedal marking every beat as a steady anchor.
  • Loop the triplet lick until every note is evenly spaced.
  • Count or vocalize the rhythm before playing it.
  • Gradually reconnect the isolated pattern to the surrounding groove.
  • Increase the tempo only when the rhythm remains clean and stable.

Try every useful practice method available, with accuracy as the main goal. Koel already has a great understanding of how the song should sound; now the focus is on making his playing as precise, steady, and clean as possible.