Lukas

  1. Stick Control

Great work on the assigned exercises! We are beginning to hear better evenness between your two hands.

Remember that the goal is not to play each exercise once and immediately move to the next. Repeat each exercise several times while checking that you are:

  • Producing an even stream of single strokes
  • Matching the sound and stick height of both hands
  • Using a relaxed, consistent stroke
  • Allowing the sticks to rebound naturally
  • Staying rhythmically steady

Only move on when the exercise feels effortless and you can produce the same result consistently each time.

This week, continue the previously assigned exercises and add:

For the triplet exercises, play the bass drum on every beat and use it as your rhythmic anchor.

  1. “Hotel California”

When playing a four-bar phrase, always keep track of which bar you are on. While playing the third bar, you should already be mentally preparing for what happens in the fourth bar.

Practice approach

  • Practise with a metronome.
  • Make sure you thoroughly understand each subdivision, especially in phrases containing thirty-second notes.
  • Isolate and loop each bar containing a fill.
  • Repeat the fill until you feel confident that you could play it accurately in any bar of the phrase.
  • Reconnect the fill to the bars before and after it without losing the pulse.

At our next lesson, we will begin with a play-through with the music, continuing through the end of Chorus 2.

Finn

We have started learning “Imposter” by Arrester, Finn’s dad’s band!

The main pattern is similar to what Finn learned in “Otherside,” but this song introduces some new concepts:

  • A drag/three-stroke ruff in the introduction
  • A catchy fill involving an open-and-closed hi-hat pattern
  1. Introduction

Remember the counting carefully:

  • Finn enters on beat 4.
  • Play stick clicks on beats 1, 2, and 3.

Keep counting internally so the entrance and stick clicks remain securely in time.

  1. Bar 2

Review the pattern in bar 2 and practise it repeatedly without stopping.

The goal is to play it as one continuous phrase rather than as separate bars. Pay particular attention to connecting the buzzed snare smoothly into the beginning of the next bar.

There is an exercise notated at the bottom of the page specifically for practising this connection. Work on that exercise separately before returning to the full pattern.

  1. Optional Fill Practice

If Finn would like a head start on the fill:

  • Begin by learning and vocalizing the rhythm.
  • Ask Dad to help demonstrate or count the rhythm.
  • Try playing the passage together.
  • Add the open-and-closed hi-hat movements only after the basic rhythm feels comfortable.

Focus first on playing the rhythm accurately and keeping the pulse steady. The coordination can be added gradually.

Aleksander

Aleksander has a clean grasp of the intro section and my only comment is for him to follow the stockings in practise, so it becomes second nature for the phrase. We have moved on to verse 1, and I have asked Alex to try to keep the same spirit of the intro despite playing less in this section. Clean, accurate, smooth transitions. For this week please also try the pre chorus lick as well, which Alex has already demonstrated in class that he is fully capable of working out the coordination, and now is onto bringing it up to speed.

Zico

We picked up where we left off with “Drum Corps on Parade.” Since Zico has not had many opportunities to practise over the past few weeks, we spent this lesson working through the previous homework together.

Goal for Next Lesson

Let’s aim to play through to the end of line 5 by our next lesson.

  1. Five-Stroke Roll

To better understand the timing of the five-stroke roll, first practise the underlying rhythm as sixteenth notes.

When working on the passage:

  1. Replace the five-stroke roll with regular sixteenth notes.
  2. Play the entire phrase this way until its rhythm and shape are clear.
  3. Once you know how the phrase should sound, put the roll back in.
  4. Make sure the roll fits into the same rhythmic space without changing the timing.

This will help the roll feel like part of the phrase rather than a separate interruption.

  1. Triplets and Sextuplets

Be careful not to rush the triplets or sextuplets. Give each note its full amount of space and maintain an even pulse.

Try practising with the bass drum playing on every beat. This may feel challenging at first, but once it becomes comfortable, the bass drum will provide a reliable reference point and make it easier to hear whether the hands are rushing.

  1. PAS Rudiments

I have attached a PAS Rudiments Chart, which includes all the rudiments found in the piece.

For now, please focus on:

  • No. 22: Flam Tap
  • No. 23: Flamacue

Practise these slowly and aim for clear flams, even spacing, and consistent sticking before increasing the tempo.

Koel

Congratulations to Koel for making the school band! We will work on YYZ by Rush for next week. I gave Koel one tip to work on section B through isolating the snare and bass drum and practising RLRR and LRRL with those two limbs. Start slow and aim for 120 bpm. Again, the speed comes secondary, but clarity and fluidity is the goal here. Also practise all the repeats with metronome to make sure he has the right subdivision.