Great
lesson today, Joel! It was nice to meet you and get started. You
have a lot of natural ability, you just need to be CONFIDENT and
play every note like it's your last!
IMPORTANT:
Click here
for a copy of my lesson information sheet. Please give this or
show it to your parents!!! Please ignore where it says lessons
are $40 per hour. Your mom and I agreed on a lower rate of $30.
Lesson Notes:
Technique notes:
1. Shake hands with
the stick to check you grip. Keep the gap between your thumb and
index finger CLOSED!
2. Leave about an inch of the butt end sticking out of the back
of your hand.
3. Make sure the stick stays between your knuckles and the first
knuckle on your fingers. Try not to change your grip when playing.
4. Loosen your wrist joint and allow the stokes to initiate there
rather than with the arm. The less arm motion the better, usually.
5. Use your fingers to help you with the stroke remembering to
keep a firm grip at your FULCRUM- where the thumb and index finger
grip the stick.
6 . Hit the hi-hat on the edge of the cymbals with the shoulder
of the stick for a more meaty sound.
7 . Remember that setup is KEY to maximizing you playing ability.
Make SURE you are comfortable behind the kit. If not, adjust what
needs adjusting.
Click here
for a downloadable file that explains LOTS of good basic technique
stuff.
Assignment:
1. Right-Hand Variations
with simple grooves. Click here
for the downloadable version.
2. Bring in a cd for next week with a track you'd like to learn.
3. Make a list of 10 bands/artists and their drummers from your
CD collection.
4. Bring in a dedicated lesson notebook.
5. Bring any and all drum books you own and have worked out of.
6. Bring a check in the amount of $150 ($30 for first lesson +
$120 for first 4 lessons)
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Nice
job today. You're showing a lot of progress in your confidence.
Your ears and your eyes are communicating with each other when
it comes to reading music; that's a BIG first step.
Lesson Notes:
Right Hand Variations:
1. Nice job with
these. Keep working them to improve your coordination and your
mental "chops" when it comes to not having everything
written out.
2. "Think Compositively:" Envision the rhythms that
all the limbs create together.
3. Forge past the easiest few variations. Find the ones that challenge
you the most and work on those!
Switchfoot Tune:
1. Use your ears
to uncover what the drummer is playing.
2. Focus on one instrument at a time. Say to yourself, "What
is the bass drum doing?" "What is the snare doing?"
And so on.
Assignment:
1. Right-Hand Variations
with basic rock grooves in your book (pg. 133 I think).
2. Learn that Switchfoot groove I wrote down.
3. Play a long with the rest of the song and figure out some of
the drum parts past the introduction. I want to see what your
ears can do.
4. I would love it if you could buy a more advanced book that
we could work out of. The one you have is way to basic for someone
with your level of talent. My first choice would be Carmine Appice's
Ultimate Realistic Rock Drum Book. Click here
for a link to buy it.
REMINDER:
NO LESSON NEXT WEEK!
Mr. Noworyta says you guys have the week off, which
means no jazz, which means I won't be coming out to Wheaton.
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Joel,
EXCELLENT lesson today. You're improving by leaps and bounds,
particularly in the coordination and the EARS department. You
have a tremendous set of ears that tell you tons of musical stuff.
Follow your instincts!
Right Hand Variations:
1. Awesome job with
these. You've got the basic stuff down.
2. Now it's time to have some fun. Remember the ideas I showed
you and come up with your own crazy variations. GO NUTS. The only
thing limiting you now is your imagination.
Switchfoot Tune:
1. Use your ears
to uncover what the drummer is playing.
2. Focus on one instrument at a time. Say to yourself, "What
is the bass drum doing?" "What is the snare doing?"
And so on. We'll lead with this next week.
Assignment:
1. Right-Hand Variations
with basic rock grooves in your book (pg. 133 I think).
2. Make up your own patterns to go with these variations.
2. Learn that Switchfoot groove I wrote down.
3. Play a long with the rest of the song and figure out some of
the drum parts past the introduction. I want to see what your
ears can do.
4. Buy the book I posted for you under
your last lesson!
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Joel,
GREAT job with all the variations stuff. You've been coming up
with some wonderful grooves and ideas that I'm going to add to
my own arsenal.
Right Hand Variations:
1. KEEP EXPLORING!
Switchfoot Tune:
1. Make this a priority.
USE YOUR EARS in addition to what we've transcribed and written
down!
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