Song Review, Musicality and Responsibility, Bring Me to Life cont'd
Lesson Outline
Warm up with some of Cam's favorite songs while discussing musicality and the responsibility we have as drummers to shape and guide the energy of a song. Continue our work on Bring Me to Life, incorporating the concepts discussed during our warm up
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did an excellent job today! He naturally took to the new concepts discussed during our warm up and did an excellent job playing responsibly and musically, utilizing dynamic changes and appropriate fills to elevate the music and support the other instruments within the song. He also did a great job playing through Bring Me to Life, incorporating many of the new concepts discussed and even learning a unique drum-break that takes place in the final chorus.
Song Review, Whiplash/odd time signatures cont'd, Bring Me To Life cont'd
Lesson Outline
Warm up with some of Cam's favorite songs, review what we discussed regarding odd time and Whiplash and apply that knowledge to a new song in odd time, Money by Pink Floyd. Continue our work on Bring Me To Life
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did a great job remembering our discussion about odd time signatures, successfully playing through the A section of Whiplash on his first attempt. We then looked at Money, but Pink Floyd, which initially had Cam confused, but after some quick analysis and some counting he was able to groove along quite well. Bring Me To Life is still a bit of an endurance/coordination challenge for Cam, but today was by the far the best he's ever played it (at least that I've seen). We also applied some of our newly acquired knowledge about meter and beat to help clear up some confusion regarding one of the breaks within the song
Song Review, For Whom the Bell Tolls Review, Intro to Odd Time: Whiplash, Master of Puppets cont'd
Lesson Outline
Warm up with some of Cam's favorite songs, review For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica, Discuss grooving in odd time signatures using Whiplash as our example, continue working on Master of Puppets
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did a great job with the odd time of Whiplash. He's a big fan of the movie Whiplash and as a result is somewhat familiar with the song already. He was at first confused and felt quite lost, but after breaking it down and counting out the beats together he quickly understood and was able to groove along to the track quite well. Afterward we discussed how this awareness of meter and beat is also very helpful when playing in common time (4/4) and looked at several examples. Cam seemed to have an increased understanding and awareness of meter and beat that was immediately evident in his playing
Practice Pad Warm Up, Song Review, Drum Fills and Confidence, Master of Puppets cont'd
Lesson Outline
Begin with a practice pad warm up, review some of Cam's favorite songs, discuss how confidence plays a role in our playing as a whole, but particularly when in comes to drum fills, and continue our work on Master of Puppets.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did a great job today. Previously I had noticed that he was holding back slightly when playing to avoid making mistakes. Gradually we've been working on gaining confidence in our mistakes and learning to play through them, but today presented us with a great opportunity to talk more specifically about the importance of confidence when playing a drum fill. Cam took the advice very well and did an excellent job incorporating it into his playing
Practice Pad Warm Up, Song Review, Drum-less Play-along track, Master of Puppets cont'd
Lesson Outline
Begin with a warm up on the practice pad and review some of Cam's favorite songs. Play through a brand new drum-less track and discuss strategies for setting up transitions and creating dynamic drum parts, then continue working on Master of Puppets
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did very well with the warm up today, playing through the basic subdivision ladder with single strokes and double strokes at 135bpm. Cam also did a great job with the drum-less track, incorporating many of the strategies and techniques previously discussed. After his first take we talked about strategies for setting up transitions and incorporating dynamics to reenforce the song form and he did an excellent job incorporating those ideas into his next take. Master of Puppets is still a challenge for his endurance and the hits in the verses still occasionally surprise him, but overall Cam is doing exceptionally well with a very difficult song.
Practice Pad Warm Up, Song Review, Bring Me To Life and Seek and Destroy cont'd
Lesson Outline
Begin with a practice pad warm up and then review some of Cam's favorite songs. Dive deeper into Bring Me To Life and Seek and Destroy building on Cam's understanding of the overall song form and structure and taking a closer look at the nuance within each section.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did a great job today. His technique continues to improve on the practice pad and we had a great conversation about bass drum and snare drum relationships while reviewing Smells Like Teen Spirit. Bring Me To Life and Seek and Destroy continue to be a challenge, but with each day Cam gets a little more comfortable and a little more confident. He now has the basic structure and song forms mastered and we've begun looking more closely at the fills and accents that make each section unique.
Cam demonstrated various drum techniques for me and accompanied a variety of different musical artists, including songs by Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Sabrina Carpenter and Miley Cyrus. Cam showed his ability to vary his abilities going around the drum kit, using pedals and adjusting the hi-hat, a component of the set. He demonstrated drum techniques such as the double stroke roll and the paradiddle, the latter of which is his favorite. also played a piano piece that he taught himself, as his grandmother has a piano in her house. His taste in music is varied and eclectic and he shows a passion for the arts - music and drama, in particular. It was a fun class and Cam worked up a sweat - particularly accompanying an 8-minute song by Metallica.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
I subbed for Hudson this afternoon, Tuesday, 4-29-25 from 12:36 - 1:21 - DRUMS!
Song Review, Drum Fills cont'd, Master of Puppets Revisited
Lesson Outline
Warm up with some of Cam's favorite songs, discuss musicality and the appropriate use of drum fills, revisit the Metallica song Master of Puppets
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did an excellent job today. As he's developing more freedom around the kit his personality is beginning to come through in his playing. He's beginning to add his own spin to several of his favorite songs and has been playing with more dynamics and more feeling. Master of Puppets is a song that Cam wanted to look at a while ago, but it was a bit beyond his ability at the time. We decided recently to revisit it, and while it's still a challenge he's doing a great job working through it step by step and rising to the challenge.
Song Review, Bring Me To Life cont'd, New Song: Fuel by Metallica
Lesson Outline
Warm up with some of Cam's favorites, continue working on Bring Me To Life, Begin working on a new song, Fuel
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did a great job in the warm up today, playing each song with a bit more energy than usual and playing a few really tasteful fills. When playing Bring Me To Life the bass drum/hi-hat continues to be a challenge for Cam's endurance and coordination, but with each day it sounds and feels more natural. Fuel is a song that Cam's already familiar with, but it provides a unique challenge in its rapidly changing song form and frequent transitions between standard time and halftime grooves. There's more work to be done in terms of mapping out the song form and gaining confidence in the transitions, but Cam did very well following along and reacting musically to the changes.
