Chris and I spoke about his talent on the drums. He enjoyed showing me his latest drum technique. We researched some of the most technically skilled drummers past and present and Chris identified the drumming techniques they executed.
Chris demonstrated various drum techniques for me. He showed me basic paradiddle technique. Chris explained that these alternating patterns provide a fundamental framework for practicing stick control and timing. The technique increases ambidexterity and have clearly developed Chris's capacity to execute intricate rhythms. Chris executed several different examples of drum techniques, but we retired to the classroom for the last ten minutes of class as he was tired after his performance.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
I subbed for Hudson this afternoon, 3/3/25 from 1:313- 2:08 - drums.
Reading review, reading 8th notes and 8th note triplets, song review, YYZ and Consoler of the Lonely cont'd
Lesson Outline
Review reading all subdivisions we've covered so far and take a closer look at reading 8th notes and 8th note triplets, Review some of Chris' current repertoire and continue our work on YYZ and Consoler of the Lonely
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Chris did a great job reviewing the reading material and seems to be developing a solid understanding of how these subdivisions relate to one another. During our song review he showed me a song that his uncle wrote and recored years ago featuring his dad on drums. He played along, doing an excellent job, and was able to incorporate the few tips I shared with him very well. YYZ is a very difficult song but Chris is doing very well and obviously practicing diligently at home. Consoler of the Lonely presented an excellent puzzle for Chris to solve (the primary beat being very unusual) but he's now solved it and played along to the whole song almost flawlessly.
16th note Reading cont'd, Challenge Beat cont'd, Song Review
Lesson Outline
Begin with some more complex 16th note exercises out of the Syncopation Book introducing "broken," 16th note figures and dotted 8th notes, review the Challenge Beat we began working on recently, review some of Cam's current repertoire
Challenge Beat, Song Review, Welcome to the Jungle cont'd
Lesson Outline
Warm up with a new challenge beat incorporating 16th note bass drum syncopation, review some of Cam's current repertoire, polish up that last few sections of Welcome to the Jungle
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam was dealing with a back injury so our class had a slow start today as Cam wasn't sure if he was going to be able to play. We made the best of it though and ended up having an impromptu jam session with Cam on drums while I played piano. He had a great time coming up with drum parts to fit the progressions I was playing, and he did very well responding musically to the subtle changes in rhythm I would throw in here and there.
Reading 16th notes cont'd, Song Review, Welcome to the Jungle cont'd, Enter Sandman video
Lesson Outline
Begin by reading some more 16th note exercises out of the Syncopation Book, review some of Cam's current repertoire, continue our Work on Welcome to the Jungle, check out the Drumeo video about Enter Sandman
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did very well reading these new exercises and was even able to read through one at 110bpm with no mistakes! He also made excellent progress on Welcome to the Jungle, polishing up most of the sections that had previously challenged him and playing through the whole song quite well. We then watched a quick YouTube video in which a professional Jazz drummer listened to Enter Sandman (one of Cam's favorites) for the first time and then tried to come up with their own drum part. Cam admitted that he was surprised at how much he enjoyed the video and thought that it was really interesting to see a different interpretation of a song that he now knows quite well on drums.
Reading 8th notes, Song Review, Tom Sawyer cont'd, Consoler of the Lonely cont'd
Lesson Outline
Begin by reading a few 8th note exercises out of the Syncopation Book, Review some of Chris' current repertoire and any songs he's been working on at home, continue our work on Tom Sawyer and Consoler of the Lonely
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Chris is showing excellent progress with his reading. At first he was still a bit unsure when deciphering rhythms on his own, but with some encouragement he quickly regained his confidence. Once focused and confident he demonstrated a clear understanding these 8th note rhythms and made great progress reading through a couple of exercises entirely on his own. Tom Sawyer is still quite difficult for Chris to get through as its a long and fairly complicated song that demands a lot of physical stamina, but he's improved every time we've played it and in this class he was able to get through about 3/4 of it and did very well. After Tom Sawyer, we worked again on Consoler of the Lonely which has a meandering and fairly tricky central beat that had previously eluded Chris. Today, after listening through it again and taking some more time to break down each section Chris was able to play through the whole song! He was so pleased that he immediately played through the whole song a second time.
Reading 16th notes cont'd, Song Review, Welcome to the Jungle cont'd
*Cam needed as sub for his art class so we ended up having a double drum period
Lesson Outline
Begin with reading a few 16th note exercises, incorporating previously covered subdivisions as well, out of the Syncopation Book. Review some of Cam's current repertoire and then continue our work on Welcome to the Jungle
Session Minutes
90
Minutes Student Attended
90
Lesson Comments
We had lots of time since Cam ended up with a double drum period today which allowed for some extra practice with the Syncopation Book and Welcome to the Jungle. Cam showed great progress with both! His reading has come a long way and he's much more confident in his ability to decipher rhythms himself on a given page. Welcome to the Jungle presented some good challenges in a few areas, but Cam did a great job memorizing the song form and working on the more difficult sections. He can now play through most of the song and I'm sure that within one or two more lessons he'll have the whole song very well figured out.
