Practice "speed reading," / looking ahead while reading, Song Review, You Give Love cont'd
Lesson Outline
Begin with reading exercises consisting of quarter notes and quarter note rests at progressively faster tempos to develop the speed at which Cam can process visual information and translate it into playing. Review Cam's repertoire and then continue our work on You Give Love focusing on more of the drum fills that appear later in the song.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did a great job with the speed reading exercise! He was able to get up to 170 bpm with little to no mistakes. Great progress! Cam has clearly been practicing at home and is demonstrating a much deeper understanding of the songs we've worked on previously. It's great to see that he's still practicing them and looking for new things within each song even though we've been more focused on other songs during class.
Slide Technique Review, Ain't It Fun, Hello, Song For the Dead
Lesson Outline
Begin with a review of the slide technique on the bass drum and practice along to some of the Zeppelin songs we had previously worked on. Review the songs that we began working on last week and zoom in on some of the details/more nuanced sections of the songs.
Reading 8th notes and 8th note triplets review, Song Review, You Give Love cont'd
Lesson Outline
We began with reviewing some 8th note and 8th note triplet reading exercises out of the syncopation book. From there we reviewed some of Cam's current repertoire and continued our work on You Give Love.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam began the lesson by performing an original song he wrote earlier today in English Class! After his performance we talked a bit about creating a drum part for the song. From there we moved to the practice pad where Cam did a great job reviewing 8th notes and 8th note triplets. He also did very well learning and practicing a new technique known as a "cymbal choke," or "cymbal catch," in Enter Sandman. Cam did an excellent job with You Give Love as well, and was proud to share that he had practiced over the weekend with his new drum set at home.
Slide Technique Review, Hello - The Cat Empire, Ain't It Fun - Paramore
Lesson Outline
Review the bass drum technique covered in last lesson known as the slide technique and review a couple of songs using said technique. Discuss offbeat grooves by looking at Hello by the Cat Empire and Ain't It Fun by Paramore.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Chris had a great time with the new songs today! They were a bit different from what he normally listens to/plays, but he was open minded and eager to learn new music. He picked up on the "rhythmic fingerprint," of each song very quickly and was able to play along competently right away. It took him some time to get comfortable leading the groove with offbeats in his right hand and the syncopated bass drum patterns playing against it, but with some practice and by breaking things down step by step he was able to get both grooves down by the end of the lesson. He was excited to share with me that he'll be able to practice the drums all weekend and took down the names of each song so that he can play along to them. As a bonus at the end of class, and since he mentioned he'd have all weekend to practice, we briefly looked at A Song For The Dead by Queens of the Stone Age, which contains a really fun drum intro and a lot of cool moments for him to work on.
Reading Eighth Note Triplets, Song Review, You Give Love cont'd
Lesson Outline
We began with reading exercises from the Syncopation book, building toward reading examples containing eighth note triplets. From there we reviewed all of Cam's songs and then took a closer look at You Give Love a Bad Name, paying special attention to the more subtle aspects of the drum part and more of the fills.
Session Minutes
90
Minutes Student Attended
90
Lesson Comments
Cam did a great job incorporating triplets into his reading vocabulary. With just a little bit of practice he was able to play the examples at 95bpm with little to no mistakes. Since we had a double period today we relaxed a bit with a game of ping pong in between our reading exercise and moving to the drum set. Once on the drums Cam did very well playing through his repertoire, demonstrating that he's been listening to the music on his own time and picking up on a lot more of the details. He did a great job focusing in on You Give Love and refining a few of the more complex sections. He was determined to play through the whole song with no mistakes and was able to get a nearly flawless take by the end of class time.
Per Cam's request, we took a day off from drumming and made deep fried oreos.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam did really well in the kitchen and seemed to have a lot of fun! I think he'd really enjoy taking a cooking class at some point, and it would be great to get him to try some healthier food
Review all songs we've worked on so far, including You Give Love a Bad Name, and begin working on a new song (Beat It by Michael Jackson)
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Cam is doing really well with the drums! He's gained a lot of confidence in his playing recently and is more willing to try new songs and different beats. His musical memory is also improving with him remembering most of You Give Love after only working on it for the first time yesterday. Toward the end of the lesson we took a look at Beat It by Michael Jackson and had a great discussion about Eddie Van Halen's famous solo and other great guitar solos.
Song Review, Intro to Bass Drum Technique, Bass Drum Practice
Lesson Outline
We began by reviewing some familiar songs and refining some details/working on stick control. We then talked about the "slide technique," on the bass drum and looked at several Led Zeppelin songs that serve as good practice material for the slide technique.
Session Minutes
90
Minutes Student Attended
90
Lesson Comments
Chris seems really excited about improving his bass drum technique! It came up as a result of looking at a familiar song, Good Times Bad Times by Led Zeppelin, and the particularly difficult bass drum figures in the first verse. Chris responded very well to the new technique and was able to perform it fairly well after a bit of practice. He's also doing very well with his dynamic control and stick control. His playing is sounding more clear and more musical by the day.
You Give Love A Bad Name, Pretender, Gripping the Stick/Balance Point
Lesson Outline
We began by learning You Give Love a Bad Name as Cam, at the end of his lesson, suggested Chris try it. Chris had fun with the song and was able to pick up on most of the hits and fills within his first run through. From there we took another look at The Pretender by The Foo Fighters and ironed out some details in a couple of tricky sections. We then moved to the practice pad to continue our conversation about control by looking at the proper hand technique for gripping our sticks and how to find the "balance point," or "rebound point," on the stick.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Chris really seemed to enjoy our lesson on hand technique. He struggled a bit at first as he had to overcome some habits that had formed previously, but by breaking things down step by step he was able to gain a new understanding of the way his hand could control the sticks. He was excited by how much more clarity and control he was able to achieve on the practice pad and we soon moved back to the drum set for him to play along to some familiar songs with this new method of gripping the sticks.
Reading more advanced rhythms, Song review, You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
Lesson Outline
Begin with reading a few more pages out of the syncopation book, now incorporating eighth notes in addition to quarter notes and quarter note rests. Review previous songs before diving into You Give Love a Bad Name, focusing particularly on identifying the hits/fills and properly playing through the various transitions from one section to another.
Session Minutes
90
Minutes Student Attended
90
Lesson Comments
Cam is reading very well! He's really absorbed all of our practice with subdivisions and has taken to reading quite quickly. By the end of our warm up he was able to read quarter note exercises competently at 150bpm, significant improvement even since yesterday! Reviewing the previous songs seems to serve as an excellent confidence booster before diving into new material. After playing through our list he was able to learn most of You Give Love by the end of the lesson. There are a few sections that still need some polish, but his ear for rhythm has come a long way and he was able to decipher this song much more quickly than prior tracks.
