Rock & Roll 101

October 25th, 2021

Is Leo coming today Mabel?

October 4th, 2021

Leo's mom, Mabel, suggested we add Iron Man to the repertoire, so that's what I thought we'd be trying today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNCp1YuiQEc

Leo didn't come, so maybe something happened. Hope everyone's okay!

September 27th, 2021

We started off by playing through Ooyy or Pink Mirrors or whatever it's called. :) Leo said he didn't practice - he knew the songs generally from listening to it, but I was really hoping for a tighter result.

We added a new song Saweetie ft. Doja Cat, called Best Friend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baQ7tcoBARU

It's got a great roll on the hihat which makes it sound really fast... it's another chance for Leo to work on getting those rolls working (where you let the sticks bounce in a controlled way so that they sound a lot faster than one can do by trying to play them on each of those beats.

Actually, after going through that a couple of times Leo decided he didn't like it, so we tried adding another one - Paul Simon, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtC5am-_r9A

I really want to push him to learn harder stuff, and not coast.

September 20th, 2021

Leo and I went through three songs trying to find a good one to learn.

We settled on this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a6yyJ42p8I

It's got lots of interesting parts in it, but Leo will have to take the week to try to learn them all. The temptation will be to just play with it (which might be fine), but if he wants to learn it, he should focus on copying the drums he hears.

September 13th, 2021

I guess Leo forgot this week. See you next week, Monday at 5:30!

March 30th, 2021

Leo said he forgot which song to work on, so hadn't practised this week.

Here it is again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmEc3sdj57M

We went through On My Own a few times, it needs some more work, but it's best if he focuses on it at home.

So after three times through, we did some review, and went over some older songs as well.

March 23rd, 2021

Leo played through Backstreet Boys, I Want it That Way, and did really well! We did it twice to work on one issue, and then we tried adding a new song:

Ashes Remain, On My Own:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmEc3sdj57M

After going through it a few times, in the last four or five minutes we did some review over the very first few songs he learned in February and March of 2020.

I'd like him to continue to work on Ashes Remain this week, and think of the next song to learn.

March 16th, 2021

We wrapped up Chlorine for this week, and added a new song by the Back Street Boys, I Want It That Way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVye7YjEqIo

It has sheet music on it, which makes it easier to learn! We talked through some of the reading notation, and he said he learned that with the last teacher!

March 9th, 2021

Leo couldn't remember the song to practice this week, he said, so we sort of started off fresh with it again. It's Chlorine by Twenty One Pilots.

We then took a break to play his last two songs, before returning to Chlorine again.

I suggested he think of another song to learn for next week, if he's ready to move on by Tuesday.

March 2nd, 2021

Leo played through last week's song for me, and hadn't really been very prepared. The fills especially were kind of random, and not matching the recording.

We added a new song to keep things fresh (and hopefully motivate him):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c3r3AigHjU

This is Twenty One Pilots, Chlorine

February 23rd, 2021

We played through That's What You Get a couple of times, and then added a new song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTLJrd_ovH8

The kick is hard on this one, work on getting it the same as the recording.

February 16th, 2021

I guess maybe the snow was too much afterall - missed Leo today. :)

December 22nd, 2020

Leo played through That's What You Get, and is getting better... needs some more work, so we focused on a few of the problem areas.

December 8th, 2020

Leo went through That's What You Get a few times, and then we focused more on the intro - it's a very hard song, and takes lot of practice, which was a bit lacking this week-- but let's do better for next time.

Next Tuesday, no lessons - I'm taking my wife out for her birthday.

December 1st, 2020

We moved on from Payphone today, and added a new song by Paramore called That's What You Get

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psWfe8q4Fus&ab_channel=MightyMouseDex

It's hard - I'm a little surprised that Leo picked it! But he can do it if he practices!

November 24th, 2020

Leo is really improving! I'm impressed with his sixteenths! They're much more even than they were. His snare on the verses of the song Payphone, as well as the high hat are much better. Also, I showed him the fill on the snare, and he got it quite quickly. He doesn't get it EVERY time, but he's got the idea. VERY good job.

November 17th, 2020

November 10th, 2020

We went through Savage Love together a few times - it's close, not perfect, but not terrible. :) He could work on it more, but we decided to move onto another song today.

This is Payphone by Maroon 5
https://youtube.com/watch?v=U3iWZfiKmto

Some hard parts, but he can do it. :)

November 3rd, 2020

Leo is coming along very well on the "Savage Love" song - I'm impressed, especially because this is such a hard song. Keep practicing, Leo. You're getting close!

We spent time working on the open high hat part where it hits with the floor tom in the verses. Keep the hat open long enough so that we can hear that sound.... don't put your foot down ON the beat, but just after it on the off-beat.

October 27th, 2020

Leo played through the new son from Spotify, and did really well on it.

We added a very hard reggae song, called Savage Love:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9kW0lyK2nQ

This is SO hard - he says he can do it, so we'll see!! :D

October 20th, 2020

Leo knocked it out of the park today! Amazing!! Both songs were really well done. I'm very impressed with his practice and attention to detail.

He wanted to learn a new song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9GsYEBmBJ0&feature=emb_title

I guess it's something that came up on his Spotify. We couldn't find a drum cover video so he'll have to listen to try to hear the drum parts in it to play along with what the drummer is doing. He's already got it pretty close, but close listening will improve for things like hi hat opens.

October 13th, 2020

Leo is feeling unwell tonight, so isn't coming to lessons.

October 6th, 2020

Leo played through Level of Concern for me, and did really well - I'd like him to work on it some more this week.

We also added Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams:
https://youtu.be/U1WF96lihsQ

It's a fun one, and quite easy - don't forget the kick with the crash, and start the snare snare tom tom drum fill with the left hand.

September 29th, 2020

September 22nd, 2020

We went through the new song, but it seemed Leo wasn't really prepared. We spent the lesson time going over it, and I asked him to learn it as well as he learned the last song, which he absolutely nailed (Youngblood, I believe)

We'll keep reviewing this one until he has all the details down - I know he can do it, since he was so good on the Youngblood song!

September 15th, 2020

Leo played through Back to the Start again, and we focused on the drum fills, specifically, keeping the kick going on quarters throughout them, and included with the follow-up crash.

It took a while for him to get the hang of it, but he's got it now, and it made a big difference to his final playing.

We then added Level of Concern by Twenty One Pilots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoybitWji10&ab_channel=MightyMouseDex

It's got some complexities in it, so will be a good one for him to practice daily.

September 8th, 2020

Leo played through 5 Seconds of Summer for me to start things up and warm up - and I was speechless when he was done! Really, this is the most amazing drumming he's ever done! He nailed it! Great job, Leo!

We then added a new song -- quite a simple one called

Back to the Start by Michael Schulte:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF8OalDtKnQ&ab_channel=TheGoodMelodies-TGM

I asked him to also find a new song to learn, because this one was super easy.

June 23rd, 2020

Thanks for a great year, Marco! You have grown so much, from being afraid to try anything, to confidently throwing yourself into just trying it! That's a big deal, so pat yourself on the back.

But don't stop there. Keep pushing yourself to places where you feel uncomfortable, because that's when you start to grow and learn.

I hope you have a great summer! If you come back in the fall for more lessons, then we should focus on doing even more complex beats, and try learning to read drum music.

Blessings to you!

June 16th, 2020

I missed Leo today - hope everything is okay!

June 9th, 2020

Leo came in to the lesson for a couple of minutes and then left - must be having Internet issues?

OK, missed you today Leo, perhaps we can have regular lessons at my studio next week?

June 2nd, 2020

Great job on Don't Stop Believin'!!

Next:
Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0w3OljN21s&ab_channel=MightyMouseDex

May 26th, 2020

Hi Mabel - did you forget today?

May 19th, 2020

We started with reviewing Welcome to the Jungle, and I thought it sounded great. We then reviewed Big Time Rush as well - his fills are sounding much more consistent and even than they did before.

He also played Michael Jackon's song before adding a new one.

We added Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, a drum cover by Sina:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45oMQc6WhJI

Don't Stop Believin' (Journey); drum cover by Sina


May 12th, 2020

We started out with reviewing Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.

We added a new one, "Welcome to the Jungle"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23n5icFvqf8

Leo played through Big Time Rush for me afterwards, and did really well on it. He said he had been having trouble with it, and felt like he'd figured those parts out. I was very impressed!

May 5th, 2020

Today we started out with the different beats, and focused most of our time on the new disco beat. It's not quite right yet, be sure to alternate the snare every second time, not every time.

We then started a new song, Billy Jean by Michael Jackson.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=michael+jackson+billie+jean+drum+cover

April 28th, 2020

We reviewed the song from last week, and though he felt it wasn't great, I was happy with how he played on it.

We went through the various beats, like last week, and then added a disco beat, with the kick on every quarter. If both feet move together on quarters, (kick and hat pedals), and you play an eighth-note beat on the snare and hat, you get that sound.

We did Big Time Rush by Big Time Rush, and found this drum cover:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oZ5n6ska6Y&ab_channel=WayJay17

April 21st, 2020

Leo did so well on his song from last week.

We started out with going over the beats again, and tho better, there is still some room for improvement going into the 16th beat.

Work going both ways - starting with the 16th, and ending with the 16th.

We then added a new song,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LMGY4OcOzI&ab_channel=MightyMouseDex

Marshmello, Happier.

April 14th, 2020

Leo did a pretty good job playing through the three beats we are learning, but still struggles with switching between them. I recommended practicing the quarter note and eighth note beats while counting out sixteenths, so that when switching to 16ths, it doesn't catch him by surprise.

He then plaed through YounG Blood for me, ad did a fantastic job. Really nailed it!

We then added a new song, Perfect by Ed Sheeran:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SneT2YbEook

This is a good song, maybe a bit simple, but he can use it to work on his technique - concentrate on the things we've talked about, like the distance from the drum with your sticks - don't move your sticks and hands too far.

Also, remember that this song is in 6/8 time, not 4/4, so you don't think of it as 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4 but as 123,456, 123, 456

The kick is on 1, the snare on 4.

April 7th, 2020

This week went much better, in my opinion. We used Zoom instead of Skype, and I was able to hear and see better than I could last week.

We worked a big part of the lesson on the 16th beat, especially not playing them as 123, 456, 123, 456, but instead oas 1234*5*678 1234*5*678

When coming from 1/4 to 1/8 to 1/16, Leo struggled with getting into the sixteenth beat properly, so we tried it the other way around, starting with 16th, and going to the 1/4. If he keeps working on this, it will help.

We then added a new song, by 5 Seconds of Summer, called Young Blookd:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NOTZXm2t5w

We ran out of time so couldn't keep working on it together.

March 31st, 2020

It was a challenge over the internet, but I think it worked pretty well - I could mostly hear everything he was doing. It would be neat if we could have got the Apple TV working - maybe in the future if the Skype and Apple TV don't work at the same time, we can try streaming the song on Spotify or download the mp3 first?

March 10th, 2020

We started out with reviewing the sixteenth beats, and the others. He's getting better at remembering them now... keep working on relaxing your arms, and not moving them up so high when you play. It's all in the wrist, NOT in the arms. PLEASE?

We then went over Counting Stars - much better at getting some of the extras like the ghosting on the snare - the fill is still a problem.

We then started a new song
Marshmello, Happier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LMGY4OcOzI&ab_channel=MightyMouseDex

He learned his own version of playing along with it, which was fun, but not quite right. The video link is an example of the right way to play the song. Please practice with this recording and try to copy this drummer.

March 3rd, 2020

Leo had practiced the drums for Counting Stars, but was having struggles with a few places.

1. the two snare show on the and of 4, followed by a crash
2. the one-bar, sixteenth note fill through the snare, toms, and snare, ending with a crash

We worked a good part of the lesson on that, slowing it down, and helping him to learn to execute it.

After that, we reviewed the drums beats we've been learning, as per last week. He struggled a bit with the sixteenth beat, so that will take more practice.

We also touched really quickly on drum rolls, and if he can practice them, that would be great.

February 25th, 2020

For the first 20 miutes, we talked and played through the different beats he's been learning.

quarter note, eighth, sixteenth,
then kicks on quarters for each of the above
Then two kicks together on beat 1 for each of the above.

We finished by playing through Counting Stars together, and working on some of the tough spots there.

February 18th, 2020

Leo played the 7 Nation Army song fairly well - other than the triplet in the middle section.

We then went over Counting Stars, and worked out some of the details... I think he's building up some confidence on how to get the essentials from a song without getting too overwhelmed with the details.

Also work on playing the three different beats (4, 8, 16) switching back and forth between them.

February 11th, 2020

Leo went through Seven Nation Army again - almost got the middle section right... one more week?

We then added a new song, Counting Stars by One Republic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZSUEwC4TEQ

This has a sixteenth style hat beat in it, with kick on quarters, and that was as struggle for Leo, so we spent most of the lesson perfecting that.

February 4th, 2020

Leo and I went through the seven Nation Army song and he was struggling with the chorus part where the crash is on every quarter. So we worked on that for a while, and I want him to continue practicing it this week.

Leo then show me a song he'd been learning on his own, so we went through that together, and I helped him with the kick part which is quite complicated. He should keep working on that this week

January 28th, 2020

Leo won't be able to make it today.

January 21st, 2020

We started again with some review. Leo seems to have a hard time remembering some things we have learned, the less interesting aspects, I suppose. For example, he's still pausing a bit remembering the names of the instruments.

We also reviewed the two beats we've focused on the most: 1/4 note and 1/8th note, and why they're called that. We added a new beat called the 16th, and learned to play it on the hat with two hands.

We then reivewed his Back in Black song, and added a new one, Seven Nation Army

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3qy8H6-5WY

We only go through the beginning, so he should work on that, and try to push himself into learning the new parts.

January 14th, 2020

Loenardo and I workd through the quarter note and eighth note beats together, trying to firm them up, and getting the fill on beat four (and four and)... we also talked about flams, and did crashes on beat 1 every 2 bars.

Which led us up nicely to his first song, Back in Black by this 5 year old drummer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiq9HDUkNxg

We went through it a number of times. Work on it every day this week until you aren't making any mistakes. Watch that your fill isn't sloppy.

January 7th, 2020

This was Leo's first drum lesson with me.

He didn't remember much of what he had learned with his other drum teacher, so we started with the basics:

We reviewed the names of the various parts of the instrument - tom toms, floor tom, snare, hihat, kick/bass drum, crash, ride...

We then learned the "boom chuck," and I talked about the kick one 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4.

We learned the quarter note beat and the eighth note beat. He had a hard time remember their names, but I think by the end it was making sense to him.

We then started adding crashes on 1, first every bar, then every second bar.

We added a tom on beat four before the crash.

This was a bit of a struggle, but I think he was getting it by the end, just making "coordination" mistakes.

He said he had a drumset at home, just not unpacked - so hopefully he can practice the things we learned today.

December 20th, 2019

Leo wasn't keen on doing Hark! so we went over Silent Night again, and then I added a new song, Jingle Bell Rock. He wasn't too in love with the song because it involves him to move his hand around a bit more, and I think he is still struggling with remembering the note names.

He mentioned to me that the note names are written on the keys at home - that isn't always the best way to learn, because you become dependant on them, rather than working on really memorizing them.

Merry Christmas! God bless you.

AND THANKS FOR THE CHOCOLATES!! YUM!

December 13th, 2019

Leo did really great today! He played Silent Night for me from memory (he forgot his book this week), and did really well until the end, when he forgot the notes a bit, but considering it was memorized, I was very happy.

We then talked about arpeggios, and I showed him how he could alternate through the notes of the chord for each chord, to play a different thing in the left hand.

For a G: | g b d | g b d |
for a C: | c e g | c e g |

it's a little challenging to play different "melodic" ideas in both hands, but if he works on it a bit, he might be able to figure it out. If he brings his book next time, I can put more detail in on how to do that.

After that, we added "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (he said he wanted to learn another church Christmas song). We got through the melody but didn't have time for chords this week.

He should continue to work on the last three songs (including todays).

December 6th, 2019

Leo started with playing the melody alone of Silent Night - he forgot his book, so I wrote out the melody with the left hand again (though apparently the chords were slightly different than the copy he has in his book)."

We went through playing with both hands together - it seemed like maybe he hadn't practiced that too much? but it didn't take him long to get the hang of it. He was again very deliberate and slow whenever it came to a new chord or new section of the song, like he was thinking a long time before trying to play the next part. I was just quiet and didn't prompt him, because I want him to figure it out for himself, in case he was stopping to get affirmation from me.

To aid him in getting smoother, I picked two difficult spots in the song where he would often slow down and be so "cautious" and asked him to just keep playing it over and over again until it was smooth. This actually seemed to really help, and I asked him to practice that way at home, just working on the parts where he has problems, before moving on to the next part.

He's a very nice boy!

November 22nd, 2019

Leonardo went through Jingle Bells for me, three times today, first quite slowly and clumsy, but each subsequent time he improved.

I told him that his mother wanted me to pick his next few songs until he was further along in his abilities. I chose "Silent Night," and wrote it out in the key of G.

This is his first introduction to 'sharps,' and the D chord which has an F sharp in it (D, F#, and A). He played the melody through twice, and then the chords once before we ran out of time.

November 15th, 2019

Leo seemed to have forgotten or something regarding playing both hands together, so we backed things up a bit, and went through hands separately. I also showed him again how chords work, playing more than one note at a time makes a chord, and the starting chords we learn are "triads-" three note chords.

After doing both hands separately a few times, we put the hands together, and he played it through twice. He would like to play in the Christmas performance this year, and said he'd focus his practicing on the song for that.

We then talked about another song to learn. He didn't want to learn another Christmas song, but rather tried to find an Inky or Angry Birds song he could learn.

I told him to spend some time this week looking for a song that doesn't sound too hard, which he could learn to play.

November 8th, 2019

Leonardo did a really great job on Jingle Bells this week... obviously he's been practicing!

I wrote out his piano diagram and the melody again but this time in his book. I also included the chords for the left hand to use while he's playing the melody.

For practicing this week, he should play the left hand along with the melody. If he gets it easily and quickly then I showed him an "alternating note" thing he can do on each note of the chord (this is called an arpeggio).

I think he's going to pick this up quickly - he seems kind of apprehensive or something, but in my opinion he's doing a great job. I hope he's not feeling discouraged, but that he's just being timid with me.

I like Leonardo! He's a cool kid.

October 25th, 2019

Leo didn't bring his paper from last week- but he had a notebook, so we wrote out Jingle Bells on it again.

He's still depending on the drawing of the piano keyboard with the notes written on it, so maybe you can work with him to memorize those notes, so that he can take the next step in playing.

We did independant first melody, then chords, but we didn't play them at the same time (we ran out of time). Encourage him to work on that on his own.

He's very quiet - I hope everything is going okay. I have a hard time reading him if he's liking lessons.

October 18th, 2019

Today with Leo, we started by getting to know each other a bit - he's interested in a video game called Bendy and the Ink Machine, so he told me all about that.

We then talked about the names of the notes on the piano. He did express interest in the guitar, but said there wasn't one at home - if he'd like to get one, we can learn guitar instead. But it's important to practice, so please let me know when you have a guitar at home.

We have to start with something simple, so we picked Jingle Bells. I wrote out the notes and note-names so he can play it through... please have him practice that song every day for at least 10 minutes per day.