Man has it been great getting more practice time in. I have a new piano teacher, Eric Baker. I am currently working on some jazz piano fundamentals. It has felt liberating learning to read lead-sheet notation. Eric has done a fantastic job connecting the theory and percussionist wires in my brain while adapting them to piano. Our first lesson was simple. Learn to play all major scales 2 octaves and learn all dominant 7th chords with inversions. With my background on marimba this immediately got my hands up and running. So far I’m through Freddy Freeloader and I’m diving into Autumn Leaves (I know… we’re starting BASIC!)
I also had a private lesson with Ian Shepherd that completely changed how I think about my feet at the drumset. It’s amazing what tightening the spring on your pedal can do for your technique! This guy has been teaching me since I was 16 and I still go to him when I’m trying to troubleshoot my hands and feet. I’m currently working on playing the infamous page 8 in George Stone’s Stick Control with my feet.
Last, I took a private lesson with Amir Oosman. This guy is NUTS. Yes—he’s an INCREDIBLE drummer—but we did zero drumming in our lesson! Instead we focused on online marketing and social media. His understanding of social media and setting up an online presence blew my mind. I left that lesson inspired to create more content at a higher level. Check out his instagram here.
So what am I drumming to? My April playlist of course! If you’re late to the party that’s okay. Each month I curate a playlist that is designed to practice with. Each track increases incrementally in tempo from about 80bpm to around 180bpm. All the music is school appropriate so feel free to use it with your students! Keep an eye out for a drum-along on my facebook coming soon!