Yesterday, we hosted our first student recital and what a great day it was! The students all performed well, and it was really gratifying to see the groove community physically together in one space.
Hello Sunday Morning!
Sundays and Mondays are big days around the studio here…and everyday I teach (and every day in fact), I practice what I preach to my students: GET THE STICKS IN YOUR HANDS EVERYDAY. There simply is no substitute for daily practice. Even if your practice sessions are on the shorter side, i.e. 20 minutes a day, the cumulative effect of practicing every day will become apparent over time.
In other words, practicing everyday yields more growth faster as a player.
Very much looking forward to seeing some of the students perform at Saturday’s recital….
grooveKSQ’s Mission Statement
Quite a few people have asked me, what is grooveKSQ? What do you do there? Here's the answer.
Freestyle Improvisation on the Drumset
Structure is important in your rehearsal and your performances, and that is true of a performer on any instrument. Goals, lists, calendars are all tools to help keep you on a path towards achieving your performance goals.
But, one thing to keep in mind is the importance of freestyle improvisation on the drumset (or concert or marching snare, or piano, violin, etc., etc.). Letting your mind run free while your hands and feet create combinations seemingly on their own is extremely important to a musicians’ growth.
Freestyle improvisation is a great exercise for any drummer/percussionist out there building a solo piece for a performance or for an audition.
The Importance of Repetition With Purpose
When you are pursuing any amount of technical ability on a musical instrument, there is no substitute for hard work. Hard work, though isn’t enough. Once you identify the skills you want to work on, you have to develop those skills through repetition.
After all, drumming has a huge physical component to it: the mechanics of the player’s hands, arms and fingers, posture, relaxation, grip…the list goes on and on. Those aspects of a student’s playing are refined through repetition, which is a decidedly unglamorous thing to talk about, but it is indeed the key to greatness.
To Master Control, Be Consistent
Anyone can play a ton of notes. The difference between being an apprentice and a master is CONTROL. Control is developed through consistent (i.e. every day) practice. There is no substitute. Playing with control is what separates the elite players from everyone else.
For more info on studying percussion with me, click here.
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