My teacher has an interesting approach to exercises. he said, you want to learn them first mechanically, and when they are in muscle memory, do them 'musical'.
What he meant by this is follows: take a line for example, from accents and rebounds, with accent marks. Once you've learned it at a good tempo, then you would 'orchestrate; it.
For example, an orchestration might be, for all accented right hand notes, play the bell of the ride. For all accented left hand notes, play a crash. Non-accented notes are tapped on the snare. or you could do right accents on a tom, or on a crash, right taps on the ride ping, and left accents one a crash and left accents on a snare, etc.
Or say you are doing grooves. To practice them musically, you would play three bars of the groove, and on the fourth bar, play a phrase from a reading book, paying careful attention to play the correct stickings. and you would orchestrate the fourth bar fill around the kit on toms and cymbals.
I find it a very easy way to learn musical stuff that can be applied rather than the 'play exercise one with the right hand....then play it with the right foot...etc.
I mean, you still do that, but you orchestrate it instead. Anyone use this approach?
What he meant by this is follows: take a line for example, from accents and rebounds, with accent marks. Once you've learned it at a good tempo, then you would 'orchestrate; it.
For example, an orchestration might be, for all accented right hand notes, play the bell of the ride. For all accented left hand notes, play a crash. Non-accented notes are tapped on the snare. or you could do right accents on a tom, or on a crash, right taps on the ride ping, and left accents one a crash and left accents on a snare, etc.
Or say you are doing grooves. To practice them musically, you would play three bars of the groove, and on the fourth bar, play a phrase from a reading book, paying careful attention to play the correct stickings. and you would orchestrate the fourth bar fill around the kit on toms and cymbals.
I find it a very easy way to learn musical stuff that can be applied rather than the 'play exercise one with the right hand....then play it with the right foot...etc.
I mean, you still do that, but you orchestrate it instead. Anyone use this approach?