My primary goal as a drum teacher is to get my students to a place where they are able to create their own drum parts to songs. Everything that I teach is designed to get you to that place. When they're ready we choose a Song Of The Month song and the process begins. Sometimes the process is quick, sometimes it takes months. Sometimes a student is able to immediately start coming up with a part and sometimes they draw a blank and have no idea what to do. All of these things are fine! My job is to guide them and show them how to use the skills they've learned to play music. It is a very fun and very individualized experience. When their part is complete I record a video of them playing the song and then we move on to another one.
There are of course different levels to this, and that is my favorite thing about Song Of The Month. A beginner's part is going to sound very different from the part of someone that has been playing for years, but both of those parts work because there is more than one way to play a song. The videos are proof of this, and I share them all in my Member Community and on YouTube so that everyone can expand their own creativity by listening to and comparing all of the different drum parts that have been created for the same song.
In addition to that, there are the Song Of The Month Lessons. Each lesson starts out with my performance of the song (which is also where you'll find a link to download the songs for yourself) and is then followed by one or two videos breaking down certain aspects of my part. They are free to enroll in and once you do you'll get access to the lessons, the songs, and to my Member Community.
Remember, there is no right or wrong here. The songs are meant to give you a chance to be creative and apply what you know to a musical situation. Have fun with it!
These lessons break down aspects of my parts and provide insight into real world applications of the things I teach in the courses
In this lesson I go over some familiar beats that made their way into my part and talk about how the song influenced the variations that I made to them. We also discuss how rhythmic patterns in the song provide a framework for us to play within.
This course breaks down seven different fills from the song that are all built around the same rhythmic pattern, furthering our discussion from last month about how we can "color in" rhythmic outlines.
June's song showcases some rhythms we know that are hidden in my part, as well as how I build my parts to relate to each other throughout the song. Some familiar beats make an appearance as we use the methods from April's SOTM Lesson to change them.
I am really happy with the part I came up with for this song because I had NO IDEA what to do for it. This month's lesson covers my process for creating something from nothing and how the Songo helps me come up with cool ideas on the drums.
In this lesson we're going to work on your left foot coordination so that you can start opening and closing your hi-hat in beats!
This lesson is also about opening and closing your hi-hat within beats, except this time we're just using our left foot to do it, no hands needed.
Composer of the Songs Of The Month
