Learning the Piano and Drums

Hello everyone, In my last Piano Progress post, I made goals to: 1. Learn and record myself playing "Jazz Ostinato in C# Minor". 2. Learn how to play "The Tap-Dancer" I was able to learn how to learn "Jazz Ostinato in C# Minor" last week, but I haven't made the time to record myself playing it. Overall, once I got comfortable with the left hand pattern, this song wasn't too difficult. Once I record myself playing this song, I'll update this post to include the link to my YouTube channel. As for "The Tap-Dancer", I must admit that I have not learned this song yet. Looking at the sheet music, which is in F major or D minor, there are a lot of triplets in the first measure. I think this also has some dotted eighth notes and the chromatic scale at the beginning and the end of the piece.  For this week, realistically, my goals will be similar to last week: 1. Record myself playing "Jazz Ostinato in C# Minor" 2. Lear...

Hello everyone, Last week, I went through the “Rudiment” section of Level 2 in the Drumeo method. Overall, I was able to clean up my technique, and improve my single stroke roll, double stroke roll, and paradiddle. This week, I hope to complete the “Independence” section of the Drumeo method. As for the 10-minute daily challenge, I have gotten my top single stroke roll to a tempo of 153 bpm. The other intervals are 148,143, and 138, respectively. Some days, I have to stay at the tempo from the previous day, but its ok. It feels easier the second time around. That’s all for today though, I don’t really feel like typing too much today. Peace. :)

Hello everyone, Last week, I made it my goal to learn and record myself playing “Laredo” in the key of E Major, and to review the the Circle of 5ths (sharps). Here’s a link of my video if you would like to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-anzcAo2Cw This song wasn’t too difficult once I got the hang of it, but I messed up a few times in this piece. I’m glad to see the compilation of videos that are starting to build up in my channel. It helps keep me motivated to continue to get better and learn more on the piano. Once I learn all of the scales in the book, I hope to start mastering everything with songs I enjoy in the corresponding keys. In the next week, I hope to accomplish the following: 1. Learn and record myself playing “Jazz Ostinato in C# Minor” 2. Learn how to play “The Tap-Dancer”

Hello everyone, Last week, I made it my goal to start the Drumeo Method Level. After spending some time on the Drumeo app last week, I’m glad to say that I’m enjoying Level Two thus far. I reviewed some music theory, and I’m slowly going through the “Rudiments” section right now. In addition to starting Level 2, I’m trying to improve my Single Stroke roll with the 30-day “10-Minute Daily Practice Challenge”. Essentially, this challenge is to practice my single stroke rolls at different BPMs (Beats per Minute) at different intervals. The reason it’s 10- minutes is because the intervals are for 1,2,3, and 4 minutes, respectively. The BPM will be the fastest for the shorter intervals, and will gradually decrease for each interval. Each day, I have to try and increase the BPM for each interval.  Here are my current speeds right now: Day 2: 1 Minutes :    150 BPM 2 Minutes :    145 BPM 3 Minutes :    140 BPM 4 Minutes:     135...

Hello everyone, Last week, I set the following goals for myself: 1. Learn how to play “Just a “Good Old Time”” 2. Review the Key of E Major and practice “Shenandoah” I’m glad to say that learning both of these songs were pretty straight forward. I don’t play them perfectly, but with more practice, I know that I could master these songs. Overall, I think Learning E Major hasn’t been too difficult because the fingering of the scale is familiar to me. This week, I hope to focus on getting better with the Key of E Major. Here are my goals: 1. Learn and record myself playing “Laredo” 2. Review “Completing the Circle of 5ths” and try out the C# Minor Scale. Hope everyone has a great day. I’m still sad that the Niners lost the Super Bowl. :(

Hello everyone, It’s been awhile since the last time I’ve posted on here. In the last post, I made it my goal to learn some new rudiments, learn new 1/8 note beats and fills, and practice these new learned skills to some loop tracks. Much to my disappointment, I haven’t played the drums as much as I would like the past couple weeks. As a result, I wasn’t able to meet many of   last posts’ goals. However, I was able to go over the following rudiments: Single, Double, Four Stroke, 5 Stroke, and 7 Stroke rolls. This week, my goals will be as follows: 1. Start Level 2 of the Drumeo Method 2. Use the new rudiments I learned on the drum kit with a metronome/ loop track. 3. Stay on track this week and play the drums for at least 1 hour every other day. Thank for reading, Angelo