MISSION STATEMENT
Jim Anderson and The Andersong Music Percussion Studio is dedicated to sharing the joy, power and inspiration of music and percussion with any interested community member. Through private and group teaching, mentoring, coaching and performing I strive to foster excellent musicians and percussionists who are eager to learn and challenge themselves to reach their musical goals and share their excitement, knowledge and love of music with others.
Andersong Music Percussion Studio Snare Drum Station
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Jim teaches beginning to advanced snare drum, drum set and percussion. He also teaches beginning guitar, voice and ear training, as well as general music and jazz appreciation. He teaches five days a week (with makeup lessons on Saturdays).
The studio is setup with all the equipment needed to meet the unique lesson plan developed for each student and is arranged in three areas:
- Concert Snare Drum and Percussion
- Marching Percussion
- Drum Set
The Concert Snare and Percussion area is where the student will work on grip, stroke technique, timing, sight reading and rudimental development. This area is equipped with a Concert snare, a field drum and a mini snare that can all be adjusted to accommodate any size or age student. It is here where we will develop music reading and interpretation skills similar to what the student would encounter in a school band situation as well as snare drum solo, duet and ensemble pieces. In addition proper playing methods for many of the orchestral percussion instruments that students are asked to play are demonstrated and taught in this area.
The Marching Percussion area is actually part of the Concert Area but includes marching snare and bass drums. Here we work on rudimental technique and marching band material such as cadences and intros as well as applied solo and percussion ensemble music.
The Drum Set area is just that; one of Jim’s professional level drum sets with cymbals and other drum set percussion that the students work on to learn drum beat and fill exercises and coordination development. Many play-along and video examples are used as well as prerecorded drum loops to help the student learn timing and feel. Students can be recorded playing solo or with one of the play-along tracks.
For younger students Jim sometimes use Boomwhackers and “found” or “recovered” sound sources to engage the student and these activities happen in every area of the studio.
Lesson Plans and Curriculum
Jim believes it is best to start students, even intermediate and advanced students from the very beginning in order to build a solid foundation for learning, review or advancement.
While there is no hard and fast rule for instruction progression, the following is the general flow of what he teaches and is tailored as required to individual student need.
Grip and Stroke Technique:
Proper stick grip including fulcrum, finger and wrist control is demonstrated and explained. A forearm and wrist muscle exercise is assigned to help build the muscles in the forearm, wrist and fingers to aid in proper stroke and grip function. The Five Basic Strokes are introduced and the Rebound Stroke is fully explained, demonstrated and an exercise assigned to aid the student in developing this most important of all strokes. Concepts of how to hit drums, cymbals or other percussion instruments as well as pedal technique for the drum set are also introduced and discussed.
Sight Reading:
Sight reading is a fundamental skill for any well rounded musician and drummers are no different. A drummer that reads well will have more opportunities to excel and advance his or her course than one that does not. This is especially true for the recording studio. Reading music is not hard it is just another part of playing your instrument well and requires practice.
Rudiments:
Rudiments are to drummers as scales are to other pitched instrument players. They are an essential and fundamental building block of skills needed to excel at drumming and percussion. They afford one of the very best ways to acquire stick control on both the snare drum and drum set. All drummers whether middle school beginners to world class performers and recording artists use and rely on the correct execution of the rudiments. Students are shown how rudiments apply to concert and rudimental-marching repertoire as well as how they are used around the drum set.
Timing:
The drummer’s job is to acquire, maintain and subdivide time. The drummer is the time-keeper of any ensemble. Students are required to work with a metronome both in lesson and at home to develop solid time-keeping skills. In addition to time-keeping the student is introduced to time-feel concepts: playing behind, in front of and on top of the beat.
Coordination:
All drummers require better than average coordination. Especially drum set players. Jim uses many exercises, books, videos and methods to help students develop complete 4-way limb coordination and to help strengthen the weak side of their body. Styles: Well-rounded drummers (those who work a lot!) do not constrain themselves to one style of music. Students will be exposed to and encouraged to explore many different styles of music to enhance their musical education and skill base.
Listening Skills:
Probably the most overlooked and important skill any musician has is listening skills. Many young students have not had the opportunity to develop good listening skills. It seems that if there is not a video accompanying the music the music is ignored. To become a better musician and drummer, students must commit serious time and effort into the process of understanding the history, ideas and techniques of other drummers and musicians. We are all standing on the shoulders of Giants. Very little of what many believe is “good music” is brand-new-never-been-done-before material. To attempt to excel and create new ideas students must know, absorb and use what has gone on before. The best way to do this is by actively listening to and analyzing music. Students need to focus on what makes a good drum part or groove, how that part or groove changes in the song and why and how the drummer supports the song and other musicians to create the best possible sound for that song or style. Only then can the student apply this knowledge to their own playing. Considerable time will be spent with the student to help develop solid listening skills.
Summary:
Students will enjoy a well rounded focus of study that will include:
- Grip and Stick Control
- General Playing Technique
- Time-Keeping Skills
- Snare Drum Rudiments
- Snare Drum Solo and Duet Pieces
- Percussion Ensemble Pieces
- Rudiments for the Drum Set
- Coordination and Independence
- Sight Reading Challenges for Snare Drum and Drum Set
- Playing Musically with Dynamics
- Practice Aids and Tips
- Writing Short-Hand Drum Charts
- Writing Short Snare Drum Solo Pieces and Cadences
- Writing Songs
- Playing Other Non-Percussion Instruments
