TEACHING
STYLES:
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As far as musical styles are concerned, my
belief is that correct technique will give you the facility to play most
styles. Learning them is mainly down to listening and understanding the
idiom in question, and then studying. For instance, if you are interested
in Cuban rhythms, you can learn a couple of tasty grooves and licks, or
you can spend the rest of your days studying African rhythms and their
religious connotations. It depends how far you want to go. As for which
styles I cover, please read my biog section, which covers the styles of
music I get called to play professionally.
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Whenever possible, I back up patterns and
exercises with musical examples from my extensive and varied music collection.
- I frequently make up tapes for students to
introduce them to other styles, or to show them the lineage of a particular
style. For example, many young students who like Nu Metal are not familiar
with Led Zeppelin, who in turn have their roots firmly embedded in the blues
of such people as Howling Wolf and Buddy Guy. Students who like latin (or
latin-based) music need to understand the roles and rhythms of the various
traditional percussion instruments, and how they are applied to the drum kit.