Christopher Hull is a percussionist and ethnomusicologist whose work focuses on tensions between tradition and innovation in contemporary music. As a passionate performer of solo, chamber, and orchestral percussion, he seeks to ground his work in his classical training while simultaneously transcending the conventions of the conservatory. With classical percussion degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Alaska Fairbanks, a performing arts certificate from the Arts Institute of Indonesia Denpasar, and his current studies in ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto, Christopher’s genre-defying work exhibits a world of experience.
As an orchestral percussionist, he frequently works with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the Hamilton and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestras, and Sinfonia Ancaster. He has appeared as a chamber musician and soloist in festivals such as Open Ears, International Gamelan Festival Munich, Young Artists Niagara, and Sacred Rhythm Jakarta, and can be heard playing drums, vibraphone, and synthesizer on commercial recordings by Call Me Moon and Treephones. He is also Associate Artistic Director of Toronto-based Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, commissioning and premiering new works for Sundanese degung, and director of the University of Toronto’s Balinese gamelan ensemble, Dharma Santi.
Get to know Chris…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Reading, cycling, and synthesizers
Musical influences: Jojo Mayer, Benny Greb, David Garibaldi, Gary Burton, Tony Miceli, Steve Reich, Glenn Gould, Bill Evans, I Dewa Made
Favourite food: Noodles
Least favourite food: Quiche
Favourite music: R&B, hip-hop, funk; Western modernism and minimalism; Balinese gender wayang; Sundanese degung; Orchestral; beatsce Favourite song:!
Favourite movie: The Departed
Favouirite movie music: Old modern romantic soundtracks (eg. Spellbound)
Favourite musical theatre/opera: West Side Story/Turandot
Best quote from your teacher: “When we perform, we smile. If we make a mistake while performing, we smile bigger.” -Dewa Suparta
Favourite quote: “I’m a man who leaves nothing to chance.” -Maestro Boris Brott
Favourite book: Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami
Best thing about teaching at ABC: The lovely students
Latest Homework from CHRIS
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Tuesday, December 17
Hello! Jasmine (Chris’ substitute) here. Great work this week, hope you all have a lovely winter break! (Chris will be back in January)
Your lesson notes are as follows:
Josh
Warm-ups:
-continue with the exercises recommended by Chris: coordinating hands and feet with steady beats on the bass drum. BPM (beats per minute) that we started with was 55, working up to 75/80
–Integrating the metronome: metronome pulse can be used for warming up and practicing pieces. Find the “slow” tempo/BPM that you can play something comfortably at and the “fast” tempo where things can’t quite be played together — gradually work towards the fast tempo making sure that all limbs and rhythms are grooving together (watch out for tensing arms or legs as you increase speed)
I Had Some Help
-Great work on the verse and chorus groove!
-We worked on just playing one part (beginning kick, then adding snare, then adding hihat) and coordinating with the metronome. Count out loud as you play to line up your beats and gradually increase tempo. We started at 70 bpm, increased our way to 115 with just one part at a time.
-When adding all parts together, we were able to play through at around 95 bpm
-Over the break, continue working on coordination across the kit (with warmups+other grooves) and I Had Some Help
Myles
Xylophone
-G major technique: Great job! If you’re wanting to vary the way scales are practiced, try incorporating dynamics or different rhythmic patterns (doubling each note, swinging the notes going up and down)
-Reading at the keyboard: see image on anchor points and note acronyms on the staff
-Cirone Simple Steps: Awesome sight reading today! Continue working on your note recognition on the staff
-Over the break, focus on Weezer: My Name is Jonas and G major technique
Finn
Warmups (30sec each, counting aloud):
–Single Strokes
–Double Strokes
–8 on a hand
Visual Drummer: Drum Beats ex. 7-9
-When working through these, remember to count out loud and to practice one part at a time to get everything lined up. For exercise 7, see attached image on a groove that can be practiced on its own before adding the other sounds.
-Over the break, continue working through Joan Jett: I Love Rock and Roll and the next page of exercises on the Visual Drummer (exercises 10-12)
Noah
Warmups (1min each per practice session):
-Single paradiddles 75bpm
-Double Paradiddles 75bpm
-Triple Paradiddles 75bpm
-Combo exercise: four of each paradiddle w/o breaks — Great work on this! Accents are really popping. Challenge yourself by syncing up with a metronome and see how fast you can play the groove without tension/starts and stops
Paul Simon: Late in the Evening
-Awesome work on this!
-Try isolating different pairs of sounds in your practice: bass drum and LH tom, bass drum and RH clicks. Getting the tom and BD part to click will solidify the feel
-To get the rim clicks more comfortable/consistent, you can try playing the groove just on the rim of the snare — how consistent can you make the sound?
Mario
Warm ups
-Can integrate these exercises onto the kit to vary the practice (and to build more fluidity moving around the drums) — pulse quarter notes on the bass drum and work through hand warm ups on snare/toms/combination of both using eighth notes. Be mindful of tension and remember to shake out your arms and wrists periodically
4-Beat Fills, 4-6 (and beyond)
-Can alternate between one bar groove and one bar of fill to get used to moving around the kit
-Be mindful of keeping the pulse consistent when moving from groove to fill; the fill can be a moment of musical interest in the phrase, don’t be afraid to give it a dynamic shape/direction
-For more syncopated fills (8), you can add quarter notes on the bass drum to help line up the rhythm on the toms
Backbeat Patterns
-In working through these exercises, try isolating them by a single instrument at a time. Once that particular limb is settled, add in other elements. Strive for a consistent pulse as you’re moving through the exercises.
Saturday, January 25th
Nova–xylo day
Warmups:
–C Major Scale and Arpeggio (C-E-G-c-G-E-C)
–Now, add in G and F major scales (on handout). Note that they each have one accidental (black key)
Cirone Book: “Step 7” ex. 1-2 ***
–Great work on Step 6!
–Learn these exercises in the same way: singing the note names aloud as you play them
Ear training: pitch matching
Aleksander
Warmups (30 sec each) goal tempo 80bpm playing four notes per beat****:
–Single strokes (R L R L…)
–Double Strokes (R R L L….)
–Paradiddles (RLRR LRLL…)
–RLLR LRRL
–FLAMS*** pay close attention to the stroke setup: one hand high, one low. After the stroke, set up the opposite way
Drumset Musician p39, introducing sixteenth-notes
–Learn the different rhythms on this page (especially the three examples at the top of the page). Once you have the first three, can you think of how to play the others?
Drumset Musician p14 ex. 7-8 (2min ea.)
Lenny Kravitz: Are You Gonna Go My Way
–everything up until the chorus
–drill speaking that syncopated fill from before the chorus with only your voice and clicking the beat with your sticks, then apply that to the drums
Tracie
Warm-ups:
–Triplet ex. (85bpm)
–Rhythmic Alphabet
Groove Essentials: Groove 1 (find chart and backing track in the Freq. Used folder)
–Basic beat with “Chad Kroeger” drum fill in measure 8
Montell Fish: Don’t you Love Me
–see the handout, drill the main groove
Jonah — xylo day
Warmups:
–Paradiddle combo exercise with bass drum playing quarters. Accent the beginning of each paradiddle
NEW SONG Paul Simon: Late in the Evening
–You can find the chart for this song in your google drive personal folder
–This week we learned the main beat. Continue getting it clean and up to speed
Xylophone Warmup exercise in C, G, F and Eb Major
Reading exercises: please make sure to READ when we’re working on reading
Ear training:
–Identifying 3rds, 5ths and 2nds
–Playing simple melodies back by ear
Jonah
Warmups (1min each):
–Triplet Ex. 125bpm
–Ride pattern exercise with sixteenth exercise on the cymbal (goal tempo 90)
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials: Groove 11 SLOW (track twenty-one)
–This week, get comfortable playing the main groove along with the song
–Goal tempo is roughly 85bpm
–Begin learning the other variations
Duke of Edinburgh
–Koel logs the hours
–Smart goal: measurable, achievable, and in a timely manner (end of school year)
–SMART GOALS: 1) triplet exercise up to 140bpm 2)sixteenth-note exercise up to 110bpm 3) Master six new grooves from the Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials book (2x rock, one funk, one r&b/hiphop, one jazz, one world) 4) Learn one new song
Mario
Warmups (1min/ea)
–8 on a hand
–Single Stroke Roll (R L R L…)
–Double Stroke Roll (R R L L…)
–Imagine the playing surface is a hot burner on the stove…get the stick down and up fast or you might get burned! Really quick contact–jump off the drum (piston/full strokes)
MGMT: Kid
–Building consistency will be key for this song. Play with your metronome (goal tempo ca. 126) to help develop this
We also played along with I Love Rock ‘n Roll (Joan Jett) and We Will Rock You (Queen)
–Developing the audiation (inner voice) and adjusting (listening and matching) these songs
Drumset Musician p27 (in google drive) – 8th-note Fills, ex. 7-9
–This week, focus on keeping the 8th-note steady through your fills
Mateo
Warmups (30 sec each):
–8 on a Hand
–Single Stroke Roll (RLRL…)
–Double Stroke Roll (RRLL…)
**Think more skin on the stick (but not squeezing)
**Let the stick bounce off the drum
**Remember to dribble the basketball
Drumset Musician p27, ex. 1-3 (in Freq. Used Res. google drive folder)
–Three times through the beat, play the fill, then end with a crash
–Aim to keep the flow of the eighth-note pulse STEADY
–try looping these exercises, so that the crash after the fill becomes beat 1 of the beat again
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials, Groove 1 SLOW
–Find the chart and backing track for this in the Freq. Used Resources folder
–Practice playing the basic beat along with the song. Make sure to listen carefully to stay on pace
Queen: Another One Bites the Dust
–Find the chart for this song in your personal gdrive folder
–This week, we’re just working on the material from p. 1
Preferred Books for TCHRNAME Students
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