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Mike's is a Full-Time faculty member whose current title at Berklee College of Music is "Associate Professor of Percussion." He is also one of two percussion department advisors to the students. He has been on the faculty since Fall 2000. In 2002, Mike was appointed to the percussion department's Education Committee. There, he served time working on departmental curriculum and direction issues with other faculty, and student feedback. MIKE TEACHES THE FOLLOWING COURSES AT BERKLEE: The final exam criteria AND MORE can be found in the STYLES MIKE TEACHES: Clinics around the Earth will contain a program based on the Berklee, Levels 1-4 Material.
Media examples of course material applications:
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See Polyrhythmic Musical landscape from Zappa Alum, Mike Keneally. Page contains initial chart and music clip. See 19 & 11 tuplet 'background' patterns under simultaneously played melody. Extreme Hip Today MTV clip: quintuplet fill, over the bar 3 pattern Audio clip of guitar 'run' with Steve Vai recorded as part of the Fire Garden Suite. Audio: Fill to begin Annihilator's "The One" Audio: Guitar solo section from Mullmuzzler2 with Zappa's Mike Keneally on guitahh leeed.
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The Rock Rep lab focuses on real life environments. Most specifically, it teaches the use of Mike's "Block Form" technique of writing an outline of a song that is readable onstage. One can truly find a use of writing & reading music in the most basic form here. If you can memorize/learn 50 songs in 3 days, then you don't need this course. If you want to be able to 'play' 50 Top40 songs in 3 days preparation, then you need this course. LaBrie Recording: working to find correct hihat dynamics & exact 'swing' to different sections using the same Rock groove following hanging chart. Need Block-Form chart in order to play song 1st time in DiFusco Session where entire CD recording session was 8 hrs in total for all sounds & songs. |
Double Bass Drum Labs are about feet, not learning rock music! The techniques Mike teaches are focused on the entire leg system. The application of the feet as a system transcends one musical style. In this day and age, players are having fun setting up extra pedals to hit whatever they want. Accordingly, students in this lab are expected to sweat in practice. The syncopation book is used for exercise purposes. But one will not improve in the least, no matter what exercise, unless they are very lucky, or unless they know how to develop the skill of using their legs as a whole system. They also get the reward of removing prejudice from their music as this course teaches how to see the mechanics, not the musical taste of using feet to play the drum kit. Simple foot flams fill w/Vai Heavy Metal Slow Groove from Annihilator Drum solo context Bembe w/foot ostinato Heavy Metal Usage- Clinic sound check Single & Double Stroke Mix 16th notes at 220 BPM. When singles, the pattern alternates lead foot (hard to see that.)
Hear inverted double strokes during Concert from "on the drum riser" microphone. Ambidexterity Usage Linear Groove Slow to Fast- BD & HH foot switch lead. |
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Listen to Mike's Outro on TOJ's Exit Elvis. Hands & Feet to simultaneous military solos simulating 2 armies in lyrics. Hear live dual snare solo sightread onstage with Scott of the Sardinas Band, during Vai's, Babushka.
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Many Rock Style students don't have an interest in orchestral & rudimental playing at face value. Check the video clip of what can happen using an "all wrist & .whatever % fingers" technique when one practices their rudiments on a pillow. That is, in a "blast beat" context. See the WFD page for more speed applications; musical & mechanical in nature.
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Rhythm Knowledge teaches perspective, and it can help you learn to LOVE to practice.
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