The Match ‘Em Up exercises on the Reading portion of the Beginner and Pre-intermediate pages are designed to serve as a review of the reading material and to get students thinking about counting more. Each Match ‘Em Up exercise appears under an appropriate reading exercise and is intended to be used after the student has played through the reading exercise.
The Match’ Em Up exercises can be assigned as homework exercises once the student has completed the reading exercises they are under. Then on the next lesson you can check their answers using the answer key provided and then use the exercise as a basis for other activities.
I like to get my students to play each bar in the Match ‘Em Up exercise for me, so I can check they can play it and not just count it. I often have them play a groove and then play each bar of the Match ‘Em Up as a fill. I also encourage them to orchestrate the rhythm around the kit to create further drum fill ideas.
I also make it into a game where I play one of the bars from the exercise and they have to tell me which one. This helps to work on their listening skills. You can limit the options on this to make it easier, for example, I tell them I’ll play one of the odd numbered bars or I’ll play a bar numbered between 3 to 7. You can alter the game to make it easier or harder depending on your student’s ability. You can also alter the tempo you play at to make it easier or harder.
You can also have your students play you one of the bars, and you have to guess which one they played. This is a good way to check they can articulate the rhythms accurately.
I hope you enjoy using the Match ‘Em Up exercises with your students.