Ready for drum lessons?

Music is the junction where emotional and physical expression come together. This is most evident in the drum and percussion family of instruments. Every movement we make produces a different sound. The choices we make with drum sizes, drum heads, sticks we choose, how we tune the drums, the height we set the cymbals, where we sit, etc affect the sound we make and how our body moves to produce those sounds. 

I was lucky enough to have some amazing teachers and mentors throughout my life. They not only taught the how but also the why. The great Brian Callahan helped refine and focus my teaching to the next level with his focus on the mind-body machine for making music. Putting emphasis on the mechanics and physics of drumming. Years later, this teaching approach is further reinforced by the book "Anatomy of Drumming" by John Lamb, which does a deep dive into the health science of playing drums. 

My teaching approach is to have students that not only perform superbly but are also knowledgeable. Lessons have a strong emphasis on "doing" with brief explanations for improvement and experimentation of approach to the learning material. Through each lesson, I reinforce the process of practice so they learn efficient and smart approaches of "how" and "what" to practice when on their own. My goal is to have students that become self-sufficient and able to self-study. This means I teach my students how to read music to a high level.

Below are areas of focus a student can choose but are not locked into one path. The skills learned in one focus will help with the others and I always teach healthy technique which makes the transition between these areas of focus easier. Students can learn matched, traditional, German, French, and American grips from me. I can also teach them two and four-mallet grips for the mallet instruments.

Drumset - Focuses on the three musical families of rock, jazz, and Latin. Each of those families breaks down into its many diverse rhythms and techniques.

Marching Percussion - Focuses on rudiments, body strength, foot and hand syncopation, and the approach to the three main marching drums; snare, tenors, and bass drum. Students learn history of the marching drum from its use in the military to the modern football field. 

Orchestral Percussion - Focuses on the band and symphonic approach to playing the orchestral percussion instruments mostly through the study of the snare, marimba, and timpani. Many other instruments are included.

World Percussion - Focuses on hand drums from Latin America and the Middle East as well as the many styles and rhythms. This focus has to learn about regions and their histories attached to the learning path.