Piano Lessons in West Windsor, NJ

Instruments: Piano Drums Mallet Percussion Conga Djembe

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
I'm not sure why I chose the drums. I remember seeing videos on TV and thinking to myself that drums looked like a lot of fun. And this was one year before the time in elementary school when you were allowed to study a string instrument. Drum studies were not even offered until 4th grade. I guess in hindsight I intuitively knew the drums were a very creative instrument. I also felt that because there were no harmony or melody that I had a better chance of just diving into the instrument and figuring most things out by trial and error.

What musical accomplishments are you most proud of?
In no particular order I am proud of many things. The first thing that comes to mind is graduating from Bucks County Community College and Temple University. This comes to mind first only because besides studying drums, which I was already very accomplished at, I had to learn how to sing in tune, dictate and transcribe melody and harmony as well as compose music using theory. Being a drummer left me with a disadvantage when it came to those topics. But since I had developed discipline and time management with drums I was able to achieve the things I didn't think I was capable of. Also very proud of my band iNFiNiEN. Every week we continue to sell our CD's and Merch all across the world online. Our latest CD has been considered "a masterpiece" and "one of the year's best" by many critics. In 2014 the Buffalo News listed our live show as one of the best that year. Included on the list was The Flaming Lips as well as Jane's Addiction!!! A real honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as those bands.

Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
I am not aware of any special award or honors that my students' may have received. But, I do know that many of my students and I have worked on preparing music to help them get into Jazz Band at their school or to even pass and entrance audition for a college. As far as I can remember in every one of those cases the student ending up passing the auditions. I do know for a fact that many of my older students in high school are considered to be some of the best drummers in the area for their age. And that means a lot. It takes many, many years for other things to develop in order to receive honorable mentions or awards.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
I think that the most difficult thing to master on the drums is coordination of all four limbs. There is no other instrument that uses all four limbs. Piano comes close with the sustain pedals but not nearly as difficult a use of independence. In order to play four limbs takes serious understanding of timing and rhythmic subdivision. It also takes precision of playing in order to gain clarity on part distribution and harmonic interplay. Playing the drums with just your hands is the start. Then adding the bass drum followed by the hi-hat.

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
I do not believe in having a set curriculum. But I do believe in creating a personalized curriculum based on each student's skill level and areas of interest. In general my favorite books to study are Stick Control and Syncopation for the Modern Drummer. These books focus on the basics of playing and reading rhythm. 4 Combined, these books provide a great foundation for students to get up and running on the very first lesson. Other books I like to work with a Jim Riley's Art of Bop Drumming and Fusion Drum Styles. For advanced players I recommend The New Breed and Future Sounds.

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