Drum Lessons in Drexel Hill, PA

Instruments: Piano Flute Clarinet Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Music

My teaching is very student-driven. I try to keep the students interests as a primary goal in keeping their interest level and so that they can progress in a musical situation. When they are interested in what they are learning, they strive for success. I try to acknowledge their successes and accomplishments which helps keep them learning and wanting to learn more. The best way to learn music is to teach it effectively, and I ALWAYS am learning from my students in a variety of ways, whether it be a new group that I'm not familiar with, or another style or genre that is new and fresh. Read More

Instruments: Drums Synthesizer Djembe

Moving from the public elementary school in the suburbs to urban magnet middle- and high-schools downtown, drums went from a retail hobby to a practice of cultural exchange and personal empowerment. My teenage explorations of punk and metal became immersed in and jams of the jazz roots and hip-hop futures of Tulsas historically progressive-black Greenwood district. Taking courses at Booker T. Washington in Jazz band, Concert Band, and MIDI-based Electronic Music, I learned to translate rhythmic ideas written chats, live jams, and/or mechanical drum machines, turning these barriers into bridges. Read More

Instruments: Drums Recorder Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion

As percussion does not consist of one instrument but of hundreds, methodology changes depending on which we are discussing. for anything requiring drum sticks (snare drum, bass drum, timbales, drumset), the fundamentals and rudiments come first. After all, you don't put someone on a motorcycle if they cannot first ride a tricycle. Rudiments are every bit as important on Drumset as they are just playing snare. They give you the skills to move fluidly around the drumset. Read More

Instruments: Drums

For beginners, I have a special system that implements coordination while utilizing proper counting technique. As their understanding of their limbs grows the more I begin to welcome actual musical notation. This system has proven time and time again to tackle the initial issue that coordination imposes. In intermediate to advanced students I stress the importance of technique, quality of sound, coordination, visualization, and relaxation/movement. I also stress the importance of sightreading and practice this with many of my students.  Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Djembe

I have been teaching since I was 18 towards the end of High School. I taught lessons part time through college and since graduating college have maintained a steady roster of students. I focus on getting to know and understand each student and their goals to customize lesson plans for that individual, all while covering the essential and important fundamentals. I encourage students to give me a list of their favorite songs so we can learn them, play along to them and work towards possible recitals and/or situations where they can play the songs with other musicians! Read More

Instruments: Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Nothing is more rewarding than sharing my passion for music with my students! Therefore, it's important that each student progresses at his or her own pace Each student is an individual with a unique personality background, and therefore it is essential to meet the students where they are at. I encourage this by setting realistic goals for my students at each lesson. Acknowledging accomplishments helps fuel a students desire to progress, and makes students eager to learn more. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I have found the last few years very rewarding as students become musicians. Since my first student I taught in 2004, through the days I taught at a music school, up right on to the present moment, I love passing the music onward as it was passed to me. Being a multi generational musician, it's important to me to teach this great artform and pass it down through generations. I also like to let my students know that "music lasts a lifetime." Because, if my students practice the material five days a week, for a minimum of 30 minutes, their skills as well as confidence will grow. Read More