Drum Lessons in Hodgkins, IL

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar

I love to teach my students the basic tools of what it takes to be a professional musician, whether or not they are into music as a hobby or as a serious profession. I currently play drums for the hit Broadway musical (non-union version) of Rock of Ages and when I'm not on the road; I'm teaching. I’m an avid columnist for Modern Drummer Magazine and I sing/play guitar for one of Chicago's best Nirvana tributes called Smells Like Nirvana. Read More

Instruments: Drums

First and foremost, I teach to the comfortable speed of the student. Learning skill and permanent muscle memory is much more important that covering as much material as possible but then not grasping the concepts and motor skills. My main teaching style approaches beats and patterns in the simplest of actions, making sure the student is comfortable with those actions, then combining actions together, step by step as the student progresses until the student has the full understanding of the beat. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion Music

Every student comes with a different playing ability, learning style, and general goals for what they would like to accomplish. I remind myself of this everyday before I teach. I believe that individuality is one of the most important aspects of music, so I listen to what my student wants to learn and I try to create a somewhat customized curriculum that caters to their needs. I use my experience as a teacher and a learner to meet my students at their level, and empathize with what they may be feeling during my lessons. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion

I have learned quite a bit from my teaching experience, but there are two things that consistently hold significant importance to me. The first is that every student is unique - no two students, no matter how similar their interests, should necessarily have the same curriculum or be taught the same way. The second is that every student should be constantly feeding their passion(s) - not every step of learning and improving always feels fun at the time, but if the student has a chance to be passionate about what they are doing, even the most difficult work will feel purposeful and rewarding. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Drums Keyboard

My teaching style is technical and yet open ended. I stress knowing scales, chords, inversions like the back of your hand to enable you to put them together just as we put the English language together. Letters become words which become sentences which become paragraphs which become stories. Keys become scales which build chords which build progressions which build phrases which build songs. Knowing this language of music, one can freely express what they hear in their mind outwardly to their audience. Read More

Instruments: Drums Bass Guitar Ukulele Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I began teaching in my first year of college when I started working for a company that organized after school programs for hundreds of schools across the Chicagoland area. With this company, I taught many group guitar classes for almost 4 years. In this time, I taught hundreds of students and I learned that each individual student is different and must be treated as such. After leaving this company in 2017, I began teaching full time at a private school for grades JK-4th. Read More

Instruments: Drums

I've been playing drums for 48 years. I'm still enjoying the playing of drums, and searching for new knowledge on how to play better. I've toured and performed with great musicians. I've had the great opportunity to be a drum set clinician for Sabian Cymbals, Maxwell Drums, Aquarian Drumheads, Vic Firth Drumsticks, and Trick Dum Pedals. Teaching a large group of drummers is great fun but I really enjoy the one on one interaction between student and teacher. Read More