Drum Lessons in Nashville, TN

Instruments: Drums Conga Latin Percussion Djembe

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
Usually It varies however If I have access to a drum kit I will try to play along to a variety of musical genres, jazz, funk, driving rock to brush up and even identify which genres I need to brush up on. I will usually try to incorporate fills that I have been exposed to or one's that I have created myself and tweak them while breaking them down only to build them up again in tempo. If I am practicing on a drum pad I will usually focus on specific rudiments with varying tempos, I usually like to always incorporate doubles and singles into my practice routine regardless of the exercise at the moment.

When will I start to see results?
It's hard to say as everyone's rate of learning varies along with what you learn, however I always advise to focus on the process not on the end result. I find that this can help a student focus and lower anxiety and frustration during the learning process.

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
My father is a West African Drummer from Senegal, coming to the states in the late 80s and meeting my mother who was entranced by the culture specifically the music, she made it a point to expose me the best she could to the musical aspect of it all. Growing up I would always tap with my fingers or spoons creating a beat, apparently this transpired into my family providing me with my first drum kit. I didn't necessarily choose my instrument it honestly felt more like a natural occurrence and I'm pleased to say I wouldn't want it any other way.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
I think with drums or percussion instruments in general you are naturally expected to be the heartbeat an you would think that for a percussionist that would be something that inherently easy but I find even as a professional that I sometimes struggle with this. I think that as you become more established as a drummer elements of tempo can become more difficult as your musical ear becomes more defined and you become cognoscente of minute details, this is not inherently a negative thing, however it can be challenging.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
I don't necessarily believe that there is any universal indicator of whether a child is ready to pursue lessons, I do believe that lessons can be a good foot in the door to finding out whether your child is interested. Me personally I had a affinity for drums and through telling my parents and endlessly tapping on everything I came in contact with my folks decided to enroll me in lessons. I would say that if you notice an interest arising in your child to learn I would say that is a good sign to pursue lessons I don't believe that there has to be a promising sign in that your child has to pursue lessons, in fact I believe that when a child has the ability to learn and be exposed on there own terms it creates an overall inviting atmosphere driving them to want to continue learning.

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
It is effective and comes in handy, the best advice I can supply is don't look it as practicing but as an effective form of repetition also the ability to start slow is the best and most effective method I find, Perfecting any rudiment or technique slowly is Ideal. In terms of practicing everyone's schedule is different however I would set a healthy practice time ranging from half an hour to a full 60 min a day, of course you are not limited to this time. When practicing taking a break especially during and intense lengthy session is suggested.

Read More