Drum Lessons in Spinnerstown, PA

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Djembe

I am an enthusiastic and fun instructor with over ten years of experience teaching. I love teaching students of all ages and skill levels. I have been playing the drums for over 20 years and playing professionally since 2006. I currently perform as a professional drummer on a regular basis and have played all over the east coast from Boston to Key West, Fl. In college I studied the drum set as well as classical percussion. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion

I aim to make the student not feel judged. This creates an optimal learning experience, for Ifirmly believe that in order fortrue progress to be obtained, the student willmust notbe afraid to make mistakes. The correction of the mistake is the moment where the student learns exactly how something should be played, since there is somethingto compare it to.It is important that a student go through a stage of experimentation in order to intuitively arriveat an understanding of a concept. Read More

Instruments: Drums Latin Percussion

In addition to drum set, I also teach djembe (West African), bodhran (Celtic), doumbek (Middle Eastern) and conga (Afro-Cuban). My favorite thing about teaching is watching students develop into creative musicians and finding their own voice. My playing and teaching has always been based in tradition, but not bound by it. I have found that keeping a relaxed, fun atmosphere during lessons allows students to learn at their own pace. Read More

Instruments: Drums

My teaching experience began in 2001, during an after school program. I facilitated a drum circle and taught lessons to kids from ages 8 to 15 years old. This lead to several parents of the students requesting private drum lessons. I have been teaching privately in student's homes over the last 15 years.  I find that defining the student’s goals, and centering the lesson around those goals keeps the individual inspired to progress forward. Read More

Instruments: Drums

One of the cool things about teaching is that every student is different and learns differently! I am usually able to assess each students level and pace within the first couple lessons. At the end of each lesson I will give them a realistic goal to achieve for the next lesson. Any improvement is improvement and I try and always recognize that. I try to inspire by example as well, showing the student where their practicing and hard work can take them if they keep working at it diligently. Read More

Instruments: Drums

I teach my students to read music as well as to play by ear. I host 2 recitals each year. We learn one song start to finish and I hire a professional band to learn and perform the songs with my students at a local establishment or at my studio. I encourage all of my students to perform with our recital band. As far as books, I prefer to use the "new Breed", by Gary Chester, the ''Art of Bop Drumming'', by John Riley , and the ''encyclopedia of reading rhythms'', by Garry Hess, but there are many other books I recommend for specific needs. Read More