David E  
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Drums, Conga, Latin Percussion, Music, Djembe
Styles: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, R&B, Funk, Swing, Samba, Marching Band, Punk, Avant-garde

By late high school I began teaching private lessons and began preforming local shows with bands. After a few years of private lessons, I was offered a percussion teaching position at the private music school, Tri-Key Music Center, in Hawthorne NJ. Teaching a wide variety of ages and styles, from 5 year olds to 55 year olds, from pop drumming to traditional hand drums, this forced me to broaden my musical abilities further to meet the needs of my students. While teaching at Tri-Key, I began working at Guitar Center in drums and percussion shortly before being promoted to Lesson and Studio Manager. I attended to the students, teachers, and the department overall. After a while I was offered a teaching position for introductory guitar at the Ridgewood Montessori school in Paramus and a clinic style teaching position for drums and percussion at Master Your Guitar Music Academy in Fairfield where I currently teach from. I have played, recorded, and tour with a wide range of bands such as the swing punk act Will Wood and the Tapeworms, blackened death metal heavy hitters Imperial Crypt, alternative blues rockers Going Down Slow, and most recently, the tech metal wizards Tandav in addition to a variety of cover bands on the side.

In my years of teaching experience in music, English as a second language, and biology, I have found that different students learn differently. Some do best learning by demonstration, others by reading sheet music, others through discussion and application. In general, I have found that when students are given individual focus and a lesson plan built upon their strengths, they excel! I make sure that, whether in individual or clinic style settings, I give attention to each student, work with them, and help them achieve their goals!