Michael P  
Instruments: Drums
Styles: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Salsa, Reggae, Merengue, Latin Jazz, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul, Marching Band, Punk

Not only am I an accomplished musician, I am also a talented teacher. My hunger for effective teaching began as I often interacted with excellent musicians who were lacking only in their ability to teach their craft. My first experiences teaching percussion were at The Music School, formerly located in American Fork, Utah. There, I enjoyed giving private lessons to about 25 students who ranged from the ages of 5 to 50 years old. My teaching experiences then advanced beyond music teaching as I spent many years as a language teacher, which, to my gratification, revealed significant parallels with music teaching.

I teach music the same way language is learned, as both involve learning to listen, speak, write, and read. I start students off with the skill of listening as I demonstrate how the instrument is played, and then move them into "speaking" by guiding them in the basics of technique that will allow them to begin producing basic sounds. As the student learns to create original musical ideas, I help them learn how to write them down in musical notation, which ultimately serves their ability to read music. Finally, I ensure that the student becomes literate in the larger corpus of musical literature so that their own creativity can be properly informed.