Mike S  
Instruments: Drums
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk

I have several years of private music instruction I have taught at my own studio, Mars Music Learning Center and Modern School of Music.   During that time I had very good retention rates keeping some students for years.  Because consistency is sometimes the most important aspect of success I make every effort to limit cancelations.  I have taught people that have never played a note to people that are highly skilled.  One of my most memorable students was a trumpet player that wanted to learn drums just so he could help his drummer swing better, his drummer didn't want to take lessons.  We were able to work out a personalized lesson plan that enabled him to gain a basic understanding of drums.  He was able to help his drummer and the whole band swing harder.  Eventhough he never planned to be a drummer he was able to benefit from the learning experience.    

With the understanding that drumset and percussion have many different facets, a certain amount of customized teaching method is warranted.  If it is a snare drum part that a student is struggling with in band class or a song they want to play on drumset, technique will always play an important part.  The basics of technique can be taught concurrently with most student’s expectations and aspirations of what they want to learn.  While I heavily stress learning good technique and reading notation, I think that drums need to be introduced with context.  This makes the student aware of what the music needs from the drums and how it feels to play drums in an accompanying manner.  So it is important to play “time” and hear how a beat accompanies the other instruments and how it works with the melody.    Reading notation, rudiments, building hand technique, beginners usually start with Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone.  For more complex rhythm Louie Bellsson’s Modern Reading is an excellent supplement.  For drumset the above texts also work but the best solution is the Rhythm Concept by Kelly Wallis, a fantastic method of deconstructing rhythm.  There are many traditional style texts along with a host of audio play along style texts that I am comfortable teaching from. Together with the students input we can find a workbook that best suits their needs.