Drum Lessons Southwest

Instruments: Drums, Mallet Percussion, Orchestral Percussion

I start my beginning students off with learning to read music notation simply from a rudiment sheet and moving into a cd play a long book with basic drum rhythms and song structure. For intermediate to advance students, I typically start with Stick Control for the snare drummer by George Stone. For basic drum set we start with "The Rhythm Book" covering all drum set styles. If the student is interested in a specific genre and style of playing, we tend to travel down that road of goals they have set for themselves. Read More

Instruments: Guitar, Trombone, Drums, Orchestral Percussion, Djembe

For students who are young with no musical background I start with the Essential Elements series. At the next stage, I challenge the student based on their interests. I tend to push students to learn jazz, as its the basis for all drum set playing, but know that most kids are more interested in other more modern styles and accommodate them accordingly. I have a number of books that I can draw from, including Jim Chapin's jazz book, Syncopation, New Breed, Buddy Rich's book, and many more.. Read More

Instruments: Drums, Latin Percussion, Djembe

Typically, lesson plans are build around students goals. Some students may not have an interest in learning from a "traditional" approach from a book. Although this is highly recommended, I create different lesson plans for each individual student. I typically use and coach students from "Stick Control: for the snare drummer", "Syncopation for the modern drummer" and "The Blue Book" for drums. From time to time, I have also taught with "fakebook" charts for jazz drummers as well as play along tracks of various artists. Read More

Instruments: Drums

I've always felt a calling to music; as a child I took choir for three years and then hand bells for another three years in high school. Finally, sitting for the first time at a drum kit in 2013, I discovered my true love for percussion. I began taking up to three lessons a week with a blast beat and heavy metal emphasis for the next year and a half. During this time I had the opportunity to begin assisting as a drum tech for a local band. Read More

Instruments: Piano, Voice, Violin, Cello, Viola, Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Drums, Recorder, Double Bass, Euphonium, French Horn, Tuba, Mallet Percussion, Orchestral Percussion, Oboe, Bassoon, English Horn, Keyboard

I like to create lessons in which students learn to read traditional music notation, develop technique, and play familiar tunes. I use musictheory.net to help student practice reading note names. The faster a student can read musical notation, the faster the student can pick up new pieces. To develop technique, I want students to lean scales and arpeggios. Sometimes, we use a technique book to develop muscle memory, and other times technical exercises are created based on the tricky musical passages of solo or ensemble pieces. Read More