Stephen Y  
Instruments: Drums
Styles: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Funk, Hip Hop, Reggae, Soul

My teaching experience dates back to my college days, as I began teaching friends and kids at church 12 years ago. I have been teaching students off and on in my home or at church for the last 4 years. I encourage students to make time for regular practice on a consistent schedule. Another one of my key points I like to emphasize for younger students and adults is less is more as it tends to help the students progress and gain a passion for the instrument in its most simplistic form. I've also found that a combination of listening to modern music, and creating drum parts in the mind can go a long way in helping students enjoy the drums and motivate them to practice and continue to learn. If a student isn't learning in their lessons, then I'm not doing my job! My students are encouraged to keep an open mind when it comes to various genres of music. I'm eager to bring on new students of all ages!

For beginning students who are children, I typically start with rudiments on a snare drum before approaching a drum kit. Once the student has progressed to have a grasp of the fundamentals, I will begin to introduce them to a small basic drum kit set up using only the snare, hi hat, and kick drum. For adults, I try to find out what the student is interested in, and guide my instruction accordingly to keep the lessons engaging and fun, no matter their ability level. My goal is to have my students prepared with at least the basics to sit in and play the basics on most genres.