Tom M  
Instruments: Drums
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Marching Band, Punk, Avant-garde

I got into teaching at a fairly young age, beginning my junior year in high school. I began teaching kids who were just getting into middle school band, as well as some of my peers. Although I never aspired to be a full-time teacher, I developed a strong passion for teaching there are few things I enjoy more than witnessing a student succeed. I have helped many of my students with auditions, competitions, and recitals. At the end of the day, my goal is for the student to have fun playing drums and to have a sense of accomplishment.

With beginners, I focus on the fundamentals like working out of George L. Stone's 'Stick Control' and introducing rudiments while focusing on overall technique. I also work out of a book called 'A Funky Primer', which is a drum set book that has hundreds of different beat combinations. Depending on how the student progresses and what their overall goals are, I eventually begin to introduce difference genres and styles and more complex and challenging approaches to the drum set. With intermediate and advanced drummers, I assess their strengths and weaknesses while keeping their priorities in mind and help them polish their skills in various areas.