Drum Lessons
Availability
I am currently accepting students. There are openings during both weekday days and evenings.
Working together
Together, we will create a curriculum customized for your development. You’ll be able to keep track of your progress and organize your practicing to maximize your development. Parents are encouraged to get involved with their children's drum studies and to check on their progress by speaking with me and by reviewing the lesson plans that I give the students.
In the drum lesson
We work hard in the lessons, but lessons are also exciting and fun. Students are encouraged to bring in songs that they would like to learn, and I do my best to teach the essentials of the songs while making it relevant to their current lessons curriculum. I try to keep my students playing drums for the whole lesson.
Drumming methods
I teach all of my students the three R's. Reading, Rhythm and Rudiments. Reading is learning the basic notes and rests. It truly is essential to your development as a drummer. If you cannot read basic rhythms I have no way to pass along the information to you. Rhythms are the drum set grooves that the student is interested in: jazz, rock, funk, punk, reggae, hip-hop, or blues. Rudiments are the basic fundamentals. These are the nuts and bolts out of which you create drumming. Paradiddles, rolls, ruffs, and flams, are all essential to your development.
Topics Taught
- Snare Drum Technique
- Reading (from beginners on up)
- Rock/Funk styles (including fills and solos)
- Blues styles(shuffles and 6/8 & 12/8 grooves)
- Latin Styles (bossa nova, samba and Afro Cuban Songo/Mambo)
- Jazz Styles (including jazz independence--based on Alan Dawson's teachings, basic brushes technique, 3/4 jazz waltz )
- Soloing (open solos, soloing over a vamp, soloing over the form of a tune, trading 4's & 8's)
- Kinka (advanced 4 way coordination using african rhythms)
- Rudiments (including Alan Dawson's rudimental ritual)
- Feel & Time keeping (the most important thing about drumming!)
- Studio Drumming (playing for the tune, click tack and keeping in the pocket)