Drum Lessons in Denver, CO

Instruments: Drums Conga Latin Percussion Djembe

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
Consistency is key! Practicing a little bit every day is better for your growth as a musician than practicing a lot one or two days a week. Always warm up with something you're familiar and comfortable with before pushing into new territory. And of course, practice with a metronome! It doesn't have to be clicking the entire time you practice, but every practice session should feature at least some metronome work. Playing to a click is a surefire way to improve your sense of time, and as a percussionist you'll want to have the best time feel you possibly can!

When will I start to see results?
Results will entirely depend on the amount of work you put in. While it is true that certain students will inherently have an easier or harder time than others depending on the material being taught, the ones who work the hardest and practice the most will be the ones who see results the quickest and make the most consistent progress. As a general rule, students who put in at least a few hours of practice a week can go from complete beginner to being able to play a few basic beats within a month or two.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
The hardest part about playing the drums is being able to synthesize all you have learned to create music on the fly. That is, instead of pre-planning the beats and fills you're going to play, you instead make up beats and fills that suit the music as you go. This requires a lot of practice so that you're comfortable enough with the coordination required to start, stop, and switch between beats, all while remaining at the same tempo. You'll often be required to do so at different tempos and in different styles as well!

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
The materials I use depend on the genre the student is interested in. For rock, funk, and pop drummers, I tend to go with A Fresh Approach to the Drumset by Mark Wessels. The build-up of ideas throughout the book feels intuitive, and the backing tracks give students a way to practice the material in context. For jazz students, I use John Riley's books The Art of Bop Drumming and Beyond Bop Drumming. As far as I'm concerned, these two books are the gold standard for jazz drumset education, giving students a structured guide through several different aspects of jazz drumming, plus backing tracks and recommended listening. For those interested in Latin percussion, Ed Uribe's books on Brazilian and Afro-Cuban percussion are invaluable assets that go in depth about both individual percussion instruments and how those sounds are combined to make drumset grooves.

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