Drum Lessons in Alpine, NJ

Instruments: Drums

I began teaching lessons over five years ago. I never pictured myself being an educator, but I was surprised how fulfilling it was. I encourage hard work and consistent practice, but try to craft my excercizes to that the student will be fully interested and engaged. It is truly rewarding to watch a student grow and develop as result of our work together. I try to adapt each students' lessons to fir their interests. Read More

Instruments: Drums

For drummer, composer, and producer Layton Weedeman, rhythm is more than a foundation, its a language of connection. Across a two-decade career, the New Yorkbased artist has explored jazz, hip-hop, soul, and global traditions, with collaboration at the heart of his work. His latest venture, Yellow Couch Music, is both a recording project and a creative collective rooted in improvisation, mutual respect, and deep groove. Its a space for building music thats human, open, and emotionally resonant. Read More

Instruments: Drums Music

I teach 4-way independence (this means all 4 limbs) so students can move freely around the drum set. With this independence, students are able to play any style of music including Rock, Blues, Gospel, Latin, Jazz, Hip Hop, Electronic, and World. I incorporate a remarkable practice drumstick known as the HingeStix into the lesson plan that builds muscle memory to master the loose grip, the bounce, and the rebound. The HingeStix, coupled with traditional drumsticks, help students accel very rapidly. Read More

Instruments: Drums

I belive in meeting the student where they are . Not everyone learns the same way. So I try my best to meet the student where they are at. Sometimes that means working out of a book...there are many great drum books. We can work together to find the one that is right for you. Somtimes, I simply work with the student to identiufy goals and then put together a plan to achieve those goals. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion

I like to take a holistic approach in teaching beginners by incorporating Technique, Ear Training, Music Theory, and Improvisation right from the start. This allows the student to quickly be able to learn songs by ear and write their own music. For more advanced and older students, I prefer to see where they are in their first lesson and hear what their goals are. Some people do not care if they can read music or not and that is totally cool! Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums

My methods vary. For piano, we start with simple technique exercises to make sure a student is making every note count. For younger students- like 6 and under- we'll nickname everything to make it easier. An example- the fingers should always be curled when playing piano, not flat. There should be enough space under their palm to hold hold a golf ball, so when they are playing with flat hands, I'll say 'golf ball' to remind them of the correct way, instead of being 'that mean old lady' type. Read More