Drum Lessons in Arrington, TN

Instruments: Guitar Drums

I am enthusiastic about teaching others both how to play and understand the art of music. In 2009 I graduated from North Central University where I truly fell in live with music and gained a passion for learning and performing through both my education and the rich Fine Arts culture in the city of Minneapolis where I studied. Since graduating, performing professionally has been a wonderful experience and tantamount to my ongoing growth as a musician. Read More

Instruments: Drums

Every student is different. The first lesson I get a read on my student, and find out what music makes them excited. I also find out what their goals are with music. For example, some students may want to be better for school band, and some students may just want to be able to pay with their favorite songs. I teach my students how to read drum set music and provide charts for songs they are learning. Read More

Instruments: Drums Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion

I am a recent graduate of Berklee College of music in Boston with 10 years of teaching experience, and 22 years playing experience. I have won multiple drum competitions and have experience performing in all styles from jazz (Phil Woods) to folk (Jay Ungar and Molly Mason). I first got excited about the drums from watching local bands play in my hometown of Ithaca, NY. From there I began to play in the jazz band at a community music school, and soon after that began playing in elementary school concert and jazz band. Read More

Instruments: Drums

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. Read More

Instruments: Drums Latin Percussion

My method involves a mixture of exercises and musical application. It is important for our development as musicians to understand what we are doing on both a technical and mechanical level. However, it is equally important to keep what we are doing relatable to the music that we want to play. Keeping lessons fun and engaging is a big part of seeing results. This idea applies to a beginning student learning single stroke rolls or an advanced student learning how to read a fusion chart. Read More

Instruments: Voice Drums

For a beginning student on voice or drums, fundamentals will be incorporated into their warm-ups each lesson and throughout the week. Each student has a reason for wanting to take lessons and incorporating that into the lessons will give the student more drive to practice. If a student discovers something while playing or doing warm-ups, we will continue down the road to see where the student's hands, voice, or brain want to take them. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Djembe

Often times when it comes to music instruction some misleading statements come up. A popular misconception is that playing a instrument is all muscle memory. This is not a complete or true statement. Muscle memory is only a part, it is the recall mechanism of what we have practiced. If you learn something wrong you will recall it wrong. Having a fundamental understanding of how drumming works can make the experience of learning to play great for the student. Read More