Drum Lessons in Granada Hills, CA

Instruments: Drums

Learning the drums should be a fun and rewarding experience! I believe that learning to play different styles, playing along with a metronome/song and being able to read music are essential for all drummers. I ask students what style of music/bands they like and incorporate this into lessons. I break the lessons down into 3 sections: The first is where we warm up and play rudiments and technique exercises. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Drums Bass Guitar

I believe that motivation begins with excitement and there is no better way to help a student stick to a practice routine than teaching him or her to play their favorite songs. Of course, a knowledge of music theory is very important, but I always make sure that we don't get bogged down in minutia, and that each student is allowed to proceed at his or her own pace. A practical and usable knowledge of music's fundamentals is employed to get results and keep the student motivated and actively learning. Read More

Instruments: Drums Orchestral Percussion

I primarily use original material when I teach, but occasionally Ill work from standard method books such as Stick Control, Master Studies, and Syncopation, or assign pages from more recent books like John Rileys The Art of Bop Drumming. Ill also pull out books specifically for sight reading such as Anthony Cirones Portraits in Rhythm. For beginning and intermediate students I focus on fundamental technique, basic sight reading skills, and drum set playing (independence/coordination of the limbs, relaxation and balance, time and groove, fills and solos, introduction of musical styles, etc.) For advanced students I get into more conceptual and creative aspects of playing the drums, but I also introduce the Spivack/Wilson technique which I learned during my studies with Murray Spivack and Richard Wilson in the 1980s [check out the 4-part series featured in Modern Drummer magazine in 2011-2012]. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Flute Drums Ukulele Recorder Music Keyboard

My philosophy is to teach the student what they want to learn while including basic music theory. I feel it’s important they know what they are doing from the inside out and why. I plan performance opportunities for the students month. This gives each student a tangible goal to work toward. I emphasize that music is another language we can communicate with. Every time we practice we perfect our ability to communicate more fully. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Trombone Drums Synthesizer Ukulele Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion Music Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

At our first lesson, we will dive into what YOU want to learn. It's my job as a teacher to facilitate a creative and challenging learning environment, but it's up to you, the student, to make the time we spend together something you would like to work on. I'm confident that we can both find common ground to stand on and find some great music to explore. Beginners will always use some sort of method book, learn to read music and rhythms. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums

For piano I use a combination of the Bastien books, if you are a beginner. For more intermediate or advanced I use whatever music the student is interested in. It could be the Great American Songbook or classical music. For percussion, for beginners I use the Garwood Whaley book, Fundamentals for the Snare Drum. For drum set I use the Syncopation Book by Ted Reed and a variety of other books depending on the need. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion

My teaching style is based fully on understanding the goals and dreams of each individual student. I like to develop a plan to get each student to a level of proficiency in which they can direct themselves toward the next goal. This is done through consistent methodology and practice scheduling, as well as periodic reviews of the students past progress up to date. Often times, the student will not even realize they have crossed a hurdle as it is easy to start looking further down the road as the students abilities start to become second nature. Read More