Drum Lessons in Mountlake Terrace, WA

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Drums Conga Latin Percussion Music Keyboard

I've been a musical director of K-8th grade private school as well as substituting for local band teachers .During that time I taught children all aspects of music, as well as preparing them for recitals and competitions. I've taught students privately at my home studio for more than 20 years, many of my students have gone on to further their education at the university level. I've worked with schools in developing after school music programs that have been successful. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums

No single approach works with every student when teaching drums. There are simply too many styles and methods to choose from. But when working with beginners, I tend to focus mostly on developing a good internal sense of rhythm and good listening skills. Then if the student wishes, we may specialize in classical, jazz, rock, latin, or whatever style the student is interested in. There are many excelent published methods to choose from and I occasionally assign etudes and excersizes of my own. Read More

Instruments: Drums

I prefer lessons to be focused on a curriculum, however customized it may be, as I have found that approach to be the most efficient, especially with younger players.While I believe that it is very important to learn the fundamentals of drumming (as learned largely through a curriculum approach), I also believe that some of the most rewarding experiences a student can have may be achieved through realizing their own unique creative potential. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion

Proficiency in reading music is a top goal for my new students and we start to read music within the first few lessons. I balance working out of a book with listening exercises, playing along to songs and the occasional game or two. A typical 60 minute lesson run down: 5 minutes - check in from previous lesson and a warm up 15 minutes - beat/groove workshop - digging into a style and working on various drum beats in that style 10 minutes - technical piece that relates to the beats/grooves weve been working on and some exercises to improve technique 5 minutes - game or improvisation break, something to give our brains a rest 20 minutes - working on a song. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Music Djembe

I start most beginning students (and evaluate more advanced ones) on snare drum or practice pad. This is a central instrument to the percussion family and most techniques used on other percussion instruments are based on sound snare drum technique.  I like the Alfred Drum Method book for students just starting out regardless of age as the ability to read and understand written music is important no matter what stylistic path one follows. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Trumpet Drums Bass Guitar Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For just about any instrument, a key approach of mine is to teach students how to play the songs they love - and then the musical building blocks that make up said songs. Then, I teach the rudiments, patterns, and music theory behind those building blocks, and teach the students to be able to figure this all out on their own in the future through ear-training. I tend to like the Essential Elements series for band instruments, the Alfred books for piano and guitar, the Real Book for a wide variety of jazz repertoire. Read More