Drum Lessons in Pleasantville, NY

Instruments: Piano Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion

I am experienced professional mallet percussionist and bandleader with an emphasis on jazz and improvisation. In 2013, I was the first jazz vibraphonist be accepted in to The Juilliard School where I had the opportunity to mentor classical percussionists on how to improvise. Prior to Juilliard, I first attended Oklahoma City University studying music education/percussion performance. After studying for two years at OCU, I decided to transfer to Berklee College of Music to study with Ed Saindon and Dave Samuels, and to be closer to my mentor, Stefon Harris. Read More

Instruments: Drums Latin Percussion Djembe

There's a ton of books about drumset out there. I like to use some of the best ones in my experience that offer us infinite possibilities to create our own individual practice routines. These include: - Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone - Syncopation by Ted Reed - Modern Rudimental Swing Solos by Charley Wilcoxon - The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary As Taught by Alan Dawson More than the books I like to focus on the desire, the flame in the student which drives them to want to play music in the first place... a favorite song or band, and then use these books in order to service that. Read More

Instruments: Drums Conga Latin Percussion Djembe

Matt has been a professional musician since 1995. He has studied with Randy Knudsen, Dom Famularo, Al Miller, Ralph Peterson, Jr., John Riley, Carlos “Go-Go” Gomez and many other notable drummers and percussionists. He received a Bachelors of Music in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 1999.  He can be heard on countless recordings featuring a wide variety of musical styles such as Jazz, Heavy Metal, Afro-Cuban folkloric, Afro-Latino Soul, R&B, Hop-Hop,  Rock, Folk, and everything in between! Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Music

I like to keep a weekly log in a notebook the student takes home or keeps. I have many books ranging from beginner to advance, for drums, percussion, and piano. Also beginner bass and guitar books. Technique, book work, and song work is how I prefer to split my lesson time. Breaking habits before they become bad ones! Books: The Real Book, Syncopation, Stick Control, etc...I have been teaching at The School of Rock for the past 5 years. Read More

Instruments: Drums Latin Percussion

For beginners, I always start with very basic technique elements such as the proper way of holding the drumsticks, how to position the drum set and having a proper posture while playing to build good habits right from the beginning. From there, I like to work on simple rudiments, and connect this with how to use the rudiments to play simple grooves. I will also bring charts with written grooves of popular songs and we will start playing along with songs, to get used to the feeling of playing in a musical context. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin Viola Saxophone Drums Bass Guitar Banjo Ukulele Mandolin Electric Violin Fiddle Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My teaching style is by assigning studies and etudes to develop fundamentals while simultaneously incorporating the learnt fundamentals into “real-time”, on the job training! I have learned all of my most valuable lessons while performing and being put on the spot; I will teach my students how to be prepared for any situation, not only in regard to music but also in relation to life, by having a calm and steady approach to the task at hand! Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Synthesizer Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion

I first started teaching in the summer of 2002 when a friend from church wanted his son to learn drums. His desire was for his son to play one day on the praise team. Thankfully he stuck with it and still plays for the church to this day. That moment made me realize I have a gift for teaching. Throughout college I continued to teach out of my studio and developed my skills even more when I moved back to Maryland in 2009. Read More