Drum Lessons Bergen County, NJ

Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Drums, Orchestral Percussion

I began my relationship with much when I starting playing drums at age 7. I played in percussion in school bands for a few years then I found the drum set. I found discipline and independence through the drum set, and soon started learning guitar and piano. I attended Berklee College of Music for Contemporary Writing & Production, with a focus in Drumset performance. While at Berklee, I played drumset/percussion in musical theater productions for other Boston colleges (Boston Conservatory, Emerson) and played with local bands in the Boston area. Read More

Instruments: Drums

I use all types of books including Syncopation, Stick Control, New Breed, Advanced Funk Studies. Also I like to use other media where possible to teach different styles. Once the beginning student has progressed to have a grasp of the fundamentals, I will begin to introduce more musical applications related to real music. Preferably music the student is interested to learn to play. For adults, I try to find out what the student is interested in, and guide my instruction accordingly to keep the lessons engaging and fun, no matter their ability level. Read More

Instruments: Piano, Drums, Mallet Percussion, Orchestral Percussion

For beginner students on drums I use Ted Reed's Syncopation and Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone. These books provide a great foundation for every drummer and once we put together a great foundation our potential greatly increases. I also assign a great deal of listening for my students from all areas of music. For more advanced students we do use Syncopation and Stick Control as well but there are a number of other great resources such as The New Breed by Gary Chester or Creative Coordination by Keith Copeland. Read More

Instruments: Drums

For beginning students who are children, I typically start with Head, Hands and Heart: ( example given below) Week 1: Learn To Play Your First Song Head: A Time, A Place and The Parts Of A Drum Set Hands: Your First Drum Beat (No Drums Required) Heart: Move Before You Groove Week 2: Playing with Sticks Head: How to Buy and Hold...Drumsticks Hands: Play Your First Song with Drumsticks Heart: Clap To The Music Week 3: Learn To Play the Parts of a Song Head: The Parts of a Song and What They Mean To a Drummer Hands: How To Play a Closed Hi-Hat Heart: Quiet Verse plus Loud Chorus equals Dynamic Drums Week 4: Learn To Play Drum Fills Head: Pracetice Without Drums - Think Before You Play Hands: What Are Drum Fills and How Are They Played? Read More

Instruments: Voice, Drums, Djembe

I start off with basic coordination exercises for young children: moving one leg and one arm at the same time, followed by both arms. After putting together a basic beat, I then introduce a click track to see if we can play at a slow, steady pace. Once we can do that, I introduce song work. This varies depending on the student's age and skill level. If the student is older and has an idea of what they would like to work on specifically, I gear our lessons towards that. Read More