Brandon E
Instruments: Voice, Drums, Djembe
Styles: Pop, Rock, Blues, R&B, Musical Theater, Funk, Hip Hop, Showtunes, Soul, Punk
Brandon E
Instruments: Voice, Drums, Djembe
Styles:
Pop, Rock, Blues, R&B, Musical Theater, Funk, Hip Hop, Showtunes, Soul, Punk
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 8-80
BFA, The University of the Arts
I have been playing drums for almost 20 years now. At my alma mater, Philadelphia's University of the Arts, I studied under celebrated jazz drummer Marc Dicciani, where I played in his bucket-based percussion ensemble. Since graduating in 2015, I have taught private lessons with students throughout New Jersey and New York. I have played percussion for several musical productions as well. I currently play drums with The Permanent Revolution, a NY-based band, and Eels of Love, an NJ-based instrumental progressive rock band. I love teaching students of all ages and sharing in my love of music.
I have taught private lessons since graduating in 2015, as well as taught at a variety of music schools, including Englewood Cliffs' Arete Music Academy, Elizabeth's PY Rock Music School, and NY's Forbes Music Company. I am a firm believer in breaking down drum beats and fills and analyzing them step by step so as not to confuse or overwhelm the student. I liken it to putting together the pieces of a puzzle, and who doesn't love doing that? Younger students especially love that analogy, but older students can take from it as well.
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. If a student doesn't know what they want to work on, I examine their skill set and adjust accordingly.
I am open to trying exercises with a student regardless of their skill level to see if they can comprehend the lesson. Sometimes, a student with less experience has better luck counting the beat out and putting it together from a mathematical perspective, others prefer to feel the beat first and the physicality comes out of that. Every student is different and I never push them past what they are capable of doing; rather, I like to see, after a while of teaching, if the concepts are resonating on a deeper and more understood level.
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