James H
Instruments: Drums
Styles: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Country, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Latin Jazz, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul
James H
Instruments: Drums
Styles:
Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Country, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Latin Jazz, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 10-80
BS, CU Denver, Music Business / Percussion Studies Partial BS, Belmont University, Percussion Studies Fairview High School, Boulder, CO, lead jzz band drummer in big bands, combos, drumline, and musicals.
I am more passionate about drumming and becoming a better drummer than any other pursuite I have encountered in life thus far. I have played in many bands covering almost every style and am convinced that every good drummer should be able to switch it up and play in any style demanded of them at anytime. The most popular bands I have played with are: Mercuria and the Gem Stars, Subterranean Safari, Instant Empire, The Yawpers, and my current band Eldren. I have studied drumming in school and outside of school. I have a great ear and have learned to play mostly by sense and sensibility. Still, if reading is what you seek I can sight read very well too. I have toured extensively through the US, and have recorded in many reputable studios.
My teaching experience has ranged from showing folks how to hold drum sticks and execute drum rolls to showing folks how to play hyper complex polyrhythmic prog metal songs. I am a very open and empathetic teacher who is sure to work well with anyone who has an actual drive to learn the drums and become a better drummer over time. My teaching philosophy is to ALWAYS practice drums with music. Unless you want to learn to play drums by yourself and never play in a band, playing without recorded music of some sort is pointless and counter productive. I have memorized tens of thousands of songs in all genres, and the combination of those drum parts has made me who I am today. We will sit down and determine who your favorite bands are, who your favorite drummers are, etc. We will then work on teaching you the ropes for those drummers and their influences, etc. Each lesson I will prepare a mix of songs, charts, videos, that I think you will find interesting, and can start learning on your own.
My method involves playing to each persons skill level. For absolute beginners I think it is crucial to address the students interests and influences, and start crafting an approach to learning the basic rudiments and skills that apply to those drummers / bands. As a student becomes more and more skilled I will start switching over to having two drum sets at the space so that a student can see how a beat is played in real time, and also work on setting into the pocket more easily by playing what I am playing. Really, it just depends on what works. I will model each teaching style around each student. I am not a fascist when it comes to learning every single note of a drum fill or playing something exactly the same as someone else. Every professional drummer I have ever seen has learned to internalize and approximate the feeling of a decade of drumming, a style of drumming, or the attitude of a style of music. This is what we will focus on.
Play along with music all the time. The drummers job in music is to sit down and do their job and keep everyone around them happy and dancing. This means that eventually you must be able to play along with any piece of music and be able to play with it fluidly whether or not you have heard it before. This means you must understand the basic set of grooves, tempos, time signatures, etc. But, most importantly we will study the shape and phrasing of music. The true power of a good drummer comes from his/her ability to read the other musicans in their band and predict what they will be doing next.
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