John G  
Instruments: Guitar, Drums, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, R&B, Funk, Electronic, Swing, Punk

I have been playing the drums for 16 years and the guitar for 18 years. I started by learning how to play rock beats and songs independetly and eventually started taking lessons from drummer, Martin Dosh of Andrew Bird's live band. Martin, a jazz and hip-hop drummer from Minneapolis taught me how isolation techniques and jazz/swing exercises derived from Hal Leonard's methods book. Since College, I have been playing in local and touring bands as well as teaching out of my studio space in Ukrainian Village, Chicago.

For beginners and intermediate drummers, I teach Hal Leonard's Drum Set Methods as well as rudiment drum pad training exercises designed to build control and confidence when stroking. Once students have learned the fundamentals and are using all four limbs to create drum patterns, I individualize my lessons for the drummer, making sure they are getting what they want out of the lessons while still staying sharp on notation, pad practice, drumming diction, etc. I find it most beneficial for students to take the fundamentals and then use what I've taught them to be the type of drummer they want to be.