Michael A  
Instruments: Drums, Bass Guitar, Mallet Percussion, Orchestral Percussion, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Classical, Rock, Blues, Funk, Marching Band, Avant-garde

Most of my teaching experience so far has been in the concert/marching band, teaching middle school band and high school and university marching percussion ensembles, which I have been doing for the last eight years. I have also taught individual percussion lessons to high school and college students off and on throughout my undergraduate and graduate careers. I have taught drum set lessons for five years so far. My performance experience includes seven years of marching band, eleven years of concert band/wind ensemble, two years of orchestra, five years of drumming for the worship team, three years drumming with Depot Street, and one year drumming with Crimson Sunset.

Every student is different, with different goals, different passions, and different backgrounds. So every student needs a different teaching method. I prefer to spend some time in the first lesson getting to know the student and his or her background to determine what specific methods work best for them. I like to put concepts into a musical application as soon as we can. Once the student has a grasp of the basic 4/4 pattern, I have them loop it while I accompany them on bass or guitar. It's the same once they learn basic fills, or a shuffle pattern, or whatever content we are covering: practice it in isolation until it's comfortable, then use an engaging musical context to make it real.