Michael P  
Instruments: Drums, Conga
Styles: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Salsa, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, New Age, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul, Punk, Avant-garde

I have been teaching for three years as a part time instructor out of the Music Stores network in Reston, Chantilly, and Lorton. My approach includes teaching from current artists, historically significant artists, and lessons built from drum books in a way that builds fundamentals through cognitive development and positive reinforcement. One of the most important aspects of my teaching is to make playing the drums a fun, and enjoyable experience for the student in a way that enables them to carry an enjoyable experience to whoever they may play with in the future.

For beginning students I usually show them a simple song and teach them how it relates to standard notation and drum set coordination through Ted Reed's Syncopation. Once the student can understand how each of the limbs work and how I will communicate it on a page, we can go over more songs and include other books which detail various beats that are recognizable as well as functional. After fundamental coordination is grasped we can begin to focus on rudiments and the application of certain hand exercises to the drum set to explore possibilities.