Teaching Mission Statement:
The first thing I would like to point out about myself as an instructor is that I love to teach. The reason I continue to, and have taught, for over thirty years is because I genuinely enjoy watching people learn and the excitement and enrichment that it can bring to that individual. I was fortunate enough to study with some of the finest drum instructors in the country. It was those great learning experiences that have given me the desire to give back to the drumming community. Before becoming more specific about my teaching concepts, I would first like to give credit to the wonderful people that taught me how to play and teach. My teachers were; Peter Erskine, Murray Spivack, Donald Bothwell, Alex Acuna and Peter Donald. I know that we all give and learn from each other. I would like to give many thanks to my students and drumming peers who have along the way been both inspiring and a wealth of knowledge.
Beginning Students:
Teaching a beginning student requires patience and caring. This is a very important beginning step where a new student is really capable of falling in love with the drums. I am extremely conscious of the fact that a new student needs a lot of positive reinforcement, encouragement and most of all great amounts of enthusiasm. This truly helps give a student the ability and chance to be successful. A beginning drum student is faced with developing challenging foundational skills and will need a great deal of guidance and understanding. Smiles always help! The foundational skills I will concentrate on will be as follows; Drum ergonomics such as posture, proper setup, and basic hand and foot coordination techniques. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of playing with a metronome, beginning music reading and writing skills and the beginning of several different playing styles. From the very beginning I record my students to give them immediate feedback of their own playing. This practice has always greatly aided in the success of a students development. It is very important to me that it remain an enjoyable learning experience for all my students at all levels.
Intermediate Students:
As in all steps of the teaching process, teaching the intermediate student comes with its own special requirements. The first challenge is sometimes to keep a students continuing interest when the work becomes a bit harder. I always continue to encourage my students to practice longer and harder to achieve greater playing skills. I always say “The better you get the more fun it becomes” At this level after beginning hand and foot techniques have been accomplished, I will introduce all of the drumming rudiments and techniques for better streamlined execution of those rudiments. We will also continue our reading and writing skills and expand from just reading out of drum books to the reading of actual drum charts. I will add styles to my student’s repertoire and continue to increase the difficulty of the styles already learned. As always, I will stress the use of a metronome to better strengthen a students timing skills.
Advanced Students:
At this level I will prepare my students to compete as professionals. I will continue to record my students and encourage them to do the same by any means possible. I will continue to stress playing with other musicians and the strengthening all of the foundational skills learned. We will continue to explore other drumming styles and the many grooves inherent of those styles. At the advanced level my students have become fairly proficient readers and writers. We will continue to strengthen these skills to prepare for any professional reading or writing situation. Another important aspect to consider at all levels is what styles of music my students favor. It always keeps it more interesting and fun for my students when they can work on styles they enjoy. I will help my students prepare any music that they are required to play for any situation. I will continue to help my advanced students in working on anything needed for any professional situation. In closing, I will always remain available for all students whenever they need my help or support in any way.
Rate: In Students Home $40 HR
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