Drums with Alexander T.

I started playing drums when I was thirteen. My dad is a piano player, and he taught me about playing music, we still play together any time we get the chance. I also started taking drum lessons around this time. By high school I was in the concert band, and then the jazz band for the last three years. I played for the All-City Jazz Band in Denver my senior year of high school. I then went to Adams State College for two years and played in the big band, and percussion ensembles. The big band got the opportunity to go to the University of North Texas Jazz Festival, where I won an outstanding soloist award for a drum solo in one of the songs. I then went to Berklee College of Music for four years for a performance degree. At Berklee I studied all kinds of styles of music from America and around the world. I went on a trip to Ghana with a group of students and a professor from Berklee to study some of the traditional drumming from a few different regions of the country. I took a year off school before my last year at Berklee and went back home to Denver. That year I played in a brass band that played music from the Balkans, New Orleans, and other songs from a wide range of genres. I recorded with this band, as well as being a freelance studio drummer. Before returning to Berklee I went to back to Ghana for another month and was able to study more traditional drumming from a friend I made the first time I went. At Berklee I played in all kinds of ensembles of varying styles and studied with some of the industry's best. Outside of school I have played in multiple bands since high school. I just moved to New York City to pursue a career in music. Within the first two weeks I joined a funk band by audition. I can help you to accomplish your goal of being a good drummer because I understand how to practice efficiently. *** Lesson Details *** I'm a laid back teacher. I understand that sometimes you can't practice. You are paying for the lessons so you will get out of it what you put into it. My job is to help you improve during the lesson. I'll help you to play whatever you're trying to play more fluently. If you don't know what you want to play I'll give you a wide range of material, of different genres of music and you can choose what you want to study. After 3-6 months of weekly lessons you will have started to develop your own voice on the drums. *** Travel Equipment *** I provide the lesson materials. The student provides his or her drum set. *** Specialties *** Jazz, R&B, Funk, Fusion, Rock, World. Slow, additive construction method for learning grooves.