Top Drum Lessons for Kids in South Orange, NJ

As an educator, I strive to provide my students with the tools that they will need to explore the direction that they want to take with their instrument. This can include from enjoying drumming as a hobby, performing in small jazz ensembles, recording electronic and acoustic drums in major recording studios, to performing with a full orchestra! There is literally no limit to what you can do.

My focus is to get hobbyists to enjoy performing drums in the comfort of their own home or with friends, and to have my professionally-minded students go out into the world of performing and recording music. All of these environments are where the ultimate joy of playing an instrument can be expressed.

As a gigging and studio musicians, I understand what it takes to get to the stage or studio, apply oneself in that environment, and come away with a satisfying experience that you can then build upon for the rest of your life.

10+ years of teaching. I teach all genres, especially Jazz, American folk / world music (Brazil, Trinidad, Cameroon), and Classical percussion. I'm primarily a jazz drummer and I bring all my performance, business, and practice experience to my students to help them achieve their musical goals. We focus on strengthening the fundamentals, (time, sound, AND the feeling of your groove). I'm honest and frank in lessons. I hope my genuine passion for teaching inspires that openness in my studio. My students have been selected for Jazz at Lincoln Center Middle and High School Jazz Academy, Manhattan School of Music pre-college and summer camp, and Columbia University’s jazz ensembles.

Our drum lessons will be a combination of what you want to learn and a curriculum that i assign to you based on what you need to work on. Through this method we will develop a strong foundation of rhythm, musicality, and technique that will help you become the drummer that you want to be. Let's get started!

Learn to play the drums quickly!!!!

1.How to Practice: Make your practice precise, efficient, and un-intimidating by showing up to the drums with a premeditated plan (we'll collaborate on this)
2. Fundamentals: Basic technique like how to hold the sticks and pulling a good sound out of your drums and cymbals
3. Reading: Learn how to translate music from a page to your drums
4. Transcribing: Take your favorite music, learn to play it, and notate it to better understand whats happening
5. MISC: Tuning your drums, adjusting your set up, posture, basic music theory, music history

As a Beginners course, this is suitable for complete beginners who have never played drums before. Its also helpful for self-taught drummers who want to go through all the basics and fill in any gaps in their playing and improve their technique.

Course Objectives:
Develop a full range of beats, rhythms, fills and breaks
Execute Single strokes, double strokes and paradiddles
Establish Good posture, grip, sticking and hi hat technique
Learn to play with a click and develop a better sense of timing
Understand & execute Techniques for playing songs in a contemporary style
Percussion skills
How to choose and tune a drum kit

They will learn within the first 6 months how to:
Play Their first ever rhythm and break
How to play single and double strokes and paradiddles
How to understand drum notation
Correct posture, grip and sticking technique
Warm up exercises
A great range of 8th and 16th note rhythms
Learn the drum part to a slow song of their choice.
A great range ...