Lake Oswego, OR Percussion Lessons

Percussion has many areas - I work to show students how things are connected and related so that they can be successful sooner.

I've got a drum set, a djembe, and a dumbek in my studio. Along with many shakers, a wooden fish, lots of sticks, tambourines.... We can start at the beginning of counting to four or work out of the the book Pure Rhythm by Adam Rudolph if you are really into advanced Polyrhythms.

Drums and percussion is one of my greatest passions in life. I have experience playing and teaching in all settings and styles. I tailor my approach for each student and have tons of supplemental material to level up your playing in no time!

I teach a variety of forms of percussion, including congas, tambourine, shakers, etc.

Percussion involves knowing your way around many different instruments. Learn how to accent music with the right auxiliary percussion like marimba, xylophone, congas, and bongos. Whether each instrument is played with your hands or with mallets and sticks, learn the skills to being a versatile percussionist.

Find the voice of any drum or percussion instrument and make it sing. Students of every level benefit from rhythmic breath and speaking the words of the rhythms. Beginners will find the sounds of the drum, learn the language used to explain patterns, and quickly memorize rhythms by name. Everybody learns differently, we will write, speak, feel, or clown around until you fully grasp the rhythm. Intermediate and advanced students will benefit from a variety of techniques from around the world to employ to make even familiar patterns sound fresh. Special attention is given to the trance rhythms of the world, from the Sahara and the rest of Africa, north across the sea, west across the ocean, and from the east.

Many students come to me for tutoring for their school symphonic, concert, or marching band. I have experience performing with the Federal Way Symphony Orchestra, the Titanium Sporkestra (Touring Marching Band), and numerous small percussion ensembles and symphonic bands. I have a strong grasp of popular techniques and curriculums, and a very simple method for learning to read and write notation. I can help you ace your audition, move up to first chair, and perform with confidence.

I offer a long list of percussion instrument instruction. Some of those include, djembe, conga, bongos, cajon, darbuka, doumbek, frame drums, tar, pandeiro, riq, snare drum, drum set. Additionally, I I offer lessons on handheld/auxiliary instruments such as, maracas, castanets, shakers, tambourine and more.

Students will learn basics and reading notation. We will work with multiple styles and genres. We can also work on original composing. We can focus on one percussion instrument (Drum set, snare drum, keyboard percussion, etc.) or multiple percussion instruments.

Let's practice percussion by applying patterns to any time of music. Learning by playing along with songs rather than repetitive drills. We can do those practice drills on our own time. More interesting and challenging concepts like clave, rhythms, and improvisation are better items to spend time on! If you like congas, bongos, timbales and drums, let's jam together...