Peter M.

Medford, MA

Lesson Details

Djembe

Levels Taught:: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Find the voice of the djembe without the pain! Learn to play your drum along with any kind of music! You will learn to speak the words which represent the tones of the drum, and quickly learn multiple parts of rhythms you'll remember forever! We can also explore the family of 3 Dunun (Bass Drums) and the other rhythmic instruments such as shakers and bells. Easily understand the "clave" patterns and rhythmic structures of African drumming, with a look to their roots in countries such as Guinea and Senegal, as well as how they have evolved into popular American culture.

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Peter teaches

Conga Drums, Djembe, Drum, Hand Drums, Music Performance, Percussion, Public Speaking, Speaking Voice, Stage Performance

About

Peter delivers an exceptional lesson experience and ranks in the top 15% of our teachers nationwide.

Teaches students:: Ages 5+ and special needs
Teaching since:: May 1998

I am a student of various great drum teachers from many backgrounds. Experienced players enjoy jamming with me, but I have been told that I am especially gifted at helping beginners feel comfortable finding rhythms and sounds out of any instrument, including the human body. Rhythmic breathing is made simple and encouraged from the start. Tones and drum patterns can be explained verbally or written mathematically. Students remember the patterns forever, as well as gaining comfort in playing with other drummers or instruments. Odd time signatures or complicated songs can be tackled and easily learned. Use any drum or percussion instrument you have! Recordings are encouraged if you like!

Peter grew up in Chicago, raised to love soulful music. A graduate of Northwestern University's Performance Studies program with a focus on Theatre and Media Arts, Public Speaking, and Ethnology. Designing percussion for stage and dance lead to studies and teaching of North and West African, Middle Eastern drum, Caribbean/South American and Asian drum and percussion rhythms. First hand experience has been gained by living in Morocco and South Korea for nearly a year each, studying and documenting folk music.

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Experience

Co-Director / Instructor

May 1998 - Present

Private Studio

Community-minded rhythm instruction with a focus on hand drums. Stick drumming with a focus on New Orleans-style marching bass drum and percussion (bell/block/tamborine) also a specialty. Elements of conscious breathing and comfortable movement are adapted to whichever level of experience and instrument you are working with. A world of influences allows for a variety of methods for learning and memorizing patterns which may be written, spoken, sung, or improvised. Groups large or small will benefit from our ability to customize the experience to the participants and location.

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Percussion/Stage Director

Mar 1998 - Present

Environmental Encroachment

Chicago performance art group Environmental Encroachment (EE) uses an artist marching band and theatrics to create unique entertainment environments. Performances can include costumes, live music, parades, fire spinning, hula hoops, antics, and audience interaction. EE Marching Band’s music uses Latin, North African, and traditional American rhythms, fused with a full brass section and on-call electric bass. Songs are folkloric fusions, classics and our creations inspired from New Orleans Second Line, Jazz and Rock.

EE’s magic circus marching band has evolved as part of a new genre of music:  HONK! bands! "Across the country and around the world, a new type of street band is emerging. Acoustic and mobile, borrowing repertoire and inspiration from a diverse set of folk music traditions – New Orleans second line brass bands, European Klezmer, Balkan and Romani music, Brazilian Afro Bloc and Frevo traditions, as well as the passion and spirit of Mardi Gras and Carnival– these “honkers” all share a commitment to several core principles. Metaphorically speaking, they honk their horns for the same reasons motorists honk theirs: to arouse fellow travelers, to warn of danger, to celebrate milestones, and to just plain have fun.” 

EE has done and can do parades, weddings, funerals, historical re-enactments, children’s shows, Halloween shows, street busking, second-line, festivals, performance workshops, rituals, marching band flags, circusesque sideshows, music for burlesque, vaudevillian skits, straight out music jams and synchronized swimming with tubas.

Environmental Encroachment started in 1996, with playground installations and live music interactions for people to play, be childlike, curious, free and happy.

Select Festivals:
 Electric Forest
 Sourth By Southwest
 Lollapalooza 
RIOT Fest  
Chicago World Music Festival 
HONK! Street Band Festivals (Seattle, Boston, Providence, Austin)  
Burning Man 
Houston Art Car Parade
 Puppetropolis
 Lotus World Music Festival  
Chicago Children’s Music Festival 
Chicago Folk and Roots Festival 
Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival 
WZRD College Radio Spring Festival
 Cleveland Performance Art Festival 
Black Sheep Puppet Festival
 Rotary Club’s Centennial Celebration 
Chiditarod Shopping Cart Race  
Michigan Peace and Music Festival 
Chicago Peace Festival
 Renegade Craft Fair
 SummerCamp 
Taste of Randolph Street
 Land of NOD Experiment

Select Venues: 
Queens Museum of Art, NY 
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago 
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago 
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
 Krannert Museum of Art, Champaign, IL
 Harley Davidson Museum, Milwaukee, WI 
Oriental Institute, Chicago  
Millenium Park, Pritzker Pavillion 
Chicago Cultural Center
 Sky Church, Seattle Center, WA
 Old Town School of Folk Music 
Gallery 37 Storefront Theater
 The Chicago Theater 
The Congress Theater
 City of Chicago Halloween Parade
 Unity Temple by Frank Lloyd Wright
 Chicago’s Navy Pier  
Chicago Motor Speedway, NASCAR
 Vassar College, NY
 Staten Island Ferry NY
 Northeastern University
 Stone Scholastic Academy 
Chicago Waldorf School
 The Orange Show, Houston TX 
Ravenswood Buddhist Temple
 Harvard Square Octoberfest Celebration, MA 
The Glessner House
 The Rookery Buidling 
Cabaret Metro

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Merchandise Specialist / Customer Service

Apr 2010 - Dec 2014

Andy's Music Chicago

All aspects of music store operation, with a focus on hand percussion and drumkit accessories. Daily knowledge gained about other instruments from around the world: strings, winds, reeds and more. Experience with a variety of percussion from around the world, as well as modern cutting-edge improvements on folk instruments, has allowed me to offer great advice to both prospective and current drum owners.

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