Drums with Zachary K.

I am a graduate from Willamette University where I received a Bachelors of Music in Music Education. At Willamette I had a chance to play percussion in all the ensemble except for the orchestra. My main ensembles included the Willamette Wind Ensemble, Jazz Combos, Willamette Percussion Ensemble, and The Willamette Singers (Jazz Choir). I have been playing drums and percussion for about 8 years and have had experience playing multiple genres and multiple instruments. I have toured the west coast 4 times as well as recorded 4 CDs in the world renowned recording studio, Studio X, in Seattle Washington. This past year the Willamette Singers received an award from Downbeat Magazine for the best Collegiate Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble. When it comes to my lessons a believe first and foremost that the student should have fun. In my opinion percussion is the best instrument you can play and so I gear my lessons towards the student having fun on the instrument. Obviously I teach the basics before getting into more complicated subjects, but it will be fun along the way. I also build the lessons around the students. There are certain things that I believe all students should learn, like how to read music, but I like to focus on what the student wants to work on the most. If the student wants to learn rock music, we will focus on rock music in addition to learning other topics. I also believe that as percussionists we need to be as well rounded musicians as we can be. So while my students may focus primarily on one genre of music, we will also touch on other genres so my students have a firm grasp on multiple styles of music and can apply that to there performances.