Drum Lessons And Piano Lessons In Austin, TX

In person at my home studio in East Austin - MLK 78721, Waveform Studio, and online.

I teach all ages and all levels from beginners who are just picking up sticks for the first time through professionals who are trying to get ready for their next gig. Even though I specialize in jazz, I teach most styles including blues, rock, pop, R&B, hip hop, funk, soul, country, and classical percussion.

We would begin by having you give me a list of your favorite genres, artists, or songs and I would map out a custom made curriculum for you.

Each song will cover a new concept like theory, technique, melody, rhythm, harmony, songs, soloing, improvisation, arranging, composition, or other element so that you are gradually increasing your vocabulary and developing your musicianship.

For a warm up, I pull exercises out of the songs themselves so that any patterns or rudiments that you do are directly related to the song that you're working on.

Then, we would work on repertoire. Through almost any song, I can make an arrangement so that you can be playing your favorite music as soon as possible. I teach in a very straight forward and step-by-step fashion so that every note has purpose and comes out as clearly as possible.

What you should be playing can sometimes be ambiguous on the drums since there often isn't a written out part or chords for you to play which sound "correct". Therefore, I try to be extremely clear about the function of every note. On the drums, you're either coasting, adding pressure, resolving a phrase, playing a melodic statement, or playing a color. Deciding on that function gives your playing intention and purpose at all times.

For piano, I work with beginning through intermediate players and cover all of the same concepts that I do with the drums. I love it because we get to cover the melody, chords, and bass line all at once so it becomes a fun dance to navigate through it all. I use the Alfred, Faber, and Bastien books which progress in a logical order and supplement them with pop songs to keep the material current and relevant.

Also, I accompany my drum students on piano and vice versa so that we're playing real music in real time. That way, students can immediately apply the things that they've learned and it feels more like band practice and less like a class!

In addition to lessons, I will be hosting recitals at hip locations around Austin for my students to perform in. We can also do recording projects for personal use or to be shared over social media.