Private Instruction
for all levels of development and proficiency.........
The Approach and Methodology:
- The lesson information is resource material, a thesaurus (reference material)
- The material has been written to further develop the students' innate talent and skill level
- The material is about developing approaches for concepts related to styles and sounds
- The materials are very concentrated, exacting and to the point
- The materials contain original concepts - dynatudes, radiation exercises, speed reading techniques, and approaches to ambidexterity
Areas of study include the following:
- All drum set-related styles (Swing, Be Bop to Post-Bop, to Contemporary Jazz, Latin, R&B, Rock, Funk, the Avant-Garde, to more specialized and related styles given current trends)
- Improvisation that includes approaches (concepts) as they relate to all styles
- Technical skills for a better understanding of hand dexterity and hand function as they relate to equal hand development
- Sight reading techniques to help develop faster and more efficient reading skills
- Chart reading for any group setting from the small group to the Jazz Orchestra
- Snare drum and percussion-related repertoire
- Transcription, along with listening and analysis
The "bottom line" to the approach ...
- I have developed a very efficient and concentrated approach to playing the drum set given the various components that make up the approach. Areas of concentration include hand function, hand strength and dexterity (equal hand development), improved reading skills, as well as, motion patterns, hand/foot co-ordination, solo/fill applications and concepts for improvising in all styles so that playing in any style is as comfortable as possible knowing that the developed facility is there.
- The material in my collected works has been written from this standpoint given that there is something there for everybody. For example, approaches to increasing one's overall hand strength, to a better understanding of how one moves and can move around the drum set, to a better sense of how one's hands can work more efficiently with one's feet given solo/fill considerations. Same with approaching styles and understanding the concepts that make these styles what they are! Such is the thorough-going nature of my collected works.
- Three universal concerns regarding students that study with me: 1) the "WEAK" left hand, 2) I can't move around the drum set as fast and as smoothly as I would like to, and 3) I would like to play solos and fills that really sound good.
- As a quick reference, for example, there are basic start-up exercises that develop both hand strength and endurance. These are foundation exercises, hand conditioning exercises for muscle development and control. Then there are specific exercises for developing the Single Stroke, Double Stroke and Orchestra Rolls (buzz, crushed, multiple-bounce). Further, more involved exercises to develop each individual hand along with a series of accent studies to take this new line of development to the next level, etc. Same with the drum set ...
- For more information regarding the above, please refer to the < BOOKS/STUDY MATERIALS > page of the website.