Tag: Chicago piano instructor

  • People with no rhythm

    There are all kinds of students. And, from the novice to the pro, I seem to get the whole catalog. But, the ones that are truly fascinating, are the ones who claim to have no rhythm. These are the special cases. What is a drum teacher to do with someone who says: “Look, I have…

  • Bitterness

    I am about to touch on a taboo subject. Something that musicians do not talk about usually. A lot of my colleagues, drum teachers or gigging drummers practice that taboo on a regular basis. The course of their life goes something like this. At two, while listening to music, their face lights up and they…

  • How long does it take to learn piano or drums and why?

    3 months.  Maybe 6 months. On drums,  within the first 4 lessons,  one should be able to play along a bunch of songs. On piano,  depending on the style of music,  a month of moderate practice would give the player the chord progression of a few tunes, maybe even the basis of improvisation and enough…

  • Career

    A lot of aspiring professionals come to see me.  They usually are people who have been on the scene for awhile.  They have tried different ways to break through,  they haven’t been able to make satisfying progress.  So they are in my studio hoping to get a new approach. First thing: they talk, I listen.…

  • Teaching

    When I started teaching, I went with the guide lines my teachers gave me.  Everyone had the same kind of lesson. But, as I encountered more and more different students, the cookie cutter method showed it’s limits.  It got me thinking that there was not one way of teaching. There were not two either. There…

  • Vinnie Colaiuta

    Vinnie Colaiuta is regarded as one of the best drummers of our times and with reasons! This guy actually played on a heavy metal album with Megadeth and a week later recorded a jazz big band album with Paul Anka.  Very few in the drumming world are able to change their hat and provide authentic…

  • Challenges of learning a new instrument

    One of the obvious challenge of learning any new instrument is discipline. A typical scenario goes like this: We watch a marvelous drummer or piano player, we are in awe at the mastery of the player, the flow, the command he has over his craft. We mull that bit for awhile inside the soft mechanism…

  • The reason of diseases

    There is a book out there. It was written by Groddeck, an unusual German psychoanalyst who lived at the time of Freud. The name of the book is: “The book of the it”. What a title, eh? In the book, Groddeck shares his view on people being sick. Now, before anyone screams about his theories,…

  • No rhythm.

    There are all kinds of students. Sometimes you get the novice, sometimes you get the pro. You never know what’s in the box of chocolate. But, the ones that are truly fascinating (the students, not the chocolates), are the ones who claim to have no rhythm. What is a drum teacher to do with someone…

  • American

    Something I pondered. I was looking for a watch. I saw the brand Hamilton, supposedly a reputable American icon… but it’s made in Switzerland now. I got one, nonetheless. It ticks and tocks all right. I would have preferred if it was American though. I got it before I knew it wasn’t. I was looking…