Tag: Drum lessons

  • Why a real piano or drum teacher is irreplaceable?

    The difference between a teacher and YouTube is the human contact. A lot of people these days come in my studio telling me they have tried to learn the drums or the piano without a teacher. The process was very difficult and, right before they give up, they decided to take lesson as a Hail…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Teaching approach

    There is not one way of teaching. There are not two ways either. I think there are a thousand ways of teaching piano or drums. To me, the fascinating part is this: trying to adjust according to the personality and wishes of the student. And I want to adjust so that we meet, so that…

  • Brian Chippendale

    I just saw a band called Lighting bolt. The drummer is Brian Chippendale. He has a very strong personality. I would even say he’s crazy. Good crazy. Great crazy. He plays loudly on one of these garbage drums made out of some rotten material. He is fast, obnoxious, he throws his whole being into the…

  • Planned determination

    When a student arrives for their first music lesson in Chicago—whether they’re 8 or 88 years old—they come in full of determination. With eager hands on the drumsticks or perched at the piano, their eyes shine with excitement and anticipation. It’s clear that they are ready to dive into learning music. For a music teacher,…

  • The unsuspected power of the drummer

    When I worked with the Cirque Plume, in Besancon, France, I was substituting for the regular drummer. I had to learn to juggle with 3 balls, to play the different instruments of a Samba Batucada (I’ll develop that on another blog, I promise) and to do some clowning. No, not that kind of clowning, but…