Tag: piano drum teacher
Fears
I have been playing the drums since I was 16 years old. Just about 40 years ago. I’ve been teaching since my days in Paris in 1989. I started in Chicago in 91. I remember, at the time, in order to get a bit of advertisement going you had to put an ad in the…
Amadeus
We were watching yesterday the movie “Amadeus” with my Sweetie. We were presented with the Director’s cut, a version I hadn’t seen yet. Two scenes, previously unknown stood out. The first one is when Mozart wife Stanzie agrees to delivers sexual favors to Salieri in order for her husband to be able to teach young…
The business.
As I live my life as a musician, I realize that there are many more aspect to said life than I thought at first. I went into it assuming it will be mainly playing the drums or the piano for an attentive crowd, or talking and explaining things to an attentive student (my audience is…
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Let it go.
Sometimes it’s important not to fret it, so to speak. You’re someone who’s decided to learn an instrument. You’ve been diligent and organized about your practice. Every day but Fridays (or Tuesdays, if you’re a Tuesday person), you will sit down and try to progress on them keys or on them drums. You’ve been very…
Camping
We just went to the Michigan Upper Peninsula with my Sweetie. It is the land of the cold and harsh winter. It is the land of the frozen trees where summer heat is just a respite before the snow covers it all. By the end of September they expect the warm temperature to pack it…
What do you need?
What is the equipment you need for you first steps into drumming? A lot of people assume that before you take a lesson, you’re going to need a drum kit. I do not recommend it. Look, if you got an instrument that’s great, congratulations! But it could also mean you bought something without knowing if…
How long does it take to learn drums?
Good question! I’ll tell you: a rock rhythm doesn’t take long. Usually in a few minutes one can already get the basics and play along with a song. Learning a fill requires even less time and it’s a lot of fun. You fly on the toms, making noise and smiling, then you land on a…
Adding music in your life
When someone start an instrument it could be for many different reasons. Usually, in case of an adult, the burn has been going on for a long time, the desire has had time to mature. In any case, the person has been listening to music with the strong intent to, one of these days, get…
How long does it take to learn the piano?
I think a couple of months can get you to play a few songs already. During the first lesson with me, there is already a song the student will play. We’ll touch on technique, on position, on getting to know the keyboard as well as getting to know each other as student/teacher. I want to…
Tommy
Last sunday was Father’s Day. My Sweetie had planned a little something for me: we went to see Tommy at the Goodman Theatre. I wasn’t expecting much besides a psychedelic adventure full of weird characters and messages too confusing to understand. I was also thinking about a production with actors/singers, a nice décor (This is…