"Any training program must do three things. It must provide content, the what-to-do. Second, it must supply a method, the how-to-do-it. And third, it must meet the acid test. That is, get results."

• David Schwartz

My main objective as an instructor is to help you to improve your ability to play music with the drum set. Exploring rhythm, the most ubiquitous role of drums, is our major focus. Beginning with understanding musical time quantification we strengthen the ability to accurately perform a key role for the band. Our role is to maintain a constant pulse expressed in a way that can be built upon by accompanying musicians, which we typically refer to as “groove.” Additional important aspects for creative time keeping are dynamics, coordination, technique, and learning cadences (called rudiments). Exploring each of these aspects will aid in achieving fluency as we apply them to different musical styles.

Drum set studies are better understood once we’ve organized them into theoretical and practical subjects. The practical aspects of our studies are applied directly to the drum set as opposed to those theoretical concepts that can be worked on regardless of access to a kit.

-Practical

Macro Time (Grooves and Fills)

Dynamics

Independence

-Theoretical

Micro Time (Quantification)

Techniques

Rudiments