FAQs
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
Since every student is different, my process involves starting by getting to know the student a bit. If the student is new to the instrument, we start with very basic materials. As we move to more difficult fundamentals, I assess the student's strengths and weaknesses to determine what materials the student could benefit most from practicing. If a student is not new to the instrument, usually the first few lessons will be spent on material that the student has worked on previously to assess the direction that future lessons should go in to focus on the student's specific goals. Whether the student is new or experienced, ultimately we will be working towards accomplishing the student's musical goals regardless of what direction they want to move in.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have extensive private training on the instruments that I teach, and I've been playing them for most of my life. I've earned degrees in Music Education and Drum Set Performance from Berklee College of Music, and have also learned a lot on the job teaching my students over the course of the last few years. Other job experience that is pertinent includes working with children as a camp counselor, working with musical instruments and equipment as a student manager of Berklee's percussion department, and working with students as a music teacher in the Arlington Massachusetts school district where I taught at the elementary and high school levels.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I got started in music as an inspired grade school student who saw his older relatives performing music. I wanted to play the drums like my uncle, but my parents wanted me to learn piano first, so I started lessons on the keyboard at age 8 and added percussion instruments to the mix at age 10. During high school I started performing in and out of school programs, which ultimately lead to pursuing degrees at Berklee College of Music college after that. Before I finished school at Berklee College of Music I had already taken on some students to pass on my knowledge to, but I never stop learning, growing, and practicing myself!