Drum Lessons

My teaching philosophy:
Whether students end up becoming career drummers or not, we all need a strong foundation on which to build and develop our drumming skills. It’s also equally important that my students, while always being challenged, have a total blast throughout the learning process. If it’s not fun, why do it?

My curriculum focuses primarily on two areas -

My old school inspired drum instruction which includes the widely accepted building blocks of drumming - rudiments, syncopation, developing great tempo, stick control and sticking independence, understanding dynamics, basic drum notation (reading), and drum set performance.

I also understand that today’s drummers require more than just drumming instruction. So as part of my curriculum I also include introduction to Percussion performance (congas, timbales, tambourine, etc.), developing effective drum tuning techniques, learning how to service and maintain your drum set.

We also touch on the basic understanding of recording studios, session drumming, Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software, music mixing and music and video production.

Rudiments

 

My lesson curriculum covers rudiment studies and how they are applied to the drum set.

Tempo

 

The ability to set and maintain good tempo is a primary focus of our studies. We will use metronomes to develop, and improve, our time keeping proficiencies. Whether practicing, performing, or recording, every drummer needs to be able to set and maintain good tempo throughout a performance.

Independence

 

Drummers need the ability to have full independence of their hands and feet. As my students progress in their studies, we will work on sticking exercises to develop independence.

Learning to read

We will explore the basics of drum music (notation). Many drummers don’t feel the need to learn how to read music. And while it may work for them, I’ve always felt reading it is an important building block in becoming a solid drummer. Reading has helped my drumming immeasurably.

Introduction to the
drum set

 

My studio is equipped with multiple drums sets and percussion instruments. Whether a student owns a set of drums or not, they will get the opportunity to play drums and other percussion instruments.

Understanding your instrument

There is one glaring omission that I have noticed with many instructional drum programs and that is, most instructors do not provide students with a foundational understanding of their instrument. While many teachers teach how to play the drums they seldom teach students how to select, purchase, set-up, tune, or repair their drums.

My curriculum also provides basic instruction on:

Drum set knowledge - a basic understanding of:‍ ‍

  • Drum shell options. Why maple? Why birch?

  • Which drumsticks are the most appropriate for students and why?

  • Features and functionality of drum set hardware - Hi-hat, bass drum pedal, cymbal stands, drum racks etc.

  • Cymbals. Which manufacturers are the industry leaders and why?  

Tuning your drums:

  • It is striking to me how many drummers never learned how to tune their drums. I will teach my students how to tune both heads of each drum - batter (top) and resonance (bottom)  

Maintaining and repairing your drums

  • I teach students the basics of drum maintenance and repair.

Recording studios, Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), session drumming and much more!

FOR MY INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS ONLY

We also work to develop a basic understanding of how recording studios work, what make a great session drummer, what Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software is, and music mixing and music and video production.

Today’s drummers can benefit greatly by having a good understanding of things other than drumming.

I mentor students with knowledge and experience of over five decades of live performance, studio session work, gigging, music collaboration, Music Engineering, and Music Production.  

I also help students develop their “musical ears”. When my students begin playing in bands, orchestras, ensembles or just jamming with other musicians, they will need a good understanding of what is expected of them as a drummer and to develop good ears to hear clearly what’s going on around them. Students will gain an overall understanding how drums support, or compete with, other instruments and vocalists. When to play and when to lay back, dynamics, how to effectively listen to other musicians while drumming, and insight into basic recording techniques.  

Live jams

Jam sessions will allow students to put into practice what they’ve learned to actually
perform with a live band!

Recording

My drum studio is equipped with audio recording equipment. When students are ready, they will take part in a recording session to get a sense of what it’s like to record a drum track in a studio - at an elementary level.

Percussion

Even though our studies will focus primarily on drumming, students will also learn about, and play, other percussion instruments.
Rhythm is rhythm!

Contact info

Email: dlasalata@outlook.com
Mobile: 203.214.4124
Location: Southbury, Connecticut 06488

Use the email form to the right to receive more information on my course curriculum and associated costs and to let me know a bit more about yourself or your child. Thank you.

* All lessons are conducted at my drum studio located in Southbury, CT.