I’ve been playing drums for more than 30 years. My musical background also includes piano, French horn, high school drumline, and college-level music study. That broader experience gave me a strong foundation in rhythm, theory, dynamics, and overall musicianship.

My philosophy is simple: serve the song, play in time, and serve the church.

Great drumming isn’t about playing the most notes or drawing attention to yourself. It’s about making musical choices that support the song, locking in with the band, and creating a solid foundation everyone else can build on.

For worship drumming especially, I want students to think beyond technique and chops. The goal is to play with musicality, restraint, consistency, and purpose—using the drums to support the congregation and serve the church well.

My coaching is best suited for intermediate and advanced drummers who want to improve their technique, groove, creativity, musicality, and confidence behind the kit.

I do work with beginners on a case-by-case basis. With newer players, I focus on establishing solid fundamentals, healthy technique, and a strong sense of time before moving into more advanced material.

A major focus of my coaching is groove and feel. We’ll also work on technique, rudiments, timing, dynamics, fills, time signatures, creativity, and how to make good musical choices.

Lessons are tailored to the student’s goals rather than following the exact same curriculum for everyone.

Reading music can be a valuable skill, but it isn’t the primary way I teach.

My approach is much more focused on listening, playing, and developing musical feel. We’ll often break songs down section by section, listen closely to what the drummer is doing, and learn how the drum part works within the music. I will work within CCM SongSelect charts as well too - found in most Christian Churches.

I mainly focus on modern hymnody and worship music, including music from artists such as CityAlight, Sovereign Grace Music, the Getty’s and similar artists.

These songs are especially useful for developing dynamics, restraint, groove, musicality, and learning how to serve a song well.

Students may also bring in songs or styles they’re interested in working on.

Absolutely. This is an area I especially enjoy working on.

We can focus on skills that translate directly to playing with a worship band, including dynamics, playing to a click or track, following arrangements, building tasteful parts, controlling fills, and learning when not to play.

Lessons take place in my private drum and recording studio, which includes custom acoustic drums, professional microphones, Universal Audio recording equipment, and a full recording setup.

This allows us to do more than simply practice… we can also listen critically to your playing and record finished performances.

I provide noise isolating headphones for ear protection and use practice cymbals for lower high frequency.

We will use Franklin Drums custom drums as our main drum kits.

30-minute private lesson: $45

60-minute private lesson: $85

Thirty-minute sessions work well for focused instruction and younger students. Sixty-minute sessions give us more time for technique, song development, recording, and deeper coaching.

Yes. If students have the opportunity to participate in school band or piano lessons, I highly recommend it.

My own background in piano, French horn, drumline, and formal music study greatly influenced the way I understand rhythm and music today. Learning another instrument can make you a more well-rounded drummer and musician.

I take a slightly different approach.

Instead of a traditional recital, students can work toward recording a complete drum cover in my studio. We’ll prepare the song during lessons and then record the finished performance using professional recording equipment, microphones, and drums.

Students receive a personal copy of the finished recording mixed with the song.

Yes. The lesson agreement covers rates, monthly scheduling and payment, cancellations, and attendance expectations. Lesson times are reserved in advance, and at least 24 hours’ notice is requested for cancellations. With proper notice, a missed lesson can be moved to the following month; cancellations within 24 hours are generally forfeited unless there is an emergency.

Ask me for the full agreement and send it back before your first lesson.

We currently accept Venmo for private lessons. We do charge a small service fee for this.

For your first lesson, please bring:

• A 2-sided Evans Practice Pad

• Vic Firth 5A drumsticks

That gives us everything we need to start working on fundamentals, technique, and sticking right away.

You can access my affiliate storefront here with these items. I earn a small commission if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

Absolutely!

I primarily will go into Vic Firth educational lessons 1-7.

Every teacher has a lane, and I want to be upfront about mine.

If your primary goal is to become a strong drum-chart reader for orchestra or Broadway, study jazz in depth, or develop gospel chops and highly technical vocabulary, and primarily play classic garage rock, there are other instructors who specialize in those areas and would likely be a better fit.

Likewise, if your main goal is simply to build chops, play as fast or flashy as possible, or make the drums the center of attention, I’m probably not your guy.

My coaching is much more focused on groove, time, musicality, dynamics, arrangement, and serving the song. I pay close attention to how a song develops from section to section and often think of an arrangement like layers of a cake—each part should add something, but not everything needs to happen all at once.

I want students to learn when to build, when to simplify, when to leave space, and how to support the rest of the band. The goal is to become the kind of drummer other musicians enjoy playing with: dependable, tasteful, creative, and aware of what the song actually needs.