What to Expect from Drum Lessons
Never taken music lessons before? Don’t worry, we bring in lots of brand new music students every year. Here's how it works...
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Each week, you’ll see the same instructor, at the same time, most likely for 30 minutes. Your instructor will review what you worked on last time, correct any mistakes, and assign new material. Then, you take your new assignments home and practice them on your own. Your teacher will guide you as to how to practice and for how long, but most teachers recommend at least 5 practice sessions a week, even if each one isn’t that long. It’s always best to do more practice days for shorter periods of time than it is to cram long practice sessions into only a couple days!
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When it comes to drums, we know that nothing solid can be built without a good foundation, and so our instructors start out with a heavy focus on the basic (rudiments, beats, coordination, positioning, etc.). Once they feel that you're understanding the concepts and are sufficiently prepared to take on a song without causing any physical damage to your body, they'll provide you with a song or piece to get you started on playing through songs. After a few simpler, beginner-friendly songs, they will likely then guide you through learning more songs that you personally like or that fit the style you prefer. From there, your instructor will work with you to understand more advanced concepts and techniques tailored to what you want to accomplish!
As you progress week to week, your instructor will start to suggest supplemental material or activities to round out your training. He/She may suggest taking our Music Theory class, or participating in a summer program. Perhaps they even think you’re ready to take the stage and tell you to sign up for The Den! As you go along, your instructor will also be looking to you to set personal goals, so that you’re always working towards what you want to do with music!
If you get to the point where you feel that you want look into the music industry as a career choice, we will schedule a sit-down meeting with you (and your parents or guardians, if applicable) to help you get started. The New York School of Music network is far-reaching, and includes professionals throughout the Hudson Valley and at performing arts colleges. No matter what part of the music industry you’re interested in, we will do our best to connect you to relevant professionals in our network, arrange for work experience opportunities, and prepare you for entering the field.
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First half hour= $150/month, all additional half hours in immediately family= $140/month. We have no age limit for becoming a student!
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Scroll down to meet our wonderful instructors!
James Lippert - guitar, bass, drums, voice, ukelele, piano
James Lippert is a young musician who has been playing all sorts of instruments since Junior High. He actually started his music career here as a guitar student roughly a decade ago and has been performing around the area ever since! He's currently pursuing a Bachelor's in Psychology through SUNY New Paltz, and has been studying music and music theory since High School. His current plans involve a career in music therapy and music production. He is currently the lead singer for Cheating the Polygraph, as well as a multi-instrumentalist for bands such as Souls at Large. He developed a love for teaching music after working with our very own Brendan and Sinclair White and has been teaching any and every instrument he can since 2023. He's proficient in guitar, voice, bass, drums, ukelele, banjo, and piano; he also spends a vast majority of his spare time writing music as a songwriter. His current projects include Telethia, Serene Mayhem, and a handful of pieces under his own name! He absolutely loves seeing his students grow and do well, and he can't wait to see them take the stage.
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Sean Walker - drums
Sean Walker has been drumming for 20 years and teaching privately for 10 years. Sean is a dedicated drummer advanced in many styles with a solid academic background in music. He holds a BM in Jazz Performance from the University of the Arts. He has performed with many Hudson Valley artists such as The Slam Allen Band, Chris Raabe Band, Jacks and Heroes, Chris Cemak, Different Elements and the Matt Gould Trio just to name a few.
Brendan White- guitar, piano, drums, voice, bass
Brendan White is a 27 year old musician who was born and raised in the Hudson Valley. He studied Music Therapy and Contemporary Music at SUNY New Paltz, where he graduated in 2018 and has been teaching ever since. He is proficient at guitar, piano, voice, drums, and bass.