About

My goal as Drum Tutor YGK is to make it easy to start and stay with the drums.  

Just schedule a session and see what you think.  

If, after 2 or 3 sessions, you want to keep going, it is "pay what you can."  Just log practice time and aim for 2 hours of practice for every hour of tutoring.  With 45 minute weekly sessions, that's 15 minutes a day!  

For kids, a 30 minute session and 10 minutes of practice a day is plenty.

You make quicker progress and have more fun with an acoustic or electronic kit at home. But you can far with sticks, a practice pad, and tapping your feet.  

If you want ... 

...structure, we can go step-by-step to develop technique and feel.  

...to just jam and play along to songs that's cool too.  

I will guide you toward standard techniques, but I don't I follow all conventions and you might not either.  

I offer video recording of sessions and lots of other resources. If you get serious, you can always sign up for online drum courses or private lessons (online or at local music stores. Even then, working on the material with your tutor might still be worth it.  And you might see me learning along with you.

I am a retired professor and amateur drummer.  I took up drumming late in life, and I am mostly self-taught.  I've relied on books and online resources along with occasional lessons from professional drummers.  

A friend and fellow late-in-life drummer inspired me with his "drum playground" program.  So I am offering what would have been best for me for many years.  

Expensive weekly lessons were not right for me.  After three or four there was enough material to practice for six months.  And I often I was trying to learn songs for tryouts and band rehearsals.  

If there had been a low-cost, casual, way to get in-person feedback it would have helped me a lot.  It would have squashed bad habits I struggle with still.  

In 2024-25 I volunteered with Sistema Kingston to tutor 3 elementary students in their after school music program.  This help set realistic expectations for beginners and proved I enjoy helping kids and adults get better, perhaps better than me!

CPIC available upon request.

Drums are fun! 
Hitting things that sound cool is fun!  

But like all musical instrument, drums are not easy  I know musicians that do amazing things on the piano or guitar with two hands and 10 fingers, but think "four-limb" independence is hard. But the coordination needed to play many pop and rock songs can be developed fairly quickly..  

On the other hand, some things don't seem hard until your try to do it yourself.  Fluid sounds don't just come out of the drums because you hear them in your head.

Looking back, I came to realize my attempts at guitar and other instruments were an uphill battle. But, from the start, drumming felt different. I understood what I was trying to do in way I don't with other instruments.  Then I could start hearing what the drummer was doing in songs. It still takes me hours to make even simple new parts sound good, but getting there is almost all the fun.  

You might be that person too!