Matthew L.

My focus here is recording drums and the use of up to 16 microphones at once. The difference between mics and their polar patterns. Treating the drums and Treating the room. Basic to intermediate use and navigation of Ableton including editing and the use of plug-ins. Different mic setups such as ORTF or spaced pairing. Gain staging and how to control a digitally hot signal. Learning about phasing and how to correct for it. Picking the right drums. Tuning your drums appropriately. How to loop, export, and save recordings appropriately in order to send said recordings to the client or mix engineer. And many other foundational things!

Basic piano technique which included hand position, scales, sharps and flats, chords, and sight reading.

My mission as an instructor is to unlock every student's potential to the fullest. We achieve this on a case to case basis by curating an individual plan for the myriad of different learning styles and artists that exist in this world. Different students have different needs and finding the right learning environment for you is an important key to achieving your artistic goals. Every musician, at whatever level, can benefit from such an environment and from such teachers. Beginners will drastically improve faster with proper guidance, college-bound students will have more choices if they achieve the proper training, Professional drummers/teachers will always benefit from the perspective and insights of a colleague, and even players returning to their instrument after a hiatus will find playing more rewarding if someone helps them scrape off the rust. When teaching Drumset/Percussion I focus on genres such as, Rock, Jazz, Funk, Hip-Hop, Blues, Orchestral, EDM and Latin music while heavily emphasizing stick/hand control, improvisation, soloing, tuning of your drums and reading. If you're new to the drums, do not worry! I love working with beginners for that is one of the most critical times in a musician's development and I truly enjoy the discovery process with those students. It is immeasurably rewarding for me as well as for the student. With intermediate to advanced students, I dive into deeper, more complex music while introducing new ways to think about and tackle the particular instrument we are working on. I also have helped many professionals who are trying to broaden their skills into some of these other areas of traditional expertise I offer such as Salsa, Afro Cuban, Reggae, West African, Brazilian etc. For all my courses I include my own teaching materials and methods that includes sheet music catered to the individual student, listening and playing with recordings, learning to sight read, technical development, physical awareness and agility to prevent injury, and a resource list of tunes/videos/exercises to further your studies so you can continue to develop your skills properly on your own. Not every teacher is right for every student at every stage of their development, but if you're ready, I can help you get going, polish your skills, introduce you to new styles, get you into music school, or help you on to your next teacher. Whatever the case may be, I am excited to be a part of your musical journey. Happy Playing! Matt