FAQ

All you need is a computer with a decent internet connection. A few of my students use special cameras and mics, but that really isn’t necessary. The vast majority of the people I teach simply point their computer toward their drums. The computer’s built-in camera and mic do the job perfectly well.

No problem! It is perfectly valid to learn drumming from more than one source. The topics that I cover are not always addressed by other teachers and websites…at least not in a thorough manner. For this reason, lessons or classes with me can be a great complement to your current drum studies.

The drumming skills and concepts that I teach are applicable to countless styles. My students have gone on to play such genres as rock, funk, hip-hop, R&B, country, and heavy metal. I’ve also occasionally taught aspiring jazz drummers, and I even had a long-term student who led his own professional salsa band!

I’ve had the good fortune of studying with 22 different drum teachers! Some of them, such as Joe Morello and Bernard Purdie, just gave me one or 2 lessons. Others were long-term mentors. They include Konrad Kaufman (Krupa & Cole Drum School), Kim Plainfield, Ian Froman, and Jim Chapin (widely regarded as the greatest drum teacher of all time).

To get the most from your lessons, you will need access to a drumset (either acoustic or electronic). However, this doesn’t mean that you need to own that drumset. Some of my students rent a rehearsal studio in their area whenever we have a lesson scheduled. The studio provides the drums, and the students just bring their laptops!

To sign up for Zoom Drum Lessons, a student must be at least 18 years of age. While children can certainly learn to play, my unique specialty is teaching adults. I work best with students who have a long-held dream of playing the drums or of playing the drums better. I partner with these students and help them to finally live their drumming dream.

The Complete Beginner Class can offer a fresh start with a solid foundation. However, it’s important to know that most students who take the class are indeed complete beginners. Therefore, we start right at the beginning…with the names of the drums. If you can respect that process and be open to some new ideas, then we’d love to have you join us!

The class is only 6 weeks long, so you’ll still be in the early stages of development when it ends. However…you’ll have a solid foundation that will allow you to take your drumming as far as you like! On the Zoom Drum Lessons homepage, you can see a partial list of the things that other beginner students of mine have ultimately achieved.

You can withdraw your enrollment in any program and receive a full refund up until 14 days after your payment, or up until 24 hours before the start of the program…whichever comes first. For more details, please see the Policies page.

There are no refunds, make-up classes, reschedulings, or any other accommodations for missed sessions of a class. Please see the Policies page for more details. In terms of the educational material itself…you can always purchase one or more private lessons to go over whatever was covered in the sessions that you missed.

If you discover that you need to cancel a private lesson, please notify me at least 24 hours before the lesson begins. If you do so, then we will simply reschedule to a different day and time. If you notify me less than 24 hours before the lesson begins, then rescheduling will not be permitted. For more details, please see the Policies page.

Yes! Teaching drums has been my full-time career for most of my adult life. Because I take notes on each lesson that I teach, I am actually able to count all of my lessons and students. Occasionally, I’ve heard other teachers claim similar numbers by “estimating.” In my case, you can trust that there is no estimating involved.

Yes…and much more! For example, one of my students played with her band for a Victoria’s Secret commercial. I also had 3 students featured together in a Talenti Gelato commercial. My students continually amaze me! Just a couple of days ago, another student emailed to say that he had landed the drum spot in a band and had recorded an album.

Yes! Crazy, but true! Many years ago, I wrote an article for Modern Drummer magazine about bass drum techniques. The famous drummer saw that article and decided to take a couple of lessons. Out of respect for his privacy, I don’t publicly share his name, but he is one of the greats. He was once voted in Modern Drummer as the #1 Rock Drummer of the year.

In that case, you sound just like all the rest of us! We are all imperfect, and we all worry that our specific deficiencies might somehow prevent us from succeeding. I can’t make any promises about the other areas of life…but when it comes to drumming…I can help you. Honest. So forget all of those worries, and let’s get started! It’s going to be fun!