Drum Lessons

Get Inspired, Practice, Have Fun, Work Hard, Accomplish Goals

The drumming lifestyle requires a lot of gear and a lot of knowledge. Being one of the largest drum and percussion specialists in the USA, we live for drums, so we can help you get the right gear. We can also help you accomplish your drumming goals with our private lesson program. Whether you're just starting out in drums or are looking for some inspiration, drum lessons are a great way to learn. The teaching staff at Columbus Percussion is as varied as the students that attend, and will cover anything including drumset, marching, concert, and world drumming. You'll be sitting down one-on-one with instructors who want to help you succeed. Get the attention you need while attaining your musical goals. Check out our section on ‘What to Expect…’ to see all of the things you can expect to learn when taking drum lessons at any skill level at Columbus Percussion.

Equipment

The only things you'll need to bring to a lesson are your sticks and your lesson book. Columbus Percussion's drum studios come fully equipped with multiple drum sets and stereo equipment, and we also have keyboard instruments and world drums available.

Pricing and Scheduling

Lessons are available during business hours, based on teacher openings. Our lessons are affordable for nearly everyone at $135.00 per month for a weekly, one on one, half hour lesson. You will work with the same instructor each week and pay them directly at the beginning of each month of lessons. Call our store to check for available lesson times: 614.885.7372

Instructors

Our teaching staff offers a wide variety of specialties and teaching styles.

Aaron Bishara

Aaron is an active full-time freelance drummer/percussionist and private instructor. On stage, he holds down the rhythm section in touring original rock bands The Wet Darlings and Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons. He also provides rhythmic and vocal contributions to the soulful harmonies of Doc Robinson. Aaron is frequently on call to work with recording artists in the studio, and continues to build a considerable discography throughout his career. With his varied musical experience, he is able to bring the perspective of a drumset player and percussionist to the table, as a freelance session player. While at Miami University, Aaron Bishara studied under Dr. William Albin, Dr. Chris Tanner, and master Indian percussionist, Srinivas Krishnan, performing in a wide variety of ensembles such as African Drum & Dance, Steel Drum Band, Percussion Ensemble, Big Band, and various small combos. Aaron has had the distinct honor to share stages with such luminaries as Jeff Queen, Academy Award winner AR Rahman, Grammy Award winners Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez and Glen Velez, Valerie Naranjo, Anandan Sivamani, John Santos, and Eguie Castrillo. In lessons, Aaron strives to create a positive environment that is tailored to the individual student as much as possible. Utilizing multi-media educational resources in his lessons, he stresses ergonomics, time & feel, and effective practice techniques to his students, in order to make them more self-sufficient learners and inspire them to new heights in their own playing.



Steve Dodge

Steve has performed with the Columbus Symphony, John Lee Hooker, Rick Ocasek, Moody Blues, Brook Benton, and many more. Steve has over thirty years experience teaching all ages, all styles, all instruments, and music theory. Well versed in classical, jazz, rock, blues, country, rudimental studies, Latin, avant-garde, ethnic, etc.



Jon Honeycutt

Jon Honeycutt studied percussion and jazz studies with drum set emphasis at Bowling Green State University under the late Dr. Roger Schupp. He was a member of the BGSU Falcon Marching Band snare line from 2002 to 2005, becoming the ensemble section leader in 2005. He was also was a member of Rhythm X in 2004 and 2006. As an Independent World class group, they won the bronze (2004) and silver (2006) medals at the WGI World Championships He began his career as a marching percussion educator, designer, and consultant in 2006. He has been on the design team and education team for several different ensembles across the country, in both marching band, jazz band and indoor percussion. His roles have included: Battery Instructor, Battery Coordinator, Battery Arranger, Front Ensemble Arranger, Visual Designer, Director, and Program Coordinator. He was most recently the Ensemble Co-Director for the WGI 2015 and 2016 World Championship Open Class Finalists, Connexus Percussion. He has also been teaching percussion at Westerville North HS since 2013. He currently resides in Columbus, OH, where he teaches private lessons in marching and concert percussion as well as drum set. He also plays drum set in a quite few local acts, including Qfm96’s 2018 House Band Contest Finalist, Citizen Blue, and jazz/funk/fusion cover band, The Big Badd. Jon is incredibly excited to be joining the amazing education team at Columbus Percussion! Jon Honeycutt (Drumset): https://youtu.be/Ykcma_RqSh4 Jon Honeycutt (Marching): https://youtu.be/chQYrxBbPIM.



Will Mayer

Will Mayer studied at the Capital University Conservatory, receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance. Will is a full-time teacher and gigging musician in the central Ohio area. He is an active member in a variety of musical environments. From playing timpani and percussion in orchestras, drum set in small and large jazz ensembles, drums and percussion for various musical theatre productions, to church worship bands, Will continues to pursue a diversity of musical experience. Will previously served as music faculty at Capital University where he taught percussion lessons in their community music school program, building a studio from the ground up. He has also taught and worked with many students in school band programs in group settings. As a teacher, Will encourages students to develop strong fundamental skills and technique while exploring many different musical styles and genres. Some of Will’s musical influences include Kenny Washington, Mel Lewis, Buster Bailey, Bob Becker, and Ben Ramirez.



Jeff Robert

Jeff brings 40+ years of experience to the teaching staff. Offering training that can start with the basics… how to hold the sticks & learning to read music, to techniques developing better rudiment execution, 4-limb independence on the set, learning a variety of different styles… & so on, for those who already have some experience.

In addition to the above, Jeff's real world playing/recording experience with hosts of bands for 30+ years in the Central Ohio area give him what it takes to prepare students for the things they might run across in a live/recording situation. Jeff is currently playing with the Columbus based bands Fat Dog, Saving For Vegas, Mark Pennington & the Outlaw Uprising & Moving To Boise (MTB).

Do you have a goal to play in your school band? Perhaps you want to learn how read music (you really should!), or better incorporate rudiments into your grooves & fills on the drums? Maybe you want to learn how to play (or improve) double bass technique. Maybe you’re in a band already… or maybe you just want to let off some steam after work in your basement. Regardless of where you’re at, Jeff might be the instructor for you.

Finally, if you’ve found it challenging to locate a drum instructor who can work around your schedule, Jeff is available to teach earlier in the day. So, if you work second or third shift, have a crazy school schedule, have to be back to the house before school let’s out… Jeff may be able to accommodate you.



What to expect when starting drum lessons
As a Beginner

If you are just starting out (at any age), there is a lot of basic beginning material and skills that need to be covered when learning to play drums. These skills take time and practice to develop...fortunately, it’s also fun! The amount of time it takes to develop a solid foundation in these skills can vary widely from student to student. Our skilled teaching staff will work with you and put you on the best path to accomplish your drumming goals.

We recommend, if you are just starting out, that you plan on taking private lessons for at least 3 months. We find this is about the average amount of time it takes for these foundational skills to come together. Having this strong foundation is what will allow you to learn new skills faster and help you conquer next set of challenges.

Here’s a list of some things you can expect to learn within your first 3 months of drum lessons:

  • How to hold your drumsticks
  • Different stroke types
  • Rebound
  • Stick Control
  • Reading basic rhythm notation
  • What is a time signature?
  • Basic snare drum rudiments/hand to hand coordination
  • Why it’s important to practice
  • How to practice effectively and overcome challenges
  • Subdivision
  • Pulse
  • How to use a metronome
  • How to set up your drum set
  • The purpose of all of the parts of your drum set
  • How the different parts of the drum set help create music
  • How you should sit behind your drum set
  • Basic Foot Technique
  • Basic hand and foot coordination
  • Basic drum set grooves
  • Playing and understanding basic drum set fills
  • How to listen to drum parts in music
What to expect when taking drum lessons: Intermediate

If you’ve already spent time with the drums and you’re looking to improve, our excellent teaching staff are ready to help take your playing to the next level. Whether you need help with a school band audition, you’ve got a big gig coming up, you’re playing tunes with some friends, you want to post drum videos online, or you’re just looking for the next challenge, private lessons are an excellent and fun way for you to continue developing your musicianship.

  • Reading and understanding syncopated rhythms
  • Developing your hand technique
  • Developing your drum set coordination
  • How to practice more effectively
  • How to record yourself and the benefits of recording practice
  • Reading basic drum set music/charts
  • Understanding and setting up figures in drum charts or songs
  • Developing basic drum set vocabulary in different musical styles/li>
  • Listening and understanding drum set parts in different musical styles
  • How to solidify your groove
  • Playing syncopated drum set parts
  • Learning and understanding the basics of a drum solo
  • How to listen to a drum solo
  • How to be creative with fills and solos
  • Playing music with other musicians
What to expect when taking drum lessons: Advanced

So you’ve studied the instrument a lot and post some drum videos online, play gigs, maybe even teach some yourself, but you still have that drive to continue learning more...great! Working one on one with one of our teachers is a great way to find new ideas to study, fine tune some weaknesses, discover new inspirations, or reach the next evolution of your musicality. Here are some advanced topics and concept you may explore in your lessons:

  • Developing and understanding the concept of ‘feel’
  • Understanding musical phrasing and applying phrasing to grooves and solos
  • Developing comfort and fluency in different musical styles
  • Playing and understanding odd time signatures
  • Advanced practice techniques
  • Developing and understanding linear concepts for fills and grooves
  • Developing your creativity with grooves, fills and solos
  • Understanding polyrhythms and how to use them on the drum set