Learning the Language of Drums
Umpqua Valley Drum Lessons, in Roseburg, Instructor Jeanette Kangas has been teaching privately since 1987. In addition to her academic degrees (MFA, MM in percussion studies), she also studied privately with Robert Wrate, John Perett, Richard Wilson, John Bergamo and David Johnson. Her lessons with all of these amazing teachers and musicians not only taught her how to play the drums but more importantly the role that drums plays in the making of music. In other words, a percussionist and or drummer needs to understand truly what their contribution to the music is, how important their individual part is to the entire composition. As a teacher, Jeanette feels that it is extremely important to teach the student, not only what it is to be a drummer/percussionist but, what it is to be a musician. She has found over the years that her students are far more engaged in their studies if, while learning the fundamentals of their instrument they are also learning how to actually play music. For example, students at their first lesson are asked to bring in a recording of their favorite band and or a piece of music that they would really love to be able to play. Jeanette then takes the students choice of music and immediately starts to show them how, what they are learning applies to the recording. By doing this the student immediately has a goal to work towards which is to be able to play the music that interests them, as opposed to just working on technical exercises and or music that does not interest them. As a teacher, one of Jeanette's biggest challenges is to keep the student engaged and interested. This applies to students of all ages, levels of learning and to students who are studying for the sake of a hobby or the pursuit of a professional career.
In regards to musical genre and or idiom, whether a student wants to learn rock, jazz, classical and or some alternative style, it simply does not matter to Jeanette because the student is learning to speak or play a language. One of the instructors that Jeanette studied with was Richard Wilson, a brilliant drummer and teacher known for 'the Wilson Grip'. In addition to teaching Jeanette his brilliant method of technique, he made it very clear to her through his lessons that drumming is a language, and once mastered, the student can play anything that they need or want to. In other words, the fundamentals of the drums/percussion are the same regardless of the style of music. If a drummer/percussionist can speak the language clearly then they can say what ever they need to say without any problems. There for, Jeanette does not teach musical styles. She teaches the language so that the student can freely play whatever music they want and hopefully at some point find their own musical voice.
In regards to musical genre and or idiom, whether a student wants to learn rock, jazz, classical and or some alternative style, it simply does not matter to Jeanette because the student is learning to speak or play a language. One of the instructors that Jeanette studied with was Richard Wilson, a brilliant drummer and teacher known for 'the Wilson Grip'. In addition to teaching Jeanette his brilliant method of technique, he made it very clear to her through his lessons that drumming is a language, and once mastered, the student can play anything that they need or want to. In other words, the fundamentals of the drums/percussion are the same regardless of the style of music. If a drummer/percussionist can speak the language clearly then they can say what ever they need to say without any problems. There for, Jeanette does not teach musical styles. She teaches the language so that the student can freely play whatever music they want and hopefully at some point find their own musical voice.
"Jeanette's teaching style is as flexible as her students' goals are varied. Me? I'm in it for the challenge. It's like learning a foreign language, only a lot more fun." ~ Dex