Drums by Rabino

WOW. As someone who had only ever picked up drum sticks while playing Rock Band on the X-​Box, I found Scott to be an absolutely fantastic teacher. He focuses on the fundamentals and is very patient with the «rhythm-​less» as I would describe myself. He has a drum set that faces your set and plays along with you to help you establish your fundamentals. He has a love and appreciation for music and for the drums, and it comes though in his instruction. A 2hr lesson went by in a flash. If you are picking up drum sticks for the first time, check out Scott; he won’t let you down and you will leave your lesson with a great foundation and a feeling of excitement that you too, can play the drums! I highly recommend without any reservation.

Scott is a really great teacher. I started with him about 2.5 years ago with zero drum experience. I continue with him today. He is very patient and methodical. We talk music and he will go over examples of druming techniques and styles from different musicians. He also encourages going to the shows when he plays to get the whole experience!

Having worked with Scott, I note that his teachings have greatly influenced me as a guitar. He’s very passionate and musically articulate. Because of how well he is able to provide effective teaching, I have grown as a musician because of such vigor. He’s a great teacher and musician all around. I highly recommend.

Let me first say that Scott is precise, he wants to make sure that you’re not only playing the instrument appropriately, but that you can do it for a long time. He’s very passionate about the drums. I’ve just recently started from zero and he’s already given me some fantastic lessons and pounds of inspiration. Sitting there and watching him is pretty amazing as well.
He will explain things clearly, give you honest feedback, and push you to be a better drummer.
I couldn’t recommend him more highly.

*** Scroll to the bottom for the short version ***
So I’ve played drums on and off for a little while now; more off the last few years. I started to get an itch to start it up again last year, but wanted to start from the basic basics. I mean start up again like a person who’s never held drumsticks before. I’ve never had lessons and had no discipline to learn the basics and rudiments, which I should have done when I started. Looked for a private teacher in the area and after looking at a few places, found a posting on CL from Scott about drum lessons. Called up, he sounded pretty cool, so set up a 1 hour lesson at his house in Vienna near Tyson’s.
Scott just moved from San Francisco to here about a 1.5−2 years ago. There’s really no point in my previous sentence; just wanted to add that in somewhere. He also has a shy hound that greets you from a distance when you walk in. Nice dog. And he plays in a few bands.
The lesson area is located in the basement of his house, where he has his drum set set up along with some practice pads and stuff. We talk about what I’m looking to get out of lessons with him and I tell him to treat me like a person who’s just starting out and has no knowledge about drumming. I do tell him that I’ve been playing on and off for a while but never learned to do basic rudiments properly.
We start off from the bottom. From how to hold a drumstick to the basic motion of a basic stroke. After a little time spent showing me basic rudiments and having me playing them, he asks if I want to jump on his kit and play a little. I tell him no, I don’t want to touch a drumset until I become some sorta decent with the basics. Anyways, this continues and all I do is play rudiments on his practice pad for the next 3 lessons. My rudiments do get progressively not-​worse luckily. After a few lessons, I do sit in on his set and manage to embarrass myself =)
*** Summary ***
To make my endless review come to an end, Scott is a great drum teacher who really listens to what you’re looking to get out of his lessons. He plans his lessons around the areas you’re looking to improve and encourages you to push yourself to your personal limit, all with a very fun, laid-​back, but passionate attitude.
He even encouraged me to come to an open mic night at Bangkok Blues where he was playing as the house drummer (he’s pretty awesome). Went up with a few of my friends (yes, real friends, not my imaginary ones), who got a chance to meet and talk to him. He encouraged me to get onstage and play a few songs, but I was too chickenshit to go up.
To sum it all up, if anyone is looking to take some drum lessons, no matter your skill level, give this guy a shout. If I had the means and time, I’d definitely still be taking lessons from him.
The End.