Ted Sirota - Teaching Philosophy

1823 Church St.

Evanston, IL 60201

773.406.5021

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TED'S LISTENING TIP #1
In order to be a good musician, one has to be a good listener. Listen to as much music as possible. Try to hear what all the different instruments are playing in the music, not just the drums. Listen to as many different styles of music as possible. Don't always just listen to what you're already familiar with.

TED'S LISTENING TIP #2
Listen to the bass player. In most popular forms of music, the drums and the bass have a special relationship. Try to match up your groove to the bass player's as much as possible. Listen to the bass pattern and match your bass drum rhythm up to it.
TED'S LISTENING TIP #3
Listen to yourself and the rest of the band. Think about your dynamic level. Are you too loud, or too soft? Can you hear the singer or the soloist. If not, you're probably too loud. Always make sure that you can hear everyone in the band.
TED'S LISTENING TIP #4
Go out and listen to live music. When you go to a concert you have the advantage of listening and seeing. Notice how the musicians communicate with each other. Watch the drummer and notice how he/she moves. Don't get too distracted by what you see however. Close your eyes occasionally to make sure you're listening with your ears and not your eyes.

If you've seen the movie "School of Rock" you might recognize the old adage..."Those who can't do, teach, and those who can't teach, teach gym". Well, let me just say first off that I don't teach gym. But seriously folks, I take pride in the fact that I DO and I TEACH. I have managed to maintain a successful music career, and I enjoy teaching. Music is something that has been passed down and shared amongst people for almost as long as there have been people to share it. I have learned so much from so many other compassionate, caring and creative people. As I grew older and more mature as a person and musician, I felt it necessary to do what I could to help pass down all the great lessons that I have learned from the masters of music that came before me. I've learned many lessons through my own personal experience as well that I believe can be of great value to others trying to find their way through the world of music.

I believe first and foremost that learning music should be fun and exciting. After all, when we speak about it, we say that "we play music", not "we work music". How many people have you heard say "well, I used to play piano" or "I used to play violin" etc. I find that there are too many music teachers in this world that effectively drain the fun out of learning music. This quite often leads to students losing interest in their musical studies and abandoning their original goals and aspirations. I try to keep the lessons fun by relating to my students' personal interests, musical tastes and ambitions, but at the same time introducing them to new concepts and new musical experiences. As a Jazz musician who spends much of his time improvising, I understand that music is and should be a creative endeavor. I try to help my students tap into their own creative reservoirs.

Unfortunately, learning music can not be all fun however. In order to be a great musician it does take a lot of hard work and discipline, just like any other endeavor in life. If you want to do it well you have to practice. I try to help my students strike that delicate balance between work and play. It's very important that the student learns the fundamentals of playing their instrument - in this case the drums. I liken it to building a house. You need to dig into the ground and build a solid foundation before you can start building upward. If you don't have a solid foundation your house will end up...well use your imagination.

Playing the drum set is unique in that we are dealing with four-way coordination. Most people that have tried playing the drums will tell you that it's not as easy as it looks! However, with a little patience and a little bit of hard work, most people will be grooving along with one of their favorite band's CD's in no time!