TEACHER BIO.
[Lessons are £19 for 30 mins, £28 for 45 mins and £38 for 1 hour]
Name
Jonathan Groethe
Where were you born?
Manchester, Connecticut, USA
Personal Bio
I am a Professional Drum Educator & Personal Tutor and have operated throughout the Banbury area and surrounding counties full-time, since 2007, so I’m a pretty well-known figure in the area. I have taught and still teach, a number of students who attend many of the primary, secondary and private schools across the county. I have a wealth of experience and passion that will afford you years of drumming know how, technical proficiency and musical application.
I believe everyone has rhythm and I can get it out of you! It’s never too late to start either. I teach from age 6 upwards using varying methods that I have acquired from a classically based education and graduation from The Musicians Institute www.mi.edu in the USA and over 35 years drumming. Sight-reading & all styles are offered.
I teach students all aspects of drumming from kit tuning; click track work, equipment maintenance, gigging, sessions and everything else drum related. I also do a lot of improvisational work, playing to all manner of artists. It’s hard work but is really fun and extremely rewarding!
** I currently teach privately at ePianos, formerly One Man Band music shop in Banbury, St Johns Priory School, and Bloxham C of E Primary School **. I am ‘Child Safeguard’ certified click here to view my certificate. I am also 3 times CRB/DBS certified, click here and here to view all three certificates. Also, feel free to click here to see my student testimonials. Scroll right to the bottom of the page, just past the Social Media icons to read the reviews. You’re also welcome to speak with any of my existing students too.
** I am more than happy to provide references for the schools I currently teach at and also, David Cooper, the proprietor of One Man Band/ePianos, where I teach full-time Mon to Friday. Click here to request a reference from David Cooper at One Man Band. Click here to request a reference from the head of St. Johns Priory Tracey Wilson and here, to request a reference from the head of Bloxham Primary School, Mr Ingall. To view my Public Liability Insurance certificate, click here.**
I provide the equipment so you don’t have to and use ‘top of the range’ Yamaha DTXplorer, which is an electronic kit and great for kids and adults to learn on. Where necessary and specifically when using the acoustic drum kit, I use Vic Firth top quality headphones. They are specifically designed for drumming, protecting the ears by reducing the decibel level by 25, the highest reduction you can get next to ear protection used in airports.
Learning a musical instrument such as drums is a fulfilling and lifelong gift, which no one can take away from you. I am extremely passionate about delivering and empowering young and mature minds through the dynamism of drumming and musical creativity across all genres.
Who are your musical influences?
Dave Weckl, Benny Greb, Steward Copeland and of course, Buddy Rich.
Top tip for learning to play your instrument?
Get a good teacher and live, breathe, eat and sleep your instrument of choice. Take the four hours a day sitting watching TV or playing X-Box and channel the same passion into perfecting your craft. You’ll be surprised how quickly you improve. Finally, love what you do.
Why should you learn to play an instrument?
Learning an instrument requires and teaches discipline, focus and commitment, a thought process that can be applied to all walks of life. We live in a society that demands ‘instant gratification’ and fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, there is nothing ‘instant’ or ‘fast track’ about learning drums, or any other instrument for that matter. So, there is a real sense of gratification to be gained when learning to play an instrument from scratch and producing ‘something’ i.e., playing a beat to a piece of music or putting a sequence of chords together…it makes you feel like a ‘real’ musician, which is very satisfying.
To hear me playing a 5/4 rhythm I’ve used for student study, click this YouTube Link.
I look forward to meeting with you.
Book a drum lesson with me here!
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