Learning Partnerships

Beyond Lessons

I work with creative and curious percussionists on their goals.

More than lessons, these are shared learning experiences

Feedback targeted to you, not your type

We craft an individualized experience to help you achieve your goals fast. I’ve done the research so you don’t have to.

This kind of work is all about YOU: your goals, your dreams, and your sound.

Nobody accomplishes their goals alone

Whether it’s an audition, recital, recording, application or competition, we all reach the limit of our self-feedback. I love being your learning partner, working to identify larger themes in your work that lead to big transformations while helping you stay accountable to yourself.  

What My Clients Are Doing

Those I work with consistently achieve their goals, including: 

  • Securing teaching positions and spots in professional orchestras and military ensembles

  • Winning competitions and international fellowships

  • Admittance to dream graduate programs

  • Starting successful private studios

And more importantly, they’ve:

  • Overcome mental barriers in their playing

  • Transformed time management through science-backed strategies

  • Conquered performance anxiety

  • Secured funding for their creative pursuits

  • Sometimes you need help getting back in the game… Performer A was working on applications for DMA programs after being out of school for a while. They were overwhelmed by the prospect of working full time while getting ready for college auditions. In addition to making a clear and accomplishable plan, we reframed how they worked, integrating time management strategies while making limited practice time more efficient and creative. We tightened their written materials, highlighting the professional development and soft skills developed in a gap year. They got into their dream DMA program and now they are finishing that DMA while working as adjunct faculty at a nearby university. 

  • Sometimes you just need to know how your brain works … Doctoral student Y was struggling with a mismatch between preparation and performance. We worked to move beyond blunt force repetition to learn music in ways scientifically proven to be effective and efficient, incorporating creativity and flexibility to minimize performance anxiety. With less time needed to prepare, they can spend more time funding their creative career and exploring new collaborations. Now they’re a full-time professor with a burgeoning performance career.

  • Sometimes you need help thinking outside the box … Student C was restricted by the curriculum of their degree program. I challenged them to come up with an independently organized recital: the goal would be to develop sustainable collaborations and focus on audience experience (and attendance). The ‘permission’ to bring their entire skill set to the project helped them find their voice as a player and an artist, and unlocked massive musical developments. (The concert was great, by the way).

How it Works

Musical empowerment with flexible and goal-oriented scheduling. 

We work together in packages of goal-oriented remote sessions. No open-ended projects.  Unlimited content review between lessons, and you have access to my educational materials and digital resources.  

This kind of work isn’t for everyone

This isn’t for musicians seeking easy answers.  It’s for those ready to set bold goals and actively pursue them, and those ready to reevaluate their work habits, and those ready to explore how they learn. 

  • $500: Includes four Zoom sessions at your convenience, with unlimited content review between lessons and access to my educational materials and digital resources.

  •  $130 Need quick insights? Schedule a one-time session with tailored feedback on an as-needed basis.

I offer sliding scale fees for current and recent students.

Book a Call!

Why Me?

I’m an expert performer and transformational teacher with a track record of student success and a passion for individualization.  

I know what it takes to succeed at a high level in a variety of musical settings, from collaborating with composers on new works to performing and recording as a chamber musician or soloist to auditioning for and performing with symphony orchestras.  And, I’ve spent my 15 years of collegiate teaching studying multidisciplinary best practices for powerful, efficient, and flexible learning. Along the way, I’ve been sharing ideas about percussion pedagogy through writing (Learn with Mike, On Learning Percussion) podcasting, and other online content.

But more than anything, I like creating partnerships around learning, and work with my students and clients to create custom-tailored learning plans that push with my proven strategies to achieve your goals.