Thursdays 6:30 - 8 pm 9/21 - 11/30 (10 weeks) no class 11/23

This course is perfect for those interested in learning the fundamentals of playing the drum set. Through hands-on instruction, practice exercises, and playing along to tracks in a range of styles, students will learn the basic techniques and concepts of drumming.

Topics covered include:

•Setting up and tuning drums
•How to hold your drum sticks
•Rhythm and timing
•Simple beats, fills, and grooves
•An introduction to basic rudiments
•Considerations for playing with a band

Students will play in class each week. By the end of the course, students will have a solid foundation in drumming, and the ability to play basic drum beats and grooves with confidence.

About Robert Lopez

Robert Lopez is a percussionist, composer, curator and educator based in Oakland. His background in various types of music, such as folkloric traditions of Brazil, Ghana, and Cuba, alongside contemporary chamber music and free improvisation, allows him to maintain a malleable approach to sharing musical ideas. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at Cal State University Long Beach and a Master of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Improvisation from Mills College. Since 2011, he has been an active member of the Bay Area music community, working with groups SO AR, the Oakland Active Orchestra, the Red Room Orchestra, Quattour Elephantis, Grex, and Jordan Glenn’s BEAK, among others. He has been a dance accompanist at Mills College, UC Berkeley, ODC, and Sonoma State. Since 2014 he has maintained a close relationship with Brazilian master drummer Jorge Alabê. This partnership has led to presentations at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (2023), awards from the Fulbright US Student Program for projects “Cultural Transmission through the Music of Candomblé” (2022) and “Investigating the Language of Candomblé Drumming” (2020), a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (2018) and first place in the Brazilian category with Grupo Samba Rio in San Francisco’s Carnaval (2018 and 2019). He currently teaches drum set and hand percussion at the San Francisco Community Music Center and the San Francisco Waldorf High School.