John Calabrese
Drums
Hi, I’m John!
I am a retired music teacher and school band director from New York who moved to Massachusetts in 2020. Since then, I’ve been teaching drums at Apple Tree Arts but I also have experience teaching guitar and other band instruments as well as music theory.
As a teacher, I enjoy forming trusting relationships with students. Encouragement is used while hoping to get the student to feel confident, willing to explore and unafraid of making mistakes because of how much we can learn through our, so called, mistakes. I learn as much from students as they learn from me.
Students begin with basic fundamentals of drumming and gradually advance to more complex technical elements. Students learn different genres, their variations and, eventually, move to improvisation. Having students cooperate in the direction and scope of their own learning & progress while using their musical interests to motivate and enhance the learning experience. Introducing students to genres/styles of playing with which they may be unfamiliar is another teaching tool that has been employed to generate interest and a broader perspective.
It is my hope that students develop a thirst for exploration and experimentation on their instrument. I try to develop students’ interest in the instrument, its musical function and the creative possibilities of the instrument. I also feel it is the responsibility of the teacher to help develop independence in the student so that eventually, the teacher is no longer relied upon as a source of information but more as a guide on a journey. As independence develops, the student has the confidence to continue exploring and creating.