My Love of Teaching
L to R: Bucky Pizzarelli, John Cutrone and Carmen Leggio
My love of teaching comes from both the miraculous people who have come into my life, both drum teachers and other instrumentalists, and people who have guided me and given me hints all the way. Sometimes these people were not only drummers. I’ve learned from all instruments only because the words of the players and the experience of playing with them is universal from instrument to instrument. It doesn’t have to be only a drummer to inspire me to play drums. So, words of wisdom have been passed on to me by maybe doing a record and many concerts with someone like jazz great Bucky Pizzarelli. I treasure the fortune I’ve had in many instances to be around such great musicians who have learned these gems of wisdom from being in and creating the music business for 60 or 70 years of their lives. Remember that these people have been inspired by people who did the same thing for them. That’s why music is so timeless and from my point of view as a teacher, if you find a student who is open to that information, you can’t calculate what that person will then create in his or her life.
I was playing so much music of all kinds in college while I was a music education major. As I look back, the playing of music probably for me was something I put more effort into than all of the courses that I took about teaching. But now I evaluate the lessons learned in all of what they called methods classes and how to explain yourself and how to teach and be patient and communicate. I was very lucky that all of that information seeped into me from such great professors at the University of Bridgeport in the 1970s. Why is this so important? While most of my students who write about me have said that I was concise in explaining the tools of playing drums. I had the correct information and was patient about transmitting it to a person who is just starting out. It’s really hard to explain a lifetime of experiences in an art form.
I look back and see now how those skills from music education classes are directly connected to my success as a teacher. I have also crafted my own style of teaching from remembering all the great teachers I’ve had who were patient, kind, and very caring to me. Older musicians, maybe some teachers, I remember would say if you’re a good musician, you’re always a student for life. I think that’s where most people get confused and think that it’s like a course book in school when you pass chapter to chapter and then it’s all completed and you have everything. That’s not the way it works. The best and most humble musicians I’ve met, no matter how long they’ve been playing, have told me they’re still working on things that they can’t do. That’s why music is such a joy whether you’re 5 years old or 80. If you’ve learned it correctly, it will never leave you. The joy and excitement of the feeling music gives you at 5 years old will continue to be just as exciting at 80 years old. And the real amazing thing is that the most fun I’ve had playing with older studio musicians is that they still act like they’re teenagers. Their life is healthy because they lived a gifted life in doing something that they’ve loved.
In my next blog, I’ll go into more detail and explain exactly how music began for me. Maybe that might inspire you to see that a musical dream can happen no matter what age you’re at and last your whole life. I also read that you don’t choose music. …Music chooses you. I believe that is true in life for anyone who finds something that they love to do and lives their dream every day. My great friend Carmen Leggio and I were sitting talking one day. Carmen was a saxophone player who appeared on many great jazz records. Carmen said to me, “Do you know what we have in music? That love and process and gratification is missed by a lot of people in their lives and we are very lucky.” I will continue the concept of My Love of Teaching in future blogs. So stay tuned for My Love of Teaching Part 2.