When most people go to see a concert they are enthralled with the dreamy lead singer, the rockin' guitarist, or possibly a front man who is doing both. I mean they call him/her the "front man," this person has got to be entertaining. But, when I'm watching live music I'm always, always, always staring (sometimes slack-jawed, unfortunately) at the drummer. And so after many years of requesting drum lessons for holidays my husband, Sir Nicholas, one-upped my request and bought me a drum kit and pointed me to lessons with Jake Wood. By the end of my first lesson Jake had taught me to read music for the drums and how to play 7 Nation Army. Granted it seems like a fairly easy song in the drum world, but the point is that he made me feel like I learned a lot and that in no time at all I could be at least an adequate drummer. It pretty much instilled a sense of confidence in me to continue on with my lessons. After the first lesson though we got serious and Jake started working on my technique, specifically syncopation so that when I'm supposed to be hitting two things at the exact same moment I actually am. That's a little more challenging, but I love that the framework is being laid. And I should mention it's what I requested. Because when you start with Jake he has you fill out a questionnaire about all sorts of things like do you just want to learn songs or do you want to learn how to really play with great technique, who are some of your favorite drummers, are you doing this for fun or because you want to be in a band someday that tours and tries to make a living doing this, and so on. It really helps Jake tailor your lessons specifically to your desires for the drums. In a word that is awesome. Jake is a great teacher for this instrument as he knows many different styles of drumming and has a personal goal of being at a professional playing level for all of the styles out there. He is patient and gives easy to understand lessons. All of that and he's affordable. Now just look for me, coming to a stage near you someday. ;-) read more

Jake is the real deal. You won't find better. He is incredibly talented and professional, both as a drummer and a teacher. I was a total novice, having hardly touched a drum before. Jake is patient and clear. Learning my chops was fun and manageable. I never felt like my talent or lack there of was an issue. He is always available and understanding at whatever level I am at. However, don't think he isn't capable of teaching seasoned drummers. I have no doubt he has something to offer everyone. read more

With a long musical background with stringed instruments, I was a bit wary of the idea of taking up a new instrument, seemingly so very different in comparison. Having a good handful of lessons now, I could'nt be more pleased with Jake as a teacher and with the associated progress he has facilitated! He not only put to rest all of my drumming reservations , but has also made drumming very relevant and personal, without being intrusive. I highly recommend Jake to anyone who is interested drums from a beginners level (such as myself) or for those drummers who want to further their drumming abilities. read more

I started studying with Jake as a self-taught intermediate drummer in my mid 20s, and took regular lessons with him for a couple years. Besides being a consummate professional, Jake is a great drummer, a great teacher, and has a broad knowledge of many styles of drumming. I was able to work with Jake on a variety of things, including reading, rudiments, groove and creativity... all of which greatly helped my playing and allowed me to focus more on writing effective drum parts. read more

So, this is my first Yelp review. Never before has my love for any goods or services in the Bay motivated me to Yelp. Jake, you are numero uno! Jake and I are somewhere around our two year anniversary, and he has as much patience with my two left feet and hands today as he did the very first day. He is sensitive to my schedule, understands what I want to play and why, he also keeps our classes enjoyable and knows how to motivate me. I am lucky to have a slot on his list of regulars, and you would be too. That said, don't take mine. I'm very possessive. ; P read more

Jake is an excellent teacher and an amazing drummer. I was inspired to take up lessons again after he, in his role as drummer for Diego's Umbrella, gave what was possibly the liveliest, most entertaining drumming performance I've ever seen. I was psyched to find out that I could actually take lessons from him too! For a super rocking musician, Jake is down-to-earth and makes you feel comfortable immediately. He's also very organized wrt lesson plans and scheduling. His teaching style is, what I think of as, detail oriented; he constantly challenges you to tighten up on sound and rhythm. I appreciated that no matter how awesome I thought I sounded, Jake never hesitated to tell me I was wrong, but did it in a nice way that encouraged me to work harder. My drumming motor skills and ear, not to mention musical confidence, have improved immensely since taking lessons with Jake. He's super enthusiastic about drumming and makes lessons a joy to take. read more

Jake is literally the best teacher I've ever worked with. Not just the best music instructor, but the best teacher, of any subject, in my life. He's extraordinarily talented but never makes you feel inadequate. He helps you make music, not just play notes, from the first day you show up. He's intellectual when he needs to be, can instruct with metaphor or by example, keeps the lessons fresh and interesting, and genuinely cares about his students. Jake is amazing. read more

Best drum teacher EVER!! And don't let the fact that Jake's my only drum teacher diminish the emphasis in any way. Seriously, Jake is incredibly patient, even when dealing with someone who clearly is clueless on the drums. He's very laid-back, funny and supportive, especially for newbies. He is also very professional, without being snotty or stuffy. And even in the face of all evidence to the contrary, he somehow convinces you that you will be a monster on the drums (with lots of practice, of course). This is the man to see if you want to fulfill your dreams of becoming a rock star, even if it's only in your mind. read more

A repost b/c I'm stupid and deleted my account.... Jake is a knowledged and talented professional musician. He obviously enjoys what he does, and where he is in his musical career. He's constantly working to expand his career by: 1. constantly working to challenge his own drumming skills (because that never stops), 2. collaborating/performing/recording with a myriad of bands in a myriad of genres, 3. publishing, 4. teaching (something that he doesn't have to do, but he actually enjoys it) His creative process is inspiring, even if it results in impalement with a stick (it doesn't happen often, I assure you). All of these qualities are even better when he's your teacher, because hopefully, you can get inspired too. He's a good teacher and an honest straight-shooter. He'll understand and adapt to your purpose/agenda as a student. That being said, after a very short year under his tutelage, I actually feel like I know what I'm doing. I hope I can take a little credit for this, but I'm sure it's largely due to him. This review may make it sound like he's very serious and boring....but quite the contrary. He's a total goofball! read more

So I've been jamming with my friends for over 15 years and we have a great time, drink lots of beer but we sound like we did when we started...ok a little better but only to the trained ear, lol. After my wife got me a kit for xmas and after reading Jake's yelp reviews, I decided to give it a try. Best decision ever!!! Jake's an incredible teacher. He's enthusiastic about your learning, very patient and I think he creates a an atmosphere that really makes you want to get better. Taking weekly lessons has really upped the amount of fun I have playing..jamming or on my own. Highly recommend Jake! read more

teaching yourself a new skill at my crusty, old age is tantamount to impossible. but, motivated by the many hours spent playing rock band and being (in my opinion) really fucking good at the drums, i decided cereal killer's quote from "hackers" was appropriate: "when i was a child, i spoke as a child, i understood as a child, i thought as a child, but when i became a man, i put away childish things." no, i didn't quit playing video games, but i did decide to step things up a level and buy a real drum set. the only thing missing was the masterful guidance of a sensei, someone to take the raw clay this grasshopper offered and mold it into something along the lines of a tommy lee, travis barker or zac farro. you'd be surprised how hard it is to find a drum instructor willing to teach an adult how to play an instrument. you'd also be surprised to find one who doesn't charge on the same pricing structure of juilliard. i found jake through google and, when we first met, he didn't have a generic method to teach everyone the same thing - he asked me what styles i wanted to play, what drummers impressed me and, through that information, modified a specific training method for me and those styles. jake's an extremely talented drummer (check out his one-handed drumming while playing a sequencer with his other hand and singing) who is able to share that gift with others. he's a real drummer, not someone teaching from a book or concerned about you replicating his style. i highly recommend him to anyone interested in learning percussion of any style. read more

My son started taking lessons with Jake when he was about age 11. Jake is an excellent teacher and performer, one of the best I have seen and a great person to know as well. Especially as a teacher with his incredible talent and fun personality he really influenced my son to know that he has to put in the practice time to be a great drummer and also a professional musician in a casual not pushy sort of way. My son is about to go off to university next year as a music major and I think Jake had a lot to do with this education and career choice. Thank you Jake, we really appreciate you! read more

Jake is awesome. I've been going to Jake for more than a year. My drumming has improved dramatically and I can now read music while playing, which I could never do before. There aren't many people I recommend as highly as Jake. He's patient, honest but kind, affordable, flexible, and a damn good drummer. read more

i took drum lessons from jake for three years and i can't recommend him enough. he is a professional drummer AND a professional teacher who works totally independently. always down to work on whatever you want but great at coming up with lessons that challenge and excite when you are feeling indecisive. in the time that i studied with him he wrote and published his own book on beginning / intermediate drumming which is an incredible resource - 10x better than any other books i've found. regardless of your age or proficiency you should definitely look into working with jake. read more

I've been taking lessons from Jake for about a year now. A bit about my background. I am from Burbank (Southern California) originally and played in a now disbanded drum corps called the Black Knights www.blackknights.org. We competed in WGI in the Independent "World Class" division. Our instructors were former Blue Devils members and a couple of my buddies that I played with went on to play with the Blue Devils. I stopped drumming for the most part when I moved away to college. At one point in college I missed playing and wanted to try drum set, so I took lessons from a guy in Santa Barbara. The guy tried to shove me into a box. He had me playing sixteenth note patterns with my hands only, out of a book that he wanted me to buy from him. This would have been great if I was brand new to drumming, but I wasn't. This was stuff that I could do in my sleep. I took two lessons with the guy and quit. Unfortunately there weren't many people to go to in Santa Barbara for lessons and no drum corps, so I just stopped playing. I'm 29 now and decided to give taking drum set lessons a shot again. I wasn't expecting much because of my previous experience with the guy in Santa Barbara. I called Jake and let him know what my experience was. I had played drum corps, but had no experience on drum set. Jake actually listened to me and took my skill level into consideration. I've learned a ton from Jake. I like him as a teacher for a few reasons. One...he's a patient guy. I think that's an important quality for a teacher. I taught marching drums at a middle school when I was doing drum corps, and I know that it can be tough to be patient. Two...the guy knows a ton about music and drumming. I'll bring a song in that I think is interesting and not only will he transcribe the drums for me, but he will give me some history of the beat in the song and where it came from. He'll also give me some other versions of what is being played. This is big for me because it helps me with creativity and coming up with my own versions of what I am learning. Third...the guy is a really good drummer. It has always helped me as a drummer to be taught by people that are really good. It is inspirational to watch someone that is that good, and it gives you something to aspire to. If you are interested in learning drums give Jake a call. He's a good dude and does good work. read more

I studied drumming with Jake for about a year and a half. During that time we covered so many areas of playing. We worked on everything from the basics such as grip, the stroke, and rudiments to more technical aspects of playing (linear playing, odd meters, chart reading, and more). Jake could answer any question I had about drumming and is extremely well-versed in any genre I could think of- jazz, funk, post-punk, latin, metal, blast-beats, and pop. Sometimes we would work on a specific song of my choosing, and Jake was always able to transcribe the drum part- no matter how difficult. This was really impressive- he can't be stumped! A really great teacher for the serious student. read more

Jake is a super talented drummer. Being a bass player myself, I had the honor of playing a gig with him and practicing at his rehearsal/lesson studio in the Tenderloin. He's professional, laid back, detailed, and really made the gig fun. I highly recommend Jake Wood as one of the top drummers in the SF bay area and beyond. read more

Jake is awesome. Thanks for all the reviews. I found him here on Yelp. He is very talented, experienced, funny, patient, laid back. He was well prepared for our first lesson. I am looking forward to our future lessons. read more

Jake Wood's a talented, organized, fun teacher, and a talented professional musician to boot. He has students of all ages and uses an array of teaching techniques to give you a personalized experience that meets whatever your goals are. He rocks and you will too after a few lessons. read more

Jake is great. He's got a solid lesson plan that makes you excited to play. A real pro.

We've had the pleasure of having Jake teach our two boys drums over the years. He is patient, creative, thorough, encouraging and knowledgeable. Never once did our 7 and 10 year olds (at the time) even complain about going to drum lessons, which as a parent, you know is nearly impossible whenever kids have to go to a lesson of any sort. Each lesson was a chance to connect with Jake improved their drum playing. We could not be more happy with our experience with Jake Wood. read more

Had my first lesson on drums (really my first lessons on any instrument, ever) with Jake way back in January and I have to echo pretty much every review here. Great guy, laid back, cool space in the TL... The hardest part of the lessons is just finding time to practice at home :) read more

I have had at least 7 drum teachers throughout the 9 years that I have been drumming and I have to say that Jake Wood is by far the best drum teacher I've ever had the pleasure of taking drum lessons with. Not only is he a phenomenal teacher but he is an awesome person all around. I enjoyed going to drum lessons every week because of how great a friendship I had with Jake as a drum teacher and friend. I felt very comfortable and never nervous when I had to perform an improvised drum solo for him. My drumming abilities acceded tremendously throughout the years I took lessons with Jake. The skills he taught me will carry through my drumming as long as I continue playing. He is a well rounded teacher as well he taught me snare techniques that helped me with percussion in band, he taught me jazz, Latin, progressive metal, odd time signatures, how to write drum notation, theory, basically everything there is to learn about music and drumming. I'll never forget my experience with Jake Wood. You are lucky if you have him as a drum teacher. read more

Jake is a super awesome rockstar drummer and teacher. He took me from knowing my basics and flailing around with everything else to being a good solid drummer who can play some funky beats. I would have kept studying with him had i not moved away! read more

Jake Wood a FINE drum teacher (and a fun guy to boot). He has been teaching my son for the past four years and we have seen real progress and an all-round positive experience every single year. This guy is exactly what you are looking for when you need to take your kid to the next level in percussion education. Enjoy seeing your kid have a blast with his interest in all kinds of music. read more

After reading all the reviews, including the filtered reviews, I feel even luckier to have found Jake. My 7 year old son has been taking lessons for almost two years now. In that time, my son's skill level has dramatically improved and his enthusiasm has remained--not an easy task with a young child. I think this is mainly because of Jake's laid back but professional approach to teaching. Jake is a talented drummer who also has all the qualities that make a good teacher--professionalism, patience, humor and perspective. Plus, he's just a cool, nice guy. For Jake, it's not just about teaching lessons out of a book, although he does that too. It's also about adding a lesson about drum history, passing along good drum music or taking a student's favorite music and turning it into his lesson. I would highly recommend Jake! read more

Jake is my first drum teacher and if I have anything to do with it will be my only drum teacher. At 31 I decided to start playing drums because it was something I always wanted to do and I am so glad that I did and that Jake is my teacher. Going to his studio and jamming out and learning about music is one of my favorite parts to each week. Jake is an amazing musician. He is extremely talented when it comes to the drums, but it is his overall knowledge of music and his ability to make it accessible to someone who knows nothing is what is most impressive. I think Jake rocks and I am lucky that I get to spend time with and learn from him each week. read more

he once mentioned the importance of creating a life-long bond with each & every student. jake is proof of this philosophy. being an instructor myself i can see the patience, technique, and motivation jake brings to every lesson. we were comparing stories once about being "the substitute teacher" and how the lack of the teacher-student bond just won't do. the best part is the variety of his music styles (you name it, he appreciates it... and can play it!) as well as the variety of his teaching methods. whether it's reviewing notes from a book, practicing a song from start to finish, or just studying classic drummer videos. it's all about absorbing the magic! i believe the most successful learning comes from having fun & laughing while doing.... and i'll say that jake is the funniest guy in the room. read more

What can I say? Jake is awesome. He is particularly adept at tailoring his lessons to fit the needs and skill levels of his students. I've been playing bass for 14 years or so and just picked up the drums. He immediately recognized my strength areas and those areas I needed to work on and adjusted accordingly. He's a real pro! On top of all this, he is fun and easy-going. I would recommend him to anyone! read more

Jake is an excellent drum teacher. My son, who is the actual student, says "he's freakin' awesome." I agree. He has made learning an instrument a fun experience for my 10 year old. He manages to teach and keep it interesting encouraging us to bring in favorite songs that they start working on pretty quickly. My son went from playing rockband to reading music in a matter of a couple lessons. Seriously, hire Jake. Oh, and video of the week is always interesting. You should call Jake. :-) read more

Jake Wood is AWESOME. I had long nursed a nagging desire to learn how to play the drums. A search of various drum teachers in the Bay Area, and Jake Wood quickly stood out among them, a rightly so! Jake's lessons were always, structured, well-planned, and above all, tuned to the individual student. I found learning with him intuitive, informative, and most importantly, fun! So if you're searching for an excellent drum instructor, you've found your man! read more