The Boy picked up drum sticks at nine years old and was instantly better at drumming than anything…read moreI have ever done in my life. Wanting to feed this precocious talent, we purchased his first kit from Donn Bennett Drums (see my review)) and signed him up for lessons with School of Rock (see my review) which at the time was just a few minutes from our house.
A couple of years into that routine, a close friend who is a professional drummer mentioned that if The Boy really wanted to accelerate his progress and vastly expand his skills he couldn't do better than lessons with Garey Williams. During summer break that year (2011), The Boy did take lessons with Garey and enjoyed them, but at that time, he was enjoying the live music programming that SOR offers, so when the school year kicked in, it was back to SOR. A year later, he again took lessons from Garey over the summer, but returned to SOR in the fall. However, this time around, things had changed. It was probably his own maturity, combined with improving skills and a sudden appreciation for jazz, but upon returning to SOR, The Boy immediately announced that following the conclusion of that semester, he was leaving SOR to take lessons from Garey exclusively.
Because I am not a musician - if I'm being honest, I can't even keep a beat - I don't really feel like I'm qualified to describe what it is about Garey that makes him such a successful educator. So, I asked The Boy to describe that to me and here's what he had to say:
"Because every lesson is fun. There's not a lesson that I'm not learning new things that have helped me in my music career. He has ton of great stories to tell and knows tons of people. There's really nothing about taking lessons from Garey that I don't like. If I had stayed at SOR I would have stopped drumming by now, but taking lessons from Garey has taken me to a new level. There's stuff I can do now, and can hear that normal people can't. It's incredible what he's been able to teach me."
High praise indeed.
As the parent paying the bill, I can say without a doubt that we are seeing a massive return on investment with The Boy's lessons. His skills have improved exponentially. He has grown a deep appreciation for different genres of music - particularly jazz and big bands - and his commitment to his craft is unbelievable particularly considering he's not yet 16 years old.
After one year of bi-weekly lessons, we are now up to weekly lessons. Also this year The Boy was accepted into his school's jazz program - a direct result of the work with Garey - and he already feels like he has progressed well past students who were in their junior high jazz programs, but who are not taking private lessons.
I credit Garey with much of this. You see, Garey doesn't just teach drumming techniques. Drumming is his life's work and he approaches it with his students in a similar way. As The Boy wrote in a thank you note to a family member who gave him some money for his birthday, "I believe I was put on this earth to play drums." How perfect it is then to have a teacher and mentor who shares that experience.
As The Boy heads into his final years of high school, he will start the process of identifying and applying to college and he and Garey are already having conversations about what that will look like. Just a few weeks ago The Boy came home from a lesson and excitedly told me how Garey was going to help him put together an audition video for college. I love that Garey can take on this role, supplementing the work that will take place at home, in ways that my wife and I simply do not possess the knowledge and skills.
If you're considering SOR or Seattle Drum School, those programs are fine. But just know, that they will only take your student so far. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a true education from a true educator, who will provide your student with the skills they need to play at an elite level, Garey is the clear choice.
Pro tip: Garey offers a 10% discount if you prepay for a full semester (5 months) ahead of time. Fall Semester is September - January. Spring semester is February - June.
Pro tip: Town Center at Lake Forest Park is only about a five minute drive from Garey's studio. It's a great place for parents to hang out while their kids are in lessons.
