Brandon Mitchell Music

Teaching Approach

I have 3 main aspects to my teaching approach:

1. Foundational and Rudimentary Principles

It is important for the student to have a solid foundation with instrumental techniques and basic music theory. For instance, drummers must learn series of basic rudiments and drum grooves while piano players must learn scales and basic principles of chord/scale relationship. I aim to make all of my students proficient in comprehending rhythms and playing to a metronome.

2. Ear Training

I believe that strong aural skills are necessary for any individual who plays an instrument in the rhythm section. One must be able to listen and react in music situations in an instant so ear training exercises are very important in my lesson approach. Some of the ways I accomplish this is by working on the students with playing to pre-recorded tracks, practicing chord progressions popular to commercial and jazz music, and series of games that challenge the student to guess things such as the bass note, quality of a chord, intervals, etc.

3. Music Reading

I have learned that not all musicians ultimately read music and some are great without it! It is still important for students to have a solid foundation in reading notes, rhythms and articulations in the case they perform in ensembles with other people. I use a collection of resources for reading including Syncopation by Ted Reed, Breaking it Down by Kevin White, and many other original compositions/arrangements and supplemental resources.

BA Percussion Performance from Elon University (2012-2016)

Jazz Studies Minor (2012-2016)

MM Jazz Performance from North Carolina Central University (2016-2018)

Typically, my pricing is as follows:

1/2 hour lessons - $30

45 min lessons - $50

1 hour lessons - $60

I got my first break over summber break in college freshmen year. My drum instructor from high school went on tour and asked me to sub for him at a Music and Arts in Oxon Hill, MD. From here, I gained a love for it and have continued since then.

Students of all kind from the age of 3 to 65! Men, women, and people of all different colors and ethnicities.

I recently released an album titled "Black Guardian". Although this was not my first recording, it was my debut solo album which gained pretty good traction throughout the summer and fall of 2020.

Personality matters! If you do not get along with your instructor, you will not enjoy lessonsn and miss the true valubale experience of private instruction.