Johnson Drum Instruction - Drum Lessons in Richmond, VA

Thank you for making 2024 a great year at Johnson Drum Instruction. A highlight of the year was the recital. Jeff teaches 40 or more students per week. Over 30 students performed at the recital!

More photos will be posted soon!

Congratulations to Clive Gwinn for auditioning and being accepted into District Band! As a 6th grader, this is Clive's first year auditioning - and he came in 2nd place in the entire district!!!

Coming up this Tuesday - Be sure to check out the band Madly Backwards on Shockoe Sessions Live. Drummer Alex Martin will be performing with the group. Alex was already an accomplished drummer before studying at Johnson Drum Instruction. He's now working on advanced concepts and techniques to take him to an even higher level!
https://www.shockoesessionslive.com/

Doing the right thing has its rewards. Jeff recently had a teacher contact him. He purchased Jeff’s book, “Note Groupings and Combinations for Drumset.” The instructor politely asked if he could copy a few pages for his students to see preview the material. If they enjoyed it, the students would purchase the book and work on it in their lessons. Jeff preferred that he did not copy and distribute the pages, but offered to send him a few copies of the book for him to show/lend out to students. That way, the students would have a full preview of the book before deciding to buy. While not every author may respond in the same way, most would appreciate the courteous and respectful manner of the teacher’s request.

Congratulations to Johnson Drum Instruction student, Rafi Waters. He recently graduated from Berklee College of Music! Rafi started taking lessons at Johnson Drum Instruction when he was 5 years old, diligently practicing all of his assignments. When Rafi was in elementary school, he attended middle school music camp. When he was in middle school, he attended high school music camp. By the time Rafi was in high school, he performed with the All Virginia Jazz Ensemble, taking first place in the state his senior year! He auditioned for Berklee and was offered a sizable scholarship due to his talent! He graduated and will be going back to Boston to pursue his music career. Best wishes to Rafi on his future musical endeavors! Thanks to Dan and Pilar Maria Waters for trusting Jeff to guide him through the years.

Jeff had a great time teaching at Fortissimo, Trinity Episcopal School's summer music camp! The students learned and performed jazz and Latin songs, complete with improvised solos. Thank you to Brian Rollins for having him back as the drum set/percussion instructor.

Jeff had a great time seeing his former student (and longtime friend) Matt Guza perform with Satisfaction/The International Rolling Stones Tribute Show! Don't pass up a chance to see the show if it comes through your town. The band sounds great - and the drummer is amazing!

Johnson Drum Instruction Student Recital Wed. May 22, 2024 (Info in comments below)

Kaleb (pictured center) did an amazing job tonight playing drums for the Hanover High School Show Choir!

Check out the video example of 3-note groupings from my book, Note Groupings and Combinations for Drumset.

Increase Rhythmic Awareness and Creativity on Drums with 3-Note Groupings Here is a preview of the three-note groupings from my new book, Note Groupings and Combinations for Drumset. The book introduces the note groupings on snare...

Congratulations to Johnson Drum Instruction student, Kaleb Ellett. Kaleb auditioned and was selected for District Band! While I guided him through the process, he put in the hours of hard work and practice - allowing him to achieve his goal!

I was recently interviewed by Joe Ospalla for his drumming podcast. Topics include my new book, teaching philosophy, and more...

Conversation With Jeff Johnson - Drum Teacher and Author I was delighted to have an in depth chat with Richmond, Virginia based drum teacher and author, Jeff Johnson who's written two essential drum books. His firs...