It’s difficult to summarize the profound positive impact of David’s drum instruction and mentoring. For nearly 10 years, David helped guide me through adolescence by providing social-emotional support and focus in the form of drum instruction.
People have always described me as energetic and as a youth I struggled to control that energy. Under David’s guidance, drumming became the aperture that focused my energy giving me the ability to express myself physically and emotionally.
While I was not aware of it at the time, David’s drum instruction provided a playbook on how to learn. He taught me that any complex drumbeat could be broken-down into its constituent parts, practiced individually, and then put back together.
My drumming ability flourished under David’s mentorship. I slowly became a mature musician performing in my college’s wind symphony, percussion ensemble, jazz ensemble, and as a paid semi-professional gigging drummer in NYC for a decade while earning a PhD in Biology. All along the way, developing life-long relationships with other musicians and constantly learning.
Today, as a published scientist, seasoned educator, and mentor for many students, I continue to draw from my experiences with David. His positive impact on my professional and personal life cannot be understated. I’m forever grateful to my parents for seeing the immense value of David’s mentorship and for David’s kindness, patience, and unwavering support.
— Jason M. Aloisio, PhD
My first drum lesson started with Dave when I was in fourth grade, at 9 years old! He immediately inspired me to adopt great drumming habits and helped me understand the fundamentals and rudiments of drumming that helped me to progress as a musician. Not only was he a great inspiration for me musically, but he was also a sincere and genuine influence on me as a young adolescent, and helped steer me in a positive direction in life. He’s been like family to me for the 7+ years he was my instructor and will always be one of my favorite role models! I highly recommend David and forever am grateful for his impact on my life.
— Morgan Wellinger
I am a lifelong musician, my main instrument being guitar. I learned how to read music and thought my rhythm was pretty good. Taking lessons from Dave has improved my timing, musicianship, and overall feel so much - not just on drums, but on all other instruments like guitar and keyboard instruments. This has made my playing stronger and tightened up my rhythm, whether playing alone or with other musicians. He emphasizes being relaxed, which reflects in the feel of the music, and I can play for much longer now when I am not tense or hitting too hard.
He is a very methodical teacher who can take complex concepts and break them down into easy to understand, digestible pieces. Now when I look at complex sheet music, I’m not intimidated or overwhelmed anymore. I know I can break it down and play it with a little discipline and practice. He is a master of his craft, very well rounded, technically amazing while keeping great feel, he makes it look easy. His devotion to and knowledge of drums is very thorough. One listen to him whether behind the set or on the pad and you can see and hear one who has devoted many years of dedicated practice. It is always inspiring to witness and motivates you to want to practice and get to that level. I bring odd time music to him and he figures out the time signatures on the spot.
He is also just a nice guy, which is important to me. I need to vibe with my teachers, and feel comfortable with them and like them as people, not just as teachers. He lets his playing and thorough command of the instrument speak for itself, there’s no rock star attitude, ego or flakiness. Unlike some musicians I’ve known, lol… He is a very supportive, inspiring, focused, dedicated, dependable, good hearted and generous person. All of that positive energy is contagious and rubs off on you. They say you become like the people you surround yourself with. Might as well surround yourself with the best you can find, both musically and personally. If you are looking to get started on drums, or already play and are looking to take your rhythm skills and musicianship to the next level, I highly recommend taking lessons with Dave.
— Steve Youngblood
I started taking lessons with David when I was 11 years old. He has had an incredible impact on me as an instructor, mentor and later, friend. He remains one of the most significant and influential teachers I’ve had the good fortune to learn from and spend time with. From the basics of fundamentals of music and rhythm to advanced drum set playing, David made each lesson interesting and dynamic. This made me always look forward to them. He matched the enthusiasm and insatiable craving I had for learning by presenting new ideas, concepts and rhythms each week which kept me going for hours of practice and study.
He taught me valuable lessons that can be applied to both music and life, such as how to focus one’s attention on specific tasks and goals; how to manage time and discern the most important aspects of tasks; and how to be patient. The development of patience is especially valuable when it comes to learning an instrument that requires motor coordination that can literally take years to develop.
David was always super encouraging throughout all of our lessons. With a different teacher my relationship with percussion and music would surely not be what it is today, and in turn, I would be a very different person. It is my sincere hope that this testimonial reflects and represents an adequate accounting of the experience that I had with David Dreyfus. It’s rare in life to come across people of such character. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have met David at such an early age. I'd say it’s akin to winning the lottery.
— David Cipolla