Ben Pham

Hello there!  My name is Ben Pham.  I am a professional musician based in Los Angeles, CA.  I've toured the U.S. and internationally as a musician and have 19 years of teaching experience. I've worked with many artists in a variety of different genres including Brook Wood (The Voice S27), Burna Boy, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Scott Bradlee's "Postmodern Jukebox on Deck", Michael Lee (The Voice Finalist), Iris Kroes (The Voice Winner), Jaron Marshall (The Black Pumas), and many more. I’ve performed at the SXSW Festival and even the Hollywood Bowl.  Having a rudimental background I have also performed on the snareline of the 2009 Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps.  Music has provided me with a multitude of opportunities and wonderful life experiences.  I love sharing my music and experiences with others, whether performing on stage, touring on the road or teaching a clinic/drum lesson.

My primary instrument is drums and I excel in teaching these following areas:

1) Hand/Foot Technique: Moeller, Push/Pull, Heel Down/Heel Up, and more

2) Improvisation: Trading 4's, 8's, Soloing, Creativity

3) Drum Set Chart Interpretation: Jazz Big Band Reading, Latin Jazz reading and other styles

4) Multiple Styles: Rock, Funk, R&B, Jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, etc.

5) All Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Pro

My secondary instruments are piano and guitar which I also teach beginner piano and guitar lessons.

I teach with these three key areas in mind: 

1) Focused and Goal Oriented:  We start with you, the student.  Where do you want your playing to be at in a few weeks from now?  A year from now?  Are you working on technique, or a song or working towards performing on a big stage?  We will start with specific and tangible goals so we have an objective and can see your progress.

2) Scaffolding:  There are a hundred and one ways to reach a destination.  However, some paths are better than others.  Scaffolding is a term in education where a teacher takes a student to a result by guiding them gradually and in a logical, easy progression.  This is the method I find most effective in seeing results in student's progress.

3) Efficient/Minimal:  Instead of learning 100 things, let's learn one thing that will enable you to play 1,001 things.  I believe efficiency and learning longlasting skills serve students more.  My goal isn't to give you a fish; I'm going to teach how to catch fish.