“Tommy is an amazing teacher and it has been a blessing to learn from him this past year. Here are just a few reasons why I appreciate him and drive out an hour each way to see him every week:
– He is a patient mentor who is experienced teaching students of all ages. I think since he works with very young children, he is also able to clearly communicate and demonstrate concepts and techniques to older students like me.
– One of the things I appreciate most about Tommy is that he is passionate about teaching. I can see it when he is genuinely excited whenever I learn a new concept or technique. As talented as he is, Tommy continues to learn, taking lessons and music writing classes. As a teacher myself, I really appreciate that and believe that is a mark of a great instructor, someone who keeps learning and growing as well.
– Tommy is always thinking of creative ways to help me improve, whether it’s by pulling the right exercise from his extensive library, or by incorporating various media. He uses technology effectively. In some cases when he didn’t have the perfect exercise, Tommy took the extra time during the week to write one out for me on the computer!
– He is multi-talented, constantly gigs, works as a drummer, band director, and is a composer. I definitely want a teacher who is actively working as a musician so he can’t be complacent about his own practice and improvement. His other experience adds valuable insight on how to play drums effectively in different situations.
– Tommy is dedicated to challenging and growing his students. He even once told me he thinks about each of his students before he goes to sleep at night!
– Tommy is also an all around great guy. He is humble, honest and vulnerable about his own struggles in how he became a professional musician. The other week he was giving me advice on how to push through failures and improve by taking risks.
– Last but not least, he is very responsible with scheduling. Tommy is a great role model who loves percussion and teaching. I highly recommend him to anyone who is looking to make the worthwhile investment in drum lessons.”
“Tommy is an excellent teacher and an amazing musician. His is my 6 year old daughter’s 2nd piano teacher / 1st drum teacher. He’s not just teaching her music skills, but also how to LOVE music, RESPECT instruments and ENJOY learning. For a musician, Tommy is very down-to-earth and makes you feel comfortable immediately. He’s also very organized with lesson plans and scheduling. His teaching style is very detail oriented. I appreciated that no matter how many keys my daughter plays wrong, Tommy never discourages her. He will let her know the parts she did right, and helps her work on the parts she did wrong. He always encourages her to work harder, helps her with her musical confidence, and challenges her to learn more. He’s super enthusiastic about drumming and piano and makes lessons a joy to take for me and my 6 year old. I can’t recommend him enough; he is a great educator, respectful, fun, well dressed and honest person.”
“My son studied the snare, drum set, and other percussion instruments under Tommy Goddard for almost 5 years. Tommy is a caring teacher, mentor, and coach as well as a consummate professional who helped my son realize his true potential. My son is currently 1st snare in his high school marching band, the lead drummer in the high school jazz band, and has received “Superior” ratings at state competitions 3 of the last 4 years. I believe a good part of my son’s success stems from the solid foundation he built studying under Tommy Goddard. According to my son, ‘Tommy is just a quality guy.’”
“For the past 3 years, my son has taken drumming and piano lessons from Tommy. He took the time to know my son and personalized lessons to meet his needs. Tommy’s patience, great sense of humor, and high expectations allowed my son to build confiendnce in himself and his potential skills. I appreciated his flexibility and open communication to facilitate my son’s lesson for the best outcome.”