Experienced tutor in Drum in Oakland, Dillon offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Both my kids, now 15 and 12 have been lucky enough to get expert instruction from Dillon for the past 3 years on Marimba. The growth has been phenomenal in both of them. First it was all about technique, then he worked with them on the music that interested them. He has since added pieces that help improve their overall skills. I believe that their rampant improvement has been due to Dillon's approach to teaching music theory so that the kids have a true understanding of what's going on in the music in general. His relaxed approach and ability to connect with the kids has proved to be a valuable asset. They can't wait to go for the lessons, and never stop practicing at home. We thank Dillon for enhancing the lives of our kids.

Lesson is great and it helps out during classes at school. Sticking is needed to know when playing in a marching band, and is the basics of drumming

Dillon has been teaching our 15-year-old daughter to play jazz on the vibraphone (aka “the vibes”) for about a year now, and he has been phenomenal. He comes to our house always sporting a spectacularly cheerful disposition. He loves music, and he loves sharing it with others and helping them love it too, which is the foundation of any great music teacher.

Three specific items that make Dillon a five-star teacher in our eyes are:
1) He excels at explaining music theory — which is no easy task, in general — in such a way that the student can understand how it applies to the music they’re learning, and also how intrinsically fascinating theory can be. Some teachers make it seem like the math you’ve always hated; Dylan makes it interesting, relevant, and exciting.
2) He has a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of jazz. He could be a professor. He’s able to make connections between different songs and techniques to help the student understand concepts and to broaden out specific learnings on an individual tune into larger concepts that help the student really grow as a musician and a musical thinker.
3) He has excellent taste in music, which means that he often recommends a song for the student to learn which the student maybe hadn’t heard before, but it’s invariably a magnificent tune that you find yourself wondering “How did I no know about this tune?” And when you’re learning to play a great song, you’re even more motivated to put in the work it takes to master it. Song choice is key, and Dillon is unrivaled in this area.

Overall it has been a joy to work with Dillon for the past year, we highly recommend him, and if we could give him six stars, we would. :-)

Dillon makes one lesson feel like 15 minutes, but you learn as much as you would in an hour.

Dillon is an excellent instructor who used effective teaching techniques to help me obtain the nuance and technical skill required for the various projects that we worked on. Besides that, Dillon is friendly, funny, and personable to his students.

My 9 year old has been taking drum lessons with Dillon for 12 months and loves it! He consistently looks forward to his weekly lesson and his drum playing skills have significantly improved. Dillon personalizes his lesson plans to his students and patiently drives progress. Dillon also discusses music theory and exposes my son to different genres that he ordinarily wouldn't learn about. I highly recommend Dillon!

He does a good job finding interesting music pieces that teach you the concepts while giving you a fun groove to play with.

I have studied with him since June 2012 (when I was in kindergarten), and he was the one who introduced me to playing music. I have taken both drum-set and vibraphone lessons from him, and he is a great teacher. He explains how to do everything carefully, and makes sure that you understand the technique or exercise he is teaching you. He is very patient even when his student is distracted or interrupts him, and still gets the student to learn everything he teaches. He also helps you learn a specific style of playing that YOU want to learn (e.g. rock, jazz), and will tell you everything you need to do to master that style.

Dillon came highly recommended and he is simply amazing. He builds a trusting bond with his students and my son has developed his passion in drumming through his encouragement and expertise. We adore him!