Justin Truitt Drums & Percussion

 

Justin Truitt - An accomplished drummer, percussionist, and educator in Las Vegas who has been playing since the age of three. Justin has had the opportunity to play with many musicians and has performed nightly on the Las Vegas Strip. Justin has received two Bachelor’s degrees from UNLV with emphasis in Music Education and Classical Percussion. He recently completed his Masters of Music degree in percussion performance under the tutelage of Drs. Dean Gronemeier and Tim Jones.

As a performer, Justin has excelled in the World of Drum and Bugle Corps as well, having marched with the Phantom Regiment in 2002. That same year he became a World Champion percussionist, by winning Drum Corps International’s Individual Solo and Ensemble competition for his original composition, Dream Wave. As an educator, Justin was the Assistant Director/ Front Ensemble Specialist of the Vegas Vanguard Independent Drumline from 2004-2008. In 2006 this group won the Southern California Percussion Alliance Championships. Justin is currently the Director of Bands, Guitar and Percussion at Spring Valley High School.

Justin remains an active percussion arranger, performer and educator in the Las Vegas valley while endorsing Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Sabian Cymbals and Sticktape.com. Please visit www.justintruittmusic.com for information regarding private lessons, percussion arrangements and performance credits.

 

A Brief Description of My Teaching Style and What to Expect from the Lessons:

·         I am a skill-oriented instructor. Skills are abilities such as reading music, improvising, composing, transcribing, and performing.

·         Lessons take place in a fully equipped percussion studio or in the student's home in the locations that I travel to.

·         Lessons are ALWAYS goal-oriented. This means that students in my studio need to have goals in mind in which they want to achieve. It is my belief that every student needs to gain self motivation.

·         While I do use method books for beginning students, I am NOT a page-by-page-through-a-method-book type of instructor. Method books are great for getting acquainted with the instrument, but certainly should not be the entire subject matter of the lessons.

·         All of my students learn to read music. It is my responsibility to train my students so that they are competent and confident in all areas of music.

·         I train my students in Music Theory, Composition, and Aural Skills (pitch training). Additionally, I encourage all of my non-keyboard students to become keyboard-literate. 

·         It is my belief that there is no one pedagogy that is best for every student. While there are many concepts that work for most people, there are and always will be exceptions.

·         While my knowledge of music is quite extensive, I do not claim to know everything. When in doubt, I will use the Harvard Dictionary of Music, Teaching Percussion by Dr. Gary Cook, and other reliable sources.

·         I have no age restrictions for whom I am capable of teaching, however, for very young children I do require a parent or guardian to be present in the lessons.

·         Composition training includes serial composition as well as understanding chord function and the classical forms.

·         Aural skill training is based on relative pitch and quality recognition. These are perhaps the most important, yet overlooked, set of skills.

·         I have no affiliation with any music store or retailer. I may recommend certain stores based on personal experience, general quality of merchandise and service, fair pricing and honest return policies.

·         I have tried to anticipate the most frequently asked questions above. If you have gotten this far, you are more than likely ready to schedule your first lesson. I accept students on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call (702) 525-8648 to schedule.

***********************************************************************************

Lesson Materials:

FOR ALL DRUM AND PERCUSSION STUDENTS

1.        Manuscript Book: Spiral Bound with ten or twelve staves per page and light ink is preferred. I usually have these in stock and get them at a discount which I pass along to my students.

2.      A One-Inch 3-Ring Binder and Non-Glare Sheet Protectors.

3.       The following method books are great resources and highly recommend them.

 

• Stick Control: For the Snare Drummer by George Lawrence Stone
• Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer (Ted Reed) by Ted Reed
• Alfred's Drum Method, Book 1 (Alfred Drum Method) by Sandy Feldstein and Dave Black
• Advanced Funk Studies: Creative Patterns for the Advanced Drummer by Rick Latham
• Groove Essentials - The Play-Along : A Complete Groove Encyclopedia for the 21st Century Drummer by Tommy Igoe
• The Art of Bop Drumming (Book & CD) (Manhattan Music Publications) by John Riley and Dan Thress

·         The Rudimental Cookbook : A Collection of 25 State of the Art Rudimental Snare Drum Solos and Developmental by Edward Freytag

·         Modern School for Xylophone, Marimba and Vibraphone by Morris Goldenberg

·         Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer Vol. 1 (Coordinated Independence as Applied to Jazz & Be-Bop) by Jim Chapin

By clicking the titles above you are re-directed to amazon.com.

***********************************************************************************

IMPORTANT!

If you have not yet purchased an instrument, here are some tips:

All Instruments:

·         If you can buy it at Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, or the like, you do NOT want it! Go to a Pro Shop (such as Guitar Center, Sam Ash, Kessler & Sons, or the like) and get an instrument that will allow you to succeed! They do not cost that much more.

Drums and Percussion Recommended Equipment

·         Practice Pad: Vic Firth Heavy Hitter Slimpad (HHPSL)

·         Sticks: Vic Firth – HD4, 5A, & SD1 General’s are recommended.

·         Brushes: Vic Firth – Jazz Brush WB

·         Keyboard Mallets: Vic Firth – Virtuoso Series M212, M213 (one pair each)

·         Timpani Mallets: Vic Firth – T1 General     

·         Ear Protection: Drums are loud! I have encountered countless number of drummers with poor hearing from years of a snare drum pounding their ears. I recommend ear plugs and/or rifle-range headphones while practicing. It will make a huge difference down the road!

 

***********************************************************************************

LESSON AND CANCELLATION POLICY!

·         Common Courtesy is expected. Please arrive promptly at your lesson's starting time. Not early, not late.

·         Email cancellations are accepted 48 hours prior to the lesson start-time. I will return an email cancellation. If you do not receive a return email, please call.

·         Telephone Cancellations are accepted until 12pm on the day of the lesson, or at least 90 minutes prior to the beginning lesson.

·         Late cancellations are subject to a late cancellation fee equaling half of the lesson's price.

·         No-Call, No-Show is not tolerated. 

·         Payment is expected at the beginning of the lesson by cash or personal check. $10-15 fee for checks returned NSF to cover my bank's fee. Non-payment, unresolved NSF may be turned over to collection and students agree to pay the collection fee in addition to the amount owed.

·         I will typically not answer the phone while with a student. If you call between 12pm and 9pm and I do not answer, I am most likely with a student. Please leave a message and I will return your call on my next break. Be sure to let me know how late your call may be returned. If I do not call back, feel free to try again.

·         Moms and Dads are always welcome to attend their child's lesson and are strongly encouraged to attend at least the first lesson. For children under 8, a parent or guardian is required to be at each lesson.