Private Lessons
Carol
Carol is a proud graduate of Berklee College of Music, with 20+ years of experience in piano performance since the age of 5yrs old, when she fell in love with the instrument.
As a classically-trained musician, Carol has performed in numerous piano competitions, recitals, and show productions over the years - most notably at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, as the reward for being a first prize winner in an international piano competition. During her time at Berklee, she studied music composition, arrangement, and production, while keeping active in the performance scene and playing across a variety of different styles and genres such as pop, R&B, rock, jazz, and film/game music.
As a lifelong student, Carol understands the importance of providing an open and engaging learning environment, where new students can develop a strong basic technique to strengthen their abilities in performing all the music they would like to learn. She loves to share all her knowledge regarding piano performance and music creation with young, aspiring musicians, and making genuine connections through music!
Friday at Join The Band
Saturday at Join The Band
Taylor W
Parent Google Review R Leflore 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
" Taylor is so patient and inspirational with my daughter, he is such an amazing teacher! My daughter looks forward to her lesson every week and is advancing all the time! Thank you Taylor and Join the Band for all the music!"
Taylor is a diverse instructor, exploring the language of music as a producer, composer and educator. Being a proud graduate from the USC Thornton School of Music, Taylor has studied multiple instruments, arrangement and composition, and has had over 4 years of experience as an educator.
His eclectic insight has resulted in various approaches unique to his students and their creative ideas. Drawing from all of these experiences Taylor brings a unique approach to teaching to share his love for music.
Parent Google Reviews:
S Troyan 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Taylor has really helped our son find his voice. He loves his one on one sessions with him. It really helps him fine tune the songs he performs with his band."
Monday at Join The Band
Tuesday at Join The Band
Wednesday at Join The Band
Thursday at Join The Band
Tommy
Parent Google Review: E Sugarman
"We love drum lessons with Tommy at JTB Sherman Oaks! Our six year old says he “likes his really good drumming skills and I like the way he teaches me”. Very grateful for his patience and support of our kiddo!" ❤️
From the owner: J Mizenko
"I have known Tommy for over 15 years.. He participated in the Join The Band band program as a young drummer. He was always a hard worker and well-prepared. We are super excited to have Tommy on our teaching staff.
Tommy is a professional drummer and a USC Thornton School of Music graduate. A lifelong Los Angeles resident, he has been drumming for over 15 years, quickly falling in love with the instrument at age 8. Tommy has experience with students of all ages as an instructor, consistently motivating them to reach their potential with his enthusiastic teaching style and infectious passion for music. Aside from teaching, he can be found performing throughout the LA area for various artists, specializing in genres such as rock, pop, and R&B.
Tuesday at Join The Band
Pete
Parent Google Review: R Leflore 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"...My daughter looks forward to her lesson every week and is advancing all the time! Pete is amazing, my 14 year old loves her guitar lessons. Thank you Pete and Join the Band for all the music!
Pete acquired his Bachelor of Science Music Major at Mercy College and The Westchester Conservatory of Music
With over 20 years of teaching, and real-world professional guitar playing experience, Pete can tailor a lesson
plan just for you.
Pete excels with beginners to bring them up to their first performance, helping a teenager play
in their first band, preparing a student for music college, or simply playing at a level that they’re
happy with.
Pete is committed to helping guitar students learn and enjoy the process of learning, and finds it extremely gratifying to guide them through the process and help them reach their goals.
Monday at Join The Band
Saturday at Join The Band
Zak
Parent Google Review: J Marcus 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Zak is an absolutely amazing drum teacher. He is patient, inspiring, and my son just adores him. He is a class act, and while we live around the corner from the school, I would travel miles for my son to have classes with Zak! We are so fortunate and lucky to have found him."
Zak is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a degree in Jazz Performance.
With his students, he inspires passion and excitement by teaching them how to play their favorite songs while also focusing on important fundamentals like grip, approach, rudiments, and musicality.
Teaching is enjoyable for him because he loves seeing students overcome challenges and the excitement they get from becoming a drummer!
Monday at Join The Band
Wednesday at Join The Band
Thursday at Join The Band
Friday at Join The Band
Bianca
Voice, Piano, and Ukulele
Student Google Review: A Suero. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"A special shout out to Bianca for being such a patient, encouraging, holistic vocal teacher. She is very passionate about singing and proper technique, I can't wait to get started working on our songs together!"
Bianca's passion for teaching and music started at a young age when she began training at 12yrs old. Bianca believes that music is good for both the mind and the soul and that everyone at any age should have fun with it. Seeing her students blossom at their craft is what Bianca lives for.
Bianca graduated from the Musician's Institute, where she received a Bachelor's in Vocal Performance in Contemporary Styles. Prior to MI Bianca trained for six years at the El Paso Conservatory of Music in classical music and was a proud teen member of a professional, touring, all-girls choir.
Voice: Bianca has over ten years of training in classical, musical theater, and all contemporary styles. Vocal technique is one of her favorite things to teach. Bianca strives for her students to become versatile, well-educated musicians.
Piano: Bianca has been playing piano and singing since she was a toddler. Bianca considers herself a music theory buff and likes to weave it into all of her lessons.
Ukulele: Bianca has been playing the ukulele since high school and accompanies herself on the ukulele for her solo vocal performances.
Monday at Join The Band
Tuesday at Join The Band
Wednesday at Join The Band
Thursday at Join The Band
David S
Parent Google Review: P Duca 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"We LOVE Join The Band!!
Our son has done the band program, which is amazing and also takes guitar lessons from David S. ...David’s love of teaching shines bright and it's clear that he has a genuine interest in our sons development which we appreciate very much. His support, encouragement and enthusiasm means to world to our family. My son loves his lessons with David because he's "fun and teaches me lots of new things.”
Thank you David and JTB!"
David Shorr is an enthusiastic guitar teacher with over 10 years of experience. David received his Bachelor of Music from the Jazz Studies program at Cal State University Northridge where he studied guitar with Larry Koonse (Seth McFarlane, Karrin Allyson, Tierney Sutton, Billy Childs, etc).
David's teaching style can be described as structured, rewarding, and most of all, fun! In addition to teaching students how to play their favorite songs, David also makes use of various method books to give all his students a strong foundation in reading music notation and guitar fundamentals.
Whether your interest is electric rock guitar shredding, folk acoustic strumming, jazz and improvisation, or even classical guitar technique, and everything in between, David can help you achieve. David's absolute favorite thing about teaching is seeing the pride in a student's face when they nail something they've been working really hard on!
As a professional musician, David's experience has taken him from stage to screen performing with acts such as Postmodern Jukebox, on TV shows like The Comedians (Billy Crystal and Josh Gadd – live to tape performance), Jane the Virgin (on camera performance), Deadwood (2019 movie – on camera performance). David has also recorded guitar on various short films and games with industry greats like video game composer Austin Wintory.
Tuesday at Join The Band
Wednesday at Join The Band
Friday at Join The Band
Rosh
Education is a gift that was handed to me by my teachers. It's a honor that I carry education forward with my students. The relationship between a student and a teacher is one of mutual reciprocation: all teachers learn as they teach.
Professional Studies : Musician's Institute, Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance.
Rosh is a guitarist, drummer, engineer and producer and has worked with Def Leppard, Maroon 5, Melissa Etheridge, Steve Vai, Dweezil Zappa, Papa Roach, A Perfect Circle, Bush, NOFX and more. Rosh specializes in instrument fundamentals, and technique that works in real-world applications such as live performances and studio recording. Rosh has traveled the world and played everywhere from pit orchestras, to million-dollar studios to arenas and he brings his experience to education by paring down complicated, confusing, music education to first principles for students of all skill levels.
Monday at Join The Band
Ryan
Student Google Review: M Meme 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Thank you Ryan for being such a great teacher! Band is always so much fun and i don’t feel pressured or worried about not being perfect in band class. You never get mad when i screw up and are always super nice about correcting me. Thank you for all the support and confidence boosters it really does help my self esteem and helps me improve as a musician."
If you identify with our Four Fathers (John, Paul, George, and Ringo), look no further. Young ZZ Top lookalike and British rock-n-roll enthusiast, Ryan, has been teaching at Join the Band for almost 20 years. He is a guitar teacher, band leader, and songwriting coach specializing in alternative, pop, and classic rock.
From winning the John Lennon Songwriting Contest at age 14, to touring the globe and recording with his own band, he is here to share his book of knowledge.
In addition to his life experiences on the road and studio, Ryan also brings a schooled background with a degree in music from Cal State Northridge.
With a combination of structure and self-discovery, Ryan will help guide you to find your own unique style.
Monday at Join The Band
Taylor M
Parent Google Review: K Clayton 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Our son enjoys studying with Taylor a lot. He started with Taylor when he was 9. We took a break and when he we picked up again our son said he only wanted to continue studying if he could work with Taylor. We love that Taylor focuses on basic techniques while giving our son the option to learn tunes he is interested in learning. He communicates well and is good about following up with assignments."
Taylor is a drummer, composer and producer from Los Angeles and holds a Bachelors Degree in Contemporary Writing and Production from Berklee College of Music. He began playing drums at the age of 7 and was exposed to a wide variety of music from Jimi Hendrix to Miles Davis.
He has been teaching drum lessons for over ten years and has been with Join The Band for over eight years now.
Taylor has taught students ranging in age from five to seventy years old. His goal is to personalize lesson plans based on the student’s musical interest, while still covering the fundamentals of drumming.
Monday at Join The Band
Dan
“Rhythm is an innately human phenomenon, and our mission as drummers is simple: to make people dance and spread joy.” - Dan
A native of Connecticut, Dan has been playing drums and percussion for 15 years.
After first taking an interest in rock drumming in his early teens, Dan developed his jazz and world percussion backgrounds throughout his schooling at Georgetown University, and has taught private lessons for both drum set and hand drums for the last five years.
Embracing all styles of drumming, Dan has performed up and down the Eastern seaboard with groups ranging in genre from jazz to neo-soul, R&B, country and folk, Afro-Latin, classic rock, and hip-hop. His goal is to help students young and old on their own journey of self-expression and enhance their relationship with music through patience and perseverance.
Tuesday at Join The Band
Wednesday at Join The Band
David F
Student Google Review: C Margolis 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"David!! You are a fabulous teacher and an even more fabulous person! Your unwavering support and compassion is unmatched. You are so appreciated and loved by all your students, including me!"
David is a master guitar teacher who has been with JTB for over fifteen years and brings fifty years of teaching experience to the table. Comfortable with students of all ages and levels, David will create a custom lesson plan just for you.
David is a seasoned jazz, bluegrass, blues, and rock guitarist. Finger-style jazz (Chet Atkins) is one of his specialties. In addition to guitar, David also excels on the banjo, mandolin, and ukulele.
Many of David’s students have gone on to study music in college and pursue music careers. It is not uncommon for college grads to resume their lessons with David. He has current students who have been studying with him for 15+ years!
Tuesday at Join The Band
Wednesday at Join The Band
Natalie
Parent Google Review: G McCarthy 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"We have been going to Natalie for piano lessons for about 6 months and she is wonderful with our 6-year-old Jack. Jack is enthusiastic about his lessons. Natalie is patient and encouraging…everything you want when learning an instrument!"
Natalie is so excited to be teaching piano and voice at Join The Band! She has taught musical theatre for eight years, and individualized piano and voice lessons for six. She’s studied vocal techniques under well-equipped Broadway singers, accompanied musicals, composed musicals, and even accompanied musical theatre improv.
Natalie is well-versed in rock and improvisational piano, Broadway piano, and classical piano. She has worked with hundreds of individual students over the years, and focuses to provide a safe and supportive space for each student to create and practice. She is committed to help you reach your full potential as a musician and to find the uniqueness in each person’s individual musicianship
Tuesday at Join The Band
Wednesday at Join The Band
Thursday at Join The Band
Friday at Join The Band
Saturday at Join The Band
Terrance
Parent Google Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ B Blount
"Terrance has been teaching my son (9) drum for the past couple of months, and we have been so impressed with the range of material he brings to each lesson (everything from Rock to Reggae to New Orleans jazz). As a result, Becket looks forward to every Saturday and thoroughly enjoys his time at JTB. Terrance is amazing!"
"Teaching drums is a beautiful journey because it helps others reach their potential and exceed their expectations.” - Terrance
As a teacher Terrance understands the importance of patience, diligence, compassion, and relatability. He also teaches the importance of proper technique, drumming fundamentals, playing by ear, and the anticipated goals of each student.
Being well versed in a variety of styles including gospel, funk, R&B, classic rock, jazz, and hip hop also expands his value a drum teacher here at Join The Band.
Terrance is a proud Los Angeles native who began playing drums at three years old, gaining early experience playing in church. His music journey would broaden at Cerritos College, studying Commercial Music, then transferring to California Baptist University to study Music for Worship and Ministry, attaining both Bachelor's and Master's degrees.
Saturday at Join The Band
Michael
Parent/Student Google Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Vattano
"Michael is a really great teacher and I have learned a lot in his class. Besides his great teaching skills he also has a great personality and good sense of humor! Jammin out with hi is the best - S Vattano"
Michael is a guitarist and gifted singer/songwriter who believes that the power of expression through music is something everyone should experience. He makes learning music fun by focusing on the goals and needs of each individual student.
Michael attended the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and graduated from Idywild Arts Academy.
As a songwriter, Michael has developed a deep appreciation and passion for individuality and creativity in music.
No genre or style of music is off the table for Michael. His playing is strongly influenced by Rock’n’Roll, R&B, and jazz, but he is also comfortable with country and folk styles, and even classical Indian styles.
Thursday at Join The Band
Saturday at Join The Band
Carlos
Voice and Piano
Parent Google Review From Claudia F. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Carlos is AWESOME! He is fun kind and talented! My kids look forward to his lesson every week!"
Carlos...
"It's an amazing moment when students start believing in their hard work and talent." -
Carlos's goal in teaching is to ensure that his voice and piano students feel confident. Whether it's singing in a room full of strangers or rocking on the keyboard, Carlos emphasizes that music is universal, and it should be an experience for performers and audience members. To achieve a good experience, Carlos focuses on proper technique, foundational knowledge, and goal-setting.
As a performer, Carlos has experience in pop, musical theatre, and classical opera. He has participated in shows such as "The Drowsy Chaperone" in Houston and "Dido and Aeneas" in Japan. He strives to instill confidence, expression, and knowledge in all his students whether it is for voice, piano, or composition.
Originally born in Puerto Rico, Carlos's youth was split between Chicago and Houston, the latter of which he calls home. With his knowledge of music composition, Carlos has composed for films and video games around the world including in the U.S, England, Italy, and Canada.