James Aldrich

What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that students should not only be taught to play music, but guided towards a love and appreciation of music.  In that pursuit, I believe students ought to be taught to play music they love, not music dictated by a strict music selection.  While it is extremely important that fundamentals and concepts be taught, there is a wide variety of music to choose from to teach these topics.

What is your favorite thing about teaching music?

That moment when a student has finally achieved a goal that they’ve been working for.  Whether it’s learning your first beat on the drums, or finishing your first original song, that moment when a students eyes light up because they know they did it is priceless.

What do you expect of your students in classes/lessons?

I expect my student to arrive to a class/lesson ready to learn and stretch themselves.  I expect students to trust that if I’m teaching them something, it’s for a good reason.  I expect students to be willing to listen when I ask them to listen, and practice when I ask them to practice.  Most importantly, I expected to be prepared to love playing music!

About James

James was born and raised in Oregon. He was homeschooled all the way through high school, and graduated with bachelor’s degree in Audio Production and Music Composition from George Fox University.  During his college career college career, he studio music technology at the Contemporary Music Center in Nashville, TN.  

He has played drums since he was 9 years old, piano since he was 12 years old, and guitar and bass since he was 15 years old. He started teaching himself to produce music when he was 13 years old, and attended all of Clackamas Community College’s studio recording classes while he was in high school. 

He now works as a freelance studio and mix engineer, as well as a pro-audio consultant for churches and small venues.  One of his great passions in life is helping people of all ages learn to create and perform great music!