Sean Herzig

I began taking lessons at age 9 with Cincinnati drummer, Shawn Elsbernd (Ringling Brother Circus) and later as a teenager with Jason Smart (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Rays Music Exchange). I graduated with a jazz studies degree from Northern Kentucky University and found myself immediately immersed and working within the Cincinnati jazz scene throughout my twenties. From 2008-2015, I led and toured regionally with the progressive rock band, Don’t Fear the Satellites. Currently I lead my own fusion/jazztronica supergroup, Live Sequence, which has featured musicians from New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Nashville, Cincinnati and beyond. Between gigging with my own groups and also being regularly active within the jazz scene, I have had the opportunity to share the stage with many renowned musicians including members from The Dave Matthews Band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The String Cheese Incident, Papadosio, Turkuaz, Cycles, Aqueous, Joe Marcinek, Brad Goode, and The Blue Wisp Big Band.

Everybody learns differently! My goal is to help guide you on your own path and find your own voice through encouragement and with efficiency. I tailor my lesson plans to the needs and interests of each student. Our sessions are supplemented with teachings from my own mentors as well my own professional experience.

I have a 3 step method that I believe anybody can use to learn ANYTHING on ANY INSTRUMENT! (this of course works especially well for drums!)

1. TAKE IT SLOW - If you are struggling to play something, chances are you are just going too fast! You may have to try things slower than you want to at first, but you end up learning faster in the end!
2. If taking it slow is still proving to be difficult, be sure you are counting! Drumming is all about rhythm and counting can keep you on track while learning. After a few passes of taking it slow and counting, I promise you will start to feel it!
3. If taking it super slow and counting doesn’t do the trick, you have find a way to simplify what you are trying to accomplish. You may have to break things down into smaller pieces and build it back up one piece at a time. It’s a process, but I promise if you follow my 3 step method, you can learn anything and you will be surprised at how quickly things can come together!

Rock – Led Zeppelin, Rush, Steely Dan

Funk – Parliament Funkadelic, Clyde Stubblefeild, Nate Smith

Jazz – Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Billy Cobham

Hiphop – J Dilla, Questlove, MF Doom

Classical – Beethoven, Wagner, Debussy

“Don’t worry ‘bout those ghost notes! Ain’t nothin but rebound! Make it sound, and feel good!” - Bernard Purdie

I began my musical journey in grade school, years after begging my parents for a drum set. I would look through Musician’s Friend catalogs and dream about piecing together my first drum set. Being a from a musical family, with my dad a guitar player, they eventually caved and got me a drum set for my 9th birthday. Soon after, I was enrolled into private lessons and continued those throughout my teenage years. I first got my feet wet playing drums jamming with my dad to Led Zeppelin!