Colin has been teaching and supporting students for over twenty years in and around the Yorkshire Dales area. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player looking to improve your skills and technique, you can be assured of a friendly and enjoyable learning experience. Many of his students have successfully completed Rockschool graded exams and have gone on to study music at GCSE, A-level and University degree level. However, achieving grades is not the only reason to learn an instrument and lessons are tailored to meet individual goals such as, learning to sing or play along to your favourite songs or playing in a group.

Lessons can be delivered at the student's home or at his studio. Fees start from £15 for 30minutes and £30 for 60minutes (travel costs and learning resources may be additional). Instrument hire is available and expert advice is offered should you decide to purchase your own equipment. In addition to drums and percussion, other instrumental tuition is available on request; Piano and Keyboard, Vocals, Bass Guitar, Music Theory and Musicianship.

Colin has a teaching certificate, CRB/ DBS check and is a member of the Musicians Union and The Federation of Small Businesses. He is involved in community music making projects and runs BlueBoxt Productions, a voluntary organisation offering opportunities to participate in all aspects of the performing arts. This includes ensemble playing in styles such as Pop/Rock, Musical Theatre, Jazz and improvisation to practical stage management, sound, lighting and events management. He runs a function band, plays in a brass band and produces community theatre and pantomime productions.

TESTIMONIALS:

"Colin has been my teacher (on drums) for nearly eight years. During this time he has never wavered in his enthusiasm and he has encouraged me to push myself to higher levels of attainment. Whatever the weather, however I’m feeling, it always cheers me up to have a bang around on the drums with Colin. He is truly an inspirational person and I appreciate everything he has done for me." (15yrs, 2014)

"Our son has benefited enormously from the quality of instruction that Colin has provided. He has enthused and challenged our son to improve and has tailored his teaching sessions to respond to our son's musical interests. Colin has given him an understanding of performance, widened his appreciation of different musical genres and equipped him with the technical skills to set up his own equipment for performance purposes." (2014)

"Colin turns every session into a fun experience. We don’t just look at a piece over and over again, we look at other pieces each lesson but learn them in a different way. Colin is a wonderful teacher who supports you while you are learning a difficult piece of music. He makes up brilliant tunes that I love playing along with and at the end of a session we do some theory." (11yrs, 2014)

"Can’t recommend highly enough. The support, advice and commitment to our son’s musical development has been outstanding. Due to his extensive knowledge and contacts our son has been able to take advantage of some fantastic opportunities at both a local and national level." (2014)

"Even though Colin makes me do a lot of practice (which I don’t like), he has made my goals easier to achieve and I am doing more than one exam per year. He makes lessons interesting and he does a variety of different exercises including playing along to contemporary songs. He is a really good teacher and much better than school ones! He’s epic." (13yrs, 2014)

Drum Lessons in Thoralby near Leyburn.

Appearances on regional TV and Radio as part of community music making activities. Recordings have included Brass Band, Choral, Musical Theatre and Pop/Rock works, often in support of local good causes.