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Hi, I’m Laurence. I am a djembe hand drum teacher with over 17 years of drumming experience and 6 years teaching. I started playing music at the age of 12 with the clarinet. I played clarinet for concert band in Junior High School and for orchestra and a 150-piece award winning marching band for Santa Monica High School. This gave me a great foundation to learn how to count in different time signatures, memorize complex classical music, play with dynamics and keep a steady tempo. I fell in love with the drum after seeing an African dance class perform. I studied traditional West African drumming for over 10 years, playing for African dance classes in the Bay Area with some of West Africa’s master drummers and dance teachers. I teach the djembe and also the dun nun drums, which are the bigger African drums that hold the bass line and are played with stick and bell. I also play other hand drums, Cajon, and various percussion and shakers. I can read classical sheet music and drum notation fluently. I teach the djembe with notated West African rhythm sheets for the accompany parts and teach solo playing by feel and call and response. I also teach multi-cultural based park rhythms. I am one of the lead drummers for Golden Gate Park drum circle in San Francisco, which I have played in for 15 years.
I have performed with numerous local bands over the years, and recently played with Mickey Hart and members of the Grateful Dead on stage for Wavy Gravy’s 75th birthday bash. I have been 19 Broadway’s Open Mic house percussionist in Fairfax for over 12 years. In addition, I also play the drum kit as I feel that all the different drums have influenced the depth of my drumming style. I teach different djembe drum styles like funk, hip-hop, and techno/Dj music. I love playing and teaching different time signatures such as 6/8, 4/4 (straight or swing style), and cut time signatures like 9/8 (3 beats per measure).
I teach at the studios at Bananas At Large, which are fully equipped with metronomes and drum kits. I can supply a student with a djembe drum for the lesson if needed and could help in purchasing a drum through the store as needed.
Here is a testimonial from one of my current students:
I have been taking African drumming classes with Laurence for almost two years, and it has been a great experience. I have never played any musical instruments before, so I was really starting from scratch. Laurence was able to provide me with a solid foundation of drum rhythms to build upon. His knowledge and skill sets in drumming are outstanding. Laurence has an ability to break down the lesson to a level where I can understand the drum parts from an entry level. Laurence has been, and still is, instrumental in my ability to learn how to drum. Laurence is able to tailor the class to his student’s needs, as he quickly understands one’s challenges and how to address them. He comes to the class with prepared material, but is always flexible to amend the lesson and/or adapt it at the student’s request. He is very patient and cares a lot about my growth musically. He always has a positive attitude and encourages his students through the learning process. My fellow students who have taken African drumming classes with African masters have said they finally have found a great teacher named Laurence that could help them make sense of it all. I would highly recommend Laurence to any level student. There are great drummers and great teachers. Laurence is both.
Jean-Pierre Lochman
Managing Director, Asset Management Technology Distributed Engineering (AMTDE)
Thank you for visiting my bio page.
Contact Laurence Polikoff
415-307-2376
lpdesigns@comcast.net
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