Melisa is a fantastic drum teacher. She really understands the fundamentals of drumming and knows how to communicate them clearly. She sets a great pace that keeps me motivated without feeling lost. If you're looking for a teacher who truly understands how to build a drummer from the ground up, Melisa is the one. I've seen huge improvements in my playing thanks to her guidance. read more

Melissa is an amazing drum teacher. She explains everything really well and each class builds upon the last. I was worried about it being online but it works just fine. If you're interested in learning how to play the drums she's the best 10/10 read more

Fun and convenient. As with anything new, it can be intimidating and cause for anxiety. Not to worry, Melissa understands the needs of a new learner and will ensure lessons are approached with your individual needs in mind. Melissa is supportive, fun and a true professional. Additionally, lessons are scheduled at your convenience and flexible should you need to reschedule. read more

Melisa's great!! I'm a big time beginner and having a lot of fun. She pushes you along at a good rate, is very encouraging (but not coddling), and makes it fun to practice. I've taken two lessons online and am really happy with how it's going. She's organized and professional and I look forward to the lessons. read more

Melisa is a very badass, encouraging, flexible, and knowledgeable instructor. I used to take lessons in person and transitioned to virtual lessons. She tailors lessons to what I want to learn and songs I want to play. She mixes that in with technique and exposes me to different styles of drumming. I also like that we sometimes go back and revisit old content to see how far I've progressed! I've been with her for about a year and a half now. Highly recommend. read more

Melissa is a badass drummer and an awesome teacher! We've been working together for about two months and I've learned so much in a short amount of time. She is super patient, down to earth, and knows her sh*t. We recently switched to virtual lessons, which have been going surprisingly well. I was a bit skeptical of how virtual lessons would work, but honestly it's been great! It's more convenient for both of us and even on Zoom, she doesn't miss a beat (pun intended). If you are new to drums like me and looking for a fun and smart teacher, I highly recommend Melissa! read more

Melissa is the s*it, hands down. Honestly one of the best coaches/teachers I've ever had; she's incredibly patient, funny, personable and pushes you. I love that she's teaching me theory + technical skill vs just basics. I highlllyyyyy recommend her! BOOK THE LESSONS ALREADY! read more

Melissa is a great drum instructor, after only 3 lessons I felt like I had been playing for months. She has great energy and is super passionate about all things music. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for useful 1 on 1 drum lessons. read more

Melissa is a great drum instructor and a super cool human. I've always wanted to learn to play the drums and am so glad that I found her. It's intimidating learning anything new and so great to find someone who can make you feel comfortable through the process. I really appreciate that she's not judgmental and is patient, kind, fun, and so talented. One of my favorite parts of the lesson is when she shows me how it's done - she's inspiring and seriously rocks. I also appreciate that she's teaching me all the fundamentals I'll need so that I can learn how to play all my favorite songs. read more

I HIGHLY recommend taking drum lessons with Melissa. She's an incredible teacher and brilliant drummer. I always wanted to play drums and finally started lessons with Melissa a year ago and I can't believe how much I've learned--It's truly been a dream come true. I'm confident you'll learn from her at any level you're at- complete beginner like me or advanced. I love her focus on fundamentals and technique with her ethos around being able to make adaptations and creative choices. She's so knowledgeable and teaches different drumming styles and her lessons have been such a positive, creative enjoyable process. A few months into lessons, I mentioned a song I'd been listening to and she said let's listen to it here in the lesson and try drumming to it- she showed me some ideas and then said just try some of your own ideas intuitively and it was SO exciting!! I feel more and more confident the more I work with her. I did some lessons in person and have been doing them virtually too and it's all amazing. I love it and highly recommend! read more

Melissa is an awesome drum teacher. I've been taking lessons with her for 4 months and am surprised at how far I've come in such a short period of time. Aside from her patience and seemingly boundless energy, she's also just a great human who I like spending time with weekly. Definitely recommend Melissa for anyone interested in learning / improving their skills on the drums! read more

Melissa is an incredible teacher!! I started lessons with a very limited background in music and she has made learning enjoyable and easy to grasp. She has an incredible knowledge of music that she is so willing to share. In addition she's super personable which makes going to lessons fun. The hour goes by quickly and I always look forward to the next week of lessons! Also best part of lessons is when she shows you how it's actually supposed to sound too haha. I'm always in awe of her abilities as a drummer. Highly recommend! read more

Melissa is a great instructor. She's encouraging, patient and explains everything thoroughly. Whether you're a beginner or experienced, a slow learner or pick things up quickly she's focused and ready to help you. I couldn't recommend her more! read more

I have been wanting to learn how to play the drums the right way and have fun at the same time . . I am so blessed and happy that I found Melisa! A good teacher is one who can impart their knowledge ( Melisa is indeed knowledgeable! ) to their student effectively and make the lessons interesting and fun at the same time -- this is what I get from my lessons with Melisa! She is definitely a good find!! read more

A few months ago I decided to pick up the drums and take lessons. I randomly found Melissa and I am so grateful that I did. Outside the world of drums, Melissa is simply a great teacher, she is so patient and encouraging. She is kind and funny, and her attitude toward the drums is contagious. In the drumming world, Melissa knows her shit and you can tell. Just thinking about her knowledge of the instrument makes me want to practice all day and keep learning from her. I've taken 8 or so lessons now and there is never a dull moment. I really feel myself improving tons and its the most rewarding thing. There is a reason everyone gives her the best reviews. Hands down best drum teacher there is. read more

I have been wanting to learn how to play the drums since middle school! But never found the time or a convenient place to take lessons. I found Melissa on Yelp. Her studio is 5 minutes drive from my office. I left her a message and we scheduled our first class for the next day! So far it's been such a great experience. She is experienced with beginners and teaches the essential techniques in a very straightforward way. But we also have a lot of fun with improving and working on songs. I have been going to her every other week for the past 2.5 months and I can already play something with background music on! In fact, when I played that particular song at church, my friends were extremely surprised at how far I have gone. I would recommend Melissa to anyone who wants to learn or improve their drumming skills. read more

Thank you Melissa for letting me smooth my musical itch again. Melissa is amazing talented and make the lessons go by too quickly! I love learning from her and I cant wait to improve more and more every week. Thanks, Melissa! read more

I started seeing Melissa right before the pandemic and I can say that her studio space was a great place to start practicing. She is very focused on your technique and what you can work on during your play. I had since seen Melissa many times over Skype for lessons, once we had a stay-at-home order and continued on skype even after it went back to businesses reopening. I created a mockup layout at home that would allow enough room for her to view my drumming practice, and again she was able to identify areas where I was going too fast, beats I was missing and areas to strengthen. She's a really down-to-earth, friendly, and solid professional instructor and honestly I could not have been happier that I found her services out of all the other places out there that seem less personally-focused. She's a very gifted musician (she also plays a mean guitar). read more

Melissa is Positive and Encouraging. She gave me easy steps to move forward and kept a rewarding attitude.

I would recommend Melissa as a drum teacher to anyone looking to learn a lot and enjoy their weekly lesson! I am a beginner, only started a little over a month ago and have already learned more and improved more than I thought I could! Melissa exceeded my expectations. She is very easygoing, straightforward, and down to earth, which makes it much easier to pick up on her lessons. She will take her time with you, especially when you have questions, but knows when to amp up the pace and push you harder. That is something I really appreciate in a teacher. Not to mention... she's an killer drummer! Those are just a few of the positive things I could say about Melissa. Give her a shot! read more

I've been taking classes with Melissa for a while now. I go once every week. In my case, I started as a beginner with very little experience with drums but some experience with other instrument. Melissa was really professional and helpful but at the same time not intimidating and friendly. The class is chill. She really takes time to explain the techniques and remind students the importance of the basics. So far, I learnt a lot, but still have a lot to learn. I always look forward going to class cuz even if I didn't practice the basics due to busy schedule, she'll let me play rhythms with music. It stress-relieving for me just to be able to play the drums. Scheduling is also flexible. If you can't make it to class, you can reschedule latest the morning the day of. She's not forceful and really nice. I would totally recommend her any day to someone who wants to learn drums or advance their skill. Melissa went to music school and is traditionally trained in many genre. If you learn from her you'll enjoy it at the same time and learn a new skill. read more

Melissa is fantastic! I'm completely new to the drums and she's taught me so much in just a few months. She does a great job of explaining the fundamentals while also making each lesson challenging and exciting. I was intimidated to start at first, but her patience and infectious love the instrument makes you look forward to each class. Couldn't recommend her more!! read more

Melissa is the best! I'm so glad that I found her. I am not a musician and just started taking drum lessons for fun. She's so great at teaching the basics but moving you along at a pace that is comfortable but still challenging. She's encouraging and just fun to be around! I couldn't recommend a better person. I'm super happy with her and think you will be too! read more

I've taken two lessons now with Melissa and I have to say I could not be happier. Learning a new instrument at 26 seems daunting but Melissa put me right at ease and is very encouraging. I'm so surprised how much I've learned in only two lessons!! She is very patient and is great to pal around with. I don't feel like I'm going to get a drumstick to the knuckles if I mess up! :) She is super funny and down to earth and is really hands on. The hour flies by so quickly and I always feel like I want to keep going! Thanks Melissa!!! read more

I decided to finally get some professional drum lessons, even though I am a working adult. So, I made contact with Melissa. Setting up an appointment was a breeze, and I am glad I did it because Melissa is a great instructor! So far, Melissa has helped me improve my technique and learn how to read sheet music. She answers any doubts or questions I have during the lesson. And her energy reinforces my interest for the drums. So if you are in the market. Check out Melissa Drum Lessons read more

I started drum lessons with Melissa almost two years ago and was a complete novice when I began. I'd never played any instrument at all and was a little intimidated by learning. Melissa put me at ease from the very first lesson. She's really well trained and knowledgeable but also patient, fun, and willing to meet you at your skill level. She helped me find ways to practice until I was able to upgrade to an electronic drum set. Any song I've wanted to learn, she's found a way to teach me. She's challenged me to work on songs I didn't think I would ever be able to play. I never expected that after less than two years of lessons I would be reading music and playing entire songs. Melissa is the best! read more

Melissa is fantastic! She's very encouraging, positive, and makes the drums super approachable. She's excellent at providing constructive criticism, so you always feel like she's invested in your improvement and never like you're doing a bad job. She makes sure that I'm always pushing myself but keeps it from ever feeling overwhelming. Overall an excellent teacher! I started taking drum lessons to expand my understanding as a composer and figured I'd only come for a couple of months, but now I am thinking I want to continue, because Melissa makes drumming feel so rewarding. Absolutely contact Melissa if you want drum lessons! read more

she is the best. you'll learn the whole enchilada of drums. worth every penny. shes is dedicated in her craft and takes the time to make you understand every piece of the drums. thank you for being the best read more

She is good drum teacher. She always gives lots of stuff to do(which is good) she honest and she knows how to teach .she will teach u how to sound good . so far so good. i hope it always gonna be like that:) read more

Melissa is amazing! I've wanted to learn drums for a long time but now I know why I waited...to find the perfect teacher. Not everyone who has a skill can also teach that skill to someone else. But Melissa is both a kick ass drummer and a fantastic teacher. I had zero drum skills. I didn't even know how to properly hold drum sticks! But she led me through lessons one by one - each building on the previous - in a way that allowed me to quickly build my confidence. I was playing simple songs by my fifth lesson. And she continues to add more skills for me to practice each time. It's never been overwhelming. Every week I look forward to my lesson because Melissa makes it so fun and easy! read more

Melissa is an incredible teacher and seriously badass drummer and musician. I have been taking lessons with her for a couple of months now and am beyond shocked by how far I have come as a drummer. Melissa breaks everything down in an understandable and non-intimidating way. Not only have I learned a TON, I also am having fun and look forward to my lessons every week. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone who has the itch to try learning drums for the first time or wants to improve their skills. -B read more

I've been learning drums from Melissa for a few months now, she is very warm and personable, and I'm thoroughly enjoying her mixture of challenging technique skills versus fun stuff like learning songs. I feel like I've come a long way so far and I'm very satisfied with my experience. Will hopefully be learning from Melissa for a while! read more

I went to Melissa after having 15 years away from drumming. I needed to get up to speed quickly for a new band. She got me back in my groove quickly. Getting rid of some bad habits and improving my technique. She explains it and runs through things in such a way you pick it up quickly. I am proof she can teach an old dog new tricks. read more

I've been taking lessons with Melissa for almost 3 months now and have already learned so much! I'm a beginner and had originally tried teaching myself, but had not appreciated how incredibly important it is to have a great teacher like Melissa to watch and guide you as you develop your technique. With Melissa's help, I was able to quickly iron out bad form and understand what it takes to play an acoustic kit properly (I was previously trying to teach myself with an electronic kit). There are so many subtleties to playing with stick grip, proper arm/wrist motion to maximize stick speed and control bounce, properly executing different types of strokes, dynamics, accents, hi-hat work, independence, moving around the kit fluidly etc. that I hadn't appreciated before working with Melissa. She keeps the lessons interesting throughout and is very open/willing to work with your goals. Best of all, she has a seemingly endless amount of exercises that continually develop all of these elements. She even prints them out for you to take home so you always have a ton of material to practice and can keep working on your technique. Highly recommend hitting her up for some lessons! read more

Melissa is a great teacher. I taught myself how to play the drums a few years ago, but I feel like I've learned more in a month with Melissa than in the last few years combined. She explains things clearly and if you put in the work and do the exercises she tells you, you will definitely get a lot better! read more

Melissa is seriously awesome! I've never played drums before, but as an adult always thought I'd love to pick it up as a hobby and had been talking about doing so for years. I used yelp and luckily came across reviews from Melissa's time teaching up in SF which were all positive so I booked a lesson and so glad I did. Melissa is super passionate about the drums (and music in general since she plays multiple instruments) and she's a great teacher. Very patient, knows how to push you when you need it but very realistic in terms of expectations. I've been taking lessons for a few months and feel like I've learned more than I ever could have in a group class and she does a good mix of technique with actually playing on the full set. I'd definitely recommend her to anyone looking to pick up the drums from scratch or continue their progression as she's definitely not just for beginners. read more

We love Melissa and want everyone to know how amazing she is! My ten year old is just learning - I have never seen him more excited about anything (including Minecraft!). Melissa makes it fun AND provides the proper instruction. Her method and personality make it so that I want to learn too! A great, talented teacher! So happy we found her. read more

My 7 year daughter takes drum lessons with Melissa and she absolutely loves it. Melissa is a fantastic teacher! She makes lessons so fun that my daughter can't wait to go back and looks forwards to practicing everyday! read more

11/10 review!! Melissa is the best drums teacher ever. I found her literally at random (by googling female drum teachers near me, and she was one of the first to pop up). I was an idiot and accidentally wrote down the wrong time for my first lesson, and even though I wasted her time and messed up big time-- she gave me a first time pass and let me have a lesson the next day. She is strict and regimented in her lessons, but keeps it playful and light. It was truly a gift, meeting Melissa, and I wish the best for her forever!!!! Honestly when she came into my life, I was in such a low place and desperately needed Music. Not only did she give me access to it /a space to explore a new instrument, but she was there for me on a friendship level-- chatting about life with me as well. To give you a quick example of how amazing she is....I didn't even know what the pieces on a drum set were called, let alone form, and she worked patiently with me to lock in the basics. On top if that, I learned many beats and can now play along with many songs (and even improvise songs we haven't tried). She understands that you're a human being and works with you, to help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. I can only imagine her guitar lessons are just the same level of rigor and fun, given the fact that she loves playing the guitar. When we were in the lessons together we were laughing and playing each time...i looked forward to them every week. I was soooo sad to lose her as an in person teacher when I decided to move out of Los Angeles!! But I'm hoping to take her up on remote lessons once I have the funds again. read more

I found Melissa on Yelp recently and it has been a great time learning the drums from her. Not only is she passionate about drums and music, she is also great at teaching it! As a beginner, I find Melissa's teaching very easy to understand. She spends time focusing on the basic techniques and patiently explains how these techniques, though seemingly trivial, are very important foundations to excellent drum-playing. She tailors each lesson to my progress and is not afraid to correct me in an encouraging manner. Each lesson is also filled with much laughter because of her fun personality. Every week I am eager to go back to her lessons. I highly recommend Melissa! Whether you're a beginner or an experienced drummer, Melissa can take you to the next level! read more