Ned has a way of teaching that is fluid and adaptable. Not every student is alike and he doesnt cookie cutter his lessons. He seems to adapt to your learning style where appropriate while maintaining the fundamentals of proper technique. And very little gets past his eagle eyes. He is quick to praise when you do well and quick to correct poor technique so it doesnt turn into a habit. All in a way that is easygoing and friendly and with humor. I feel great during and after our lesson even when I havent practiced enough during the week, and we laugh at least a dozen times! No matter how old you are, or your experience level Ned will help you become a better drummer. Uh-one, uh-two, uh-three.

Ned is one of the most amazing music educators Ive come across. My daughter has taken lessons (guitar and piano) from various musicians and has not been as inspired and motivated as she is with her drum lessons. The key is his understanding of the student and ability to engage them in interesting lessons from day 1. 1 1/2 into it, she does not want to miss a lesson.

I highly recommend Ned for anyone, young or old, who wishes to improve one’s drums skills. Two years ago I was approached by a neighbor who needed a drummer for their band. I spent a year trying to learn on my own, but just didnt progress, other than develop bad habits. Found Ned and what a difference an experienced instructor makes. Through Ned’s traditional and custom drills, and open-mindedness to help with rhythms and beats that I have particular needs for, I have made considerable progress. I look forward to learning much more from Ned!!

Simply a great person. Not only an outstanding drum teacher but an excellent mentor. He will inspire you to reach beyond all limits. I would consider him one of the best life coaches in my sons life. He is now 23 and Ned has been a huge influence since my son was 14! I couldnt have asked for a better teacher in life.

Great teacher!! My 5 years old really enjoy his lessons. Ned is very patient, has fun techniques to get my son excited and eager to learn. His methods even taught me how to get involved and encourage my son to work hard. He always send us “homeworks” that teach us how to read notes and let us progress at our own pace. What my son loves the most about his lessons is that Ned let him play songs that he likes along with regular lessons, making it even more fun. Highly recommend.

As an adult pianist with no drumming experience, Ned has been very encouraging while teaching me the basics with great patience. He is a talented musician knowledgable in many musical genres and individualizes lessons according to my interests and ability. Ned makes learning fun and his enthusiasm for drumming is contagious and inspires me to work hard. He is careful about proper technique to prevent injuries which is often neglected in music lessons. I have seen him working with skilled students as well as those with special needs, and I am impressed by how caring and invested he is in his students growth. Teaching is his passion to share his love for drums, not just a job. If you are looking for an experienced drum teacher with a friendly and engaging teaching style, Ned is the guy.

Ned has been a fantastic drum teacher for our young daughter! he can teach at any level. If you are a pro or a beginner he can get you to where you want to be playing. I have seen a young brother and sister in his studio and due to the little girl having a conflicting schedule the father took her spot and was overjoyed to be doing so. It is never to late to learn how to play drums! And being a musician myself I can tell you that having a little something extra in life to give you the sense of accomplishment is awesome. You dont have to be in a band to love playing the drums. You dont have to have any experience to start playing to songs right away and having the time of your life! He is patient and understanding man. A graduate of Tufts University! Yes Tuffs!!!! give the gift of music to yourself or someone you love with drum lessons with Ned. Arguably the best drum teacher I have ever met. And I know many.

Im a long-time (almost 50 years) semi-professional drummer in the Boston area. I studied with Ned when he and his family lived in MA.Ned is a uniquely positive, enthusiastic, and insightful person, and he brings all of that to playing and teaching drums. He is completely focused on and dedicated to helping each of his students achieve their own particular goals on the instrument. I left every lesson with Ned fired up and excited about playing music.Ned is, himself, also a life-long student of the instrument, and he has made a particular study of the physical and ergonomic aspects of playing drums. What this means for experienced players is an increased level of relaxed control, and avoidance of potentially crippling physical problems. What it means for beginners and younger students is that they will begin their musical journey with a solid groundwork and no bad habits to overcome later on.Over the years, I have studied with some of the best percussion and drum set teachers in the world, and I cant recommend Ned highly enough. Whether youre just starting out, or have years of experience behind you, Ned will get you where you want to go, and youll have nothing but fun along the way.

I played in a band before and wanted my son to understand how much fun that is. The other night in his lesson he was playing along to one of his favorite songs and Ned would jump in and accent the beat or give him new things to try and the joy and smile on my sons face was just priceless. I thought to myself- he gets it! Ned prioritizes good form but also knows kids learn best when they are having fun. My son is already talking about forming a band with his friends.”

Ned is an outstanding drum teacher; patient, open minded and combining purposeful practice techniques with real world skill development. Taking on all experience levels and musical styles, his lessons will work for anyone. His knowledge of physiology and ergonomics keeps drumming healthy for kids and us more mature players. Thanks to Ned, I have evolved into a drummer actually able to do more than two things at the same time. Wholeheartedly recommend.

I have worked with Ned as a performer (Im a bassist) and have always known him to be a strong, confident, hard-working drummer who makes the whole band sound good. After years of recommending him as a teacher, I finally had the pleasure to study with him. I teach various ensemble and often need to fill-in on drums. Ned tailored our lesson to meet my needs - not overwhelming me all with the details, just giving me enough knowledge to do what I wanted to do. I wholeheartedly recommend him to adult or child drummers who are looking for individualized instruction and want to get better while still having fun!

Ned is an amazing drum teacher! Both my girls, ages 5 and 7, look forward to and enjoy their time with Ned. Ned is very patient and has some fabulous techniques to teaching younger kids and keeping them so engaged and focused during the lesson. My only regret is only finding Ned eight months ago. I wish my girls had started when they were even younger! My girls have learned so much in such a short amount of time.

Im a professional singer/rhythm guitarist, and was asked to also play percussion in my band. I started taking drum lessons with Ned, and all my music skills went through the roof. Im a much better musician now...and the lessons are so much fun! Ned has great ways of boosting students enthusiasm. It always feels like going to a party when I show up for a lesson. I also see big smiles on the faces of his child students and adults alike when we cross paths in the hallway.

We stumbled upon Ned by pure accident and a whole lot of luck. He taught my now 16 year old son the drums for more than two years. He is a gifted musician who is very patient and with a sense of humor. My son loved going to lessons there. Ned was also open to feedback about teaching styles (my son is special needs) and kept us informed of progress.

Ned is INCREDIBLE! My son and I had taken lessons with another teacher but it just wants a great fit. Once we took a few lessons with Ned, it was clear that he was the perfect teacher for us. His methods really resonated with us and we saw improvements right away. I would wholeheartedly recommend Ned without reservation.

Ned is a fantastic teacher - when my 3rd grader started with him, he was able to capitalize on (and match! :) my sons enthusiasm and cultivate a environment of fun, learning and musicality -- and established a wonderful rapport with him. Ned provides a great mix of passion, knowledge, flexibility, technique, energy and warmth - a great person to work with overall!

I had such a great time learning from Ned! He was patient and taught me at a great pace. His attitude and positivity was infectious and made you want to be better! I was so sad to move away from such a great teacher!

My son LOVED his lessons with Ned. Whenever my son walked in tired and somewhat grumpy he always came out with a HUGE smile and he has all those fun memories of playing. Ned is a passionate and patient teacher, with lots of fun little drum games to keep the lessons interesting (very important for young kids). And its ton of fun to watch the lessons.

Ned is a great teacher, and is very supportive and patient when it comes to teaching. If youre looking to learn the drums, I would highly recommend taking his classes.

Ned Smith is a master drummer, but even more important, he is an excellent drum instructor. I have seen children as young as 5 and as old as 75 benefiting from his patient and considerate instruction. He come highly recommended!

Ned Smith is a fun, friendly and patient drum teacher who has been an important part of my life since I was a young teenager. I have been taking lessons from Ned for 8 years now and even if the importance of drums in my life have changed over the years as Ive grown the value and importance of having a great teacher, mentor and guide like Ned has never diminished!

Ned is an amazing drummer, his style is unique, artistic, and just flows. Equally, he is a great instructor, he meets you were you are at (me being on the amateur end) and really helps you innovate and grow from where you are. I would recommend Ned for younger students or adults, a top notch teacher!

Ned is a fabulous teacher who is aware of the needs of each student. He curtails the lesson to their goals and progression. He is an amazing musician and teacher whose passion comes through in each lesson.

My son has had a great experience with Ned and is skill has steadily improved. Ned is incredibly flexible with appointments and great to work with. I highly recommend!

Ned is an amazing drum teacher. Ned can teach any one of any skill level and any age. Ned is very flexible and is able to figure out what teaching method works best for a student, even for special needs students. Ned is relaxed, fun, and friendly.Ned has been teaching drums to my 9 year old daughter for the past 3 years. She is a special needs child with severe ADHD, ODD, and sensory disorders. She is extremely difficult to teach. So believe me when I say that if Ned can teach her, he can teach anyone. Even when she is having a bad day, Ned figures out what she needs to keep the lesson going without pressuring her and without making her feel bad for her behavior. She loves her lessons with Ned and looks forward to it every week. Even I really enjoy attending the lessons and watching Ned and my daughter play together. And when we have out of town family visiting, they also like to attend her drum lessons and always tell me what a great teacher Ned is.My daughter is playing so well these days, thanks to Neds instruction, that I recently had to upgrade her to a more professional level of drum kit at home. Ned has helped her to prepare to play the drums at her schools talent show for the past 3 years in a row now and she totally amazes all of her classmates and their families. Every year, she astounds us by playing even better than the year before. Her confidence level and ability to cope with mistakes has improved so much through these lessons and the talent shows. We hope to keep Ned in Bellevue so we can continue lessons with him for many years to come.

Very motivating lesson. Great for learning how to read music too. He has amazing tools for helping kids stay focused and interested.

Ned is a great teacher. Very enthusiastic about and invested in his students. My son enjoys going to his lessons and gets a tremendous amount of value from them.

Ned is an amazing drummer and a thoughtful teacher. My son had an excellent experience. We cant wait to get back. Thanks, Ned!

Ned changed our sons life. Our son, a very bright boy, who struggled in school due to ADHD, learning disabilities, and low self-esteem, proclaimed out of the blue one day, that he wanted to take drum lessons! We jumped at this idea, because until that time, he was only interested in video games, and it was really challenging to get him to try something new. I did some research about local teachers; read Neds biography and decided he was the perfect drum teacher for us. Boy, was I right! Not only did our sons grades start going up, but his attitude changed, and our boy picked up on the instrument really fast. It was nothing short of a miracle. He always looked forward to his lessons with Ned - no nagging needed! Ive since learned how therapeutic learning how to play drums can be; because it requires a lot of coordination, and uses both sides of the brain, which is really good for kids with learning disabilities. Ned truly is a gifted, talented, and patient instructor. He really helped our son become the person he is today.

Fun, challenging, and personalized drum lessons with Ned. Our 8 year old daughter loves it and is progressing very well. No complaints about practicing either!

Ned is a amazing drum teacher! He has awesome tutoring and he adds fun things in between and sometimes you could do a little Improvisation with him :). Great place highly reccomended!

Ned is an awesome teacher, my son was his student from 5th to 12th grade. Ned teaches and motivates the students really well and that has given my son the enthusiasm & tools to pursue music in college too.

Ned is a awesome teacher. Me and my Son learned for more than two years.. He is so gentle to Kids and focus on their strengths.. Infact He became a good friend to me.. it was fun learning drums from him.. I wish I could move to Bellevue and continue learning..

The lessons in technique talk to me by Ned Smith have been so valuable , I continue to use these lessons in my daily practice and performanceI came to Ned almost unable to hold my sticks and by the time I left Ned I was playing quite well and expressing myself on the instrument Innoway I had previously been unable to comprehendNeds understanding of the drums and most importantly the physicality and fluid movements required to play well , Were instrumental in helping me on my path to becoming a professional musician . Hes patience and understanding of my problems that were inhibiting me what the absolute reason that I was able to overcome these issues . A true teaching professional !I have studied with some of the great teachers in the Northeast and I include Ned Smith in this group most definitely Thank you Ned

Hes my step dad so I kindof have to.