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Peter Erskine Celebrates A Video Exchange Milestone

Peter Erskine

Jazz drums legend Peter Erskine has accomplished plenty throughout his historic career. In addition to his time in Weather Report and as a professor at University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, Peter has appeared on over 700 albums and film scores, won two Grammy Awards and received an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music. 

Peter can now cross off another impressive milestone - completing 1,000 Video Exchanges here at ArtistWorks!

Here’s how Video Exchanges work: whenever students have a question during their lessons, ArtistWorks’ patented technology allows members to submit practice videos and get personal video responses from their teacher. Each video interaction between teacher and student is paired together on the site and made available for all members to learn from. These Video Exchanges form the basis of an ever growing, ever changing online learning experience that provides the most convenient and effective way to learn online.

We spoke to Peter about his Video Exchange milestone, what it’s like to teach a college course online during the pandemic and his brand new home studio.

First and foremost, how are you holding up during this pandemic?
I’m holding up well, thanks. I’m feeling very blessed to be healthy alongside my family. I’m also grateful that I can continue teaching; being able to stay home for the last few months (like everyone else, I didn’t have a choice!) has given me the opportunity to learn more about my instrument as well as how best to share what I do with others.

You recently crossed the 1,000 Video Exchange mark here at ArtistWorks. How does it feel to accomplish this impressive milestone?
Milestones tend to be observed by others… I wasn’t keeping count, to be honest. That said, I feel that I might have passed the 1,000 video exchange milestone in great part due to a group of students who really seem to enjoy the back and forth that ArtistWorks makes possible!

You have been with ArtistWorks for 4 years now. What have been some of your favorite moments as a teacher on the site?
My favorite moments are when the student “gets” the lesson and their playing as a result is simply excellent. The best part of tending a garden is to watch it grow.

You used ArtistWorks to complete the school year with your USC students. How did your experience as ArtistWorks' jazz drums master prepare you for this transition?
Thanks to my experience with ArtistWorks, I was able to jump right into the suddenly-mandated distance learning without missing a beat! Also, thanks to ArtistWorks setting me up in my home studio, I had the savvy and the calm AND the technical know-how plus necessary equipment to get the job done while focusing on the lessons instead of worrying about how to get a camera to work.

We understand you have a new camera setup in your home studio. How do you think this will affect your ArtistWorks class?

As the video demonstrates, I am a true believer in technology. Technology alone is not a substitute for experience.  But, in combination with the thousands of hours I’ve been fortunate enough to have playing the drums, I have become very good at seeing and hearing what a student needs in order to get from Point A to Point B more effortlessly and with more satisfaction.

With in-person classes in limbo for the time being, how do you think students can benefit from taking online music lessons here at ArtistWorks?
ArtistWorks provides THE best and most state-of-the-art platform for asynchronous (not in real time) learning. Most real-time platforms necessarily suffer from limited bandwidth somewhere along the teacher-student chain. ArtistWorks enables me to teach in high-fidelity stereo, where my lessons and video exchange responses are preserved for all of my students to learn from (whether they submit videos or not). It’s a masterclass that crosses boundaries and borders, time zones and time signatures!

Finally, what would you say to someone who might be nervous to send in a Video Exchange?
I understand the nervousness thing. There’s tremendous freedom when we surrender our egos or fear. By surrendering to the music, we create an environment where it’s possible to make the best playing choices for the music and not for any sense of self-validation. To put it another way, I view all of the students in the ArtistWorks jazz drumming school as family. My job in life is to nurture and encourage my family. And that can mean some tough love from time to time. But I’m never sarcastic or cruel. I love making music and I want to share that with as many souls as possible. If you submit a video, you will find a friendly viewer in me. This family of drummers is made up of great people - everyone helps everyone else out. We’re all learning this instrument, myself included.

Curious about taking drum lessons with a master musician like Peter? Come join the ArtistWorks family and see what makes our online music lessons stand out from the rest. You can even try some free jazz drums lessons before you fully commit.

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