Besides teaching at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music (Jazz Course/JAM), I also offer private lessons and welcome students of all levels and interests to swing the sticks with me.

My passion is jazz and musical improvisation in all its facets, but I’m a versatile and open-minded musician who loves and plays music in all its forms. Whether it’s rock, pop, funk, jazz, soul, hip-hop, latin, classical, or world music —  good music is good music, and I’m happy to work with you on whatever you’re interested in or curious to explore.

I also care a lot about teaching the fundamentals of drumming and music. Developing good technique and a strong foundation in instrument skills and musical understanding is important, because it will give you the tools to express yourself freely, sound professional, and adapt to whatever situations you face. Most of all though —  it makes playing the drums so much easier and fun!

It's not about speed, that will happen as a byproduct. It's about playing with flow and confidence, and serving the music the best we can.

My Lesson System

I've built my teaching around asynchronous coaching as the foundation. The reason is that as an educator and active performer, my schedule can be limited and unpredictable, but it is very important to me to give my students consistent and regular feedback and input. The same goes for many of my students, who have busy lives and find it hard to commit to a regular lesson schedule. This method solves that problem for both of us and actually gives us the chance to check in much more frequently than traditional in-person lessons. This is not a video course or YouTube — everything is highly personalized, built around you and your playing.

It works like this: you send me your practice and performance videos and questions as you go. I review it and send back personal, detailed feedback and guidance as videos or text. You apply it and follow up with new videos and questions. It's an ongoing but flexible exchange at your pace and when you need it. 

This method works great on its own, but in-person and online lessons can be added too. A common pattern is async plus a live session once a month, but it's flexible and can be less frequent and on demand. 

In-person lessons are held at my private studio in Kawasaki, near Motosumiyoshi station, which is right between Musashikosugi and Hiyoshi stations. 

If you'd prefer to work only through live lessons, that may be possible, but in practice it might mean a more irregular schedule. Let's talk about it...

Get in touch

Everyone's situation is different, and there's only so much I can explain in writing. If this sounds interesting to you, the best thing is to reach out. We can get on a short video call, talk directly, get to know each other, and figure out together what might work best for you. I'm looking forward to hearing from you! 

frehsedrums@gmail.com

About Me

I'm a professional drummer and music educator from Germany, living in Japan since 2009. I teach at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and run my own private lesson studio in Kawasaki.

I studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and have been playing and teaching professionally for over 25 years — privately, at various music schools, and leading workshops and ensemble classes on jazz and improvisation at middle and high schools in both Germany and Japan.

Music has given me the chance to meet many great people and taken me across Europe, the USA, and Asia — from small jazz clubs to concert halls, arenas, and recording studios. Along the way there have been occasional TV appearances too, including commercials and a feature on NHK's 旅するためのドイツ語, where I was profiled as a German musician living and working in Japan. 

Throughout my career I've had the chance to work with a wide range of artists, including Makoto Ozone, Sadao Watanabe, Seiko Matsuda, Roman & Julian Wasserfuhr, Lisa Ono, Akiko, Dan Nimmer, Yu Shirota, Sarah McKenzie, Tomonao Hara, Kengo Nakamura, Takana Miyamoto, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Jun Abe, Michel Reis, and Martin Sasse, among many others.

I play and endorse Canopus drums and Zildjian cymbals.

Yuki O.
“I highly recommend Dennis as a drumset private instructor, I’ve been taking drum lessons from him for about 3 years now and I’m very happy with the progress i’ve made with him! Currently preparing to study jazz performance at a college level and Dennis has really helped me with that.”

Chris M.
“I’ve been studying with Dennis both in person and online since 2019. He is patient but persistent, always pushing me forward while encouraging and guiding me in my efforts to be a better musician. He has also helped me work on any type of music I have wished to. Taking online lessons with Dennis on forte has been quite smooth; he understands and uses the technology effectively. I recommend Dennis without hesitation.”

Sebastian S.
“Our son started drums lessons with Dennis about 3 years ago, at the beginning face to face lessons and later due to pandemic situation online. So we know Dennis very well and we strongly recommend Dennis not only as a very good teacher, but also as a very nice person. Our son enjoys a lot the lessons and he plays with fun and confidence because Dennis finds a good balance between challenging drums theory, relaxed communication and playing together drums. Dennis writes personalized music notes for the level and music interests of our son. Even if we live know in Germany, Dennis is very flexible in providing us a proper and reliable lesson schedule: he never forgets appointments, he is always punctually and in a good mood! We are very grateful for his engagement in teaching our son in a high quality and fun drum experience!”

Gary L.
“Dennis has been giving my son online lessons in English for two years. He is a kind and patient teacher and is always creating new ways to keep the lessons interesting and fun for my son. The online technology works great and makes it possible for us to attend lessons remotely from our home in Tokyo. I highly recommend Dennis for drum lessons!”