Corey Colmey Drum Instruction
Newsletter #1
June 2016
Hello.
Hi, and thank you kindly for taking the time to read the first official newsletter. In the months to come, I will do my absolute best to send out periodic updates and news. I know it’s been a long time coming, but better late than never, right?
Summer is here, and my college teaching duties have also lightened up a bit, which has allowed me to reflect on what it is I do, why I do it, and it’s overall importance to me. I
feel compelled to share this with you all, as I truly value everyone of my students and
I’ve been teaching for over fifteen years now. The humor of it is that I began offering lessons while attending Berklee College of Music in Boston as a way to support myself financially. I had some classmates that taught lessons in the area, and encouraged me to give it a try. There was no plan to turn this into a career, as it was supposed to be a short term thing to provide some extra cash on my way to
stardom. However, after the first couple months of teaching, something began to challenge me inside. I was
drawn to my students, and the experience that teaching allowed. I began to realize that my own passion
for learning, playing, conquering difficulty, and developing patience in the process would be so effective in helping people.
In other news….
Parents. Teaching lessons isn’t just a paycheck to me. It’s much bigger than that, and I’ll tell you why.
A few months ago, I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. For those of you unfamiliar with Asperger’s, it’s a form of autism that affects the ability to socialize, integrate, assimilate and communicate, among other things. I have to admit, it was a bit shocking when I began the rounds of testing, but after a short while, it became apparent that I was a bit different. When the diagnosis was finally given, I actually
felt relieved, as it gave me a sense of peace due to the “alien in my own body” or “out of place” feeling I’d always had. Having Aspergers has also helped me understand the reasoning behind a lot of things I do, and how I do them. My teaching style, for example, is the result of my own learning difficulties and inability to understand things in conventional ways, leading to an unorthodox learning style. Because of this, I had had to work really hard at demystifying and making things clear, as taking someone else’s word for it just never jived in my brain. I guess this has ultimately turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I feel I can pick up on whether a student is truly learning or not, and adjust my teaching method accordingly. Anyway, more on that in the future.
Mark Your Calendars
Coming up is the 7th annual student recital for Corey Colmey Drum Instruction which will take place on July 23rd at the Beeches in Rome. I really hope you all can make it. The students who plan to perform this year have been working really hard amidst their hectic school, family and extracurricular schedules. Nevertheless, I couldn’t be more pleased with their progress, and am really looking forward to having them play for you all. I hope you all can attend and support the wonderful talent we have in this area.
New t-shirts are here! Woo-hoo!!
That’s right. I finally created and ordered a bunch of t- shirts in a variety of colors and sizes, and they will be available for purchase at the recital. I have sizes in S, M, L, XL and XXL. Those of you that would like one beforehand, please send me a message, and I’ll be sure to set one aside for you.
Ok then, that’s it for now. Thanks for taking the time to read the first newsletter. I’m proud of you. Good job. You did it. Go celebrate. You deserve it. Till next time. Bye.
-CoreyCorey Colmey Drum Instruction Newsletter #1
