All our teachers are DBS checked and are part of the DBS Update Service
Tom O. Mitchell
Director
Tom has been teaching drums since 2003 and playing since 1998. He studied Popular Music at West Kent College in Kent before going on to tutor a handful of private students under the name of T.O.M Drum Tuition.
He started his professional teaching career with Kent Music School in 2003, going to schools around the county to tutor pupils during school hours.
Meanwhile, the number of private students kept growing so in 2004 Tom decided it was time to step up the content of the lessons by writing a unique syllabus and coming up with a name for it. DrumWise has been going strong ever since – with students travelling from across the county for lessons and maintaining a 100% exam pass rate with Rockschool (RSL).
Tom offers a consultation service for players wanting to improve their studio and virtual lesson setups and has consulted and taught several well-known drummers.
Tom’s main gig is with touring theatre tribute band Purple Zeppelin but he also regularly plays for other bands and artists.
www.drumwise.co.uk/tomomitchell
Matt Conlay
Teacher
Matt has been playing drums since 2000 when he starting taking weekly lessons at secondary school. He started playing in bands and opted for the heavier styles of music, focusing on heavy rock and metal and playing double kick to a high standard.
Matt played many live shows at most of the south east’s big venues and gained a lot of studio recording experience.
He studied music tech and performance at NWK then went on to study at Rose Bruford.
More recently Matt has taught for Apple, being certified to teach Logic Pro as well as other Apple software.
Matt is available for lessons in the studio on Mondays and Sundays
Steven Parnell
Teacher
Steven has been playing drums since 2007 since the early days of his secondary school. He has played in bands actively since 2012. Since his time in school where he achieved grade 8, he went to NWK college in Dartford, then went on to university. After graduating at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in 2018, he has been touring the UK multiple times a year with various bands and artists. He also has a growing studio discography with many artists.
Steven’s teaching focuses on technique, precision and expression and his playing specialises in double pedal and rock and metal styles. He has also studied genres from latin to jazz, pop to country and everything in between.
Steven teaches all ages and abilities in schools across Kent and is available for lessons in the studio on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Dan Tinsley
Teacher
Dan has been playing drums for more than 20 years starting on his 10th birthday when his dad booked him his first lesson and he has never looked back since.
Dan has been in several bands over the years and has played in some of London’s top venues as well as touring throughout the UK. Other highlights include supporting Britpop legends Supergrass and playing at Butlins resorts throughout summer where he played on the same bill as Fleur East, Shane Richie and Diversity.
Dan has studied with some of the country’s top teachers, including Gary O’Toole (China Crisis, Brendan O’Neil (Rory Gallagher, Nine Below Zero), John Humprey (Toyah Wilcox) and the late legendary drum educator Bob Armstrong.
Dan teaches in schools across Kent
Scarlett Taylor
Teacher
Scarlett has been drumming since 2014 and during this time she has performed with multiple bands and has continued to pursue her passion for drums and music by teaching beginner drummers at a range of ages.
She studied Music Performance And Production at North Kent College in Tonbridge and is currently in a heavy blues originals band called Going Postal. She has performed at pubs, festivals and venues in and around Kent.
Her main drumming style is heavy rock and metal.
Scarlett teaches in schools across Kent and is available for beginner level lessons in the studio on Sundays