Hi, I’m John and I like to make music.  Welcome to my site!

I'm a musician, teacher, author, and band leader.  I frequently perform in the Baltimore/DC area and often in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

I offer piano lessons and drum lessons in Thurmont, MD--just about 30 minutes from downtown Frederick and Gettysburg, but closer if traveling from Emmitsburg, Wormans Mill, Whittier, North Crossing, and Willow Brook.

Click "Lessons" to get a feel for what lessons are like either for piano or drums.  

To see a bit of  what I do as a performer visit "Projects".

Be sure to look for @johnsayremusic on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to see more of what my students and I are up to and for more lessons.

For drum lessons I like to use the books “Stick Control” by Stone, “Syncopation” by Reed, and my own book available on Amazon here, in addition to playing along to numerous recordings with the student.  

For beginner piano lessons I like “A Dozen a Day” by Burnam and "Piano for the Young Beginner" by Bastien.  We also learn standard chord progressions ASAP so students can experience how fun it is to play actual songs and not just exercises.

From 2006-2016 I served in the U.S. Air Force as a musician where I played in several groups to include; big band, rock band, jazz combos, concert band and more.  

In 2003 I graduated from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University where I studied under Robert Van Sice.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out.  Learning any new skill takes work and focus, but it doesn't have to be boring like watching paint dry or as painful as an IRS audit.  If that has been your experience with music lessons in the past then I encourage you to give it another shot--remember, we PLAY instruments, and keeping that in mind makes all the difference.