Amir School of Music

Amir is an asset to the global Persian music and dance community. He has students from around the world, from beginner to professional level. His lifelong dedication to the art comes through in his meticulously planned classes which challenge and nurture student's creativity. I've really enjoyed learning to play the daf from him (via zoom, as I'm based in New Zealand!) and highly recommend his classes to other dancers who want to see notable improvement in their musicality.

I've been studying Persian music with Amir over several years. He is a brilliant and dedicated teacher, with an organized approach that is friendly, fun and as demanding as circumstances allow. Combining private instruction with community events (online and, when possible, in person), this is a holistic way to deepen in the culture, learn theory and technique, and practice creating beautiful tone and meter according to tradition. I recommend Amir School of Music.

I have been taking frame drum/daf lessons and doumbek lessons from Amir for about a year and a half. He is an excellent teacher and for the first time I feel I can read music and am taking my drumming to a whole new level. Classes are really fun and interactive with Amir and the other students. I love Amir’s positive attitude and the meditations he does at the end of each class. He has taught us a wide variety of rhythms and not only teaches us how to read the music but the history of the rhythms, how they are used, and how to play effectively and sensitively with other musicians, both for fun or professionally. The knowledge he imparts is not just academic but covers all aspects of culture and real life applications. In class activities and homework are varied and fun, using a variety of tools such as watching and playing along with mp3’s and videos or reading and practicing from music notation. He is always giving gentle pushes to expand our abilities and increase our speed, as well as to practice composing our own pieces and performing them for recitals.

All in all, Amir has been my favorite of all my percussion instructors. The classes are really fun and I have improved greatly in my playing and knowledge of music theory, reading music and understanding of the music of other cultures. I would highly recommend Amir as a teacher to anyone interested in learning more about playing Persian music at any level.