STRENGTHEN —> SUSTAIN

Rhythmic Coaching

Private Handpan, Rav & Drum Sessions — Online, One-to-One

You don't have to practise toward an exam, or follow fixed scores.

You don’t have to play any melody or rhythm that you do not enjoy.

What we do here is simpler, and perhaps more personal than that: learn how to play in a way that feels like yours.

What These Sessions Are

Rhythmic Coaching is private, one-to-one instrument instruction — conducted online, at your pace, with no performance goal in mind.

The instruments I teach — Handpan, RAV Vast, Steel Tongue Drum, Frame Drum, and Shamanic Drum — are not mainstream instruments. Most people have never held one. They are tactile, resonant, and forgiving in a way that most instruments aren't. You don't need to read music. You don't need prior experience.

What we're building is not a repertoire for a concert (although you can). It's an internal rhythm — a capacity to move through your own patterns, express what words cannot describe, and be in the flow with the sound you're making.

Rhythm is one of the oldest tools humans have used to regulate internal states. When we play rhythmically with intention, the nervous system responds: the breath slows, the mind quiets, the focus improves, and something that felt locked begins to loosen. This is not metaphor. It is how the body works. Learning to play these instruments is learning to access that process on your own terms.

Some people come with zero experience. Some already play and want to go deeper — into improvisation, into self-expression, into what it feels like to be fully present inside the music. Both are welcome here.

The Approach

I've been learning instruments since I was a child — keyboard, Erhu, vocal training. In university, I joined a folk music ensemble shared across Spanish and Filipino culture. I stayed for ten years, teaching instruments, arranging, and conducting.

Across 30+ years of music exploration, the thing I enjoyed least was also the thing I encountered most: working through a score, note by note, focusing on what we did right or wrong. It triggers tension, self-doubt, and destroys trust. It rarely brings joy.

When I discovered sound healing, something shifted. I began looking at my relationship with music differently — not as a system to master, but as an embodied practice and self-healing tool. I started studying neuroscience-informed drumming practices and improvisation-based playing styles, and gradually developed a teaching approach built around one idea - People shouldn't have to wait until they're "good enough" to enjoy playing. They can enjoy from day 1.

Rhythm is also something I use for self-healing. On difficult days, these instruments are my go-to companion. That's not incidental to what I teach — it's why I teach them. By sharing the joy of playing these instruments, I hope more people can experience the healing effect of connecting with rhythm and sound from deep within.

Book a Session
Book a Session

Who This Is For

You might be drawn to this if:

  • You've wanted to learn an instrument for years, but the idea of group classes or performance pressure doesn't sit right

  • You're naturally more internal — you learn better in a focused, unhurried space

  • You already know how to play, and you're ready to move beyond the technical into something more expressive

  • You're looking for a practice that connects you to something in yourself, not just a skill to perform

There's no particular background required. What matters more is willingness to stay with the process and work inwards.

How It Works

Each session is 60 minutes, conducted online. There are no packages — you book when you're ready, and come as often as feels right.

Sessions are offered at three levels. You choose based on where you are now, not where you think you should be.

Foundational

Little or no prior experience with the instrument or rhythmic practice

Intermediate

Comfortable with the basics; looking to explore new rhythmic patterns or improvisation

Advanced

Working with complex rhythms, cross-cultural structures or deeper music theory

Learning online works particularly well for these instruments. The handpan and RAV Vast are large and not easy to travel with — having the session come to you removes a friction that's worth removing. And there's something about learning in your own space, without shared studio energy or commute time to navigate, that lets the practice settle more inwardly.

If you're not sure which level to start with, choose Foundational. We'll find the right place together.

Book a Session
Book a Session

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Sessions are available in English or Mandarin (普通话) — whichever feels more natural to you.

  • Yes. The early sessions — especially at the Foundational level — begin with breath, body, and rhythm awareness that requires no instrument at all. If you're in the process of sourcing one, we can start there and build toward it.

  • Completely. These instruments are accessible in a way that most aren't — you don't need to read music, and there's no prior knowledge assumed. The Foundational level is designed exactly for this.

  • If you've never played this instrument before, start with Foundational regardless of your experience with other instruments. If you already play and are comfortable with basic technique, Intermediate is likely the right fit. When in doubt, choose the lower level — it's easy to move up once we've had a session together.

  • There's no separate trial — but since sessions are booked individually with no commitment, your first session is effectively that. If it feels right, you continue. If it doesn't, no obligations at all.

  • Sessions are non-refundable but can be rescheduled with at least 24 hours' notice. Sessions rescheduled with less than 24 hours' notice, or missed without prior notice, are not refundable.