Allan Ward: Dynabuddy Founder
Allan Ward: The Guy Behind Dynabuddy
I've been fascinated with music and how to improve my own musicianship for almost 30 years, I got hooked on playing the drums when i was 15 because my next-door neighbor and best-friend said "Hey, if you got a set of drums we could be in a band." It felt so good to come home from school and just bang out my frustrations that I wanted to keep learning everything I could about music.
This eventually lead me to study music in college where I earned an undergraduate degree from UC Boulder in percussion performance, a masters degree from the Eastman School of Music in Jazz Studies and Music Education, and a Master of Science degree in Music Education from Syracuse University. Throughout my studies I was always teaching, performing, and constantly looking for better ways to both learn and teach music. After teaching K-8 music in the Seattle Public Schools I won a full-time performing position with the Royal Hawaiian Band in Honolulu and have been with them ever since.
Why I Started Dynabuddy
As both a K-8 public school music teacher and private music instructor, it became clear that many students look to videos to learn things. I wondered:
Can I use online videos to help students learn the things I present with photocopies, books, and audio recordings?
I started experimenting with online play-along videos for my private students and the results were amazing. All of my students practiced more with the videos, enjoyed practicing, and made great progress. I hope Dynabuddy can make life easier for everyone involved in the music learning process. I got inspired and envisioned a platform like Dynabuddy - a resource filled with engaging online videos to empower teachers, support students, and make music education easier and more accessible for everyone.
While there is no substitute for in-person instruction, my hope is that these videos can be used to support students, teachers, and parents across the U.S.