Betz initially taught Becker marimba, but soon expanded to lessons in snare drum, piano and music theory.
[2] Upon completing his undergraduate and graduate studies, Becker enrolled in a four-year world music program at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he studied with world percussionists Prawotosaputo, Sumarsam, and Freeman Donkor, as well as tabla instructor Sharda Sahai and African drum instructor Abraham Adzenyah.
[3] In high school, Becker showed an interest in jazz drumming, which he had pursued in college as a performer of bebop.
[4] As a contemporary of drummers like Steve Gadd, Becker eventually changed his focus toward marimba and orchestral percussion.
[5] Becker has also performed with the ensemble Steve Reich and Musicians and the Paul Winter Consort.
The Hindustani style of composition is based primarily on raga scales as the method of pitch organization.
[14] In terms of form, the Hindustani style tends to focus on a development "from static to ecstatic," featuring a drone followed by virtuosic, highly rhythmic content that fluctuates freely from metered to unmetered moments.
"[21] A major work for percussion quintet, Mudra is another example of how Becker fuses military drumming style within the context of Hindustani practices.
[23] In Away Without Leave, Becker draws upon traditional rudimental snare drumming that features both military and samba rhythms.
[24] This is a work that does not feature the Hindustani style, showing an expansion of Becker's multicultural influence to Latin America.