Giving drum lessons.

[lukedverlennich]

So there's a kid that came up to me and asked if I could give him lessons. I gave him the number a much more qualified drummer who would do it for free. But he was persistent in asking me to teach him. So I finally said "yes" but I don't know where to start? and I should note this kid is kinda a quieter and he just wants to jump on a kit and sound like Neil Peart. And that just ain't gonna happen!


But does anyone have any tips and tricks to help me out on this endeavor? Anything is greatly appreciated!

[porkpieguy]

Can I be totally straight up?

If you don't want to teach, you'll be doing him a disservice taking his money. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I believe that people because they want to teach...not simply because they are asked.

With that said, I teach drumming a little bit differently. The last person I taught to play was already a decent musician, so the transfer of skills wasn't as difficult as it would have been if he had just been starting out. I usually start with some basics, and then I move on to specific songs he/she wants to learn and just go from there.

[lukedverlennich]

I take no offense to that. I should have stated that he isn't paying me. And its not that I don't want to teach him its that I don't know where to start. And i don't want to put my time and effort in to some one that is gonna quit on me.

[porkpieguy]

I take no offense to that. I should have stated that he isn't paying me. And its not that I don't want to teach him its that I don't know where to start. And i don't want to put my time and effort in to some one that is gonna quit on me.

That makes sense.

I guess you could always start with how to hold the sticks, parts of the drum set, your basic 4/4 beat (kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, hats/ride on every 8th note, etc.).

Also, make sure you know what his goals are. Any particular songs he wants to learn? What genre of music is he into? etc. All of this will dictate where he wants to go in terms of playing.

Unfortunately, you can't control whether or not someone will quit. Most folks quit once they reach a certain point where they don't feel like they are getting any better and don't want to "push through" it.

[lukedverlennich]

Okay, thank you for your advice.

[SpazApproved]

PorkPie definitely gave some great pointers. People who think they can just get on the kit and play get frustrated easily. So find out what he's into and what he really wants to do. Then help him in that direction. I've seen a lot of kids give up and get mad cause you try teaching them important things like rudiments and jazz beats or etc and they want to learn something else like a stupid pop song. lol

[Drumbledore]

PorkPie definitely gave some great pointers. People who think they can just get on the kit and play get frustrated easily. So find out what he's into and what he really wants to do. Then help him in that direction. I've seen a lot of kids give up and get mad cause you try teaching them important things like rudiments and jazz beats or etc and they want to learn something else like a stupid pop song. lol

Oh man, don't myself and others I know in this biz know that well? lol

[lukedverlennich]

hahahaha yeah! Like right now he can do a simple 4/4 but he wants to play something much more complicated. But right now I just showed him proper grip and some hand exercises that he should do with a click.

[jgziegler]

From the education stand point, fundamentally important is being able to track progress. With drums, this basically means 1. being able to play a beat, pattern ect. 2. Playing it faster and faster. So make sure he has a metronome and uses it!

You might want to look up a concept called 'contracting'. Basically, it's what you and hte learner set up at the beginning of the lessons in terms of goals, what's acceptable for you and the learner, fears, ect. This link explains the concept in terms of coaching: http://www.metasysteme-coaching.eu/e...s-in-coaching/