The days of starting on a drum pad for the first 6 months are gone. It is ESSENTIAL that you get students playing on the drum set on the FIRST LESSON! NOT THE 30TH LESSON after 6 months! The reason why some teachers cannot start their students on the kit is because of a lack of confidence while teaching. Most times in my lessons, I give 3-5 assignments during a lesson. Unless I have to pivot. Here’s the general outline.
Beats
Rudiments
Songs
Mobility
Reading
I keep the students ON THE KIT the majority of the time. Why? Because that’s what they’re there for! To PLAY DRUMS! It sickens me when I find out teachers are still living in the dinosaur age when it comes to teaching drum lessons. Things need to evolve. There’s no reason to keep doing that. That comes from the Mom & Pop Brick and Mortar days of teaching. That’s where it started. Someone told the instructor how to start the lessons, and soon after that, EVERYONE FOLLOWED SUIT. That has got to die, and die HARD! If teachers are still teaching like that, they should retire, because the competition will over run them.
Watch and see how the BIG DOGS do it!
