Hi all - about drum lessons

[daveybabes]

Can drum lessons really benefit me?

At the moment i have my drum mag interactive CD of Colin Woolway and Pete Riley there on the screen saying " this is a Paradiddle" then he goes at 300 miles an hour, i get a backing song and tips tricks etc i can always play these guys over and over again. I get rudiment of the month, techniques etc The beginners section started last Autumn when i began with V Drums (good timing) Also metro drums on youtube is fab.

So a lot of folks here place high importance on a good drum tutor?

Can u tell me how i will benefit as i am thinking about it now but wondering what the advantage is for £20 an hour in comparison with my £3.99 a month mag. I mean at the end of the day it's a dude sitting there saying this is this and that is that yeah?

Thanks for any input.

[M_C_M]

I've had lessons in the past but currently don't take them, mainly because there are no really good teachers, that I know of, in my area. But if I were in the city I think I would because a good teacher can correct mistakes in technique and can push you helping you find your full potential. like you I use whatever media I can get my hands on, dvd's books the net etc, but you have to be totally self motivated (which I am not) and as good as a dvd is it can't be hands on with you. Even the great players have coaching to keep on top of things. So I guess it comes down to how good you really want to be and how far you want to take the whole drumming thing. I think I would certainly take lessons again if the opportunity to study with a good teacher, or even better teachers, presented itself to me...

[mystic fred]

I'm sure for basics and tips a one-to-one drum tutor would be invaluable to get you started, though those books and DVD's, though corny (par-a-did-dle-par-a-did-dle ) are an excellent way to learn if you start with the right stuff.
The ones in "Rhythm" magazine are for beginner, intermediate and advanced so something there for everyone of course. I recently wrote to the editor asking for a special cd full of backing tracks which he thought was great, so watch out for those!

[Michael Render]

Good points. A good teacher will help spot any problems with technique. Those could lead to years of bad habits if not corrected.

[Mixxit]

True. Plus a teacher can teach you what you want to learn specifically. My buddy is taking bass lessons right now. Every week he takes his teacher one of my bands songs and they learn it. Soon, he'll be able to play all of our songs and play shows with us. A magazine won't give you any custom learning. I guess I should take my own advice and take some lessons! Good luck.

[saku]

there are some good books out there for those who want something more than a magazine, and who cant find a teacher. Mel bay and hal leonard sell them, realistic rock drumming is the name of one..a bit more than rudiments....I have two or three others that i found useful if you're interested i can dig out the titles.....

[PumaPhreak]

A good teacher can be an invaluable tool in helping you progress to your highest potential. That being said, a poor teacher can lead to frustration and can be a waste of money. As said before, a teacher can correct your technique and can customize a curriculum specifically for you. Additionally, a teacher can answer questions and engage in a discussion in real time, something that a video can't do. Although an instructor is looking to make money, they should be more concerned with making a difference in your playing.

When I was teaching full time, I gave a complimentary first lesson which was designed to get to know the student, determine their proficiency, identify their goals, describing my philosophy and teaching methods, and answer questions they may have. There were times that I felt another instructor could meet their needs better and so I referred them to said instructor.

It should also be noted that no one person can meet the needs of every student and most instructors are not proficient in all styles. Anyone who pretends that they can be all things to all people should probably be avoided.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the subject. BTW, I was self taught as my parents could never afford formal instruction. I wish I had been afforded the opportunity to have been given private instruction.
B

[V(ader)DRUMMER]

I think there are plenty of benefits to be had by working with an instructor. Call up a few on the phone and have a brief conversation wtih them about their style of instruction, their musical background, the kinds of music they specialize in, etc. Try to figure out who might be the best match for your tastes. Then, take a few classes. If after a few weeks you don't feel like you're getting your money's worth out of the experiment, drop out and stick to your magazines. You'll never know until you try.

[t_henson]

i just took my first lesson on saturday. like you, i was also hesitant at first. i have a few books and he is going to help me work through them and also give me a couple lesson plans to take home to learn during the week. so far i am happy about them because he has already started helping me with excercises to better my counting and sticking technique. if i don't see results within a few weeks i can always find someone or something else to help me. also, you don't have to limit yourself to learn just what your instructor is teaching you. you can still learn from them while still looking at your books/magazines/dvds.

[daveybabes]

Sounds good

i just took my first lesson on saturday. like you, i was also hesitant at first. i have a few books and he is going to help me work through them and also give me a couple lesson plans to take home to learn during the week. so far i am happy about them because he has already started helping me with excercises to better my counting and sticking technique. if i don't see results within a few weeks i can always find someone or something else to help me. also, you don't have to limit yourself to learn just what your instructor is teaching you. you can still learn from them while still looking at your books/magazines/dvds.

Lesson plans, that sounds good, a structured approach ... sounds like a good tutor, i wanna say thanks to all who have answered and i'm gonna start looking around for a similar good tutor.

Also i can still play along to my mag back tracks, i do have questions that the mag can't answer like when doing rolls how does the stick actually bounce etc

There are lessons just 10 mins drive away so i will start there and take it slow to find that right person who i can both learn from and get along with.

[daveybabes]

Starting lessons on Friday on a real acoustic sparkly kit with all the extras i mean how do i plug it in? what pre set do i use, where's the volume switch?

Yes i'm more or less an acoustic virgin apart from some dilly dallying years ago ...

I'm gonna hit it and it's gonna be loud baby yeah

Should i tell him about my Vex packs ?

[vjboc]

Good points. A good teacher will help spot any problems with technique. Those could lead to years of bad habits if not corrected.

I agree. The old saying "Practice makes perfect" But if you learn wrong it is hard in the long run to change. I know it is not easy to find good teachers. Even learning from other drummers is great to. I am always learning from different drummers. Even beginner drummers . They might have that one trick that catches your attention. Then I apply it to my own.

[Swaledale]

Starting lessons on Friday on a real acoustic sparkly kit with all the extras i mean how do i plug it in? what pre set do i use, where's the volume switch?

Yes i'm more or less an acoustic virgin apart from some dilly dallying years ago ...

I'm gonna hit it and it's gonna be loud baby yeah

Should i tell him about my Vex packs ?

Great! If your teacher is any good they should be interested in what kit you have, what sticks you use, and what you are interested in. Make sure you stick with lessons for a while as it may take some time to settle in... And you'll have to adapt to an A-kit! Make sure you don't just spend the lesson practicing - I would expect you to cover about 3 areas of study in an hour lesson with plenty of homework to take away to learn. You may find you don't spend much more than 15-20mins on the kit by the time your tutor takes you through things and demonstrates before you play and he/she gives you feedback. Have fun!

[daveybabes]

I think the one to one interaction is priceless, i have more than a few questions but will also still utilize all other sources.

Gonna be weird playin that kit and i'm keen to compare feel of head, bounce, timbre etc

He doesn't know much about e kits like the advanced TD12 but he's a fellow Dio fan, i tend to like stickings so i'm wanting to cover a few of those in time, he mentioned exercises on the kit to speed up the left hand, double bass pedals and more. Sounds good to me.

I'm basically gonna give him a blank canvas to work on. They don't get more blank than me.

3 areas and homework? ok will look for that. oh erm £17.50 an hour - seems cool to me.

[daveybabes]

I wanna ask your opinion?

I went for my first drum lesson ...

I sat at the kit and he asked what i already know, so i showed him, he then showed me quite a few things, tips and tricks that were quite good but, he seemed a hands on type didn't know what a buzz roll was, not much interested in paradiddles which i quite like, didn't know what 12/8 time was, but he did show me triplets using bass drum, incorporating bass drum into fills and some double pedal ...

But there was no paper backup as a reminder or homework and as i'm recovering from a bad beakdown from last year and sometimes get absolutely zero sleep things sometimes just go in and out of my brain ha ha

Sooo i forgot absolutely everything more or less, i have to really study stuff like most peple to get it to stick ... so he suggested i record it on my phone? or write it down?

There is however another place that seems more pro, graded lessons, multiple studios, 3 session muso tutors, yammy and roland and acoustic kits ... They just mailed me to say they can transcribe all lessons to paper for reference, 15 years exp etc ... just £3 more on the hour.

I don't know what to do - any views, what he showed me was useful but no structure and he was likeable ... just don't wanna waste time and money ...