Drummer Cafe Community Forum

I am not sure what the general guidelines are for children and musical instruments so if I say something that isn't quite the way it should be, please forgive me...

My son (3 years old) has had his own kit since he was 18 months old. EVERY Time I sit and play... he goes to his kit and hits away... Loves to play with me... 

I know that most teachers will say that he is too young to have a kit etc... I've heard that I should wait until he is 6 and then just start him with a pad...  As much as I agree with that... I think at this point it would break my heart to take away his little drum-set.

I guess the big question here for me is how do I guide him. I don't want to force him for fear that he will lose interest. Right now... he loves to sit and play... so what should I do to get him started the right way?

He can count to his teens... So I've been trying to get him to count to 4 over and over again... He more or less just keeps going... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7   etc... I guess he'll be good with Odd Time Signatures   LOL...

Anyways...

Any Hints?

Stidd

Keep doing what you are doing and let him have his fun.  You will be amazed at what he will learn by just having his fun time.  When he gets older and is able to focus on one subject for an extended period of time that is when lessons should start.   

How cool is that to have him want to play when you do? ... I bet that is a lot of fun!  seems like his little hands would struggle with a regular sized pair of sticks... wonder if they make small sticks for children?

Thanks for the responses!
I will do just that... keep it fun for now. I guess I will know when he is ready for some type of structure...

They actually do make smaller sticks but he really doesn't like them...

He has a pair of 7A's that he tends to lean towards...

I am a little worried about his wrists but I don't think he plays long enough to really worry...

But yea... I love it!  I can picture it now... Having a solo battle with him someday... I hope he blows me away!!! 
:-)


Stidd

+1 to what Louis wrote, "big time."  Teachers who practice the Suzuki method deal with students that young, so there's no reason that he can't start learning at that age - not necessarily through formal studies, but simply "learning by doing."  Kids that age are like a sponge - just make lots of music available to him.  Play different drum beats for him, have lots of different recordings around, etc..  It doesn't matter if he can't play it yet - just hearing it will help him develop his abilities.

When your son is playing along to what you're doing, try playing a sort of "Simon Says" game with him.  Play a rhythm, and ask him to play it back.  Since you have two kits set up, that might even progress to very simple beats and fills.  Don't sweat the fine details - you're helping him to develop his ear, to learn to hear something and then be able to reproduce it.  He'll also learn new rhythms, new beats - things that you (or a teacher) can tap into later on when teaching him how to read music.  I do this with younger students all the time (although admittedly, my "younger" students are six or seven years old at the youngest - I've never taught a three year old).  I'll do the "Simon Says" game for a few minutes at the start of each lesson, using the sorts of rhythms that we'll be dealing with in their lesson book.  This way, when the time comes to learn about note values, counting, etc., it's not a dry academic exercise - they can relate it to soemthing they've already been doing.  Even if your son doesn't deal with written music until a few years from now, you're laying the foundation for his rhythmic vocabulary.

Don't sweat the details, especially where technique is concerned.  Help him to avoid developing bad habits, and definitely steer him away from anything that will hurt his wrists or fingers, but technique can be fine-tuned later on.

Just try a little bit of these sort of things - maybe a few minutes a day, or a couple of days per week - along with simply letting him enjoy playing drums for the sake of playing drums.  There's plenty of time for the practice pad when/if he starts taking lessons sometime down the road.  Even then, if he were my student, I wouldn't force him to stop playing the drum set in favor of practicing exclusively on a pad - I'd incorporate both approaches into his lessons.

My oldest son who will be three years old on Fat Tuesday loves to sit behind my kit! For now I just let him have fun. I've taught him the difference between the cymbals, and he likes to recite their names while pointing. About a year ago I had him playing single stroke rolls counting "1, 2, 1, 2, etc...". I'm hoping this year he will have a little more focus for me to show him a few new things, but like others have said, I'm just trying to let him have fun. I don't want to drill him yet. :)

My youngest who will be a year old in a couple weeks is showing interest as well. I can only dream. hahah!

I have a 2 1/2 year old girl at home. Unfortunately I live in a town house right now so I don't have a drum kit set up. I do keep my bongos and congas laying around for her to play with. She dances around while playing and watching Little Einsteins on Noggin.  She knows the different pieces of the drum set by me pointing them out in Modern Drummer and what they go over in Little Einsteins.
So Saturday mornings I always take her to the local rehearsal studio. She's up to doing right-left & right-right left-left with her hands. That's about it as far as technique. Then she just behind the drums and she sings ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle and hits whatever she wants. She loves it! I don't ever push anything. Yesterday, we ended early and she just wanted to make a bridge on the floor with my cymbals. So there she was walking over my 20 inch ride, which was ok, but when she got to the 6 inch splash.... I just thought to myself, oh well!
So just make it fun!

I have three nieces and three nephews between the ages of 10 and newborn. Their parents have always been amazed how quick they are to copy me when I play the drums -- as young as 14 mos. Rhythm communicates to kids, as does just banging stuff with their hands.

What I also know to be true is kids tend to mimic their parents well into their teens. As they become more aware of it, they're more sly about it, but they do tend to follow the example of the parents rather than the verbal request of the parent. Whatever you spend a great deal of your time doing, this is going to be a huge part of their life. Up until about the 5th grade, chances are they will want to be wherever you are, doing whatever you're doing. If you can avoid it, never turn them away, always answer their question, and return positive interest for positive interest. I think you'll find they gravitate towards the drums as they get older.

I just want to chime in, in agreement with most everyone else. 
At this point, let the kid have fun with the drums & don't worry about him getting everything technically right. If he loves to play on his kit, by all means let him!
It's supposed to be fun!  Maybe sneak in the "lessons" a little at a time, but let him do his thing for the most part & just set a good example.
The only thing I've had to really get after my three-year-old about is a few safety issues, like playing with the stands & running with drumsticks; he did almost drop a tom on his head, messing with the stand once.
Sounds like you're on the right track & drumming aside, It's great to see how many involved Dads there are on this board!
-Mike

Thanks for the excellent responses everyone...

I will let you all know about the progress as time goes by. I have started asking him to play copy-cat with me. He finds it funny... :-)


Stidd

My son is 3 1/2 and he loves to go in the "drum room" and bang on my drumset. He can get around the toms and cymbals pretty well, but he's a long way from touching any pedals. I'd like to get him his own set, so maybe we could play at the same time and get the copycat game going.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a really small beginner set that would be about his size?

very very carefully develop his feet. Like in lr llrr lrlr etc. Keep making it fun. I teach 3 year olds too and its a blast cause not only are they learning drums they are learning skills that "normal people" everyday "average joe bloe" can't grasp. (tear wells in eye thinking about it)....

It also opens up parts of the brain that lead to obsessive drum compulsive disorder.

Ludwig makes one called the Ludwig Jr. . .

(http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/quality,85/brand,zzounds/fit,400by400/p38422b-929454ce75fc15c2b7cee10e28e8ab5a.jpg)

I sent J. Skins a PM with info on the Ludwig kit, but if it can be afforded, I think the Yomamaha Hip Gig Jr. is a better value for ~$500. It's a quality kit that can be used for many different apps beyond childhood.

The question for me is whether a 16" BD is still short enough for a 3-year-old to reach the pedals. I guess it depends on the 3-year-old.

Thanks for the help, guys. Good suggestions.

I hope this doesnt come out wrong but what skills are you teaching these 3 year olds that normal people can't grasp? ???

When I picture 3 yr olds, it reminds me of my neices little 2-3 yr old "church choir" and there Christmas morning performance of Jingle Bells, all of them jingling their bells but not one of them singing the words, adorable to say the least.  :'(

"I hope this doesn't come out wrong but what skills are you teaching these 3 year olds that normal people can't grasp?"

No did not come out wrong. You asked a valid question.

When you pick up a set of drum sticks . What color are they?.. What color do you see?

When you hit that drum what sound does it make? Do you like that sound?

Ok so( 3 yr old) you like your red drumsticks (they are natural) and you like that drum (which is the ride cymbal) over everything else?
ok...

lets count..
 
What counting... says the 3 yr old(well actually a glazed look that represents speech)

counting is this....

tap tap tap tap tap tap


Its accelerated responsive learning. The skills being taught are independence and the ability to make an informed choice.