DRUMMER CAFE

Hey all,

i'm on the hunt for a new teacher, but dont know what to look for.

i did have a teacher, but to be honest, cause of our conflicting schedules, i had maybe one lesson with him!    so i never really got a chance to really understand what he was about.  a friend just referred him and that was that.

so, since i'm pretty much starting from scratch in searching for a new one, what do you guys look for?

If we're talking about a drumkit teacher (as opposed to "legit" percussion), I'd recommend:

1) Somebody who plays professionally. Drumset is an interpretive, improvisational instrument. You need somebody whose knowledge of the instrument extends beyond the theory contained in books.

2) Somebody who can address YOUR needs (which includes your schedule). In your case, from what I know about you, you're already gigging, but have never had training on the basics.  So I'd narrow your search to a gigging pro who has good training. Somebody who can read, who has worked on snare technique, etc. You're in the best city in the world for this, so you have no excuse for not finding somebody who fulfills these criteria.

3) Somebody who can teach. As stupid as that sounds, it's a key component. Not everybody who plays great is any good at communicating HOW they play great. So look for somebody who teaches professionally, who has some sort of approach or methodology for teaching.


On the flip side, here's what I'd avoid:

1) Teachers who claim their way is the ONLY way. A simple look at a handful of the world's best drummers will tell you there's more than one way to do this stuff.

2) Teachers who ignore your needs. You may have to do some less-than-exciting exercises to develop your chops, but the teacher should understand what it is YOU want to accomplish, and should have you on a path that leads you there. This is a judgment call - you really do have to walk before you run, so you may find yourself assigned to put in some hours on a practice pad. That's not a bad thing. But if you want to learn country and he or she is teaching you jazz, that's a problem.

3) Teachers who treat all students alike. This method is practiced by some drum teachers, who run virtual "drum lesson factories." I disagree with this approach, because I consider this such an individualized instrument. A good teacher strives to develop you into the best player YOU can be, not just a clone of himself or herself.


Hope this helps.

[size=-2]Also, I'd like to apologize. While I was writing this, my right nipple was unintentionally exposed. Please forgive me - the DrummerCafe knew nothing about this at the time I posted, and should not be held accountable. An FCC investigation is pending.[/size]

honestly, afros really look best if you limit yourself to one.




joker -- try my old teacher: andy pastorino. he's in the city, occasionally travels out. he may still have his little studio in the bronx. 212-877-0873

andy is a seasoned all-around player. does the jazz gigs, does the rock gigs, loves the funk gigs. he's a really good, patient teacher with a clear methodology. sometimes he's guilty of painful repetition, but i needed that. also, he will put into lessons what you put into it. if you come in unprepared, he won't make much effort. if you do your homework, he'll back you 1000%


reasonable prices, too, though they may've gone up in the past few years.



g'luck!

I would also add something that I personnaly think very important: a teacher can be able to teach you in a way you can enhance your creativity.

Drums, as other instruments, need obviously technique, and a fair amount of creativity. Your teacher must not teach you how to do a particular exercice, but how to integrate it in a creative and musical  process.

Just my 2 cents !

 a teacher that teaches you how to teach yourself is the best kind.  when mom looked for a teacher for me, she just went by price, it's good that we got a good deal, but i could have gotten a terrible teacher.  luckily my teacher now is one of the best, and cheapest!  most of my lessons consist of him playing a song he thinks will be interesting and hard enough to help me develop my abilities.  i play along with his guitar playing, building a beat to go with the song.  he plays the hardest stuff he can think of, odd times, high speeds, etc.  

I'm with Mr_A on this one - I hope there's more than meets the eye here.

I could see a teacher making "creating drum parts to many songs" a significant part of lesson studies, and using that as a springboard to address other areas, but I'm curious:  exactly how is he teaching you to teach yourself, in the course of these lessons?  IMHO there's more to that than a "sink or swim" approach to lesson materials, as in, "Here's a new guitar part - come up with a drum part."

In my experience (as both a student and a teacher), teaching the student to teach himself involves developing the student's creative process, analytical skills, and the ability to ask questions of himself and others.  It's this long-term fostering of understanding that is critical to the process, not the short-term success of coming up with a particular beat for a particular song (as challenging as that may be).

Ask yourself:  if you stopped studying with this teacher today, how would you build on what he has taught you to date?  What has he presented to you, that you can take on your own and continue to develop?  Would you continue to develop over the next weeks and months, even if you stopped taking lessons?  

Also:  do you ever come into a lesson having gone above and beyond what he has assigned for that week?  That's one sign that I know if one of my students is "getting it" - they'll come in with something we haven't discussed to date, something that they've either figured out on their own, or they've discovered something about this new material that they can't understand, but they're able to articulate what the problem is for them.

Random, it really sounds like he's an amateur teacher.

Even though it seems like fun, I think your money and time would be spent better with a pro teacher who will give you the fundamentals that you need.

  Dude, if you're enjoying your lessons then that's all that matters. Have fun!

  Haha, well I can see where they're coming from if you were taking lessons and wanted to make a career out of it. I teach for a living and have had or heard about some pretty bad teachers in my young (20 years old) life. But if you just want someone to jam with and come up with some cool drum parts then it looks like you've found the right guy for the job. Good luck!

   Hippie out