Minimum age for starting drum lessons

Frank

Gold Member
A friend of mine has a 2 year old grandson. They gave him a drum and sticks, and she thinks he has natural ability. She was interested in already exploring drum lessons for him.

2 sounds kind of young to me, but I'm not a professional educator. Can anyone offer an informed view of the minimum age for starting drum lessons?

She says he has good verbal abilities. I would think, though, that the practical minimum would be after the child learns the alphabet and counting. At that point, maybe it would be feasible then to be able to write out a rhythm for the child and have them try to make sense out of it.

?
 
It depends.

For regular music schools around here it's always been 9 yo, but now we push it to 8.

Right now I actually have several 6 yo students on guitar and in many ways I'd prefer to use other instruments instead or as supplements.

It's not really about age. It's about the right method and the right expectations. Right equipment, too.

Maybe "drum lessons" with a typical "drum tacher" isn't the right way, they really have to know what they're doing, but there are specialists for this sort of thing.
 
If I were teaching, they would have to ba able to read, not music but basic language for writing notes and assigments.
 
I once did some sub teaching for a group of kids that varied in age from 4 at the youngest to 16 at the oldest. Was a little bit of a challenge, but the hardest part was keeping the youngest kids with the program. They don't sit still, they have no patience, don't really understand any subtleties of what you're explaining, and often cannot even repeat the concept you told them a few minutes ago.

Totally fine to let the kid play if he/she wants, but structured lessons would be a waste of time and money IMO.

Just have the parents buy some of the plastic toddler "instruments" which starts to introduce the concept of making noises with tools for doing such.
 
I think at that age I'd look more into a Kindermusik type program. A good Kindermusik program will still teach a lot of music and rhythm and stuff, as well as give a bit of structure.

Outside of that, it is difficult to really put an age. As I've found with any music instruction a lot of it is very dependent on the student. The student has to be physically developed, both size and control, enough plus have enough of an attention span and academic skills in order to undertake the process.
 
Isn't that 1-8 year span the time when you just the let kid be and do whatever s/he wants? I'm not sure where these parents get these ideas that instantly putting some structure into a kids' life makes sense.

I've seen prodigy children playing music with pros at a very early age, and then by the time they hit high school, they were off playing baseball. I've seen older adults pick up an instrument in their 30s and become very good very quick.

Not every kid will be Tony Williams playing with Miles when he was 17.

I say let the child be - if he continues to beat on his drum and have a good time, don't discourage that by thinking, "I must get him with a teacher". That time will come on its own. I've seen more students give up on music once they started studying - because they're not sure if they want be that serious about it. I figure once you can have a intelligible conversation with your child then you can discuss if they want to learn from a teacher. Until then, let them fly on their own discovery.

I sorta have a bad chip on my shoulder about this because I've been involved with school music programs for over 30 years of my life and I've met so many misinformed parents it isn't funny. Talk about living vicariously through your child. Whenever a parent asks me teaching advice, I know to steer the conversation towards what the parent never got to do and where the motivation to push their kid is coming from. It's sad.
 
I agree with the general sentiment of not getting him a teacher at that age. I have two kids and have been around a lot of other kids that age and I don't think they are developmentally far enough along for lessons to make much sense. They are still learning to talk at that age. A two year old child does not quite have the cognitive abilities of a dog. Dogs are very smart, but I'm not aware of too many of them getting much out of drum lessons.

I started piano lessons at 5 and my kids both started around the same age. I think that's about right for lessons (other than voice--it's too early for voice). And both of my kids did well with piano, but it was still difficult to get them to practice.

Tell the grandparent to cool her heels and let the kid just enjoy hitting the drums. If she really wants him to be a musician, forcing lessons on him that early is likely to do a great job of making sure he never becomes one. Also, grandparents have a way of over-estimating the abilities of their grandchildren--by a lot...
 
I agree with all of you.

Without knowing what the conventional wisdom answer was at the time she asked, I told her that he should be older.

I had told her to keep the drum around, keep the sticks around, have some music playing in the house at times, and let nature takes its course until he is older.

Just wanted to be sure I was giving her sound advice. Thanks, everyone.
 
I was playing in my first band at 8 yrs of age-Three Flames and a Spark. I was Sparky. Plenty of drummers started around same age-like Jo Jo. But 2 does seem young for lessons- let them have fun on a lil cheap baby kit and see if the desire sticks.
 
The smallest I get are 5 years old.

It¨s good if they can already read some languaje, ´cause that way they have ALREADY a conecction with SYMBOLS, since with me they start MUSIC READING from the first lesson.
 
....
I had told her to keep the drum around, keep the sticks around, have some music playing in the house at times, and let nature takes its course until he is older....


That's exactly what I thought.
At that age, navigating by feel, instinct, and any natural ability or interest is plenty.
 
The smallest I get are 5 years old.

It¨s good if they can already read some languaje, ´cause that way they have ALREADY a conecction with SYMBOLS, since with me they start MUSIC READING from the first lesson.

Well, you can't play drums without symbols...
 
My Father was a drummer and a drum teacher. There was a music room and drum set at my house from the very first day I came into this world.
I began "playing with" the drum set just after I learned how to walk. I did not begin to "play" the drum set until I was 8 years old.


.
 
I've had some 5 year old students, but it's been kind of hit-or-miss with ages 5 and 6. For some it's difficult to focus, even for a few minutes -- even the sticks themselves can be a distraction. A few real take to it, though, and enjoy the challenges of learning a skill and making music. Below age 5 I've never had any success -- it's more activity direction than learning to play, and I'm out of my league when it comes to early childhood education. I wouldn't attempt to take on a 2 year old student.
 
DrumsGrandpa said:
My grandson is only 5, but he's already interested in drums. But I don't want to teach him so early: he needs to have his bright childhood after all, without routine classes (I remember my school and when I had to do my essay each time I missed a class). My wife is a school teacher and she insists on homeschooling. Though I don't support her idea. What is the average age for teaching drums? Curious about other parents/grandparents.

My dad is a drum teacher and private tutor, so I often meet parents who send their 2-3 year olds to private music schools to learn drums. He is always telling them a story about a boy who played drums like a devil when he was only 4. This story is about Julian Pavone, the youngest professional drummer (the record set in 2010). He was only 4 years and 319 days old when hi played his 20th concert (now, he's a Littledrummerbaby YouTube channel).
 
For very young students (as referenced in the original post), the community music classes make sense. Those classes are meant to expose them to music in general. It allows them to build an interest in music that may lead to one on one lessons later.

I have had great success with teaching 5 year old students. Many continue with lessons and excel in school band (when they are old enough to join band classes).

I have a student now who started with me when he was 5. When he was in elementary school, he was attending middle school music camps. Similarly, when he was in middle school, he attended high school music camp. In high school, he was asked to perform with a university ensemble for a tour of Columbia. He made All State Jazz band all four years of high school and recently received a nice scholarship to Berklee.

I tend to teach them the same material that I would usually teach older students, albeit at a slower pace. My wife (also a musician) was amazed to see my 6 year old student (who started when he was 5) playing all kinds of 16th note/16th rest combinations.

Jeff
 
I'm not a teacher so I have no opinion about when is too young to start. I can say however, that sometimes age dosen't matter. I am 15 years older than my brother. By the time he was 2 he could sit at my kit and play in 2/4 and 4/4, complete with fills and cymbal crashes. No one taught him anything, he learned by watching me. He got lessons around age 10 or so. Everything before that he learned by observing.

And no, he could not reach the pedals. I imagine if he could at the time he woulda figured that out too.
 
It depends.

For regular music schools around here it's always been 9 yo, but now we push it to 8.

Right now I actually have several 6 yo students on guitar and in many ways I'd prefer to use other instruments instead or as supplements.

It's not really about age. It's about the right method and the right expectations. Right equipment, too.

Maybe "drum lessons" with a typical "drum tacher" isn't the right way, they really have to know what they're doing, but there are specialists for this sort of thing.

I agree on every count. My six-year-old son has been playing around with sticks since his first birthday -- on couches, beds, practice pads, and even my drums. His interest is still quite prevalent, but I'm not exposing him (at least not deliberately) to any in-depth concepts of drumming just yet. He isn't mature enough to study with focus and determination, though his sense of rhythm is well established and his stick control is decent for his age. In another few years, I'll use the subconscious principles he's absorbed as a foundation for a more refined approach toward technique, rudimental development, and so on. Throwing too much at him at this stage would only serve as a potential means of discouragement in my opinion.

I started lessons at age eleven. I was both physically and mentally mature enough at that point to take things seriously from the outset. Being expected to practice an hour a day was a great disciplinary experience.
 
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