Advice needed! Spare me some knowledge DW!

hyruleherojoe

Senior Member
Hey guys/gals! Love this forum for its great fountain of collective knowledge.

Got a call from my bandmate Saturday telling me that he's going away for a bit and asked if I could substitute his drum students. He teaches at a local music store covering various instruments. He knows the basics of drumming but not really the finer points. Boy was I ecstatic!!

I agreed to it immediately! The thought of working with future drummers and teaching what I have a passion for was too good to pass up. So after asking basic questions about when and where, he gives two important pieces of information. Two special ed students, and a few intermediates, and one really good student. I ask him if he has any lesson plans. Nope, he basically wings it since he only knows the basic concepts of drumming.

Here is where I come to DW. Any educators have tips with how to approach this? I have an idea for the intermediate players. Have them play a little bit, then ask them what do they want to work on. If I see something they lack, I'll work on that.

For the really advanced student I'll ask him what he wants to work on, and try to brush up on moving rudiments around the kit.

For the special ed students I have no idea! I guess I should ask my bandmate (Pat) what exactly is their special ed affliction/situation. I know this is a very sensitive area and I don't want to offend the parents, student, and owner of the store.

That said, I hope this opens an opportunity to tutor on weekends after my bandmate gets back. I'm so excited and can't wait. Any and all advice welcomed!
 
In this politically correct age, I don't think it's a bad idea to contact the parents of the special ed students directly and explain the situation that you'll be teaching them, and find out what their issues are and where they may be in their studies. I think that just shows you care and you're proactive about having their continuing drum education to be as positive as it has been. Regarding the others, if your buddy has been winging it, you might not need to approach it any differently. In the rare instance when I take on a student, I'm spending quite a bit of time getting to know them and what they want. Maybe spend some time talking about who they like to listen to and what they want to achieve, then after seeing how they are as players, that gives you the roadmap of where you're going to go.

Good luck with it!
 
Are the students aware you will be taking over? You could spend quite a bit of time just finding out where there playing is and where they want to take it, are they prepared to pay for a lot of chat? Do you know what they are working towards at the moment and are you equiped to help them get there?

Can the bandmate give you a heads up regarding the technique he is working on with each student? as you may pick up on something else in there playing and confuse the issue.
 
A couple of things bother me here. Your friend is taking a pretty lax attitude to their students. "Winging it" is no way to bring a student along. And accordingly, while it's nice they've given you some work, you friend has left you woefully underprepared. Tell them "thanks". Granted, I'm not a "stick to a curriculum" kind of guy, but I have a lot of different materials and approaches that I've built up over many years of teaching to fall back on depending on the needs of the student. So I can get away with being a little more lax about lesson planning because I know from experience that I can make connections between the concepts and techniques I work on with my students. I know the big picture I'm trying to paint and all roads lead there, if I can mix my metaphors.

But, on the other hand, we can blame him all we like, but if you don't have some fall-back stuff to work with for the type of students you're planning to teach, maybe you shouldn't be teaching them? No offense intended, and it may only be a couple of lessons but it does matter that you give them something to work with. I would say that whether you pick up where your friend left off is immaterial, depending on how long you'll be with these kids. If you have solid, self-contained lessons on particular subjects that are scaleable to students at whatever developmental stage these kids are at, all the better. Then you can go in, deliver the material and it's like the student has had a masterclass in a particular specialty and your friend can pick back up on what they were working on when they return. For instance, I have some drumset warm-up exercises that can be tailored to students of just about any skill level. When in doubt, I can go into a lesson and deliver the material and find a way to have it help anyone. For the student, sometimes a change is as good as a rest and simply getting a different perspective and a different voice can help them make big strides in a hurry that they can take and apply to whatever it was they were working on with their regular teacher. In the process, you can find out where the kids are at regarding a lot of things.

Another approach is to simply have them play some straightforward time -- whatever they can manage -- and then work on particular facets of their timekeeping that need improvement. That can lead you down any number of alleys - technique, coordination, time and feel, phrasing, etc. Again, though, it's up to you to have material and/or experience to fall back on.

Regarding your Special Needs students. It's advisable to contact the parents ahead of time to let them know that you'll be taking over and get any help or advice you might need for working with their kids. Some parents will be more forthcoming with help than others. But, some SN kids (and kids generally) can get really attached to their instructors so suddenly finding a stranger in a small room waiting for them can be off-putting. That said, your friend should be able to tell you all about this if they've been doing their diligence as a teacher.
 
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Thank you all for the replies! The one about calling the parents is an excellent idea! That sounds very professional and I'm sure it will leave a good impression on them. Definitely will hit up my buddy on the materials he's covered and whatnot.

From what I remember, my friend said he really didn't cover technique concepts since he isn't a drummer. He's actually a very talented bassist and can hold his own on guitar and piano. That said, his drums skills are decent enough but not refined. So I guess the students that are up to it, will get technique lessons. Gotta write these ideas down. Thanks so much!
 
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