DRUM TEACHER! AGH!!!!!

I absoslutly hate my drum teacher He's almost always late and by the time he gets there hes forgotten where weve left off so he pretty much spends half the time get situated and then we have maybe about 10 min. of actually doing something and he ALWAYS goes out of a book!? he has no passion for what he does(that i can see). how important is actually having a drum teacher. is being self taught better anyway?!
 
I absoslutly hate my drum teacher He's almost always late and by the time he gets there hes forgotten where weve left off so he pretty much spends half the time get situated and then we have maybe about 10 min. of actually doing something and he ALWAYS goes out of a book!? he has no passion for what he does(that i can see). how important is actually having a drum teacher. is being self taught better anyway?!

Drop him and get a QUALITY teacher.
 
Yeah, its much better having a good teacher than being self taught. Get rid of this guy and get a good one ;)
 
I'm sorry that your experience with a teacher has been negative. As a teacher and student, I can tell you that not all teachers are like that. Do some research on the teachers in your town or even teachers within a 50 mile radius. Your effort should pay off.

Also - where do you live? Maybe someone can recommend a reputable teacher in your area.
 
Sounds pretty unprofessional to me...definitely seek out a "second opinion" and compare the experiences.

Your teacher shouldn't waste a lot of time...it should really be a matter of getting right down to business as that's what you're paying for. And, he should be teaching you what you want (as well as need) to learn.

Don't let this deter you...a teacher will get you what you want out of drumming much faster than you will on your own, in your first year or two.
 
Sounds pretty unprofessional. I studied under a similar teacher for the first year of my drumming, and while I did progress a lot, it was mostly due to my own self-teaching (I listened to Bonham records about 4 hours a day and just played as close as I could to what he did). When I finally started taking quality lessons - which are bound to be a little more expensive, but therefore you don't need them as often - my skill level took leaps and bounds in the right direction.
Definitely get a great teacher, and someone who won't baby you through drumming and waste your time. They should be able to (1) remember your name and where you're at in terms of skill, (2) explain things quickly but effectively, and (3) give you tons of good material, enough to actually occupy you for the amount of time between lessons.
 
Drop him and get a QUALITY teacher.

EXACTLY!!! It's a shame that this has been your experience with a teacher so far. Ask around at drum shops, school music programs, and other places that would be knowledgeable about what a good teacher is, and find out who they recommend. A good teacher will do most of the following each lesson:

teach you something new
show you something that you're doing that you need to improve on (and how to do it)
inspire you (not every time, but they should be obviously passionate)
give you homework that builds on your previous work

Plus, you need to like them and their teaching style. If it's not clicking for you, find another teacher. There's no use paying for a miserable experience that isn't gaining you anything. Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do...
 
I absoslutly hate my drum teacher He's almost always late and by the time he gets there hes forgotten where weve left off so he pretty much spends half the time get situated and then we have maybe about 10 min. of actually doing something and he ALWAYS goes out of a book!? he has no passion for what he does(that i can see). how important is actually having a drum teacher. is being self taught better anyway?!

You are PAYING for this. Drop him. I'm sure there are other drum teachers in your area that will give you the respect you deserve (and focus on you and what you are looking to accomplish).
 
I absoslutly hate my drum teacher He's almost always late and by the time he gets there hes forgotten where weve left off so he pretty much spends half the time get situated and then we have maybe about 10 min. of actually doing something and he ALWAYS goes out of a book!? he has no passion for what he does(that i can see). how important is actually having a drum teacher. is being self taught better anyway?!

After you fire this guy, and while you are looking for a guru, you should go to open jams and find any opportunity to jam with experienced pros. A drum teacher cannot make you a better musician. You could take one drum lesson, jam with musicians every day and become a great player. But taking drum lessons alone won't give you the experience of where to place those accents and syncopations you learn.
 
The first 2 questions out of my drum teacher's mouth each week are how much did you practice and where is your assignment sheet. He simply adds to the sheet as we go and we switch to a new one when it's full. That way we both know where we are! Seems a simple technique any legitimate instructor would employ.

You should definitely quit that teacher and tell him why you are leaving in a constructive way.
 
You should definitely quit that teacher and tell him why you are leaving in a constructive way.
You don't need to tell him anything if you don't want to (or if it makes you uncomfortable). Simply by taking your business elsewhere you are "telling" him how you feel. If you really don't like the guy or his style of teaching, don't give him an opportunity to "convince" you to stay. Your dollar, your time, your choice.
 
My drum teacher is like that, always doing stuff out of a book, and most of the time he is just messing about on the piano (he is a piano teacher aswell) or ignoring me and playing on the cajon. He is on the phone for about 10 minutes every lesson aswell, in the meantime I have to sit quietly. It's me that does all of the work for god sake, telling him where we were up to, in the book and stuff like that, it is pretty annoying. AND he is only there every other week, he is supposed to be there every week.
 
My drum teacher is like that, always doing stuff out of a book, and most of the time he is just messing about on the piano (he is a piano teacher aswell) or ignoring me and playing on the cajon. He is on the phone for about 10 minutes every lesson aswell, in the meantime I have to sit quietly. It's me that does all of the work for god sake, telling him where we were up to, in the book and stuff like that, it is pretty annoying. AND he is only there every other week, he is supposed to be there every week.

That sounds like an unmotivated ass.

I too had a teacher who often cancelled lessons or showed up late. Other than that he was a good teacher, but I no longer have lessons from him which is probably good. He was a better drummer than me but somehow could not teach me very much in the end.

I am a teacher too, and sometimes I have a bad day and can't really get in touch with my pupils or something. Happens to everyone. But consistently showing up late, not knowing what you're doing etc. is a no-go. Guys like that shouldn't be teaching.
 
That sounds like an unmotivated ass.
But consistently showing up late, not knowing what you're doing etc. is a no-go. Guys like that shouldn't be teaching.
It is totally annoying, I pay £80 for 8 lessons and I only get 4 or 5. And each lesson lasts a half an hour.
 
Sadly, these types of experiences are more common than people may want to believe. There is a large group of drum instructors out there that do not have one ounce of teaching ability. Sure, they may know how to read music and are able to show someone how to read but that hardly qualifies one to "teach."

A teacher must love what they do. If they don't it will be evident immediately in thier actions. A teacher must have sincere care about thier student and thier craft. A teacher should always be on the ball, prepared to learn as well as teach. A teacher will always be finding ways to better his teaching abilities if he is sincere.

Stories like this make me sick becuase there are many students out there that are going to reflect the crappy attitude of thier instructors.
 
EXACTLY!!! It's a shame that this has been your experience with a teacher so far. Ask around at drum shops, school music programs, and other places that would be knowledgeable about what a good teacher is, and find out who they recommend. A good teacher will do most of the following each lesson:

teach you something new
show you something that you're doing that you need to improve on (and how to do it)
inspire you (not every time, but they should be obviously passionate)
give you homework that builds on your previous work

Plus, you need to like them and their teaching style. If it's not clicking for you, find another teacher. There's no use paying for a miserable experience that isn't gaining you anything. Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do...

First of all, I teach and as a teacher or anyone with a job, I have to show up on time, (hell show up period! Lol!) and put in an effort and care about what I do...The student also has to care about the lessons and the commitment it takes to getting better and improving...

A real good teacher won't /can't show you something "new" if you haven't sufficiently practiced 1 thing enough and be honest with the student if they are not getting it done...A good teacher will make the student stick with something like say a free stroke until it is mastered and then and only then, move the student to the next level..If a student doesn't meet me half way, there is nothing I can do help that. Most students aren't that serious and don't wan't to put the work in..They HAVE to meet me half way and then I can focus on making things interesting/inspiring etc..If they don't have some work ethic to begin with, it is impossible.. I teach and to be honest at 42, I am still trying to find ways to make things interesting for the students..Sometimes no matter what, the kids are dead wood..If someone comes in and practices every day like 1 hr or more, it is like a dream come true and if they practice say 15 mins a day every day, I can even work with that although it is lame.. Don't blame me for not practicing. Some things can be made fun, but other things are going to be boring sometimes and that's a fact that a lot of students don't want to take responsibilty for..I am not pointing any fingers on this board because I don't know anyone and what they do or how they do it, but this has been my experience..


Then there is this whole A.D.D. thing.. I think a lot of this is crap and an excuse for a lazy mind.. I had this when I was a kid but it had no name back then and what made me fix it was to finally grow up and take some responsibility for my actions..Some kids do have a real hard time focusing and as a teacher, I find I have to be real patient and try my best to make the kid walk out feeling good.. I have one little boy who has a real short attention span so I started him off just playing a little toy drum with one stick and playing a whole note, then a half note, then a quarter note..Soon I had him accompying me on a 12 bar blues where I was playing organ and he played 4 bars of a whole note, 4 bars of a Half note, then 4 bars of a quarter note and it sounded good! He even started to dance along with it and made it feel good.Now this is from a 7 yr old boy who is a little immature for his age and I learned something too. I never tried that approach before. I also have some of the younger students doing shakers before drum set or as they learn drum set.. Shakers are actually real important I feel.. They really make you feel the subdivisions in the rhythms..Sorry to go on so long....I'm done
 
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Sadly, these types of experiences are more common than people may want to believe. There is a large group of drum instructors out there that do not have one ounce of teaching ability. Sure, they may know how to read music and are able to show someone how to read but that hardly qualifies one to "teach."

A teacher must love what they do. If they don't it will be evident immediately in thier actions. A teacher must have sincere care about thier student and thier craft. A teacher should always be on the ball, prepared to learn as well as teach. A teacher will always be finding ways to better his teaching abilities if he is sincere.

Stories like this make me sick becuase there are many students out there that are going to reflect the crappy attitude of thier instructors.

Good point Cory.
I was just thinking, I have been progressing quite fast with my drumming whit the teacher I have now, and I just think, what if I did have a better teacher? Where would I be now?
 
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