Teaching philosophies, ideas, experiences

Drumsinhisheart

Silver Member
I have a friend who teaches. Been doing it for years now. Makes him a living. We've discussed my getting into teaching, but honestly, in listening to him he has come to feel he is more a glorified baby-sitter than drumming instructor. Most of his students don't practice, don't really apply themselves. Parents drop them off while they go shopping in the same plaza the music store is in. Most of his students are young children, really. Of his 40 students he only has a few that really seem to like playing drums. He gets discouraged, though he'd rather do that than another 9-5 of some kind.

Just wondered what the teachers among you have for experiences and philosophy of teaching.
 
I'd be curious about this, as well. I have taught a few private students from ages 5ish up to 23 with very mixed results in terms of how I enjoyed the experience.

I've thought about teaching at a shop, but I wonder what it would be like.
 
I have a friend who teaches. Been doing it for years now. Makes him a living. We've discussed my getting into teaching, but honestly, in listening to him he has come to feel he is more a glorified baby-sitter than drumming instructor. Most of his students don't practice, don't really apply themselves. Parents drop them off while they go shopping in the same plaza the music store is in. Most of his students are young children, really. Of his 40 students he only has a few that really seem to like playing drums. He gets discouraged, though he'd rather do that than another 9-5 of some kind.

Just wondered what the teachers among you have for experiences and philosophy of teaching.

This is part of the unfortunate result...or, just *result* if you will...when commerce merges with so called art and art is used to generate commerce. You want to make money so you are put into a position that makes concessions in order to maximize revenue.

If a teacher was financially independent or even stable (or Freddie G), they might be able to eliminate the concessions and only work with those having a passion for the craft. So, if I was going to teach, I would first save a boatload of cash and then reject those that do not have passion...lack of talent is OK...because passion will trump it.
 
I taught in a similar environment for a long time.

but now with my playing/recording schedule the way it is and having a family I unfortunately cannot just take on someone who is not fully committed.
I used to love taking on the semi committed because I found it to be a challenge to open their eyes to music and inspire them to want to explore their potential.
just not possible right now being so busy.....which is a good thing.
I have gained quite a good reputation locally and now require an audition for my services.

it's nothing difficult and mostly to just get a look at what I will be dealing with

it can be in person or via youtube ... whatever

I feel blessed to have a waiting list of students that I do my best to not keep waiting

my philosophy is simple

what is our goal?....to play music

so right from the very beginning we listen to music.
we get excited about music.
we talk about what goes into making music sound and feel good
and work toward gaining the proper facilities to play music and work on what it takes to untie all the necessary knots

a tactic that I have had much success with I call "Drummer of the Week"

I have old posters from MD magazine on the wall from the "top 25 drummers" polls

I have them point to one of the faces...I give them his name...they go home and find information on him and listen to his work and watch videos and they write down stuff they liked, loved, didn't like, or had questions about....and we talk about it and study things about that player for a bit.

I have found this to really open students minds and ears to certain styles of music they may otherwise never listen to .

I have a quite unorthodox style of teaching compared to most guys in my area.

the reason for that is because I absolutely hated lessons as a kid and think the old school way of teaching absolutely does not work with these younger generations.

we study all the necessary fundamentals and techniques .... they are just disguised inside music

from the very beginning I play guitar along with them and I find that this excites them and they cannot wait to come back.....and it also teaches them to accompany from jump street .

I literally have students running into my drum studio that cannot wait to spend time with me..... parents love this and I am blessed
 
I taught in a similar environment for a long time.

but now with my playing/recording schedule the way it is and having a family I unfortunately cannot just take on someone who is not fully committed.
I used to love taking on the semi committed because I found it to be a challenge to open their eyes to music and inspire them to want to explore their potential.
just not possible right now being so busy.....which is a good thing.
I have gained quite a good reputation locally and now require an audition for my services.

it's nothing difficult and mostly to just get a look at what I will be dealing with

it can be in person or via youtube ... whatever

I feel blessed to have a waiting list of students that I do my best to not keep waiting

my philosophy is simple

what is our goal?....to play music

so right from the very beginning we listen to music.
we get excited about music.
we talk about what goes into making music sound and feel good
and work toward gaining the proper facilities to play music and work on what it takes to untie all the necessary knots

a tactic that I have had much success with I call "Drummer of the Week"

I have old posters from MD magazine on the wall from the "top 25 drummers" polls

I have them point to one of the faces...I give them his name...they go home and find information on him and listen to his work and watch videos and they write down stuff they liked, loved, didn't like, or had questions about....and we talk about it and study things about that player for a bit.

I have found this to really open students minds and ears to certain styles of music they may otherwise never listen to .

I have a quite unorthodox style of teaching compared to most guys in my area.

the reason for that is because I absolutely hated lessons as a kid and think the old school way of teaching absolutely does not work with these younger generations.

we study all the necessary fundamentals and techniques .... they are just disguised inside music

from the very beginning I play guitar along with them and I find that this excites them and they cannot wait to come back.....and it also teaches them to accompany from jump street .

I literally have students running into my drum studio that cannot wait to spend time with me..... parents love this and I am blessed

Thats great stuff...

You have found a way through different avenues to maintain a level of commerce needed to support your family and thus you can choose students that will be a joy to work with (even if it has challenges at times) and thus you are satisifed as a mentor

you are the embodiment of my philosophy above...but seriously it sounds like a great structure.
 
I figured if I did this my approach would be a lot more organic because the kids are zapped out on gaming and all. Everything is seek and destroy. Trying to get them to sit still to learn to read black dots and white paper ...

I can see teaching fundamentals. My friend really gets into the reading aspects. But he tells me the kids have a hard time concentrating. Half of them just come to hang with him and share what's going on in their lives. I guess their home life comes into play one way or another these days.

Funny, I had the same idea about posters, but shots of my main influences and favorite players.
 
I' m sorry but you've got to be realistic. Your friend attracts that type of student because of the level of knowledge he has himself. There are serious students out there and guess what? They are studying with the serious teachers out there. Not one's employing gimmicks or hiding fundamentals or being used as mommy's time out from the kid. I know more than one serious teacher and they all attract the best students, produce the best results and earn the best fees. Teaching doesn't have to be like your friend is experiencing.
 
I've been teaching several high school drum lines for the past 20 years, but I cannot make a go of it teaching individual private lessons. When I'm in front of a line and it's obvious that someone is unprepared, I can move on to the next person or section of music and be able to get through the rehearsal. When in a one-on-one situation, that leads to a painful half hour. I will do spot lessons with my more advanced players and enjoy that, but it takes a special kind of person to have the patience to deal with beginners on a weekly basis.
 
Not one's employing gimmicks or hiding fundamentals

not sure if this is a back handed comment in response to my post

but if it is I assure you there are no gimmicks here strictly results

I am a highly qualified educated strict instructor

I have 3 former students excelling at Berklee ...2 of them on scholarship

1 former student that is currently in the drum corps. and is first snare at the University of Michigan

one former student in a very successful touring rock band and one playing drums on a broadway show......both making one hell of a living

all of which I handed their first pair of sticks

I am extremely strict on fundamentals ..... I just do not handle it the way the old school teachers that I studied with as a kid handled it

there is more than one way to skin a cat .... and that old way is dated , stale and uncreative in my opinion .... things progress in 100 years

I always encourage my students to constantly be creative , and stay creative .

my drum studio breeds artists not cookie cutters
 
I was actually responding to comments from several posts. One was yours. As for my ivory tower, I've spent the majority of my life studying with or watching professional drum/percussion instructors teach. The situation described by the original poster I've not encountered with these people. The teaching question pops up here quite often and many times there are only one or two views given. I post my experiences as they are very different from the majority of people here. I'm sorry if some of my personal reality offends people on this board.
 
"I' m sorry but you've got to be realistic. Your friend attracts that type of student because of the level of knowledge he has himself. There are serious students out there and guess what? They are studying with the serious teachers out there. Not one's employing gimmicks or hiding fundamentals or being used as mommy's time out from the kid. I know more than one serious teacher and they all attract the best students, produce the best results and earn the best fees. Teaching doesn't have to be like your friend is experiencing. " bigd

How do you what level of knowledge my friend has? I posted nothing to that issue. He teaches drums at a music store, where all instruments are taught. He is not Joe Morello teaching advanced techniques. He's a great sight reader, plays well, and teaches how to play the instrument. He gets the students who sign up or whose parents sign them up. It's not his private business. It has zero to do with his knowledge of drums and drumming.
 
Half of them just come to hang with him and share what's going on in their lives. I guess their home life comes into play one way or another these days.

I have a friend who gives guitar lessons and he has a similar story. He uses that as a teaching aid. These kids love him and he takes advantage of that by getting them really interested in different things. He has also said that the kids he has a bond with want to please him so they practice harder.

Being a positive influence in somebodys life is always a good thing. If they learn how to play the drums, that is even better. In the end soccer mom is not paying you because they want their kid to be the next Neil Peart, they are paying you because their kid enjoys the half hour or hour he is spending with you. Mom doesnt care if little Bobby can do a paradiddle, she just cares that he is enjoying himself. If that doesn't sound like something you want to deal with, then teaching kids is probibly not the right choice for you.
 
Being a positive influence in somebodys life is always a good thing. If they learn how to play the drums, that is even better. In the end soccer mom is not paying you because they want their kid to be the next Neil Peart, they are paying you because their kid enjoys the half hour or hour he is spending with you. Mom doesnt care if little Bobby can do a paradiddle, she just cares that he is enjoying himself. If that doesn't sound like something you want to deal with, then teaching kids is probibly not the right choice for you.

+ 100%. There's a difference between being a teacher, and being an educator.
 
I'm sorry if some of my personal reality offends people on this board.

This isn't really an apology. We can't argue with your reality, of course; but that you attribute the students' success or lack of it directly to the teacher's skills -- that is objectionable. It might have something to do with the teacher, but it could very well have nothing to do with him. Instead, it could be any number of things: the students themselves, the parents, geographical location, local musical culture, the atmosphere of the teaching studio, or some combination. To simply blame the teacher -- you shouldn't be surprised that the OP and others have reacted in order to defend a friend or teachers in general. What kind of response would you get if you extended this argument to school teachers? Speaking from experience, the caliber of student skyrocketed when I switched studios.

Your assertion also implies that a teacher can't improve at teaching (teachers are either "serious" or they're not, and they've always been that way), nor should a teacher embrace the idea that being a positive influence in someone's life is a part of the job, since engaging a student through gimmicks and other non-didactic material are signs of poor teaching. Some students are simply hard to reach, and the last thing you want to do is create a distaste in music for someone.

I suppose there are a few unqualified, or even bad, teachers out there, but I think it's a rarity. There's not a ton of money to be made, and without that incentive, the ones who aren't intrinsically motivated soon find other work. In the case of the OP's friend, I hope he's able to find a more satisfying teaching experience if he feels burnt out, and that the best of his students follow him to a new studio or school. Or, OTOH, that he changes up the teaching material and finds a way to engage the students. Learning to read music is difficult enough, but it's nearly impossible if you aren't motivated by why you're doing it (for example, so that you can play that sweet fill from [Name of Song by Student's Favorite Band]).
 
I am extremely strict on fundamentals ..... I just do not handle it the way the old school teachers that I studied with as a kid handled it

there is more than one way to skin a cat .... and that old way is dated , stale and uncreative in my opinion .... things progress in 100 years

I always encourage my students to constantly be creative , and stay creative .

my drum studio breeds artists not cookie cutters

I'm intrigued. How do you handle it? How old are your students on average?
 
This isn't really an apology. We can't argue with your reality, of course; but that you attribute the students' success or lack of it directly to the teacher's skills -- that is objectionable. It might have something to do with the teacher, but it could very well have nothing to do with him. .

I don't find it objectionable. Teachers are supposed to be able to teach. Some of them can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear; some (including me) can't, but all teachers that I know do their very best. What I find more objectionable is your use of "him".
 
My purpose in posting was to gain some insights into how to address the art of teaching in today's world, and to get some personal experiences from those here who teach or have had special experiences with their own instructors. My friend's experience was not meant to be anything but his. He is the only drum teacher I know. His kids like him, but that has not proved a final influence for the students. I have spent a lot of time talking with him about it, and sharing ideas I would use if I began the journey myself. Part of the 'problem' IS the location, the place itself. It isn't there to draw in the protege's. It's a musical instrument store, catering to a community, located in a shopping plaza. It's not Drummer's Collective.

I'd be pursuing this from the aspect of private instruction, so I know a certain amount of soccer mom's dropping off their kids while they shop would not be an issue.

Still, kids are kids. They live in a fast-paced world, with visuals coming at them all day long, in a technical society where speed is everything.

Just wondered what ideas people might have to work in this culture we live in.
 
Here's a teaser.

I'm ADHD, unmedicated by choice. I have a very low boredom threshold and get agitated and restless quickly when bored. I started lessons twice. One was one of Australia's top jazz drummers and the other also operated at a high level. They saw my inefficient grip and stroke and prescribed exercises that no doubt were logical and appropriate.

I lasted a few weeks each time. I hate exercises. I love playing songs and jamming.

Would any of you teachers have a workaround for someone who finds dry exercises intolerable? My guess is most teachers would write someone like me off as a waste of time.

Not asking for lessons personally BTW (at this stage, anyway), just interested.
 
Here's a teaser.

I'm ADHD, unmedicated by choice. I have a very low boredom threshold and get agitated and restless quickly when bored. I started lessons twice. One was one of Australia's top jazz drummers and the other also operated at a high level. They saw my inefficient grip and stroke and prescribed exercises that no doubt were logical and appropriate.

I lasted a few weeks each time. I hate exercises. I love playing songs and jamming.

Would any of you teachers have a workaround for someone who finds dry exercises intolerable? My guess is most teachers would write someone like me off as a waste of time.

Not asking for lessons personally BTW (at this stage, anyway), just interested.

I have 2 students with Asperger
one with Autism
and 2 severely ADHD

and they kick ass and we have a blast

so unbelievably creative every one of them
 
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