Teaching question

J.D.

Active Member
I've turned down teaching jobs for years for 2 reasons. 1) I have zero patience. I'd probably have people run out after 10min. "It's 1...2...3...4!! You're just counting to freaking FOUR!" 2) I'm not sure what gets taught anymore. Are people still learning rudiments? I wasn't *allowed* near a set until I had a lot of rudiments/etc nailed down. Or do you just put people right on a set now?
 
You'll need as much patience with the growth of your own teaching skills as with the students.

There's no yes or no. It's complicated. Sure, we teach rudiments, but the question is more how and to who.

Just don't be that guy that treats an 8 yo like it's yourself at 14.
 
When I started taking lessons a couple of years ago as a new drummer, I was asked what path I wanted to take. They offered "street drumming" which was simply get on the kit and learn to play songs, or did I want a more pedantic approach; meaning learning to read.

I opted for the latter and after a year or so I asked to go strictly to the pad and to focus on rudiments and hand control for a period of time.

If you want to teach, I would imagine you can find students that want to learn the way you want to teach.

I taught guitar lessons for a while and it was a pain. I had a handful of students that really wanted to learn. I had many more that didn't take it seriously. Young kids can be the worst. I would do it again, but only for a few highly motivated students.
 
For the record, I don't want to teach, and probably never will. Just curious *what* was being taught. I learned in NY doing the Sam Ulano thing (after first learning rudiments from West Point cadets). I still have, and use, a thick drum pad I made back then, alone with two pieces of 1/2" metal tubing instead of sticks.IMG_20230208_161658447.jpg
 
For the record, I don't want to teach, and probably never will. Just curious *what* was being taught. I learned in NY doing the Sam Ulano thing (after first learning rudiments from West Point cadets). I still have, and use, a thick drum pad I made back then, alone with two pieces of 1/2" metal tubing instead of sticks.View attachment 130327
Where there is a will, there is a way.
 
For the record, I don't want to teach, and probably never will. Just curious *what* was being taught. I learned in NY doing the Sam Ulano thing (after first learning rudiments from West Point cadets). I still have, and use, a thick drum pad I made back then, alone with two pieces of 1/2" metal tubing instead of sticks.View attachment 130327
I studied with Sam Ulano for a brief period in the late '60s. He had a studio in an old building with no elevator on 42d street near 6th Ave. Long since torn down. He failed to show for a few scheduled lessons so I quit him. He had me use metal sticks, and a pad somewhat like yours.
 
I got put behind a set right away in 1967. It’s not a new thing. We definitely worked on rudiments after I was taught how to hit the snare and hat at the same time when doing a beat, though. I see nothing wrong with it. It kept my interest up a lot more than just sitting at a practice pad, which we also did…later.
 
@Square and @thebigbeat how long exactly (or at least aproximately), in number of lessons, you study with Sam Ulano?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I have been teaching for 30 years - as a middle/high school band director, and also privately

I also worried about the patience with students thing at first...especially middle school aged kids (10-15). I had to actually do it for about 3 years to figure out how to deal with them. But it was not that bad.

You have to end up realizing that only 50% of your students are going to take it seriously, and only 10% of that 50 will actually become professional level proficient.

you have to not let that bother you, but also be hyper aware of making sure that you did not do anything to off put them. In the same way, you have to define your own standards and not bend them. My students often say that I am one of the most demanding teachers they have, but I am alos the only one that they do not want to disappoint. I have alums of 10-20 years now who say that what they leanerd in band and drumline from me helped them in their daily adult lives....that is success!!

you have to not be afraid of failure, and then of using that failure to change the system you use

as far as what is taught? That is also as diverse as the people learning and teaching

personally, I have all of my students do a good 4 months of hands development, and music reading. I feel like those areas are where I have to undo the most "damage" when students come to me after having taught themselvs first. Those are the biggest roadblocks to intermediate success. I tell them this in our initial meeting before they sign on. Drum set is just one of the many kinds of drumming we will get into.
 
Right you do have to actually teach to teach, it takes some patience, and creativity, and the ability to communicate.

Are people still learning rudiments? I wasn't *allowed* near a set until I had a lot of rudiments/etc nailed down. Or do you just put people right on a set now?

Sure, if that's the instrument they want to learn. After a few weeks at least. We develop drum set and snare drum technique at the same time. Drum set is its own instrument and it doesn't require a lot of snare drum facility.

They offered "street drumming" which was simply get on the kit and learn to play songs

*That* though, is hackery-- teaching "parts" to songs by rote.
 
I have been teaching for 30 years - as a middle/high school band director, and also privately

I also worried about the patience with students thing at first...especially middle school aged kids (10-15). I had to actually do it for about 3 years to figure out how to deal with them. But it was not that bad.

You have to end up realizing that only 50% of your students are going to take it seriously, and only 10% of that 50 will actually become professional level proficient.

you have to not let that bother you, but also be hyper aware of making sure that you did not do anything to off put them. In the same way, you have to define your own standards and not bend them. My students often say that I am one of the most demanding teachers they have, but I am alos the only one that they do not want to disappoint. I have alums of 10-20 years now who say that what they leanerd in band and drumline from me helped them in their daily adult lives....that is success!!

you have to not be afraid of failure, and then of using that failure to change the system you use

as far as what is taught? That is also as diverse as the people learning and teaching

personally, I have all of my students do a good 4 months of hands development, and music reading. I feel like those areas are where I have to undo the most "damage" when students come to me after having taught themselvs first. Those are the biggest roadblocks to intermediate success. I tell them this in our initial meeting before they sign on. Drum set is just one of the many kinds of drumming we will get into.

You sound like an absolutely fantastic teacher.

A lot of your posts indicate this.

Same as Todd Bishop.

You guys are the cats.
 
It really depends what type of teaching we're talking.

I've mostly worked in the Norwegian public music school system which itself can be quite a few different things. At least what meets me when >I first start in the job.

Over the years I've built a sort of method and condensed a bit of my own material to be a sort of shared based. In my situation it makes sense to look a lot at the general social environment and try to do as much as I can with that. I teach guitar and bass as well, maybe even some brass and woodwind, and the same goes there.

My general method is flexible, though. It's more of a this should be done in a certain rough time period than this is exactly what has to be done right now and in this order. It depends. Having students understand themselves why stuff is done is a big part. When that heavy metal drummer comes and says to me he wants to go deep with snare and rudiments I'm not going to say no, and it does happen, because I provide som tools for them to grow into it and experience it on a musical, emotional and social level. They're still young and a lot can change from just simple exposure.

Now, I'm not exactly the traditional guy so I'm just a likely to expose you to any other style as the classical stuff. A big challenge is often that a lot of the other teacher think that there is only the classical stuff. To me, it's more about exposing them a bit to everything and let the students make their own informed choices. I'm also honest if there's stuff I don't know, but it will get written down and I'll start looking into it immediately.

I try to over time build a complete system which includes e.g. as a guitar player we may play the rock stuff and have an ensemble for that, but I would also like to have that same student in the orchestra with anyone else and their nylon string learning to read and make music in that setting, too. After you got the basics down there's really no limit to where you can take an activity like that. You can include any style, you can improvise, accompany singers etc.. Same with drums. Material is based on the level in the middle, but you can add simplify and whatever in a situation where youngest students get inspired and the more advanced students can help out a bit.
 
I studied with Sam Ulano for a brief period in the late '60s. He had a studio in an old building with no elevator on 42d street near 6th Ave. Long since torn down. He failed to show for a few scheduled lessons so I quit him. He had me use metal sticks, and a pad somewhat like yours.
Cool. My teacher was one of his top students. Dude would get called to sit in with 18-piece big-bands in NYC, and just be handed some charts and go do it. Not my thing, but massively impressive.
 
I got put behind a set right away in 1967. It’s not a new thing. We definitely worked on rudiments after I was taught how to hit the snare and hat at the same time when doing a beat, though. I see nothing wrong with it. It kept my interest up a lot more than just sitting at a practice pad, which we also did…later.
Yep...I wonder how many kids just gave up when they weren't allowed to hit the drums.
 
Back
Top