Your above passage could be an excerpt from my drumming biography. Our teachers held similar philosophies. That approach is condemned in certain circles, but I'm ever-thankful to have had the privilege of learning in a rudiment-intensive manner.. . . mainly focused on hand technique and reading through rudiments and UIL snare solos. And on rare occasion, drum set. I took lessons from him for at least five years, and I loved working on rudiments and getting my hand technique down. In fact, I often spent hours on a practice pad when I got home from school, as I loved working on all that.
Your above passage could be an excerpt from my drumming biography. Our teachers held similar philosophies. That approach is condemned in certain circles, but I'm ever-thankful to have had the privilege of learning in a rudiment-intensive manner.
I feel 100% the same. To me, the most important part of learning anything, be it drums, guitar, tennis, golf, etc., is to get extremely comfortable with basic fundamentals and technique, and build from there. For drums, that means proper hand/stick technique, and there‘s no better way to achieve that than through diligent work on a pad or snare. Once you have that down, everything else becomes so much easier.Your above passage could be an excerpt from my drumming biography. Our teachers held similar philosophies. That approach is condemned in certain circles, but I'm ever-thankful to have had the privilege of learning in a rudiment-intensive manner.
I was teaching a lesson and was telling the student "next week, we'll cover...." and he goes oh yeah, "I'm moving to North Carolina tomorrow", damn dawg a little heads up would have been neat!!I spent my first year self taught. Was gifted lessons by my grandma. After 8 months I moved and it was on my own again. In all fairness my teacher knew I was moving so he modified my lessons to include as much as I could digest for an hour each week. Once I moved to Arkansas, there were no teachers here, so I was on my own again and tried to learn something from every drummer I could.
When I worked at Guitar Center I'd see kids in the drum room tapping stuff with no idea what they are doing, I'd be like "wanna learn a beat!?" I'd show them the ACDC beat with quarters on the hats and then with 8ths, you could see it all making sense in their brain!I think it takes at least that one lesson to get off the ground. My kids have sat down at my kit and I see the same thing I experienced. They just start hitting all the wrong stuff. I give them one 10 minute lesson and they immediately understand what was previously a complete mystery.
My experience was self-taught for twenty years or so, and then took lessons. I learned more and improved more as a player in that year than I did the first twenty.
As for fundamentals, I recently hired an excellent jazz drummer and educator, and at least half of the lesson, if not the whole hour, is him watching me play rolls and flams. I can rightly claim 40+ years of experience, and this is what he knows I need: rolls, flams, diddles. I wish I had realized long ago that I didn't need all the instructional DVDs and book-of-the-month to get that drumming wow factor. I just needed a qualified teacher to put me through the rudimental paces.
Great points, indeed. I agree with you... It's not a binary thing about "formal lessons" vs "self-learning", there's a grey area in the middle too.I studied for five years under the tutelage of an excellent instructor, but we're all, in a sense, self-taught when you get right down to it. A teacher merely guides. He or she can't dictate productivity or progress. Ultimately, the student has to do the work, which involves, by necessity, a high degree of self-motivation and a healthy dose of creativity. Going through the motions just because you're paying for lessons will do little to promote development. On the other hand, telling yourself you can get by without instruction might prove to be a deprivation in the long run. Lessons can offer a wealth of advantages to those willing to submit themselves to a formal and rigorous program.
I don't think the topic comes down to two extremes: being trained through instruction or being self-taught. It's not as though those who seek instruction lack talent and can't learn independently, whereas those who shun instruction don't need it and would derive no benefit from it. For instance, I can read music effectively but prefer to learn pieces by ear, which is how I always go about things unless I'm given a drum chart to follow. Being able to do both is important in my opinion, and I never would have committed myself to the task of reading music without a teacher who emphasized its value. At the same time, most of my "ear training" resulted from listening to music independently and dissecting its parts. Still, the foundations my instructor helped me build very much supported that process. Thus, I see learning as an amalgamation of related resources, not as an isolation of distinct influences.
I feel you! My first instrument was the guitar, and I taught myself to play... My teachers were The Beatles, Nirvana, Metallica, Megadeth, etc... I think it's very important to learn more than one instrument in order to be a well-rounded musician.I am self taught - or at least self started - on bass. Learned by playing along to all of the 80's metal and punk I was listening to. Applied reading and theory stuff from piano, but I played for about 5 years before taking some lessons to learn walking and jazz bass stuff specifically
drums was always instructed though...
Agreed. I learned to play drums on my own, and for years just taught myself to play along to records, and in bands. However, it wasn't until I started taking lessons that my progress was exponential. It's such an incredible and invaluable investment on one's self-development!My experience was self-taught for twenty years or so, and then took lessons. I learned more and improved more as a player in that year than I did the first twenty.
As for fundamentals, I recently hired an excellent jazz drummer and educator, and at least half of the lesson, if not the whole hour, is him watching me play rolls and flams. I can rightly claim 40+ years of experience, and this is what he knows I need: rolls, flams, diddles. I wish I had realized long ago that I didn't need all the instructional DVDs and book-of-the-month to get that drumming wow factor. I just needed a qualified teacher to put me through the rudimental paces.
I feel you! My first instrument was the guitar, and I taught myself to play... My teachers were The Beatles, Nirvana, Metallica, Megadeth, etc... I think it's very important to learn more than one instrument in order to be a well-rounded musician.