Chopstix44
Active Member
Good evening you all, I never was someone who was fortunate enough to have many drum lessons and I wasn’t even fortunate enough to have good teachers. To be honest, my previous drum lessons were horrible experiences.
Just an important background view:
when I had my very first, first lesson it was with the leader of the schools band, he was a self taught drummer who played for 45 years, when he taught his usual subjects he was a very popular teacher, friendly, funny. However when he taught drum lessons to me there was an entire different person standing in front of me, wanting me to play fast and hard 8th notes on the Hihat and yelling at me for not being fast enough and not playing hard enough.
But the most worse experience was, that he accidentally hit me when playing and showing me the beat again, it was the first time a stick hitting on my skin accidentally ever and because the hit was in a rimshot way I immediately got a blackout inside of my head, fighting against the pain while acting like I wasn’t hit. After this, I swore I’d never take drum lessons again.
But the time being self taught I got such a difficult tendinitis that I decided once it was healed that I’d try it again.
My second teacher was a show-off he played each beat with 150 bpm and closed eyes, wanted me to look at the Tips how they behave during performance which I of course avoided as there was just one kit which I sat behind and he stood and I was pretty sure he’d hit me in the face accidentally when I’d do so which resulted in being yelled at.
I also got yelled at when I asked him how many years he’s already playing with the secret intend to find out why he couldn’t solve the problems I came into the lesson with.
This was, when I finally quit.
After that I was looking for my third teacher and applied for a public music school and had to wait six months to even get a first lesson. While waiting on the big day I’ve heard how the teacher yelled at a previous student for playing bad 16th notes. I entered and played and for me it was a normal first lesson with him except for a comment about the way I walk, that wasn’t appropriate and then I got told that the waiting list was full.
After that I again was self taught again with not progressing, having injuries due to wrong technique and so on.
Now after a longer time I can start to play again (at least on my Practice Pad) and tomorrow I have my fourth first lesson with a teacher and despite being all online due to local music schools being occupied by too many students, I feel so nervous, I can’t enjoy anything I do, as all I can do is to think about the lesson and how my new teacher will be like, the worry to drop a stick during the lesson or even worse to have him see how I kind of hit myself somewhere accidentally and I can’t even say one thing making sense in conversations already.
On the other hand of course there’s a positive excitement but the nervousness is strongest.
What can I do to be less nervous? Please help me!
Just an important background view:
when I had my very first, first lesson it was with the leader of the schools band, he was a self taught drummer who played for 45 years, when he taught his usual subjects he was a very popular teacher, friendly, funny. However when he taught drum lessons to me there was an entire different person standing in front of me, wanting me to play fast and hard 8th notes on the Hihat and yelling at me for not being fast enough and not playing hard enough.
But the most worse experience was, that he accidentally hit me when playing and showing me the beat again, it was the first time a stick hitting on my skin accidentally ever and because the hit was in a rimshot way I immediately got a blackout inside of my head, fighting against the pain while acting like I wasn’t hit. After this, I swore I’d never take drum lessons again.
But the time being self taught I got such a difficult tendinitis that I decided once it was healed that I’d try it again.
My second teacher was a show-off he played each beat with 150 bpm and closed eyes, wanted me to look at the Tips how they behave during performance which I of course avoided as there was just one kit which I sat behind and he stood and I was pretty sure he’d hit me in the face accidentally when I’d do so which resulted in being yelled at.
I also got yelled at when I asked him how many years he’s already playing with the secret intend to find out why he couldn’t solve the problems I came into the lesson with.
This was, when I finally quit.
After that I was looking for my third teacher and applied for a public music school and had to wait six months to even get a first lesson. While waiting on the big day I’ve heard how the teacher yelled at a previous student for playing bad 16th notes. I entered and played and for me it was a normal first lesson with him except for a comment about the way I walk, that wasn’t appropriate and then I got told that the waiting list was full.
After that I again was self taught again with not progressing, having injuries due to wrong technique and so on.
Now after a longer time I can start to play again (at least on my Practice Pad) and tomorrow I have my fourth first lesson with a teacher and despite being all online due to local music schools being occupied by too many students, I feel so nervous, I can’t enjoy anything I do, as all I can do is to think about the lesson and how my new teacher will be like, the worry to drop a stick during the lesson or even worse to have him see how I kind of hit myself somewhere accidentally and I can’t even say one thing making sense in conversations already.
On the other hand of course there’s a positive excitement but the nervousness is strongest.
What can I do to be less nervous? Please help me!
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