Are you here searching for new ways to improve your drum teaching skills?
We got you covered, as we prepared 5 tips to become a good drum teacher.
Without further ado, let’s jump right into it.
Tip 1: Be patient
You must be patient, especially with the people who are just getting into drums. However, it’s not just about being a beginner; the age has to do something with it too.
The human brain peeks at around 25, and cognitive abilities start to drop over the following years.
Even though you think something is simple, it isn’t the same for older people. In general, older people need more time to process certain things.
On the contrary, young people are like living sponges; all you need to do is throw information at them.
Most who are focused enough or learn to pay attention will improve drastically over time.
The worst thing is if you have both young and old students because you will need to adapt and change your perspective every lesson.
One good way to know your students’ learning limitations is to keep track of their progress in a notebook or maybe even a document on your laptop.
Focus on making notes that cover your students’ learning speed, how much they can focus, and whether they prefer more information in less time or less information in more time.
You need to make it clear who you are dealing with, and adapt your teachings, and all that requires you to be patient.
Tip 2: Set up your policies
One of the best tips to become a good drum teacher is to set up your policies right from the start. This is like a 24-hour cancellation policy, and what happens if your students are late needs to be considered.
For example, if one of your students is late, you can deduce the time he was late from the duration of the class.
That is an excellent way to show you value your time, and that they should come on time if they want to have a whole duration of the lesson. It would be best to be polite but straightforward when setting these policies.
Also, there is something that needs to be tackled when it comes to pricing your lessons. Always put your prices at the beginning, and aim to pay yourself as much as possible.
Now, that may seem very obvious, but the thing most teachers forget is it is tough to raise your prices for current students.
For example, you can charge 25 dollars an hour for a student who is working with you already for two years.
However, you may charge more to your new students, for example, 40 dollars per hour.
Increasing prices for new students ensures you never encounter awkward situations with your current students and potentially lose them.
Tip 3: Practice the right stuff
There is a famous saying that “repetition is the mother of skills,” which is not far from the truth.
However, if you practice and continuously repeat wrong things, it changes to “repetition is the mother of disaster.” I am paraphrasing here, but you get what I want to say.
So, things like practicing with a metronome or just trying to play fills with one hand are excellent places to start.
Try to keep your students from bad habits by forcing them to practice with a metronome, one hand, or similar techniques proven to yield results.
Sometimes, it’s enough to set the proper habits at the beginning, and later you rarely will have a problem with it.
Also, it would be best if you always aimed to adapt exercises to the student’s abilities and learning phase. Don’t force making complicated moves since that can only hinder your students’ progress.
Tip 4: Prove yourself
Imagine having a five-year-old drummer coming to practice with you.
The first thing he would do, after hearing you play, is start idolizing you and asking to see some of your concerts and solos.
So, one of the tips to become a good drum teacher is to always show your work to the students and how you managed to tackle some hard things when playing.
The easiest way to learn is to tackle mistakes and problems immediately, but it is even better if it is more related to your students.
Since you have to build a relationship with your students, they will perceive your solos and concerts as something worth watching and listening to. In some sense, you are going to become their hero.
People are very prone to idolizing the person they admire. However, it would help if you always remembered that ideals are the biggest judges.
So, if a student starts to worship you too much, you need to become more careful since he will take everything you say seriously.
Also, it is a good practice always to stay positive and show when you are satisfied with your student’s progress.
Tip 5: Diversify your knowledge
It is good if you know how to teach your students to play drums; that is a fantastic way to show your expertise.
However, the learning process is not as simple as it comes, and often you will need to make metaphors and comparisons with other related fields.
That is why you must be knowledgeable not just in playing drums, but also in fundamental music theory, songwriters, and other instruments.
Drawing similarities and showing your students how all these fields are interlinked can help their learning process and make them more well-versed drummers.
More often than not, to be an expert, you must also know about other related fields. I understand that this maybe sounds a little too much now, but it pays off in the long run.
You will transfer the knowledge to your students much easier, giving them the fundamentals to become experts in the future.
Conclusion
Teaching somebody to play drums is not easy.
In addition, you must be experienced and show students that you are an expert.
To be a good drum teacher:
- Be patient
- Set up your policies
- Practice the right stuff
- Prove yourself
- Diversify your knowledge