What to expect from drum lessons

What are drum lessons?

Lessons at Justin’s Drum Studio in Greenville SC are guided teaching sessions focused on technique, rhythm, and coordination. As your instructor, I guide you through the essential elements, including how to hold drum sticks properly and operate the pedal, how to establish a steady beat, how to read music and identify rhythmic patterns, and other fundamental techniques.

The Physical Mechanics of playing the drums:

Students often ask “what do beginner drummers learn first?” Learning correct techniques are the first steps, and is primary and ongoing, which includes paying attention to the look and feel of your arms, wrist, hand, and feet movement. Refining these movements helps students stay focused on their technique and the optimal sound. Specifically, things that students learn in my drum lessons are:

• How to hold drum sticks (grip)
• How and when to use the wrists, fingers and arms
• The how of dynamics (range of volume)
• Methods of movement across the drums
• Incorporating the feet with the hands
• Using the natural rebound of the drums and cymbals

Learning to count for the foundation

Along with learning fundamental playing mechanics, my drum classes teach students how to count, and to subdivide the count. Counting out loud right from the beginning is fundamental to:

• Connecting the mind and the body
• Bringing awareness of the structure of a rhythmic or musical phrase
• Providing a road map to what we are hearing or reading to develop a good sense of time
• Breaking down beats into sections, for easier learning

When students can confidently count and subdivide, then they can successfully translate what they hear or read to what they play. To support this development, students practice with a metronome or a click track to build a solid internal clock and steady timing.

Reading Notation: The mental side of drumming

Beyond physical mechanics and counting, drum lessons teach students to develop strong skills as it relates to understanding musical notation and being comfortable reading rhythmic notation. We will focus on beats and dynamics, helping you easily learn how drum notation works. This includes learning how to read different speeds, types of notes, and symbols for drum notation such as:

• Quarter notes
• Eighth notes
• Sixteenth notes
• Thirty-second notes

Symbols for drum notation

• Bass drum
• Snare drum
• Toms
• Hi-hat
• Hi-hat foot notation
• Ghost notes

Understanding musical notation makes students much more capable of self-learning through drum instruction books available, like The Funky Primer for The Rock Drummer – which is the drum instruction book that I use to teach students.

Learning Drum Patterns

Additionally, students learn rudiments—which are small patterns that form the foundation for more extended and complex drum patterns, and their application on the drum set. These patterns act as your fundamental vocabulary. This means you will learn essential drum rudiments, such as rolls, diddles, flams, and drags, which are part of the basic building blocks used to play all styles of music.

Learning Advanced Skills

After achieving proficiency in the basic techniques of drumming, we can delve into more complex skills such as double rolls, double paradiddles, intricate grooves and rhythms, and other advanced techniques. At this stage, I will tailor our practice regimen according to your preferred genre of music, and goals ensuring that you acquire the specific skills necessary to play the type of music you desire.

Playing Real Songs

Eventually, all of these skills come together through song application, where students apply learned beats, fills, and fundamentals learned to real music. I ensure that you have the opportunity to play along with actual music, not just practicing drills, so that you can derive more enjoyment from music during drum set lessons.

What are the format in which drum lesson are delivered?

Generally speaking, drum lessons can take place in different formats:

• One-on-one with a teacher
• In small groups
• Through online video platforms

Most beginner students benefit the most from in-person lessons, by either on-on-one instruction or group lessons. While online or virtual drum lessons are convenient and helpful, online formats can be more difficult to learn from for beginners just starting out.

What are the ways Justin’s Drum Studio provides instruction?

I provide one-on-one drum instruction for students:

• In studio in Greenville SC
• Upon request, in-home or at a student’s church

I design a structured and fun learning plan that caters to you or your child’s abilities and overall goals, you will progressively develop confidence and proficiency on the drums to prepare for you for auditions, performances, or simply to learn to play as a hobby for enjoyment.