Should I Take Drum Lessons?
We can learn a lot from the internet, including drums.
The internet contains lots of knowledge; it is an endless sea of information. The internet is NOT wise, however. Wisdom creates knowledge/information. To learn, we need, not only knowledge, but wisdom. Only man can provide wisdom.
Thats just a really heady way of saying you need drum lessons. Here’s WHY:
Discernment(What You Need To Know) - As mentioned, there is a TON of information on the internet and our focus is finite. Focus is critical to making progress at anything. There is simply too much information in the world to take in, and we NEED discernment; We NEED to focus our attention on what is important. Not only do we need discernment in what we learn, but HOW we learn it. Every individual is in their own place, with their own goals, and LEARNS DIFFERENTLY. The internet cannot teach, it can only provide information.
A good teacher knows, how to play the drums, how to learn the drums, and, subsequently, how to teach the drums. They will know what pertinent information, skills, techniques, and styles, required for YOU, and in what order, to maximize the learning process to achieve your goals.
Real Time Personalized Instruction/Feedback - The other thing the internet lacks is, besides discernment, is personalized feedback. This is perhaps the most important aspect of having a teacher.
For example: As a teacher, I see, while working on material, parts of subdivision being rushed, limbs becoming tense, or dynamics becoming too heavy/light etc…
Any number of things happen when mental and physical capacities are stretched. The students mind is at full capacity and they either have no awareness of these issues sometimes, or at best, they know somethings off, but don’t know exactly what.
As a teacher, I am able to see these things in REAL time and, with discernment, make accommodations to help. This feedback is essential, because: If you try to “muscle through” things, you will end up creating bad habits to unwind later. (I had plenty!)
Encouragement - My neighbors are probably constantly wondering what all that ‘booming’ and ‘banging’ is. Nobody ‘sounds good’ when they are trying to ‘learn’ the drums. Not even professionals. As a beginner, it’s hard to tell if your even doing good or not. There is a difference between ‘sounding good’ and ‘doing good.’ A good instructor knows good work when he see’s it. The ‘booming’ and ‘banging’ makes sense to him. And even though it might not ‘sound good,’ he will still be able to tell you, based on the context of the situation, when it ‘is good.’
Accountability - It doesn’t take much. But a simple inquisition is about all it takes to find out wether your student has been practicing and/or playing. While it’s not quite as bad as dying an agonizing death[hyperbolic sarcasm], it is just unpleasant enough to be very motivating, to have to tell or, even worse, inadvertently show your teacher that you haven’t really been practicing. Accountability can come from outside of an instructor as well. But if you are a brand new player this is typically going to be your teacher, and it is very powerful psychologically. And it’s much more effective to receive accountability from someone who is ‘walking the walk.’
You Pay For It - If you are working with an instructor, he is going to be charging you some money for his time. You are also going to pay with time out of your schedule. Ahh…I can already hear it…
“How is ‘paying’ for a lesson a reason as to why I should take a lesson!?…” you ask.
This is touching more on marketing principles, and, while this might seem counter intuitive, the quality/value of any given good and/or service is directly correlated to how much you are willing to pay for it.[read that again] In a nutshell, based on this dynamic, this obliges the teacher to provide something worth paying for, AND you to receive it.
Inspiration - There is nothing like seeing a really great drummer play something before your eyes! Even from a sonic perspective, when you get to really hear and feel those aforementioned ‘booms’ and ‘bangs’ carefully orchestrated into something beautiful, in your presence, it is truly magical. And it is inspiring. Inspiration is key for pulling you through the learning curve. It reminds you of what is really possible when you put in the time.
Music Is Social - I have said this before: drums serve the music. Music, by it’s very nature, is a social art. It is a sonic conversation with pushing and pulling; tension and release; Buildups, and let downs, and you can’t learn a language by yourself. You can learn some words. But in order to become genuinely fluent, you typically have to go LIVE in a culture that uses a particular language, to begin to fully grasp it. Music is very similar. A great teacher knows the language of drums and can teach it.
It’s Fun - Drumming is a very joyful art! And I promise you that it only becomes MORE fun, the more you do it/and more skilled you become at it. A good drum teacher knows how to make the learning experience fun for all levels.
Hopefully this is insightful on the true benefit of having good instruction. Thanks for reading! now…go find a good teacher that you like and…
GO PRACTICE
