Tyler Walton
Premier Staff
Hi everyone. My name is Tyler. I'm the drum instructor at Premier Music. Just thought I'd stop in and share some insights from time to time regarding teaching, gigging, and anything else that's on my mind.
About four months ago I had a student in his late thirties contact me about signing up for drum lessons. He had been a guitar player in bands for many years and he wanted to begin learning how to play jazz on the drumset. Rarely do I ever have a prospective student come to me with a specific stylistic pursuit in mind. Most of the time students (both kids and adults) just want to get started on the instrument and learn the basic aspects of drumming in many different musical settings. I prefer it when this is the case because it allows me to operate with a clean slate. Plus, I will eventually introduce the student to many different styles of music and the corresponding drumming as the lessons progress. Regardless of all this, I told him that I was more than happy to teach him jazz drumming. Just from our initial phone conversation he already seemed very serious and dedicated. I went on to explain to him that jazz drumming (and jazz music itself) is very complex and somewhat more demanding of a musician in the initial stages of learning how to play it. The drumming involved in jazz requires fluid four-limb independence, with even the most basic grooves presenting a challenge for most beginning drummers. I told him that I would feel more comfortable teaching him some other basic aspects of drumming (rock beats, simple 8th-note fills, etc.) in conjunction with our jazz studies. He agreed to trust me and just see where the lessons go.
About three months into our lessons he was progressing quite nicely. He worked very hard on the material and practiced often. I could see a vast improvement since he first began his studies with me. However, he would often e-mail me during the week to explain how he had "hit a wall" with the jazz material and how he was sure that he wasn't practicing the material correctly. He would then come into the next lesson, sit down, and play it correctly. I would explain to him that he was doing a great job for someone that has only been playing drums for three months. He would go on his merry way after the lesson, only for me to receive another e-mail during the week about how he has yet again "hit a wall" in his progress with the increasingly complex jazz grooves that I was giving him. Well, you can guess what happens next. He comes into the next lesson, sits down, and plays the grooves just fine. This is a student who would frequently sign up for extra lessons throughout the week so that we could cover even more material. When March came, I asked him if he would like to continue doing extra lessons. He explained that he would rather just go back to doing one lesson per week because he has "hit a wall."
The point of this post is to illustrate how students can often talk themselves out of success. I see this happen more often in my adult students who feel that they should be making leaps and bounds in their progress when they have only been playing the instrument for a short period of time. As I demonstrate the material, I explain to them that I have been playing drums for over eighteen years. I hold three degrees in music. It took me almost two decades to sound like this!!! My point is that if you trust your instructor enough to be studying with him or her, you must trust when he or she tells you that you are doing well. It undermines the instructor when a student is constantly self-assessing their progress and diagnosing problems that don't exist.
Learning an instrument is a craft. It takes years of dedicated practice and performance experience to become good at it. It requires a great deal of patience and persistence; but telling yourself that you are not improving, or constantly questioning your level of progress with your instructor, is a surefire way to talk yourself out of success. Simply relax and enjoy the ride!
About four months ago I had a student in his late thirties contact me about signing up for drum lessons. He had been a guitar player in bands for many years and he wanted to begin learning how to play jazz on the drumset. Rarely do I ever have a prospective student come to me with a specific stylistic pursuit in mind. Most of the time students (both kids and adults) just want to get started on the instrument and learn the basic aspects of drumming in many different musical settings. I prefer it when this is the case because it allows me to operate with a clean slate. Plus, I will eventually introduce the student to many different styles of music and the corresponding drumming as the lessons progress. Regardless of all this, I told him that I was more than happy to teach him jazz drumming. Just from our initial phone conversation he already seemed very serious and dedicated. I went on to explain to him that jazz drumming (and jazz music itself) is very complex and somewhat more demanding of a musician in the initial stages of learning how to play it. The drumming involved in jazz requires fluid four-limb independence, with even the most basic grooves presenting a challenge for most beginning drummers. I told him that I would feel more comfortable teaching him some other basic aspects of drumming (rock beats, simple 8th-note fills, etc.) in conjunction with our jazz studies. He agreed to trust me and just see where the lessons go.
About three months into our lessons he was progressing quite nicely. He worked very hard on the material and practiced often. I could see a vast improvement since he first began his studies with me. However, he would often e-mail me during the week to explain how he had "hit a wall" with the jazz material and how he was sure that he wasn't practicing the material correctly. He would then come into the next lesson, sit down, and play it correctly. I would explain to him that he was doing a great job for someone that has only been playing drums for three months. He would go on his merry way after the lesson, only for me to receive another e-mail during the week about how he has yet again "hit a wall" in his progress with the increasingly complex jazz grooves that I was giving him. Well, you can guess what happens next. He comes into the next lesson, sits down, and plays the grooves just fine. This is a student who would frequently sign up for extra lessons throughout the week so that we could cover even more material. When March came, I asked him if he would like to continue doing extra lessons. He explained that he would rather just go back to doing one lesson per week because he has "hit a wall."
The point of this post is to illustrate how students can often talk themselves out of success. I see this happen more often in my adult students who feel that they should be making leaps and bounds in their progress when they have only been playing the instrument for a short period of time. As I demonstrate the material, I explain to them that I have been playing drums for over eighteen years. I hold three degrees in music. It took me almost two decades to sound like this!!! My point is that if you trust your instructor enough to be studying with him or her, you must trust when he or she tells you that you are doing well. It undermines the instructor when a student is constantly self-assessing their progress and diagnosing problems that don't exist.
Learning an instrument is a craft. It takes years of dedicated practice and performance experience to become good at it. It requires a great deal of patience and persistence; but telling yourself that you are not improving, or constantly questioning your level of progress with your instructor, is a surefire way to talk yourself out of success. Simply relax and enjoy the ride!
