Tag: Drum teacher

  • Making peace with music part 1

    I teach two kinds of students, mainly. The kind that is pro, and the kind that is not a pro and needs to understand how to make room for music in her life. This blog is about the second kind. The ones that will eventually make music their hobby. So, here goes a typical script.…

  • How long does it take to learn the drums?

    What a good question! Thank you for asking. The answer is this: in my class, during the first lesson, the brand new beginner gets to learn her/his first rock beat. We shall also, while we’re at it, try to play together. I might be on the piano or the guitar. I might sing a song…

  • New Orleans 1

    The first evening I was in New Orleans, I got star struck, and furious about it. We landed in the heart of it all: the French Quarter. What a pretty town! I could relate to those high balconies, looking like the front of boats. I could understand why the prostitutes of the old days would…

  • How long does it take to learn the piano?

    This is a very good question. Every beginner I know, whether they are 6 or 66 years old, want to know how long it’ll take before they are able to play what they want to play on the piano. If I give a cookie cutter answer, I’d say that with a little practice and a…

  • How to address the challenges of learning a new instrument? Getting the right gear. Part 2 (The drum set)

    For the drums,  it’s a bit different than for the piano (See part 1).  But not for the worse.  Read on! So many drummers do not pursue their passion because they can’t fit a full drum set in their apartment. First of,  a full drum set can be muffled.  So much so that it won’t…

  • How to address the challenges of learning a new instrument? Getting the right gear. Part 1 (piano)

    After having made up your mind and decided that you will pursue piano or drums,  after taking a few lessons and have strengthen your determination,  you still don’t have an instrument.  Sometimes,  you don’t even have the room in your home to welcome a drum set or a piano. Does that mean,  fellow readers of…

  • These are my favorite drummers and this is why.

    I’ll give you the first three,  starting with the third one. Manu Katché is French.  He’s the only one that has achieved long lasting international stardom among the drummers who comes from my country. He was the main drummer on the seminal Peter Gabriel album “So”. He did “Sledgehammer” or “In your eyes”. Yes,  that’s…

  • What are the best pianos for practice and for performance, and why is there a difference?

    The difference would be in the sound, the budget and the taste. Any good old piano,  upright,  grand or electronic (with 88 weighted keys) will do for practice. I have plenty of students that do just that and it works great. But I advise a good grand piano for performance if you can afford one.…

  • People with no rhythm

    There are all kinds of students. And, from the novice to the pro, I seem to get the whole catalog. But, the ones that are truly fascinating, are the ones who claim to have no rhythm. These are the special cases. What is a drum teacher to do with someone who says: “Look, I have…

  • Bitterness

    I am about to touch on a taboo subject. Something that musicians do not talk about usually. A lot of my colleagues, drum teachers or gigging drummers practice that taboo on a regular basis. The course of their life goes something like this. At two, while listening to music, their face lights up and they…