TEACHING
TOPICS:
- Everyone is built differently, so the set
up of the instrument has to “fit” the individual. Principles are explained,
and my teaching kit is always adjusted for each student. Posture is very important.
You have to be comfortable and allow your body to function in the most natural
way. Technique is quite simply being aware of how your body moves best and
how to capitalize on what is natural. This is why great musicians look like
they are gliding effortlessly.
- I teach matched, orthodox, and French grip,
depending on the student's own decision. I explain the pros and cons of each
in an unbiased way...
- Hand techniques covered include the fundamental
stroke, the snare drum rudiments (see below), Moeller technique, fingerstyle
technique, buzz strokes and rolls, rimshots, sidestick.
- I firmly believe in the traditional snare
drum rudiments (and the countless ways they can be applied to the full kit),
as these are the alphabet of the instrument. It is with these “letters” that
drummers can compose their own musical words, sentences and novels. Some people
are reticent about these old school methods, but they have stood the test
of time and most professionals swear by them.
- I use music notation in a very relaxed way,
because it serves four purposes:
1: You won’t ever have to worry about
forgetting an exercise or a rhythm.
2: Notating song structure and specific
drum stuff makes learning songs and remembering ideas very easy.
3: Reading is a very useful tool for
professional work.
4: You will have access to a massive
wealth of literature.
- Drumming is a four limbs business, so I attach
as much importance to the feet as the hands. I teach double bass drum pedal
techniques to those who want to learn. Most of the principles of stick technique
apply to the feet.
- Although many exercises focus
on individual limbs or subgroups of limbs, I stress the importance of treating
the whole drum kit as a single instrument.
- Where applicable I
cover brush techniques, and also the timbales. (It is important to treat the
timbales as a separate instrument which have their own language and techniques:
cascara, dead sticking, abanico, contra campana, etc...)
- Topics covered where relevant include: odd
time signatures, polyrhythms, harmonic polyrhythms, beat displacement, linear
phrasing, chart interpretation, and playing with loops. I can also deal with
assorted hand percussion (cajon, guiro, clave, maracas, shakers, cowbells,
tambourine, agogo, darbouka etc...)
- I also share my experience on such matters
as tuning, equipment, recording, finding work, auditions, band interaction,
programming, etc etc...
- Working with a metronome and click tracks
is very important, as is the difference between playing live and in the studio.