Bill Powelson's
School of Drums
The Drum Instructor's Guide
* THE DAILY ROUTINE *
* THE TYPICAL DAILY ROUTINE *
THE TYPICAL LESSON:
(This is what you'll be doing
routinely, day after day, student after student . . .)
You will eventually need the ability to do every thing in super
slow motion . . . and break all the moves into tiny baby steps for
your students. The trick is to find the students 'learning speed' then
move at that pace. If you move too fast you will lose them, and
if you move too slow . . . you will bore them to tears. Every
student will be different.
Yes! I know! Sometimes it's really hard to think and play slow,
especially when it comes to certain techniques that only sound correct
when they're played rapidly.
Don't worry too much if you have some trouble slowing things down
for your students. I remember having those troubles too, in the early
days. It gets easier as time goes by. Do the best you can, and
BS your way through the rest, haha. That's what I've always
done! (Did I mention I have a BS degree in BS, haha!)
Let's start with an average student on an average day,
just to see what life as a drum teacher, is like . . .
..............................................
The student shows up, (that's a plus), and after a few
seconds of small talk, you head for the drum set, and begin . . .
Much of the time, I don't even sit at the kit, or play
the lesson material beforehand. Sometimes, doing this only intimidates
the student anyway. They want to play! They've paid for the lesson
and THEY prefer to be on the set. Often, if we teachers play
too much, it's like we're showing-off. It intimidates the student.
It can be discouraging factor for them. We never want to
discourage a student. It counters the students potential
productivity. Besides, we've haven't decided what today's
lesson will be, yet. Usually, it's best to seat the student
at the kit, and you'll want to be in a chair next to the
student.
Usually on (almost) all but the very first lesson,
I seat the student at the kit immediately . . . then we spend a
few minutes rehashing the previous lesson. I check to be
sure they understood and practiced, at least a little during
the previous week. Sometimes we may try the previous lesson
material WITH A SONG, if the student seems to need help in
that area.
Even if they say they've got it, it's usually best
to throw a song onto the CD and give it a test run. If they
are having any trouble at all, I may get on the set and
demonstrate it, pointing to any clues that may not have
surfaced, during the last lesson. I encourage them to USE
the new technique at every opportunity when playing along
with their own recordings.
With that behind us, I will often ask if there is
anything special they might like to learn. If they have
any ideas at all, I will usually try to run with their special
interests. If they draw a blank, my next move will be to help them decide,
by assessing their current knowledge against the next most
important morsels of knowledge they might enjoy and
appreciate.
Remember: We're working our way through all the lessons
of my 125 lesson course, but . . . with the students special interests in mind.
Most of the lessons can be studied in any order. Whatever the student WANTS
to learn, is usually the BEST lesson to teach.
Sometimes I'll ask if they would rather tackle a beat or roll (ie; fill)
pattern. I let them choose their poison! It's just good business.
If they want a new fill, I may jump on the set and demonstrate several
that we could tackle as lesson material. Or, if they would rather study
a new beat, I'll run through any number of beats or beat variations
that we could study, depending on their wishes. Again . . . I get them
to choose.
Once we decide what their next lesson should be, I
get them doing the easiest part of the pattern first.
If it's a fill, we start with the half bar version first.
I have them play the fill SLOWLY a few times by itself.
Then we connect it to the beat and repeat, repeat, repeat,
the full cycle until they can do it fast enough to make it connect
in-time with a slow song on a CD.
If it's a beat, we usually start with the cymbal line . . . then we add the bass part . . .
I let them repeat this a few minutes until they are confident,
then we add the snare part in concert with the rest. In
essence, I trick them into playing the exercise, before they
have a chance to offer any negative feedback. I usually DON'T show it
to them in notation form, until I have them playing it.
Before they have time to say "No, I can't" . . . I
usually have already coaxed them into doing it. No matter how slowly
we have to take it, I continue to coax them to repeat, repeat,
repeat . . . until they have the basic moves entrenched pretty well
in their mind. Then . . . I back away slowly . . . and make a mad dash for
the door, haha!
WELL . . . Not quite like that . . . but I do try to at least
stop my constant babbling for a few minutes, and give them
time to think for themselves.
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TIP:
If you keep a computer & printer close to your teaching
studio, you can print off my prepared lessons while your students
practice. Once they can play the exercise, it is best to then
show them how that exercise looks in notation form, on paper.
You'll want them to take the paper home and practice with
it all week.
This helps the student learn to read in an almost subliminal
way. It works! And it works without frustration or wasted time.
(More on this in a minute . . .)
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THEN WE PROCEED . . .
Usually I get the student to a point where they can repeat
an exercise very slowly, then I exit the room and let them go at it
on their own for a few minutes. Most, of the time I stand just
outside the door and listen. This is how I can tell if the student
understands the exercise well enough to take it home and practice
all week, on their own. If they sound lost, I may pop my head back in and
get them going again, and again, and again, . . . until I know they
are on track.
Next, I hand them the written lesson in printed notation
form and explain graphically how the notation is used to serve
mainly as a reminder. It is human nature to forget! The notation
is used to help jog the memory 24 hours later when all seems lost.
The student is learning to read, but the focus isn't on reading. The
focus is on using notation as a reminder. It reminds them how to have fun
playing from memory. This is quite different than sight-reading
line after line, of rhythm notation. Those type notation methods
usually lead nowhere and end up sounding mechanical and
uncreative, at best.
As far as
I'm concerned (and I believe this totally); Too much notation
can be a curse to the students progress! The student becomes
like robot and totally dependant on the written music.
I hate those methods. I feel they frustrate more 'real drummers'
than they help. If a drummer doesn't learn to play
by ear and the seat-of-their-pants, they'll most likely
NEVER find their way into the profession. These days, we
tend to play by 'feel' 99% of the time. It's a VERY rare day
to have anyone throw a page of sheet music in front of us,
wanting us to sight-read it as we play. Those days pretty
well disappeared with Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk.
At any rate I have the student read the exercise and play it
at the same time. If they prove they can do that . . . the rest
is up to them. From then on it is a matter of practice,
practice, practice and repeat, repeat, repeat.
A FEW MORE WORDS ABOUT NOTATION . . .
I don't believe notation was designed for PLAYING most music. I believe it
was designed to help teachers illustrate in graphic, visual
ways, the aural abstractions they are trying to explain.
I guess notation serves BOTH ends in the long run. But,
I feel that if the instructor over-stresses written notation,
it may often tend to frustrate the MOST TALENTED and MOST CREATIVE students.
Too much music notation can easily become more destructive than constructive.
It stifles the natural creative flow! The students who
balk at written notation are often the very same students who'll usually
go on to become the VERY BEST professionals! They are the creative artists!
Notation, to most creative types, lacks 'individual
expression'. 'Individual expression' is the thing that makes music, fun.
Notation, to creative types is very often like painting by the numbers!
It tends to be SLOW, BORING, and FRUSTRATING! So . . . If you are one
who seems to have trouble with written notation, don't worry yourself
too much about it. You're probably destined to do well! It means
that you probably lean more towards creative imagination. That's
a GOOD thing, and not a bad thing.
Sure! It is IMPORTANT to learn to read. Your students WILL learn
to read FASTER with this method. The difference is, MOST of the
focus is placed on 'individual expression', 'jamming' and 'ear playing', in the beginning
stages, like it should be, . . . READING IS SECONDARY TO THE PROJECT OF
LEARNING TO PLAY.
As a result, I try to keep the notation studies simple
& easy until the student is happily jamming by 'ear' with
everything on the radio. By that time they'll know for sure
that drumming will forever be a part of their lives. It
is then that we can inject the dry, boring stuff, a little at a time.
Usually, by then they are eager to learn all they can, EVEN the
dry, boring material. Then they discover the really good news. If
they've mastered the note-value (rudimental) fills, it means they
virtually mastered note-values without a lot of boring, frustrating,
pain.
NOTATION BY LOGIC AND SUBLIMATION . . .
My course is designed to teach note values in a
somewhat subliminal way. By the time a student learns
what 16th notes really are and what they look like
in note form, he/she is already an old hand
at playing them. This tends to eliminate, or at least simplify,
most of the boring (note value) math and memorization that goes
with other methods of instruction.
Again, even though I have the 'Note Value Lesson' close
to the top in the web pages, I usually skip that lesson,
until after we've mastered the note-value fills . . . Then,
the student can usually whip through all the note values,
symbols, rests, and all that, in 15 minutes or less. They'll
discover that they've already learned it, and they're
still onboard and happy.
REMEMBER ALWAYS: The quicker the student sees results, the
more loyal they will be as students. It is a form of job security
for us.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT TEACHING TIP/TOOL:
Always have a good supply of recorded music on hand
as you teach. Everything in this course should be
adapted to music as soon as the student can repeat
the patterns quickly enough to use them in a SLOW song.
A very large portion of your lesson-time can and SHOULD
be spent playing along with recordings. This helps the
time literally seem to fly by, for both you and the student.
The student will leave happier, and more confident, and so will
you.
I always encourage (often beg) my students to bring their
own favorite recordings to class. Very often, we'll start
by LISTENING to their music, then I'll find a lesson that
relates to something on one of their CDS. This usually
thrills the students beyond words. Try it!
In most cases I have music recordings handy in the studio
. . . I try to select music the students can appreciate and relate to. I don't
pick and choose songs according to MY taste . . . I lean
into the students taste, whenever possible. It's just smart
to do that.
As soon as the student can maintain and repeat
the drum lesson exercise for a reasonable length of time at
a reasonable tempo, we do the same exercise with recorded
music . . . the STUDENTS FAVORITE CHOICE of course.
Normally a student will light up like a Christmas tree the
moment they discover how easy it is to actually jam a new idea,
into the music they instinctively love.
If they have problems and seem frustrated, it is best
to simply stop and tell them you were expecting it to be a little
tough. Don't allow any lesson to become a painful experience
for them. SELF DOUBT IS A KILLER! Back up and slow down at the
first sign of frustration. Next, assure them that if
they will practice the exercise faithfully for a week, it will
all come natural and easy, by the next lesson. Usually, it does.
With each new idea or technique we teach, it's good to
be sure the student learns to listen for 'that' specific technique
in their own favorite songs. If they can hear it being done in a hot
new favorite song, they will usually come back doing it . . . That
is, IF they are determined to learn, and IF they are destined to
become a drummer.
That's it! What you've read above is the daily routine.
Send student#1 on home with their written lesson
in hand, to practice for a week.
Call in the next student and start the process all
over again.
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In the next lesson, we'll tackle the DIFFICULT STUDENT TYPES.
The trick is to, win them over and keep them returning every week.
