Drum Lessons

The drum kit is a fascinating and enjoyable instrument to study. While enjoyable in itself alone, playing the drums can assist in building a variety of musical and technical skills. While it is widely recognised that playing the piano can assist any musician on any instrument with their understanding of harmony, it is less widely understood that the drum set brings with it a similarly deep understanding of the building blocks of rhythm. Playing the drums can also assist with developing physical co-ordination in general, as well as building on wider skill sets like time management and ability to focus.

Subjects

I teach a wide range of subjects, including the following:

• Timekeeping - Working with metronomes, developing strong time on your own.
• Technique - Control and relaxation at the kit, making the drums work for you.
• Reading - Understanding music notation, sight-reading skills
• Rhythm Studies - Polyrhythms, time signatures, metric modulation
• Styles - Rock, hip-hop, funk, fusion, metal, punk, jazz, latin, african and more.
• Electronics - Sampling, sequencing, working with electronics in a live environment. What equipment to buy, how to use it.
• Gear - Tuning, maintenance, making the right buying decisions.
• Performance - How to cope with playing live.
• Practice - How to make the most of your time and effort. Get results faster.

I have a strong background in a wide variety of styles and techniques, having studied the instrument extensively in the UK and solidified that theoretical background with a wide live performance background in both the UK and New Zealand. I also have a secondary-school teaching background in New Zealand.

Lessons are only available in the greater Auckland area, and at present I do not work from my own premises as we share a wall with the neighbours. Initial consultation is free, and will take around an hour. During this time I work to understand what your musical tastes, goals and ideas are. At this point we can agree a programme of study, targeted to focus on the aspects of your playing that will deliver you the best results - both immediately and over the long term. Lessons are intended to deliver both solutions to short-term problems (an inability to play a certain complex rhythm, for example) and long-term development issues (techniques, timing etc).

Hopefully this has given you a quick overview of what I look to develop through my teaching, but if you have further questions you might want to check out the other pages in the menu above, or read through the relevent part of the FAQ. Or alternatively, get in touch!

 

Finn Higgins
setcreative.com