At what Age should you start taking Drum Lessons?
At what age should you start taking drum lessons? The question cannot be answered very clearly, since every child is different. In this article I give a few valuable tips for parents.
At what Age should you start taking Drum Lessons?
Basically, there is no exact ideal starting age to learn drums, since every child is different. The prerequisite for attending drum lessons is that the child has reached a certain level of maturity. What is meant by this is the ability to concentrate for a longer period of time, as well as certain coordination skills. Personally, I think a starting age of 7 years is optimal. Early musical education specially for younger kids is often more suitable as regular instrumental music lessons. As I said, every child is different and in some cases it is quite possible to start drumming lessons earlier. My youngest student for exmaple is currently 5 years old. It is best to simply book a free trial drum lesson. This way you can quickly find out whether a child is suitable for drum lessons or whether it is the right instrument at all. It doesn’t matter at all to wait for the lesson. I started taking drum lessons when I was 10 years old. It is also important that the child really shows interest and curiosity. There is no point in parents trying to force their children to take music lessons.
How do Drum Lessons with Children look like?
Since drum lessons require lots of concentration, I recommend lessons for children that are a maximum of 30 minutes duration at the beginning. I try to make the lessons as varied as possible. In the beginning, rhythms are often just clapped and sung. If this works well, the rhythms are played with the sticks first on one drum, then on the whole drum set. The children discover different sounds of the instrument right from the start. Coordination is also an important topic in drumming. Simple coordination exercises between hands and feet can also be practiced without drums. I see it as my main task as a drum teacher to keep the children motivated over a longer period of time. At the end of the lesson there is always short homework that needs to be practiced at home. Children should have fun during drum lessons without being over- or under-challenged. I adapt to the individual learning pace of the student and always try out new teaching methods. Every child is different, so I don’t use the exact same exercises for every student.
Parental Support for Drum Lessons
Parental support is also very important and can be very crucial to progress on the instrument. Parents should show interest in the instrument and are welcome to be present at the drum lessons. Even a small student concert at home can contribute a lot to motivation and thus to faster progress. At home, a nice space for practicing should be created where there are as few distractions as possible. Practicing drums should become a daily ritual. 10 minutes of deliberate practice every day is better than 2 hours once a week. Especially at the beginning it is very important for very young students (5 to 8 years) that the parents support the children in practicing. Later, the children will become more and more independent and the support of their parents will be less and less necessary.
What do I have to consider when buying Drums?
You don’t necessarily need a whole drum set for the first few lessons. At the beginning, a so-called practice pad (silent drum consisting of a wooden plate with a rubber surface) is sufficient for practicing. Since acoustic drums can be very loud and almost unplayable in a city apartment, I always recommend electronic drums for children to start with. Above all, it is important that the drums can be easily adjusted to the size of the child and that the drum rack (on which the drums are mounted) is stable. When playing acoustic drums it is extremely important you use ear protection. There are some special headphones also for children.
Mag.art. Florian Stöger
- IGP – Jazz drums/percussion instrumental studies at the university of music and performing arts in Vienna. Jazz drum lessons with Manfred Krenmair, Prof. Fritz Ozmec and Prof. Mario Lackner, classical percussion lessons with Prof. Oliver Madas.
- Guest Student at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles/Hollywood.
- Private lessons and Masterclasses with: Thomas Lang, Jojo Mayer, Bernard Galane, Dave Elitch, Gorden Campbell.
- Many years of teaching expierience: Drum teacher at the Musik- und Kunstschule Waidhofen an der Ybbs, VHS Heiligenstadt and Borg Krems an der Donau. Since 2020 Drum I am the drum teacher at Borg St. Pölten.
- Many concerts with Coverbands und songwriters different musical styles.
- Teacher at the Vienna Drum School
