Experienced drum teachers or just starting out, Backbone Drums can help!
Take it seriously
Being a drum teacher is extremely rewarding, but there is a responsibility attached that shouldn’t be under-estimated. When I started teaching back in the the late 1990s, I was extremely concerned that I might limit my students progress or kill their enthusiasm by getting it wrong! I was so concerned, I studied under various teachers including the late, great Bob Armstrong to keep learning and developing my playing, and I set about putting together a syllabus I could teach that covered all of the core elements of being a drummer in a logical order. What developed over the next few years was Backbone Drums.
Create great musicians, not just exam passes!
There are a lot of teachers that use an exam syllabus as their teaching syllabus, where in actual fact that generally doesn’t teach the concepts and techniques required to be a good drummer. Being a ‘Backbone’ of knowledge, Backbone Drums covers all elements of being a drummer in enough depth to be useful, but not so much that it becomes laborious. It is structured in a way that sits nicely with drum exam grades, but encourages understanding and creativity instead of simply getting students to learn exercises to pass exams.
Have pride in what you do
Every student that walks in for drum lessons with me has the potential to be the greatest drummer on the planet! They may not realise it, or they may not even want it, but I have to do the very best I can to allow it to happen. With most students, that initially means maintaining their interest and passion so they enjoy what they do, but with a structure in place that helps build some solid foundations. A student will only practice and develop if they enjoy it, so forcing practice or telling students off for not putting in enough effort is the first way to take away that enjoyment. I am extremely proud to have had lots of students continue lessons with me for over 10 years
Good luck, have fun and feel free to drop me a direct email if you want more info,
Dave Hazlewood