FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Toddler Drum Set

Question:
My son is 11 years old and wants to play the drums. Unfortunately, that isn't one of the instruments offered at public school so we are on our own. I saw a book about how to decide what instrument children should play and it said that kids under 13 are not coordinated to play a set of drums and should learn technique for a few years on a single drum. They recommended a side drum as the drum of choice. They also said that without lessons (private or group), the child is unlikely to learn proper technique. Is this advice sound? What is a side drum? I would think that a snare or tom-tom would be a good way to start but I have no idea what a side drum is. Is one drum really better than a set for an 11 year old beginner? The toddler in the Hansens plays a full set

Answer:
First of all, it's a shame that percussion isn't offered by your child's music program. It should be. There are a lot of programs that are afraid of percussion because their teachers are afraid of percussion. 2.) Side drum is the British nomenclature for snare drum. 3.)I strongly believe in private study. You should find a competent teacher in your area who works with a lot of youngsters. (If you were in Cleveland, I'd recommend me, :-) but...) I start all my students on snare drum before we get to drum set, because the student should develop the basic technical and reading skills on one drum and really get to be comfortable with snare drum technique, before they start adding other limbs and concepts. Most people don't learn to ride a bike on a ten-speed. The coordination is a matter of physical development and teacher's approach, not necessarily age. I have a seven year old student who plays some basic drum set, but he doesn't move as well as the 12 year old students (they can reach the pedals) 4.) I have seen some of the beginning videos and they are OK. But a question, would you let your kid learn rock climbing or archery through a video, or would you rather that someone who has taught the subjects for years do it in person? I would use the videos as a supplement but they don't take the place of a really qualified teacher. If you want to encourage your child, take them to concerts. Also, get some of the concert videos of good drummers instead of the instructional videos. The public library may even have them, or will get them if you ask. Since most kids don't see as much live music as they should, I feel they should be exposed to good performances to provide examples to model after, and this will give them a goal to work towards in their lessons. If your kid plays baseball, soccer, football or basketball, he or she probably goes to games and watches games on TV, so if your kid plays drums, he or she should attend all kinds concerts and watch good concert videos as a supplement as well. There are plenty of magazines and web sites. Check out Evelyn Glennie's homepage for some really great educational content, and there are links there which will lead you to other sites. 5.) Buy used, or just rent the snare drum kit from a music store. No sense spending top dollar for equipment that will be a starter set if he stays with it, or a dust collector if he doesn't.