The Benefit of Teaching Others to Play Drums

The Benefit of Teaching Others to Play Drums

by Daniel N. Brown

If you have been playing drums for any length of time at
all, then you can teach someone else what you know.
You might say, "Yeah, but I don't know enough, or play well
enough to teach." You know more than someone who's never
picked up a pair of drumsticks!

You never want to pass up an opportunity to teach someone
else how to play drums, or even show them a cool groove or
fill. Not only will you be robbing them, but you will also
be robbing yourself.

"How so?" you may ask.

When you begin teaching someone some of your drumming
knowledge and skills, even if you think it's not much, you
will be amazed at the additional things you will learn. You
will also begin to realize you knew more than you thought
you knew about the drums, which will improve your
confidence. And, developing confidence is vital to being a
great drummer!

Many new drummers lack confidence. I think one of the main
reasons is because they tend to compare themselves with
other drummers who have been playing longer, are famous, or
who have a bigger drum set. Whatever the reason, don't do
that! You're not being fair to yourself.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Beauty is in the eye of the
beholder?" What that means is, what may be impressive to you
may not be impressive at all to someone else. For example,
you may think highly of a particular musician or singer, but
someone else is not going to agree with you. They have their
own favorites.

What I'm saying is this, you are a better drummer than you
think you are. "Better than who?" you may ask. Again, better
than someone who's never picked up a pair of drumsticks! See
yourself from someone else's perspective. You play... they
don't. And, if you have any drumming skills at all, they may
think you're awesome.

Again, teaching what you know will help you to learn even
more and will improve your confidence. Besides, teaching
someone else how to play an instrument can be a real
eye-opening experience for you. Students often bring a whole
different perspective to the table and they'll challenge
your thinking for sure.

So, find someone who wants to learn to play the drums and
then teach them. Finding them is easy. All you have to do is
ask. Opportunity abounds for wanna-be drummers!