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Extra-curricular activities

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Original poster

Drums - failed grade 2 and general advice please!

32 replies

blackeyes72 · 17/10/2018 13:41

Hi there,
we are a house of musicians, all my older children play instruments to different levels of ability; so we are not exactly novices in the world of music and I certainly have dealt with a large number of music teachers in the years. I know the children need to practice to succeed/enjoy the instrument and I also have had all sorts of teachers.

Our youngest DD (just turned 9) has been learning the drums for 2 years. She has a great sense of rhythm as she has been doing tap for a couple of years and has passed her exams with very high grades. She also has just started singing lessons 2 months ago and the teacher has already put her in for her grade 1 exam in December.

However we have had a very unsuccessful time with her drums but I need to understand if it is the teacher or not....hard really. She has failed her grade 2 in the summer. I was very annoyed about this because she had been practising for well over a year and failed on things like "technical exercise" which was just a couple lines. Her pieces were ok-ish. The annoying thing is that the teacher only told me she wasn't ready 2 weeks before the exam but I decided to let her go for it...

Also he has now decided to put her on "technical exercises". So for the past 2 months, all she has been doing is lines and lines of exercises. No pieces.

I have asked several times if he could give her a piece to learn alongside the technical stuff as she likes to have fun playing something and he has just repeatedly told me to just stick in any pop song and let her play. I told him this doesn't really cut it because she wants to work through a book and have a sense she is learning pieces but yesterday when I asked again for pieces he went bright red (he was fuming) and told me that if she really wants to learn pieces she can do it herself but he refuses to do it as she has to rebuild her technique and his job is to do that in the lessons.

I find this approach very odd as it has never happened before with any of the other teachers. I do feel that he has some responsibility in her failing the g2 but never said as such to him. For context, none of the children have ever failed a music exam so it is sad for DD...

However DD is starting to lose interest doing the same exercises for months on end.

She has the option to move teachers of course, but I wanted a second opinion here...

Ideas and opinions would be very welcome!!!!

OP posts:
Original poster
blackeyes72 · 18/10/2018 22:14

Getting on with the teacher is definitely not the issue; we have literally so many teachers in the years and I tend to get on with everyone.

The biggest issues for me are the fact she failed her g2 after preparing for it for 16 months when she is a very bright girl who listens and has a natural sense of rhythm - something is amiss with the teaching I think.

Unfortunately he was recommended by someone but it was just a passing acquaintance who we don't see anymore. I don't know any other children. I am tempted to switch to the school drum teacher.

I understand the need to build on technique, which is the same in all instruments...however I really don't think that just doing technical exercises is going to cut if for her as a method of teaching. Plus I suppose I have lost trust in the teacher after letting her fail....

OP posts:
hertsandessex · 18/10/2018 21:26

Did the teacher suggest putting her in for grade 2 or you? If he did then two weeks before then I would question him as a teacher.

To be honest doing the technical exercises thing is not unusual although not ideal to keep a 9 year old interest. My son was about grade 6 Trinity (not the rock/pop one) at 10 and doing great but his pass grade wasn't great. He then changed teachers and new teacher didn't let him play a piece for months and months. Said he needed to improve technique (although he played at home on his own to pieces.) He passed his grade 7 with only dropping a few marks so massive improvement from the exercises. He then changed teacher again at 13 and once more months and months of exercises/technique things and almost no proper pieces. He kind of stalled for a while but then zoomed ahead.

So good to do the exercises but ideally do something else with the teacher or alone. Just pick some tracks she likes and let her have fun doing whatever she wants drumming to them.

Boyskeepswinging · 18/10/2018 15:13

Does your DD get on with her drum teacher? Do you? If not, it's probably a good time to find a new teacher. The last thing you want is for her to lose her love of drums because of her teacher. Have you met other children taught by the same teacher? How did they get on in their grades?

I don't understand why she wasn't taught the rudimentals before she did her grade exam, rather than trying to back track now? My DS spent a year purely on snare drum rudimentals before moving on. Sounds dull but his technique is 100% rock solid and he has the confidence to sight read anything now.

Original poster
blackeyes72 · 18/10/2018 15:02

Sounds like great advice thank you!!!

OP posts:
ZakStarkey · 18/10/2018 11:00

My dd is also 9, but she started at 5- she’s stopped doing RockSchool drums now- but the last grade she did was grade 5.
I think it’s well within her grasp to play along, if she’s likes the security of sheet music, maybe print out some songs she knows- real songs- not RockSchool.
My dd will play along to all sorts, like The Who, The Beatles etc.....obviously she can’t play like Keith Moon (The Who) but she likes to play what she can figure out, and makes up her own bits for the rest.
Did she do gr1 drums? How did that go?
I agree that just doing technical exercises for that long is difficult- not very stimulating. Maybe talk to the teacher again and suggest 1/2 and 1/2, some tech exercise/and rest pieces.
Or have a look at grade 3 R/S with her- without teacher- to keep her interested?

Original poster
blackeyes72 · 17/10/2018 15:09

It was Rock School.
She loves the drums but she likes the comfort of a piece on paper to play along to. I don't think she is advanced enough yet to have the confidence to play to any track? I think this is something I would expect someone who is fairly confident to do - or is this something a grade 1-grade 2 level child could easily do?
I thought pieces were there to support someone getting there - or are they there just for exam purposes?

OP posts:
ZakStarkey · 17/10/2018 14:01

Playing without music as a drummer is a skill in itself- so I wouldn’t completely dismiss that idea. Get her to listen to tracks she likes and see if she can replicate, add bits to it etc...
What drum exam was it? RockSchool/Trinity/Trinity Rock and Pop?
Does she like playing drums?
Exams aren’t everything.....but if she likes them then maybe change teacher- although the rudiments are important.....