That (Discouraging?) First Snare Drum Lesson by Al Payson
Teaching Techniques for beginners
In the typical elementary snare drum method book, the first two lines of reading exercises look something like the following:
Dirt simple to read and play, right? Well, let me list the tasks the student is called upon to perform, all at the same time.
1. Use the correct stance, grip and stroke action, which he has just learned.
2. Read music notation, to which he has just been introduced.
3. Read the numbers (1-2-3-4) above the staff. Now he's expected to look in two places at once, the staff and the line of numbers above it.
4. Vocalize the numbers.
5. Read the sticking indications below the staff. Now he's expected to look in three places at once: the staff, the line of numbers above it, and the line of sticking letters below it.
6. Play the correct sticking.
7. Keep a steady pulse. Or, if there is a play-along CD, keep pace with it.
8. Raise each stick the same height and strike the drum with equal force.
To reduce those 8 tasks to 4 would still be a formidable challenge for even an adult. I have found the above exercise to be too difficult for most students. They feel overwhelmed by the number of various tasks to be performed all at the same time, and so leave their first lesson discouraged.
What's the teacher to do?
Here's what I would do, using that same exercise. Simply put, I would break it down
into the various tasks and introduce them piecemeal. Specifically, I would begin with 0 tasks and add one at a time until the student's saturation point is reached. That point might be at 2 tasks or 8, depending on the student. Following is the general order I would use in adding tasks.
0 Tasks The student just watches and listens while the teacher taps the drum with his strong hand (no stick) while at the same time uses a stick in his other hand as a pointer, moving along the page to each note as he plays it. Using the stick as a pointer is akin to the "bouncing ball" used in video sing-alongs. Also, the teacher vocalizes the word "hit" for each note and "rest" for each rest. Thus in the second line above he says
"hit hit hit rest/ hit hit hit rest/" etc. as he plays.
1 Task The teacher does the above, but this time the student taps the drum with his strong hand (no stick), along with the teacher. The student does not vocalize.
2 Tasks a) A repetition of the above, except this time both the teacher and student play with a stick in the strong hand. At this juncture a short refresher on grip, stance and stroke action might be in order. b) A repetition of the above, except both the teacher and student play with the stick in just the weak hand.
3 Tasks A repetition of the above, but this time the teacher does not point on the page with his stick, giving the student the task of visually keeping his place in the music.
[I have found that for many students this is as much as they
can reasonably handle in the first lesson]
4 Tasks A repetition of the above, but this time playing along with the CD, if the method book includes one. (Hopefully, it does.)
5 Tasks A repetition of the above, but this time alternating the sticks. At this juncture some teachers immediately introduce a sticking policy, such as the "subtraction" system, thus:
While I use and recommend that drummers have a sticking policy, I prefer to introduce it later. At this point I have the student just alternate the sticks. And I do not follow a strict alternation "policy." After a rest, whichever stick the student uses next is ok with me. At this time I don't want the student burdened with sticking "mistakes."
Using the above procedure I have found that most students leave their first lesson with a positive feeling, borne of a sense that the number of tasks they are asked to perform simultaneously are within their capability.
Al Payson is a retired percussionist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for 40 years, and is an elected member of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. He has many instructional materials in publication, including Beginning Snare Drum Method.
