Drum Lessons and YouTube ...

I was at Music & Arts in Frederick, MD the other day. I had finished teaching my last student for the day and overheard one of the sales associates asking a drum customer if they were taking lessons. The kid replied, "Yeah. I'm taking them on YouTube." The sales person didn't think to go any further with the topic at that point.

But, I need to follow up on this here since there are thousands of people thinking they are getting free drum lessons and learning something from it. They are only half right which means their playing is only half right and that won't get them where they wish to go.

Videos are a good resource for reference and to see some things in action. Without a teacher to guide you you are missing a much larger piece of the lesson. One part is performing in front of someone live. This alone will make you or break you. Without it you are almost certain to fail in a real gig situation.

Also, the teacher is your guide to identifying your weaknesses and to help strengthen them. The teacher helps develop your musical approach to playing as well as technique. The teacher will see things you can't since you are not yet trained to identify where there are deficiencies in your playing and practice. Without the feedback you can be learning all wrong technique. Many drummers have come down with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome from bad technique.

Another aspect of a teacher is their professional background and the network of people they know in the business. They are and have been there, playing the top gigs and made a name for their selves. Most have a college education in Music and are more than qualified to teach as well as play.

If your only dream is to play in a local band for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a lollipop soda then your YouTube lessons may get you just that. But, if you are looking to play for a living you will need to consider college and a private teacher will be a key factor to that.