Teaching drum-kit in groups

One half-hour lesson, three pupils, one drum-kit – so that's 10 minutes each, right? Well, no. Like all teachers, I must strive to make sure I am keeping all the pupils fully engaged throughout the whole lesson. Of course, there will need to be some kind of rotation to ensure all the pupils have a fair share of the time available on the drum-kit. Here, I hope to show how this can be achieved by employing teaching techniques drawn from experience.

I believe there are some significant benefits to learning in a small group rather than one-to-one. Students in a small-group environment can interact with each other in the lesson, positively encouraging each other and feeding off their respective achievements. Pupils can learn by watching how others learn and by observing how they play. Pupils who can explain what they are playing to another student also reinforce their own learning. A pupil that is willing and able to help fellow students is often seen as having an ability to identify talent, if looking further ahead.