I hope as you read this, you are having a terrific day wherever you are in the World. In 15 + years of teaching hundreds of drum students, I have learned much about the human spirit and will to persevere.  My drum students inspire me everyday when they show up to drum lessons ready to grow both mentally and physically (drumming is a little bit coordination intensive :)) to levels they previously thought they couldn’t.  It’s kind of like blindly going to do something and not knowing how you’re going to get there other than with the instructor guiding your path.  I have students from all ages and walks of life and they all share a common purpose in taking drum lessons, to have fun playing drums!

In the past couple of years, I have learned a lot about our brains and how we best acquire new information. It seems the key to learning, is being relaxed and enjoying the experience. I sometimes encounter new students who are nervous at lessons because they are afraid to make mistakes or students who have had past negative music instruction experiences. Whether we set out to learn drums, to drive a car, learn a new math formula or learn how to cook pasta with Alfredo sauce, we will learn it much faster if we are enjoying ourselves. When we are relaxed, all of the learning centers in your brains open up allowing us full access to the the world’s most awesome computing power between our ears.

So how can drumming change your life? I’ll tell you. I have seen my students grow their confidence so much that they overcome enormous personal struggles replacing depression, anxiety and unhappiness with unprecedented joy, confidence and excitement for life. Students, who when they came to me, had a low self-image and didn’t believe in themselves, their ability to play drums or that they could take control of their lives. After about a year of lessons, big things began to shift and they were back in the driver seat of their life calling the shots and heading in a direction that made them happy.

Please know I’m not tooting my horn here or saying that I’m some kind of psychotherapist drum instructor. I don’t think my instruction experience is exclusive as other music instructors have witnessed these same results in their students. What I simply want to share, is that when we provide a learning environment for our students whether we are a music or Math teacher or a driving or cooking instructor, our students will grow at exponential speeds if we are kind, nurturing and supportive of them on their learning journey. If we can provide lots of laughs, smiles, goofy moments and embrace the “perfect” imperfections of  learning, students’ confidence and self-esteem will have a chance to grow. After all, isn’t that why we teach?  That’s why I love it so much!