My Drum School: The Switch from Piano

Posted by May July 03, 2019

My Drum School: The Switch from Piano

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Ewan had been learning Piano for two years from four to six years old. He was exposed to different instruments from a young age and having tried violin, drums and piano, he decided piano was it for him at four. He's got a good grasp of beats and loves his music a lot. Till today, the first thing he does when he climb into daddy's car is to fiddle with the car system and get it to run his favourite playlists.

As he age through his tender years in pre-school, we noticed a change in his choice of songs. He discovered Rock and he had been driving me crazy with what I call NOISE ever since. Daddy, the closet rocker, took the very first chance to go to a drums shop and bought themselves a set of introductory electric drums. He finally had an excuse to get it - his son is now learning drums at My Drum School!

When he was four, he didn't like Rock music and he didn't even sit through the drums trial we brought him to at another music school. He was unwilling to hold the drum sticks and wouldn't even give it a hit! Walked out instead.

Going through sheets after sheets of classical music and having more exposure to different genres, he discovered his love for fast beats by the age of six.

Ewan asked me if it was alright for him to switch from Piano to Drums.

Now the burning question is, "Will I raise a quitter by letting him make this change? Whenever the tough gets going and I let him slide by changing an instrument, am I creating an easily bruised strawberry? Where do I draw the line?"

I introspected and remembered this piece I wrote in September 2018, "I believe in the kid-led concept but everything comes with commitment and responsibility as well. When Ewan says he wants to pick up piano, I will not allow him to quit three months in just because he is tired of practicing. Everything comes with a price and working hard for something is fundamental. To be fair, my rule is to commit for one year before telling me this is not the thing for you. If a year later, he wants to change to another musical instrument, that is totally acceptable. He is two years into piano now and I will give him full autonomy to take or not take the ABRSM examinations. If he only wants to learn music for fun, let it be For Fun."

With our parents grilling us through our Piano Grades growing up, both Meyer and I, we unanimously agree that music should be an enjoyment and not a stressful enrichment program we want our kids to undertake just so that they can have an edge in life 20 years down the road.

In my opinion, quitting an instrument for another is Not Quitting. The child isn't quitting music. He has just found where his interest lies and it is totally alright to pursue what he enjoys. We are learning a totally different way of reading crochets now [we, because I'm also learning on the sideline just to show him how I'm trying my best to be an involved mother]. In drums, Crochets are called Quarter Notes or 1 Beat. To be honest, I'm having it tougher grasping all these new concepts and coordination as compared to him!

Ewan started drumming lessons three months ago and had been picking up the concept of drums steadily. He especially enjoy the days when his drums teacher gives him a chance to play to his favourite songs in class! VERY NOISY MUSIC but they both share a common interest in crashing and beating. When he comes home, he would introduce new songs to his father and they would jam together in his room, nodding their heads away.

So! With my commitment rule, Ewan has to commit himself to drums for a full year and this is to teach him what responsibility is. We will review again when the one year mark is up! The reasons for quitting can be acceptable or not. If it’s just because it’s getting too difficult for him to practice, that’s not going to cut.

Meanwhile, watching him enjoy his new-found music this much, I’m happy that he is happy doing the things he likes.

Ewan had been learning and drumming on the electric set since he first started drum lessons. This was the first time his teacher decided to let him try out the acoustic set and boy was it LOUD! In every studio, there will be one electric and one acoustic drum set for teacher and student to play concurrently. It is also wired up with technology that allows music score sheets to be projected from iPad to a TV screen for easy reading. Students can also search their favourite songs online to stream whilst playing to it. Teacher James is able to control the speed of the song too to match the ability of his students and it will be played via a surround sound music system in the sound-proof room!

We chose to learn with My Drum School because they specialise only in drums and who else to trust than people who are serious about drumming?

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