Vancouver Drum Lessons

If you’re looking for drum lessons in Vancouver, North Vancouver or Burnaby BC, you’ve come to the right place. John Hildebrand is dedicated to providing quality drum lessons for ages 9 and up in greater Vancouver. As a drum teacher with over 25 years experience teaching drums and extensive formal percussion training, John offers a supportive, friendly and versatile approach to learning drums to suit each student’s musical interests and goals. Learn correct technique, to read sheet music and to count and subdivide. Learn to play your favourite songs and discover the many styles of drumming from around the world.

Drum lessons with John are a fun and challenging adventure in rhythm and music. He will have you exploring rhythmic possibilities at the drums from the very beginning. This exploration of the drums will broaden as we apply progressive steps to gain full control and coordination of your limbs. Applying what you’ve learned to songs for play along goes together with this exploration and development.

Best Drum Lesson Value And Service

In the course of over 25 years as a drum teacher I’ve worked for some of the biggest and most successful music lessons studios in Vancouver, North Vancouver and Burnaby. During that time I became very aware of the frustrations experienced by students and/or parents as it relates to Big Studio policies:

Contracts and added fees.
Lost lesson time from students being booked back to back.
Cheap, poorly maintained drums with use of foam muffler pads, or low budget electronic drums giving a sub-standard drumming experience.
Inability to contact your teacher between lessons.
Surprise teacher substitutions.
schedule inflexibility.

Beyond Addressing These Problems, I Offer Even More

When you study drums with John not only do you get better service, you get no added fees or contracts. That means if you change your mind about drum lessons, you can stop at any time and not lose money.
Learn on a professional, well maintained, acoustic drum set. No foam mufflers!
Two acoustic drum sets. You will have your own drum set during lessons, no switching back and forth.
A 15 minute gap between students provides extra time if needed. If you’re running a bit late for your lesson, I can accommodate for that. Likewise, if we need some extra time at the end of your lesson for questions, clarification or just to chat, we can do that too.
Flexible scheduling. You can take lessons weekly, bi-weekly or intermittently, which ever suits you.
Student performance videos are included when you learn drums with John. I encourage my students to learn a favourite song in its entirety, working to make it performance ready. At that point I record their performance, edit it and then send it back to them to share with their family and friends. I also have a graded system of play-along songs for those students who aren’t sure what to chose or who might prefer this approach.
Lesson follow up is another important way that I offer more. If you are stuck on a concept from your previous lesson and need clarification, we can clear it up with text and/or video follow up.
Contact me between lessons by phone, email or text.

Drum Lessons, Approach and Development

There are many directions that drum lessons can take. First and foremost I want your lessons to be a fun and challenging exploration of rhythm and music. For this reason as I teach drums I always accommodate for my students natural musical curiosities, interests and abilities. Within this context I shape our drum lessons with three main objectives: Technical development, stylistic development, and the ability to analyze music both through musical notation and the learn-by-ear approach.

Stylistic development begins with easily accessible rock and pop songs and progresses to more demanding ones. In this way I am able to lead my students through varying styles and the technical demands required. While the musical tastes of my students is always a consideration when choosing songs, I encourage a spirit of musical exploration. Exploring other styles of music such as Funk, R&B, Soul, Jazz, Hip-Hop, African and Latin is all a part of becoming a well rounded drummer! Also, in the process you’re very likely to discover inspiring and exciting music that motivates and energizes!

Learn To Decipher Drum Parts

In the process of learning the drums and to play along with songs we need to be able to analyze music both through musical notation and the learn-by-ear approach. Becoming comfortable reading rhythmic notation is a great skill to have as it will allow for self learning going forward. During the lessons, reading skills are developed in a logical and progressive way as we graduate to more challenging songs that require greater reading skills. Likewise, the learn-by-ear approach is an essential skill for drummers to have as there will always be times when notation is not available. Whether learning a song by reading or by ear, musicians need to have the ability to count and subdivide the count. Counting out loud connects the mind and body and is a big component of learning the drums. Musicians must fully understand the structure of a rhythmic or musical phrase and counting provides that!

I Customize Each Drum Lesson For Every Student

Every student is different and we all learn in different ways. Personalized lessons are the way to go as there in no one approach or method that will work for all students of drumming.

Beginner

I love teaching beginners because for them everything about drums is new and exciting. It’s a lot of fun for them to get on the drums and start discovering. It’s a real joy for me to see a beginners excitement.

For Beginners, first we must establish the basics: How to hold the sticks (Grip). How to approach the drums correctly. How to get a good sound from the drum. What are the individual instruments that make up a drum set.

Next we move onto the essential sticking patterns, basic coordination and reading. I will have you playing a complete beat and fill by the end of your first lesson.

For beginners the focus will be on easy rock and pop songs to build confidence. Once you are comfortable behind the kit and understand the basic concepts, we will move in to more challenging songs.

Intermediate

Intermediate students are great because they generally understand the basics. One of the first things I do is help them fix any bad habits they might have. We build on what’s come before by improving and developing what they already know.

With intermediates we move in to more technically demanding concepts such as dynamics, rudiments and four limb coordination. Likewise, the songs we’ll work on will be more challenging.

Many intermediate students come to me seeking a new teacher to help them develop and expand on what they already know. Others may come to me after a long break from drumming and they want to get back into it.

At first I will determine where you are at and what needs fixing. Then I’ll give you exercises and strategies to make the desired improvements to your drumming. Selecting songs that challenge you and push your development is an important element of drum lessons.

Advanced

Maybe you’ve been playing drums for a long time. You’ve spent many countless hours honing your skills and are familiar with performing.

All the basics are in place, including reading and technique. You might be looking for a new approach to practicing or specific technical help. Or maybe you want professional guidance on a particular technique, approach or style.

I have helped advanced students become much more effective with double strokes, dynamics, four limb coordination and sight-reading. If you’re an advanced drummer looking for a fresh perspective, I’d like to hear from you.

Drumming Concepts We Will Cover

There is no shortage of ideas and concepts that we can work on in your drum lessons:

Grip (holding the sticks)
How to get a good sound
Sticking Patterns
Hand – Foot Coordination
Rock and Pop drumming
Rudiments
Dynamic drumming
Drum fills
Drum Tuning and set up
Counting and subdividing

Use of fingers, wrists and forearms
Bass drum technique
Reading rhythmic notation
Hi hat techniques
Using a metronome
Speed minus tension
Latin & African drumming
Jazz drumming
Polymeter
Odd meter

Are You Ready To Start Drumming?

Fill out the form below or message me at john@drumroll.ca to begin your drumming journey. Or, click the button for rates and more ways to reach me.