Introduction:

In this Portfolio, I will show my progression journey teaching a drummer called Sam with an intermediate / advanced ability who has been drumming for a number of years. In my portfolio I have chosen to include some examples of lessons I thought went particularly well during the tuition experience. I’ve spent time reflecting upon what worked well in the lessons and what I’d like to work on moving forward as a drum teacher. I’ve included lesson plans and video footage from the sessions too. 

Lesson 1:

Name of Student:

Sam

Name of Tutor

Rhys

Aims	To learn what an ostinato pattern is and understand how to use it in a creative manner on the drum kit.
Objectives	Start by getting used to playing the simple ostinato pattern on both feet at a slow tempoAfter finding a comfortable tempo, start playing simple rudiments over the ostinato pattern on the snare drum(singles, doubles and paradiddles)Once comfortable playing all 3 rudiments separately, try linking them one after the other
ExtensionIf the learner progresses particularly well they may also be able to:	Start to try and move the rudiment stickings around the drum kit Increase speed of the rudiment learnt.

Time	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
5 mins	Starter Activity – Chat with Sam to get an idea of ability level and what he’d like to gain from the session.I will ask him if he knows what an ostinato pattern is and I will explain to him if he doesn’t knowI will explain what exercise we will practice in the lesson so he knows what to expect	I will use a formative assessment to check that he has achieved the activity successfully. This will be through asking Sam to show me his skills throughout, this will help inform my next steps for teaching.	We will only require a drum kit and sticks for this lesson. An extra stool will be useful for sitting alongside the student to model – this will enable the student to get a good view of how to do things.

Time (approx)	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
10 mins	Get comfortable with the ostinato patternStart implementing rudiments Increase tempoStart moving the stickings of the rudiments around the kit

Time	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
5 mins	Plenary/End of the Lesson Recap the lesson and get some feedback from Sam about how he felt things went for him.Test him to see if he remembers what an ostinato pattern means Set some practice activities

As Sam is an experienced drummer with an advanced knowledge of the instrument, my aim for this lesson was to teach him something he did not already know. After spending the first few minutes of the lesson talking to him about his preferred style of music and experience, Sam explained to me that he was struggling to improvise and play creatively when playing certain genres such as samba and Latin along with also struggling with using coordination to use all four limbs when playing. I offered to teach him a simple ostinato pattern that he could gradually work on over time when playing genres such as samba, whilst also being a great exercise to build his four way coordination. When he told me had not heard of an ostinato pattern before, I knew that this was a good place to start. An Ostinato pattern is a “repeated rhythmic pattern” that is repeated “persistently” (Music theory academy, 2021).

After meeting Sam and introducing the lesson, we started with me demonstrating the ostinato exercise we will try to achieve by the end of this lesson. I showed him this first so he could see what we will be building up to in the lesson. After my demonstration of the exercise, Sam sat at the drum kit and we started by getting comfortable with playing the ostinato pattern on its own, using our feet and alternating right then left. Repeating that pattern. Keeping a slow and controlled tempo. Once we found a comfortable tempo for him to play, we started implementing the rudiments on the snare drum, starting with single strokes then double strokes and finally paradiddles. For each rudiment Sam played over the ostinato pattern, we gradually increased the tempo the more comfortable he got. As Sam had grown comfortable with the exercise, I challenged him by moving the sticking pattern of the rudiment around the kit using the toms. He found this quite challenging, so we chose to slow the tempo down again. To conclude this lesson, I tested Sam on how much he can remember by asking him what an ostinato pattern is and if he can demonstrate using the three rudiments. Formative assessment is when a student is “assessed during learning and teaching” which can be assessed by the student doing tasks or answering questions during the lesson. (National Foundation for Educational Research, 2023).

In the video, you can see I carefully explain the objectives of the lesson to Sam and give a simple definition of the ostinato pattern. I then model to Sam how to do the ostinato pattern by breaking it down into sections and then Sam copies, we do this at a very slow tempo to begin with whilst Sam gets used to it. I feel that this worked well as Sam was able to see and feel what to do with each part of his body.

Later in the lesson, when Sam has the hang of the pattern we try increasing the tempo. I felt that perhaps I increased the speed of things too quickly and as can be seen in the video Sam found this to be too challenging. I recognised that this was too difficult and adapted my teaching accordingly. You can see in the video that I responded to this by slowing back down again to a pace that suited whilst also playing alongside Sam really helped – this provided him with a good visual of when and where to play each drum stroke. 

Overall, I was pleased with the progress Sam had made this lesson. He was able to learn what an ostinato pattern is, how to apply it creatively in certain genres, and helped him gain a better understanding of four way coordination. I advised Sam to take what he has learned and continue to practice on it over a longer time so he can build his 4 way coordination strength. Practicing in learning a music instrument is so important as it improves confidence and builds mind / muscle coordination (MusicTeachers.co.uk, 2026). Whilst for most musicians, practicing learning an instrument is not very fun, “practicing is the process of getting closer to your musical goals.” (Guitar Nutrition, n.d.). I will look forward to our next lesson where we will explore different exercises to help him play more creatively in other genres.

Lesson 2

Name of Student:

Sam

Name of Tutor

Rhys

Aims	I want to fine tune Sam’s ability to play the Ostinato pattern. I want Sam to be able to play one or more drum and bass grooves by the end of the lesson. I’d like for Sam to come away feeling he has developed some skills to help him play in more varied genres.
Objectives	Recap & consolidate Ostinato – We will go through a list of drum and bass grooves notation that I have prepared for him, with each exercise getting progressively more challenging.
ExtensionIf the learner progresses particularly well they may also be able to:	If Sam successfully learns the list of grooves I will show him, we will start to incorporate fills to challenge him further.

Time	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
5 mins	I will check-in with Sam how his practice has been going since our last session. Ask him to demonstrate (and assess) his progress. This will also be a good activity to warm up. Next, I will explain to him that we will be working on some drum and bass style of drumming	I will use a formative assessment to check that he has achieved the activity successfully. This will be through asking Sam to show me his skills throughout, this will help inform my next steps for teaching.	We will only require a drum kit and sticks for this lesson. An extra stool will be useful for sitting alongside the student to model – this will enable the student to get a good view of how to do things.Practice pad

Time (approx)	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
10 mins	I will start by showing Sam the first groove We will slowly introduce different parts of the groove until he is able to play it in fullRepeat if he finds it easy

Time	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
5 mins	Plenary/End of the Lesson Recap the lesson and get some feedback from Sam about how he felt things went for him.Test him to see if he’s able to play the grooves practiced.Set some practice activities using my phone to record modelled examples if Sam feels this is something he would find useful.		Phone for recording visual examples

The aim for this week’s lesson with Sam was to introduce him to another style of music he is not familiar with – Drum and Bass. 

When Sam arrived, I asked him how his practice had gone over the last week and if he has been working on the ostinato patterns we went through last week, which he had done. He showed me his progress and we spent a few minutes consolidating this. This help act as a warm up to the session too.

I started off the main part of lesson by explaining what we will be doing this week, which is drum and bass grooves I have prepared in advance. I am choosing to teach Sam something completely different this week in order to add variety to help keep him engaged and interested each lesson. We started with me demonstrating the first bar of the groove to him at a slow tempo so he could process what is played. This is because in drum and bass music, it is usually played at a very high tempo with a lot of rapid, short notes. This is why I slowed the tempo down to teach Sam and we can then increase the tempo the more confident he gets. Sam was able to learn the first groove after repeating it several times whilst I was correcting his technique. I used lots of praise and encouragement, this is important because I wanted Sam to stay engaged in the lesson and feel motivated to achieve this lesson objectives. Evidence shows that “positive reinforcement, including praise, stickers, or music-themed rewards, encourages students to keep trying” (Diem, 2025). We then moved on to the next groove which contained less notes overall but had an odd time feel to it. Sam particularly struggled with this groove, so we spend the rest of the main part of the lesson going through this one before we ran out of time.

In the video, I’m breaking down sections of the groove for Sam to try in smaller parts so it’s not too overwhelming. I air drummed alongside as he gets the hang of this as I now know this is something that works well for Sam. However, at times I feel like I was a little stern with him. In future I will work on using more positive responses. 

Pointing to the music as Sam and I played seemed to help – again this helped me to realise that Sam is quite a visual learner. I also feel I was a bit more positive in this part of the lesson and Sam seemed to be enjoying himself too. 

Overall, I am happy with how the lesson has gone this week. It was helpful to for me to understand better how Sam learns and see him get pushed to his limit. I do wish we had more time in the lesson as I feel like with more time, Sam will have been able to successfully play the groove he struggled to play.

I have been really enjoying teaching one of my peers however I would like to extend my teaching experiences to students that do not have the level of prior knowledge that Sam does as this will help me progress in my ability to teach a range of abilities. 

Lesson 3 (new student)

Name of Student:		Example lesson plan for use with (adult) new students with little experience			Name of Tutor	Rhys
Date		Time		Room

Aims	To have an enjoyable first lesson and come away from the lesson with some basic skills to practice.
Objectives	After first chatting with the new student to get an idea of what they’d like to achieve during the lesson I expect some early objectives may include; Naming key parts of the drum kitCorrect use of the drumsticksBegin to play a simple groove (use mnemonics here if needed)
Extension If the learner progresses particularly well they may also be able to:	Increase speed of learnt groove if able

Time	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
5 mins	Start with a general chat with the student to get an idea of their prior learning and what their hopes/aims are.Ask the student to demonstrate any existing skillsName and identify key parts of the drum kit and discuss what they’re used for	Ongoing formative assessment to help planning next steps of learning.	We will only require a drum kit and sticks for this lesson. An extra stool will be useful for sitting alongside the student to model – this will enable the student to get a good view of how to do things.Practice padPhone for recording modelled examples.

Time (approx)	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
10 mins	Model correct use of holding the sticksModel simple groove on the kit (use mnemonics at this point if I feel it’s something that will help the student) using a ‘copy me’ approachCheck on correct stick useIncrease length and tempo if the students ability allows for this

Time	Activities	Assessment Methods	Resources
5 mins	Plenary/End of the Lesson  Recap the lesson asking the student to play the learnt groove independently Set some practice activities using some video links/recordings to help with this

In today’s lesson, I took on a new student named Itta in order to help widen my teaching experience to teaching those with less prior drumming knowledge. 

At the start of the lesson, Itta explained to me that he has only had one drum lesson before so I immediately knew I would have to take a different teaching approach with him than I did for Sam. I chose to stick to a practical ‘copy-me’ approach to the lesson rather than introduce any written theory as, despite the student being an adult learner I still feel a ‘Sound before symbol’ approach to learning is best at this early stage of teaching so as not to overwhelm the student and create a positive learning experience. (Author Andrew Eales, 2015). He explained that he learnt a very simple groove played on the hi-hat, snare and bass drum but he had not been shown proper stick technique. I started the main part of the lesson by asking him if he could show me what he learnt in his previous lesson whilst I assess the way he is holding his stick. I saw that he was holding the sticks low and gripping tightly. This can affect his range of motion, speed and potentially result in injury so I showed him the correct technique called “match grip” which is when your palms are facing down with the thumb and index fingers being the two fingers gripping the sticks, with the rest of the fingers loosely wrapped around the sticks for support and control. (Melodics.com, 2024). I also taught him to use his middle, ring and pinky finger to control his sticks when hitting the drums to ensure a better connection to the drum skins and overall improve his technique. Learning the correct technique to hold drum sticks early on as a beginner is important in order for a drummer to develop. “A proper grip ensures better control, comfort, and precision while reducing the risk of fatigue or injury.” (Drum Center Of Portsmouth, 2025). After we worked on his technique, I taught Itta a variation of the groove he was playing to me. Using sixteenth notes on the hi hat rather than eighth notes which emphasises the match technique we went through earlier on.

In the video you can see me giving a Itta praise for how well he’s holding the sticks. I did this to help create a positive learning environment and resisted making critical comments. I show him the appropriate technique and liken it to holding a violin bow as this is something that is familiar to him. 

One thing I might change in future when teaching lessons is to bring in another stool to sit alongside my students. You can see in the video I’m standing over Itta watching and I think perhaps a stool alongside may be a more welcoming way to teach from. 

In this video of Itta’s lesson I can be seen showing Itta how to tap out the groove. When Itta took his turn I air drummed alongside him to provide a visual of the pattern (this is something I’ve found worked well in my lessons teaching Sam) and then called out ‘snare’ at each point when the snare should be hit to provide a verbal reminder. This multi-sensory approach worked well. 

Overall, I am happy with my first lesson with Itta. Due to him being a beginner, I enjoyed applying a different teaching approach to what I have previously done with Sam. 

Conclusion of the Portfolio:

Overall, I have enjoyed my experience for this portfolio to show my progression as a teacher, but also the progression my students made in the lessons we had together. Looking back at the videos of each lesson that show how I communicated to my students, this has helped me develop as a teacher overall because it has allowed me to critically analyse what went well in each lesson and also what I could have done to improve my students experience in the lesson. 

I found it useful teaching a mix of beginner drummers and experienced drummers as it allowed me to try a variety of teaching methods. It has also allowed me to expand my knowledge by exploring teaching methods such as the sound before symbol method and the Orrf method. 

Moving forward I’d like to further develop my teaching portfolio by gaining experience teaching younger students. 

‌Bibliography

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Author Andrew Eales (2015). ‘Sound before symbol’: lessons from history. [online] Pianodao. Available at: https://pianodao.com/2015/10/17/sound-before-symbol-lessons-from-history/. [Accessed 17 May 2026]

Music Theory Academy (2021). Ostinato – Music Theory Academy – Definitions and music examples. [online] Music Theory Academy. Available at: https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/understanding-music/ostinato/#google_vignette. [Accessed 17 May 2026]

Diem, N. (2025). Student Engagement in Music Class: Best Strategies and Benefits – MakeMusic. [online] MakeMusic. Available at: https://www.makemusic.com/blog/student-engagement-in-music-class-best-strategies-and-benefits/. [Accessed 17 May]

Drum Center Of Portsmouth. (2025). How to Hold Drum Sticks: Tips for Beginners. [online] Available at: 

https://drumcenternh.com/blogs/news/how-to-hold-drum-sticks-learn-the-proper-technique?srsltid=AfmBOophz718Dt_Qg-RSMPN-hqy4bXm1dh8RN-7p71TQuxTgik0bpU8h [Accessed 17 May 2026].

Guitar Nutrition. (n.d.). Why You Really Need To Practice Your Instrument. [online] Available at: https://guitarnutrition.com/blog/why-you-really-need-to-practice-your-instrument. [Accessed 17 May 2026]

Melodics.com. (2024). What is the Matched Grip? | Drumming Grip Explained | Melodics. [online] Available at: https://melodics.com/blog/matched-drum-grip. [Accessed 17 May 2026]

MusicTeachers.co.uk. (2026). Learning to play a musical instrument. [online] Available at: https://musicteachers.co.uk/music/benefits%20of%20learning%20to%20play%20music  [Accessed 17 May 2026].

National Foundation for Educational Research (2023). An Introduction to Formative and Summative Assessment. [online] NFER. Available at: https://www.nfer.ac.uk/assessment-hub/an-introduction-to-formative-and-summative-assessment/.