Drum teacher

Becoming a music teacher is a very exciting and realistic prospect for my future. I, as well as many others, will never forget my first drum teacher and how much he influenced not just my playing, but my love for all kinds of music. Having such a big impact on the beginning of someone’s musical career is a privilege, therefore there are many skills and qualifications required before you can start teaching.

With teaching, required qualifications can differ depending on whether you are teaching privately, or through an institution. I will cover both scenarios.

Privately  

In today’s world, anyone who can set up a website or social media page can, in theory, be a drum teacher. However in order to be successful, there are many skills to master, and you must put forward a professional version of yourself to get students and a solid income. 

Qualifications – Although degrees, grades, diplomas etc. are not necessary, they can make you stick out from competition. Having an instrument specific degree from a prestigious university is indisputable proof of your ability, making you a more desirable private teacher. Furthermore, a degree in drums is the perfect way to gain the musical skills needed for teaching, through learning music theory, sight reading, technical skills, industry and history knowledge, and overall ability on the drumkit. 

Experience – Getting started in drum education without any teaching experience can be difficult, which makes having a broad range of different musical experiences even more important. All bands, shows and recordings you’ve been a part of should be listed and clear to see for potential students, as this shows you’re knowledgeable and integrated with the music industry. You can pass this knowledge onto your students, and be prepared to guide them through any situation. 

DBS – Although not legally required with private teaching, an enhanced dbs check would be best to obtain, especially if teaching from your home and with children.

Facilities – To get started teaching, it is important to have an accessible place to hold the lessons. This is difficult with drums, due to the size and noise of the instrument. Ideally, a small studio with 2 kits enables the lessons to be most productive, giving you the chance to play with your student, and demonstrate without swapping seats often. However, 1 kit and a practice pad can work to start off. Depending on noise restrictions, you can use a dampened or electric kit. Alternatively, you can travel to the student if they own a drum kit, however this can be expensive. 

Website – To begin teaching privately, you need a website with contact details. Here you can provide information on everything I have detailed above. To really stand out from other teachers, you can include testimonials from past employees, bandmates or students, videos of you playing, and a short biography of your drum career and style of playing and teaching.

Teaching at a school

Despite having many similarities with private teaching, there are some extra qualifications needed to teach institutionally. As stated by the musicians union: “School-based classroom teachers are often qualified and paid according to their qualification level, although academies (now the majority of schools) can in theory hire teachers without qualifications and pay them what they choose. Nevertheless, a qualification is still the most common route into classroom teaching.”(Musicians union 2026)

An example of a post-graduate course available for music education is an MA Music Education: Instrumental and Vocal Teaching offered by the University of York. This is a perfect course to develop understanding and passion for instrumental pedagogy, through exploring all its practical, theoretical and psychological elements. 

On top of these practical requirements to start teaching, there are numerous personal qualities that are vital. 

Communication 

With teaching an instrument, just knowing how to play is not enough. At the point of teaching, it is likely that you will have forgotten that first moment of picking up the drum sticks, and learning your first groove. Therefore, the ability to visualise and communicate with the student from their point of view instead of yours is key. When you are so skilled on your instrument, it is very easy to skim over important points, and struggle explaining what seems simple to you. Having the ability to simplify everything into a way a beginner can understand, and being able to convey your ideas clearly is what makes a great player also a great teacher. 

Adaptability

No two students learn the same way, and as a teacher you have the responsibility to cater your lessons depending on this. The three main types of learners are visual, aural, and kinesthetic. In the context of drum teaching, with visual learners you may have to demonstrate more, placing an emphasis on them copying your movement, whereas aural learners may prefer to hear and attempt to copy a recording. In this scenario, you can find their favourite drummers, and help them recreate those sounds. Finally, with a kinesthetic learner, you will want to give them more time to experiment and find what works for them, not making them copy but instead fueling them with ideas to take into their practice. One of my favourite online drum teachers, Mike Johnston, talks about the importance of adaptability and lesson curation in an interview on Mike Dolbear’s website: “ the first thing I ask somebody in their first lesson with me is: Who’s your favourite drummer, who’s your favourite band? What do you wish you could do with the drums? If I was a drum genie and could grant you three wishes, what would they be? Tell me all that personal information and I will craft a whole new lesson plan just for you, so you never have to wonder if I just teach you the same things as the kid before you. No, it’s just for you. So even if we work on something boring you know that I know your dreams and even the boring stuff is getting you closer and closer to your goals.” (Mike Johnston, 2016)

Patience

In teaching, it is essential to create a positive and supportive atmosphere to help a student thrive, instead of rushing to certain goals. Everyone learns at different rates. Furthermore, patience is an important skill to pass on in drumming, as consistent practice, repetition and failing all lead you to becoming a musician.

As with many musical professions, every day will be different as a drum teacher. With different students, there is a responsibility to be prepared before every lesson. This can mean recapping notes, practising what you taught, and finding resources and ideas to cover in the upcoming lesson. After this, most days will be taken up with lessons. When teaching privately, it is essential to be flexible, in order to fit in students as and when they require. In contrast to this, when teaching at a school, you may be able to cater your hours to enable you to do other work outside, such as session drumming or producing. This is a great opportunity to gain more experience to give to your students, and add another lane of income, in a ‘portfolio career’. 

Becoming a self-employed music teacher comes with many financial challenges. It is heavily reliant on customers, and this can be very undependable due to cancellations, holidays, sicknesses etc. With the amount of unpaid work going into preparing and having equipment to teach, an unsteady income can be very testing. Being self employed also leads to a responsibility to manage your own tax and accounting, which can be difficult to manage. Due to these challenges, educators must mitigate their income streams with ventures such as content creation and recording drums, and be sure to set clear terms and conditions with cancellation policies with students and/or employees.  

Marketing and promotion

• Know what you have to offer, and what students you want. It is best to be adaptable, but make it known what level you can teach, and what styles you specialise in. This will attract the right students quickly
• Websites and Key Words: A simple but attractive website is key, showing clearly who you are, what you teach and how customers can book. Adding key words like the location, the instrument etc. can help your website show in the right places.
• Social media: Content of you playing will be a great way to attract new students. The best content to post as a teacher includes practice tips, live show drum cams, teaching videos and drum covers. 
• Trial Lessons: Offering anything free to new students is a great way to build connections and offer something different from competition. Trial lessons are just one example, you could also offer a jam session, a worksheet of yours, or just a short video call to discuss the student’s goals. 
• Local scene: Although focusing on online growth is key, it is still important to make real world connections. This will be most effective at locations such as music shops, local venues, and schools where you can leave posters, or run workshops.
• Easy booking system: After all of this, it is essential to make it easy for students to book and pay for their lesson online.

With private teaching, there are many development opportunities to aim for in the future. As you gain more students, you may wish to expand your facilities and business. This could be in the way of hiring additional tutors to take in some of your work load, and finding a split to take from their lessons in return for you giving them students. This can keep building and building, with larger studio spaces and more tutors working for you. 

Alternatively, you could decide to specialise in a style of music, such as jazz, and focus on teaching more advanced learners. By doing this, you can charge more as you become a niche drum tutor. 

Finally, building an online brand is a great way to develop your career as a drum teacher. Expanding your website into more than a booking point, but also holding interviews, online courses and selling drum materials that you have created. 

There are also ways to develop your career within an institution. With further qualifications and experience you can climb the school ladder towards teaching at universities and conservatoires, and teach specialist studies with these students. In time, you can even look towards becoming a subject leader, and curating a module. This will lead to a higher income and a much more steady contract compared to private teaching. 

Reference list

Edgoose, S., Miorin, T. and Johnston, M. (2016). Mike Johnston. [online] Mike Dolbear. Available at: http://mikedolbear.com/interviews/mike-johnston/.

Good (2024). Loudlands. [online] Loudlands. Available at: https://www.loudlandsmusic.com/blog/what-makes-a-good-drum-teacher.

musiciansunion.org.uk. (n.d.). Qualifications. [online] Available at: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/education-and-teaching/career-development-in-teaching/qualifications.

totaldrummer (2019). What Qualifications Do I Need To Be A Drum Teacher? [online] Total Drummer | Online Drum Lessons. Available at: https://www.totaldrummer.com/what-qualifications-do-i-need-to-be-a-drum-teacher/.

Weatherhead, A. (2025). Drum Students and Business Growth: A Guide for Drum Teachers. [online] Drummerworld Articles. Available at: https://www.drummerworld.com/articles/news/drum-students-teaching-business-growth/ [Accessed 8 Jan. 2026].

York, U. of (2026). MA Music Education: Instrumental and Vocal Teaching. [online] University of York. Available at: https://www.york.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/courses/ma-music-education [Accessed 7 Jan. 2026].