Are there any drum teachers out there that can add to this discussion? I'm interested in giving drum lessons to make some extra income. I'm not a professional or anything but I would imagine that you need to be a solid player in order to get a teaching gig anywhere.

Here's the list I came up with for steps and qualifications to teaching drums professionally. Feel free to add to the list.

-know how to read music and drum notations. This is probaly the most important step to teach at a drum school.
-have played drums and percussion for at least 10 years. No one wants to hire a newbie.
-know all the different types of music and styles.
-can play all of the rudiments by heart
-be at an older age. Someone who is 40 probaly has the advantage over someone who is 20
-experience as a drummer. Theory is great but without experience it means nothing
-having good connections with other teachers or drum organizations certainly helps as well

you forgot the most important thing:

Gotta be a good communicator and teacher. The best drummer in the world with the worst communication skills would still be a crap drum teacher

also worth mentioning...

*gotta be able to relate to students of all ages, keep 'em motivated and stuff, know their goals and what they wanna get out of drums

*dont really agree with the gotta know all the styles part. If someone wants to learn jazz and you specialize in it but don't know the other styles too well, you could still do a good job

[full metal]

one of my number one rules in teaching was always you have to be at least 10 or older. and anything under was a case by case type deal.
when you get that 6 year old in there they have a very hard time sitting still and listening to you.
also somthing I always try to put into a lesson is pad time. and I hate to say it but you might even loose students over that one I did.
they want to learn drum set but not how to hold the sticks the right way and in some cases not even how to learn to read what they are playing.

I did it as like a part lime type deal so I dont know what it would be like in a profesonal type deal like a store or something but Im just passing on some of my exsperinces with you all.

giveing lessons can be hard and it can drain you quick if you have that one student that dosnt pay attention well or one that is have a hard trying to understand what you are trying to teach them.

but at least here they can speak english I was in japan where comunication was very difficult.

[Buzz Roll]

How much do drum teachers charge nowadays? Back in the mid-late 90s when I was still taking lessons I think I was paying around 20 bucks for a 30 minute session. I'm not sure if that's standard but it was in the basement of a small local music shop

[full metal]

I think all really depends on the teacher and if that is how they are trying to make a living and how good they are.

when I did lessons I based the pay off of skill.
new students to drumming where 15 and anyone that had playing for a while was 30
I based that off of other students in the past because I hate to say I was trying to fix more probloms than anything else and also sometimes and can be a little harder to teach more advanced students and I always wanted the student to feel like they were getting what they were paying for and not feel like they were wasting time with if they felt they didnt have anything to learn from me.

full metal, how long have you been teaching for?

and have you ever had an instance where your "student" was better than you? it's pretty awkward.. haha

[full metal]

so far no but I know some day it will happen to me. It is no diffrent than the guy that tought me to play. I am a lot better than he is now and even he told me and I dont think he liked it very much.
but yes think it would be weired if I had a student that was better than me.

[Coach McGuirk]

Originally Posted by full metal

I think all really depends on the teacher and if that is how they are trying to make a living and how good they are.

when I did lessons I based the pay off of skill.
new students to drumming where 15 and anyone that had playing for a while was 30
I based that off of other students in the past because I hate to say I was trying to fix more probloms than anything else and also sometimes and can be a little harder to teach more advanced students and I always wanted the student to feel like they were getting what they were paying for and not feel like they were wasting time with if they felt they didnt have anything to learn from me.

I've never had a sliding pay scale.

It seems to me that your sliding scale slides in the wrong direction. New drummers are much more of a headache than advanced students, IMO. I have taught at the college level. It is a lot easier to teach someone who has enough experience to know that he wants to be there. Also basic technique and basic theory can be a major hurdle for new students. It's a challenge to get them over that hump without losing them to other activities.

[Coach McGuirk]

Originally Posted by laughz

and have you ever had an instance where your "student" was better than you? it's pretty awkward.. haha

It's never been an issue for me. I have never had a student that was better than me. If they were, I would probably suggest that they move on to another instructor. I'm a pretty good coach and I can be pretty analytical but if the drummer is better than me, he is probably better off studying with the drummers that I try to take lessons from, Peter Erskine, George Marsh, Jeff Hamilton et al. I'm sure those guys could provide more insight than I could.