Rylan the Drummer

Rylan has been wanting to take drumming lessons for over a year, maybe because he wanted an excuse to quit piano or maybe because drumming is cool.  In September of 2015 we finally decided to let him start.  I looked around our neighbourhood, but could not find the right kind of class. One of the parents we know from ASB recommended their drum teacher as he is American and could teach the class in English.  When we took Rylan to his first class, he realized that his new drumming teacher was also his percussion teacher at ASB.

Right from the beginning, Rylan loved his class.  He picked up the mechanics of drumming quite quickly and soon started jamming with Bob when they could get studio time.  Then Bob came up with a great idea: he could teach Nathan to play the bass guitar.   He picked up a second-hand bass, and started teaching Nathan in his spare time.

Rylan had his first concert and played with a live band at the end of November.  It was really exciting to see him perform so well after only playing for a couple of months.

Here is the video of his performance:

According to Rylan the only obstacle that lies between him and drumming greatness, is the fact that we don't own a drum kit.  When he was just starting out we experimented with different kinds of homemade drums: buckets, stools, bedposts, boxes.  Almost any surface was a potential drum.  Then I found an electronic drum mat that you could put on the table and had several different drum sounds, but it broke after only a few weeks.  Fortunately I bought it through Amazon and was able to return it for a full refund no problem.   

One day while I was searching for some kind of electronic drum pad for Rylan to practice with, I came across the ClipHit by Korg.  I showed it to Rylan and we were both fascinated.  The ClipHit is not cheap, about 119€,  but a lot cheaper than an electronic drum set and takes up almost no space.  

If you want to see what it looks like, check out this really short demo video we made: 

Cole started learning how to play the piano last year and is still excited about it.  He enjoys making up his own music but also wants to be able to play the same songs as his brothers.  So hopefully in the near future our whole family will be jamming together.