<p>My younger son has decided that, after five years of violin, he is now in love with percussion (he took a class and bought a drum). Unlike his older brother, who could listen to Mahler all day long, he is much more diverse in his musical tastes. In the middle of a Bach Partita, he turned to me and said that he would like to seriously explore percussion. Always game when it comes to music, I found him a teacher and we're off and running. He's already thirteen and I would like for him to join a music ensemble (his violin teachers have discouraged that to focus on solo work, which I think was a mistake).
Any percussionists out there who have any advice for a fledgling? Good teachers in the SF Bay Area? Should I just have him concentrate on classical for now, or should I also expose him to jazz ensembles? He's doing two percussion camps this summer. I'm a violinist..so I'm totally in the dark with drums.
Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Hello Symphonymom,</p>
<p>Welcome to the world of percussion! My son came to it after playing piano for three years, and now has studied piano for ten and percussion for seven. </p>
<p>I would really recommend starting with classical percussion, and then moving to jazz. The kids with a classical background are at such an advantage, and most jazz drummers are also terrific classical percussionists. My son feels his own classical background has really enhanced his play of jazz.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have questions!</p>
<p>Thanks, Allmusic! I will definitely PM you...thank you for helping me navigate this new world! We're all sort of entranced with it...and are taking turns on the drum pad...it's actually very fun!</p>
<p>I assume your son will be in high school school next year. What does his school offer for musical opportunities?</p>
<p>There is a great music teacher who brings in SFS musicians to coach the music kids. She runs a small orchestra and has been known to form percussion ensembles. There is also a small jazz band. S can't do both. We have youth symphonies in the area, but I have no idea when S will be ready for those. S will go to a couple of percussion camps this summer...probably classical although we do have jazz festival nearby. He's 13 and will be in 9th grade next year. Thanks for help! I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>My son enjoyed Stanford Jazz Workshop for many years.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stanfordjazz.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.stanfordjazz.org/</a></p>
<p>I see you are from the Bay Area! My older son went to the jazz camp for several years before he decided he was a classical player...he loved it too. I'm thinking my younger one should try it. Thanks for the advice!
Any suggestions for teachers? Feel free to PM me if you want! Thank you!!</p>
<p>I highly recommend the Berkeley Youth Orchestra for a new percussionist. It's a warm, welcoming, and nurturing orchestra for ages 10-16. They meet at Laney College in Oakland (at the Lake Merritt BART station) on Saturday mornings, and college or high school credit is granted. They also offer a fun extremely cheap summer camp ($125 for two weeks!) My S did percussion one year in the Symphonic Band and had lots of fun. see <a href="http://www.laneysummermusic.com%5B/url%5D">www.laneysummermusic.com</a></p>
<p>Thanks so much for the link!! That is very helpful. We are on the other side of the bay, but I will definitely look into the summer program. We can drive to BART. It sounds wonderful! I really appreciate it very much!!</p>
<p>I live across the state so I can't give advice on local teachers. As a conservatory trained percussionist, however, I'd encourage him to get a good teacher who will make him develop good snare drum & mallet technique to avoid injuries like carpal tunnel (trust me...not fun.)
A membership to the Percussive Arts Society (<a href="http://www.pas.org%5B/url%5D">www.pas.org</a>) would be an amazing birthday gift for him as it would allow him to get Percussive Notes, an informative magazine with new excersizes/literature etc. as well as post in a highly popular forum with thousands of professional soloists, orchestra members, and students that can answer his questions and help him follow his interests.
Best of luck!</p>
<p>Brahms, this is wonderful advice! Thank you so much!! He's progressing so quickly, I really appreciate the warning about carpel. If there is any specific advice you have, I'll pass it along to him. He's practicing a lot...mostly on snare at this point, but he's going to play with my older son's orchestra soon (the advantage of knowing how to count from playing another instrument:)
And what a great idea for a birthday gift. I really appreciate the message very much! Thank you again!</p>
<p>The most important thing to do is to make sure he incorporates some gentle stretching into his warm-up routine and some deeper stretching after each practice session is over. He should also play without creating extra tension in his arms and upper body (any good teacher should address this in lessons). Feel free to PM me if you or your son have any more questions!</p>
<p>Thank you!! I will PM you regarding specific stretches, if you have recommendations. His teacher does tell him to play in a very relaxed manner, but hasn't mentioned stretching. Sounds like a great idea!</p>