hey. im a drummer, blah blah...and interested in taking some grades. just would like some info on them, what's to be done, do i need a teacher, anyone who's been through 'em? thanks in advance
I did my grades in high school through 5 years of *free* drum lessons My tutor pretty much sorted it all out and it was mostly sight reading i.e. he gave me some drum music on manuscript (I take it you know how to drum tab written on manuscript?), I had a minute or so to have a look, then he played music and I had to play along, note for note. As I gradually went up through grades, new things were introduced like the rudiment 'para-diddle-diddle' (a 2 beat extension of the paradiddle) and playing a piece of music with off-beat sections and immediate time signature changes, switching to different parts of the kit. I'd imagine you'd need a tutor to work through grades, but it something I haven't looked into so I couldn't say whether it's essential or not.
