Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much do drum lessons cost?
A: Affordable drum lessons at Neighbour Note start at $35 a lesson for studio and online drum lessons, and $40 for private lessons in-home. This is for 30 minute music lessons. Forty-five minute lessons cost $50 for studio and online drum lessons, and $55 for private lessons in-home. Sixty minute lessons cost $70 per hour for studio and online drum lessons, and $75 per hour for private lessons in-home.
Q: What kind of drums do you have at the Neighbour Note Music School?
A: The Neighbour Note music studio has a Pearl Vision acoustic drum set, and a Roland V Drums TD10 digital drum set. They also have a couple of Alesis Nitro digital drum sets and a Roland V Drums digital drum set.
Q: How long are drum lessons?
A: Toronto drum lessons at Neighbour Note are thirty, forty-five, and sixty minutes in length.
Q: Do I need my own drums to start music lessons in Toronto?
A: The short answer is yes. You can either buy or rent a drum set or percussion instruments at a local music store or online. Buying a used drum set or percussion instruments is a good option. Renting is the most affordable option short-term.
Q: How will my first lesson go?
A: The first drum lesson or percussion lesson is free and consists of a thirty minute lesson and consultation. Here, drum students will learn some basic drum techniques such as the flam and paradiddle among other things. For pitched percussion students, our drum teacher will show some basic scales and rhythms. For percussion, basic rhythm and hand techniques will be taught.
Q: What are the benefits of drumming?
A: Learning to play the drums, either the drum, or percussion, reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. It can lower blood pressure, burn calories, improve coordination, and make you smarter! It truly is a workout for mind and body. According to Dr. Christiane Northrup: “Drumming is a great workout for your brain and actually can make you smarter because when you drum you access your entire brain. Research shows that the physical transmission of rhythmic energy to the brain actually synchronizes the left and right hemispheres. So, when the logical left hemisphere and the intuitive right hemisphere of your brain begin to pulsate together, your inner guidance system – or intuition – becomes stronger.” Listening to drum sounds can also have the same effect as actually drumming.
Q: What do we need to start drumming lessons?
A: This all depends on which type of drumming lesson you choose. For drum set lessons you need either an acoustic or digital drum kit including drum sticks. For pitched percussion, a xylophone, metalophone, or glockenspiel is a great way to start. For non-pitched percussion a jembe, bongo, or instruments such as the clave or triangle are good starts.
Q: At what age can you start learning to play the drums?
A: You can start learn drums as young as three years old.
Q: What is unique about Toronto drum lessons at your school?
A: Toronto drum lessons at Neighbour Note are eclectic. We combine drum lessons with some percussion elements. This helps to isolate certain rhythms that may be difficult learning on the drum set. We also teach a wide variety of music genres including music from video games!
Q: Where is your music school located?
A: Our music studio is located in the High Park neighbourhood of Toronto. The address is: 407 Annette St., Toronto, ON, M6P 1R7.
Types of Toronto Drum Lessons We Teach
At Neighbour Note we teach non-pitched percussion, pitched percussion, and drum set music lessons (digital and acoustic). Non-pitched percussion instruments include: djembe drum, bongo drum, conga drum, cymbals, triangle, clave, castanets, cowbell, cup chime, drum stick, egg shaker, shaker sticks, gong, guiro, hand bell, hand chime, hi-hat, jam block, jingle stick, maracas, rain stick, tabla drum, tambourine, wood block, wooden fish, vibraslap. Pitched percussion instruments include: piano, celesta, xylophone, metallophone, glockenspiel, hammered dulcimer, marimba, pixiphone, song bells, tubular bells, timpani, tingsha, vibraphone, washboard, wind chime. Drum set lessons can be taken on any size acoustic drum kit or digital drum kit (within reason).
At Neighbour Note, the most popular percussion lesson is definitely the drum set. It is certainly the coolest! There are so many interesting designs and colours of drum sets. Acoustic drum sets have more variety in terms of colour and design. The problem with acoustic drum sets is that they are extremely loud. Digital drum sets are not as cool looking as acoustic drum sets but they have the ability to control the volume. You can even play with headphones! Digital drum sets also come with many different sound samples. You can choose to play numerous different types of acoustic drum set sounds as well as other sampled instruments. The sampled instrument sounds can include but are not limited to: brass instruments (trumpet, trombone, tuba), woodwind instruments (saxophone, flute, clarinet), stringed instruments (bass, violin, cello, guitar), timpani, rotary drum, wind chimes.