DRUM SCHOOL FOR ALL AGES AND ABILITIES
Auckland Drum School is home to some of the most in-demand drum professionals in New Zealand.
Boasting nine individual drum studios, our coveted drum school welcomes passionate learners and artists who want to hone and master their drumming skills. Our drum teachers have performed with many of the country’s top acts and toured worldwide.
Auckland Drum School offers drum lessons at every skill level – from beginners to advanced players. It’s the place where young drummers become true musicians, and experienced drummers become pros. Book a lesson today!
NO OBLIGATION FREE TRIAL
We believe it takes a trial lesson for the student and teacher to decide if they are a good fit for one another. Get in touch now to let us know what you want to achieve with your drumming, and we’ll arrange a 30 minute lesson with the drum professional we feel will best suit your unique style and goals - free of charge.
“Highly recommended! My teacher has really given me a new perspective and helped me improve my technique, grooves and fills.
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BEGINNER DRUM LESSONS
We welcome young drummers for what is often their very first drum lesson. Right from the beginning, you’ll be seated at the drumkit, working with our pro drum teachers. We start by learning the names of the various drums, the right equipment for beginners, and how to hold your sticks. From there, we’ll learn the basics of drumming - the rudiments. Mastering these basics gives you a solid foundation to build on, and from there, we will have you playing beats in no time.
INTERMEDIATE DRUM LESSONS
You’ve got the basics under control and you’re jamming along to your favourite bands. What next? Intermediate drummers are ready to step up and work towards playing in bands, writing their own beats and much more. You’ll learn warm up techniques to ensure you play your best for every jam session, and stretches to ensure you have decades of drumming ahead of you. We’ll get you playing faster, harder and more technically than you ever imagined, incorporating the techniques of the masters like John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo fighters) , Danny Carey (Tool), Roger Taylor (Queen) and Jeff Pocaro (Toto).
ADVANCED DRUM LESSONS
Our Auckland drum studio offers an unmatched depth of talent and experience, with teachers capable of training even the most advanced players.
Every one of our teachers is a drumming professional, with experience performing at national and international level, radio hits and album credits to their names. Our teachers are the real deal. For those students who have dedicated years to the craft of playing drums, our teachers can take you even further.
“From my first lesson, I knew straight away Ryan was the teacher for me. He is always patient with me, and changes his teaching method to my learning style.”
Auckland Drum School Teachers
Ryan Carroll
Auckland Drum School founder Ryan Carroll has been playing drums for 20 years, and is primarily known as a top notch rock and pop player. Ryan has forged a successful career performing with bands such as Black River Drive, Ekko Park and Frozen Alice, and has performed throughout NZ, Australia and the US.
Jared Desvaux de Marigny
Jared has 18 years experience as a drummer, and has focused on hip hop, latin, reggae and jazz. Jared has toured extensively through Japan and Australia, as well as covering New Zealand many times.
Jared has dedicated his life to the pursuit of drumming excellence, and is co-director of Auckland Drum School.
Tom Leggett
Tom has been playing drums for 16 years. His relaxed, friendly demeanour combined with his deadly skills mean he is highly in demand as a drummer across just about every genre, though presently he is making waves internationally with his bands Wax Chattels and Miss June. Tom has toured globally, with a string of tour dates in England, North America, Japan, China, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand to his name.
Chris Townsend
Chris has 14 years of experience as a drummer. He plays a lot of hip hop and neo soul, with a little rock and jazz here and there. Chris’ father is a drummer as well so has spent most of his life around drums. Chris loves laid-back hip hop beats and grooves, and has performed in New Zealand, Australia, London and Switzerland.
John Murray
John has been playing drums for 12 years, throughout a diverse range of genres, including Jazz, Rock, Pop, Punk, Folk, and Hip-hop. John's current focus is Afrobeat, ensuring the crowd is always dancing. He studied Jazz Drumming at the University of Auckland and has played for numerous bands. John's passion for drumming is infectious, and he loves teaching students who are enthusiastic about music and eager to learn. As a teacher, he finds it rewarding to see his students develop a love for learning and overcoming challenges.
Auckland Drum Lessons Outline
Auckland Drum School offers a comprehensive drumming curriculum that will ensure you have complete knowledge of each aspect of drumming before moving on to more advanced techniques.
Matched and Traditional Grip
You’ll learn to balance the advantages and disadvantages of contemporary matched grip and the historically popular traditional grip. Matched grip is typically what you’ll see in most bands, whether in rock, pop, metal or any other genre, while Traditional Grip is very common in marching bands, jazz bands and older drummers (who would have learned at a time when Traditional Grip was considered the only way to play). Matched grip gives you a consistency of tone and volume, and is generally considered easier to learn, while traditional grip offers advantages in terms of being able to play very softly due to the “pulling” nature of the stroke.
Kick drum and Hi-hat technique
We’ll study the interaction between kick and Hi-hat and how to set your stool correctly for your height. Postural issues will be considered and good habits built from the very beginning of your drumming journey. We’ll learn how the Hi-hat can offer a myriad of ways to add texture, groove, feel and atmosphere to your beats, and precise foot placement for optimal performance.
Brush Technique
Brushes can be viewed as purely the domain of advanced jazz players, but this is far from the truth. We’ll study how brushes can be incorporated in just about any genre, and learn how smooth, flowing rhythms can add unique textures to your music. Of course we’ll study the jazz greats, but also look at how brushes can be used in pop, rock, folk and blues.
Kit Dexterity
The drumkit is a physical instrument. You’ll learn how to navigate around the instrument and instantly access every sound available to you, balancing power with speed and creating fills that will enhance the music you love.
Posture and injury prevention
After experiencing postural problems early in his career, AKDS founder Ryan Carroll developed perfect drumming posture and is now the “go to guy” that other drum pros turn to when they experience issues. For beginner drummers, we’ll ensure you build excellent habits right from day one, so you never encounter problems. For more experienced drummers who are experiencing issues, we’ll build a course of rehabilitation to get you back to your drumming best.
OUR HISTORY
Established in 1978 by legendary Auckland drummer Frank Gibson Snr, Drum City quickly became well known in the music community. Although the store closed its doors in 2015, Auckland Drum School operated from the same space for its first 5 years, continuing Drum City’s proud legacy of working with the city’s best drummers. Our new drum studio in Pollen Street maintains the spirit of Drum City - community and a deep love for the instrument.
