I have spent years lugging drum kits gig to gig, at one point I was playing a seven piece yamaha stage custom, six cymbal combinations, double pedals, the whole Simon Phillips.. I used to arrive two hours early before gigs, spend thirty minutes simply making trips back and forth from the car before rushing to set up.. by the time I was ready it was time to play and I was already knackered!

Even practising has a list of requirements, if you want to practice for 3 hours, there is no chance if you don’t have a fully sound proof room.. Neighbours will only tolerate 30 minutes before there is knocking at the door or police!

But all is not lost if you think smart…

I live in in London in a 2 bedroom rented apartment with only a dry wall separating me from the neighbours.. There is no cost effective way of soundproofing a rented apartment and landlords tend to not like you making major alterations to their building!

Thank goodness for the invention of electronic drums! It’s really fantastic! It may not be a real drum kit but it’s the perfect practising tool and surprisingly records like a dream too.. Although the noise generated from hitting the pads are pretty loud it is a lot softer than a snare rimshot or an A Custom Fast Crash! So far, no complaints!

As for getting a drum kit around London, most venues provide a drum kit – only the bare necessities required.. For the other venues, I have a Pearl Rhythm Traveler…  On first impressions it looks ridiculous, it’s half a drum kit! But with the right skins and tweaks, it sounds exactly like a normal fusion drum kit and If you are a talented drummer, it sounds big too! Advantages for using the Traveler is being able to fit the entire drumkit, cymbals and hardware into two bags! That’s an entire drum kit into two bags!

One thing is certain – Drumming Technology has come a long ways in the last ten years. It allows us to do what we do and sometimes the impossible..

Jean Gabriel

Great for keeping the neighbours happy!

Great for small gigs!

Once upon a time I studied for some IT exams using online methods and although pretty informative, I found myself not understanding some of the sections and having no one to answer my questions!

Obviously I think a drum lesson in any format is fantastic and I totally support all teaching methods – but nothing can replace one on one lessons with a pro.. A good example would be watching a Thomas Lang or Steve Smith video and then going to a drum clinic and seeing them live.. For those who have seen Thomas live will know exactly what I mean but it doesn’t mean their videos are any less valuable…

As a student, the best balance of learning for me was a combination of really great drumming videos and a really smart teacher, I found lessons to be quite onerous sometimes, they often proved to be extremely challenging. My inspiration was to watch a Dave Weckl video and see how awesome you could be after practicing for a few years! That would then give me the spurt of enthusiasm I needed to get through the extremely challenging lessons.

I spent many years practicing out of drumming books, no matter how well it was constructed I ended up choosing a few great lessons and customising them fit me. When I started teaching a few years ago I realised that all my students did the same, they would start in one direction and end up in a completely different place.. I found the greatest tool as a teacher is inspiration. If I can show you the possibilities within a genre of drumming, you can use it as you wish. There is nothing worse than telling a person ‘this is the way it is’ and expect them to enjoy learning..

Learning how to play any instrument is full of amazing moments mixed with frustrating moments like finally figuring out a solo or drum fill that you have been practicing for months!! It is the best feeling in the world! My job is to inspire…..

So after many months planning and saving up for equipment, building websites and working hard – finally iwannadrum.com became a reality!I visited a few drum studios out in london and found they were quite dark and dingy, had a weird underground cellar smell.. I felt weirded out by the whole experience.. 

I got to thinking about how if I was a student again, what kind of studio would I like to learn in.. I drew up a few plans and came up with a clean, fresh design, as if you had just walked into a apple mac store, and got a few students together to test it out – they loved the experience!

So if you are looking for a great place to learn to play drums in london – come check out the studio, come see if its for you!