Drum Therapy
I wrote an article in the star regarding this topic in 2006. I had so many enquiries from parents. After 15 years of teaching these kids I’ve developed sufficient experience and knowledge on this subject. But I must say, I’m still learning.The drum therapy here I am referring to is drum lessons for children with learning disabilities. These include autistic, down syndrome, dyslexia, ADHD, handicapped. (You can watch one of the kids with just one finger in each arm playing the song , “beat it” in the video section of this website. Nothing is impossible. The parents said no teacher wanted to take him. I remember reading an article about a guy who lost both hands in a tractor accident and picked up drumming. Well of course some techniques have to be applied including hand devices)When I first took on special students, I felt it was overwhelming. There were no teachers around or materials to teach them. So I custom made methods suitable for each kids. Firstly, getting them to play the bass drum on on 1 and 3 and snare on 2 and 4 and get them to play to a song. They loved it. Eventually those kids will be introduced to rhythm notes step by step. They eventually get to play various rhythms and try different songs. These special kids have favorite songs. Once you introduce a few songs, they will want to play the same songs over and over again for every lesson, so here is where you have to introduce one new song atleast once every 2 lessons.It doesn’t matter if they can’t play on time. Most important is to understand that this is a therapy. I have seen tremendous improvements in kids in cognitive behavior and calmness.One of my students who can’t speak a sentence properly, completed a professional exam up to grade 3.Recently one mother said she has seen a great improvement in her son who has motor skill deficiency. He can now write small words which he could not before the classes.So, if you have a child needing therapy in music. We are here to help you. Your child will get a one on one total attention and care in a lovely environment for his or her lessons.
