1) Do I need to own a set of drums in order to do drum lessons?
Absolutely not! The vast majority of our students do not actually own drums. During your lessons with your instructor, you will use the drums that are in our studio. For practicing outside of lessons, you can just use a rubber practice pad, or you can rent hours in a local drum room (including the drum room where we hold the lessons).
2) What if I'm already learning drums through another teacher or through an online lesson site?
No problem! It is perfectly valid to learn drumming from more than one source. The topics that we cover are not always addressed by other teachers and websites…at least not in a thorough manner. For this reason, lessons with us can be a great complement to your current drum studies.
3) What style of drumming do you teach?
The drumming skills and concepts that we teach are applicable to countless styles. Our students have gone on to play such genres as rock, funk, hip-hop, R&B, country, and heavy metal. We’ve also occasionally taught aspiring jazz drummers, and we even had a long-term student who led his own professional salsa band!
4) Who did your instructors learn from?
Our instructors have studied with a variety of outstanding teachers…including Kim Plainfield, Skip Hadden, and many others. They have also received teacher training from our founder, Matt Ritter. Before becoming a well-known teacher himself, Matt learned from such people as Jim Chapin (widely regarded as the greatest drum teacher of all time).
5) Is there an age requirement to take drum lessons? Can I sign up my child?
In order to take lessons with us, a student must be between the ages of 6 and 106. In the case of a student who happens to be under 18 years old, it is required that the student be enrolled by a parent or legal guardian. It is also required that the parent or legal guardian be present in the room during all lessons.
8) What if I schedule a private lesson and discover that I need to cancel or change it?
If you discover that you need to cancel or change a private lesson, you must do so at least 24 hours before the start of the lesson. Once the 24-hour mark has passed, our system locks the lesson and automatically counts it as one of your paid lessons…even if you do not attend.
7) How good will I get by taking lessons?
That greatly depends on how frequently you attend lessons, how much you practice outside of lessons, and how long you continue with lessons. In truth, there is no limit to how good you might become. The Drum Lessons NYC homepage features a partial list of the things that other students of ours have ultimately achieved.
8) Have you really taught all of those lessons and students???
Yes! Matt Ritter Drum Lessons was founded in 1996, and we have been one of the leaders in NYC drum lessons ever since. Because our teachers keep notes on every lesson, we can actually count all of our lessons and students. Occasionally, other teachers and schools claim similar numbers by “estimating.” In our case, there is no estimating involved.
9) Have your students really done all of those great things???
Yes…and much more! For example, one of our students played with her band for a Victoria’s Secret commercial. We also had 3 students featured together in a Talenti Gelato commercial. Our students continually amaze us! Just recently, a student emailed us to say that he had landed the drum spot in a band and had recorded an album.
10) Did you really give lessons to a "famous drumming icon"???
Yes! Many years ago, Matt wrote an article for Modern Drummer magazine about bass drum techniques. The famous drummer saw that article and decided to take a couple of lessons. Out of respect for his privacy, we don’t publicly share his name, but he is one of the greats. He was once voted in Modern Drummer as the #1 Rock Drummer of the Year.
11) What if I'm too old, too young, too fat, too skinny, too shy, too dumb, too untalented, too uncoordinated...?
In that case, you sound just like all the rest of us! We are all imperfect, and we all worry that our specific deficiencies might prevent us from succeeding. We can’t make any promises about other areas of life…but when it comes to drumming…we can help you. Honest. So forget all of those worries, and let’s get started! It’s going to be fun!
Single Private Drum Lesson
- In-person at our NYC studio with one of our expert drumming instructors.
- All ages and levels
- Number of lessons = 1
- Lesson duration = 55 min.
- Price per lesson = $120
New Student Starter Package
Offered One Time Per Student- In-person at our NYC studio with one of our expert drumming instructors.
- All ages and levels
- Number of lessons = 2
- Lesson duration = 55 min.
- Price per lesson = $99 (same as the bundle of 10!)
- Includes a FREE 30-minute initial consultation over Zoom with our founder, Matt Ritter. No drums required.
10 Private Drum Lessons
- In-person at our NYC studio with one of our expert drumming instructors.
- All ages and levels
- Number of lessons = 10
- Lesson duration = 55 min.
- Price per lesson = $99