The Healthy Art of Drumming in Kids

If you’re looking for a musical instrument for your child, whether it’s to improve their motor skills, or to get their seemingly endless amounts of energy focussed on something new and exciting, drums may not be the first thought that comes to your mind. The reality is that the benefits of drumming are often overlooked when compared to a piano or a violin. In fact, I would argue that these benefits go much further than the boundaries of most other instruments. 

I’ll start with the obvious. Drumming drastically improves hand-eye coordination in a person of any age, similar to the benefits of playing video games but without your child violently killing zombies, whilst at the same time turning into one as they stare at a screen for hours on end! These motor skills will also improve their abilities to draw, paint, cut and craft. 

Creativity will blossom

These activities bring me on to the creativity aspect. With any musical instrument comes endless new worlds of freedom to create sounds that are unique and mirror the personality of the performer. In other words, their creativity will blossom in the classroom, and with new and improved fine motor skills to accompany it, anything is possible!

R-L orientation

So how do we get started? In the beginning of your child’s new journey, it’s important to understand the difference between their right and lefts. Simple patterns and sequences will be introduced with the child hitting the instrument with the correct side for example, RLRR. They can create their own patterns and you will see their concentration levels vastly improve and other aspects of life. 

Like it wasn’t noisy enough?

Now, I know what you’re thinking… I must be crazy to tell you to add even more noise to your already hectic household. Don’t worry, these exercises can all be done on silent ‘Practise Pads’, when your child is ready, some amazing electric drum kits with volume control are available on the market for reasonable prices.

Sense of belonging

The past two years have made the home a safe place for your child thanks to ‘you know what’. The youth are even more anxious than ever to get outside, exercise and meet new people. The fact is, drums are not only fantastic for burning calories and strengthening mind and muscle, they also make us more sociable. I was 13 years old, I had a small group of friends however I never felt like I belonged until I plucked up the courage to start a band. I found some new friends in school who played instruments and used to social media to find other members. These have been my closest friends for the last 10 years of my life. Where did I find this courage? A lot of it came from my increased confidence in ability, not just as a drummer. I realised if I could do this, I could do anything. Talk to anyone. Find friends. Find a girlfriend. Grow up to be anyone I want. I fully believe that growing up in this way also gave me the courage to leave a small village in the English countryside and move to the busy streets of Prague.

Lastly, drumming is the only instrument which can be used to let out aggression in a healthy and creative art form. If things haven’t been going well in my life, I always knew I could count on my drums to be there for me. I would always feel better.