Eagle Farm,
Drum Lessons | Theory Lessons, Composition Lessons, Jazz Improvisation Lessons, Skype Lessons
Bio
I’m Dr. Grant Collins and I’m here to help you reach the next level in your playing.
I’ve been fortunate to have been a professional musician for over 30 years. Yes, this has been my full time career for this long. My background allows me to relate to a variety of different students and their origins on the drums. I started without lessons, just listening to and working out what drummers were playing on my favourite records.
My origin as a professional musician was playing in a full time professional covers band. This is a great learning platform for any musician. We had a huge repertoire of songs and I would constantly have to learn new songs every week as the latest hits would come out. I learn’t everything by ear so this taught me a great deal about hearing and understanding what the drummer does in a song and how song writing structures work. I began to realise what the better drummers were doing and how they shaped their drum parts to support the song. I was very meticulous in learning the material and would sit down with headphones, going over each bar, so that I had every single hi hat opening, ride bell and other parts so I could be as close to the original drum part as possible.
As I progressed with my learning, I started looking at doing formal studies to advance my musical skills further. I started to audition at conservatories and universities. Unfortunately my music theory skills were well down in comparison to my drumming skills so I was unsuccessful in my first attempts. I then started to get music theory lessons and after 3 years of auditioning, I was accepted to do my Bachelor of Music. I’ve since gone on to become a Doctor of Music so I have the formal qualifications as well as my on the road experiences to relate to both sides of the spectrum. I’ve also been a conservatorium lecturer and have written course curriculums for subjects so have the skills and know how to structure a course.
As well as that, I’ve travelled around the world doing concerts and also for my sponsors doing hundreds of clinics, masterclasses and percussion festivals over the past 25+ years. I’ve also done countless hours of private tuition for a wide range of students doing everything from playing in local bands to going to university to winning national drum competitions.
I’ve spent an innumerable number of hours exploring and discovering this awesome instrument and love to share not only the what, but also the how and why on all things drums. I love the creative aspect of music and like to look at ideas from a different perspective. Doing this helps us to discover alternative ways to play things and leads to finding your own individual voice on the instrument. I’m super excited about putting these programs together and would love to be able to transform and inspire your personal music journey.
Teaching Info
Discover a modern hybrid model of learning drums with a combination of personal one to one lessons, online classes and live calls. All done by one of the worlds leading drummers and educators based right here in Brisbane.
With a combination of teaching approaches, contact points and student involvement, this is a new wave in education that will engage students better and for longer.
This is a modern hybrid model of learning the drums.
The best of all learning fronts integrating:
- Personal one to one lessons
- Online courses
- Practice workouts
- Live monthly calls
- Regular live Saturday sessions
- Weekly check ins
- Submit videos for review
What do we do in the lessons?
This is your time!
If you’re just starting out, I will put you on a proven program to get you comfortable holding the sticks, learning correct grip and playing beats.
If you’ve been playing for a while, we will look at your goals to map out a program that will get you there.
If you have an audition or exam, we will focus on that to get you in the best possible position to ace it.
If you’re doing music as a subject at school and need help with assignments, we will work on that.
If you want to learn to breathe fire, sorry you’re in the wrong spot.
One on one lessons can be done in person at my Eagle Farm Studio or via a video lesson.