New Student Information

What to expect from private lessons

Heather accepts students of all levels to study with her, but there are a few requirements she has of you that will enable your learning productivity and success. You must have the right gear to begin lessons on the instrument. This means if you are learning snare drum, you must at least have a practice pad or snare for at home practice. If you are studying drum kit, you must own an acoustic, electronic, or practice pad kit at home. If you are studying marimba or timpani, most students do not invest in those instruments, if ever, until the applied high school or college level. Heather encourages marimba and timpani students to come in and use a practice room at the studio on these instruments. This is free of charge and a nice benefit of studying at the studio. Typically a school band director will require 5th grade band students to rent or purchase a bell kit. This will work perfect for at home practice.

Students of Heather Bouton should be applied musicians, whether they are at the beginner or experienced level. What does "applied musician" even mean? It means you have goals for yourself to use the skills you are learning from lessons, particularly in a performance setting. The goals of a beginner to apply their skills are not much different than the goals of an intermediate or advanced level drummer/percussionist. An example of an applied beginner would be to join and play in school band and ensembles. Another goal of a beginner could be to study multiple styles of drum kit playing so as to from a jazz or rock group. Intermediate and advanced level players should always be performing regularly, whether it be through solo and ensemble or recording.

When studying with Heather Bouton, you will take a deep dive into developing the proper technique for the instrument. Learning the fundamentals and spending time developing touch and tone control is essential for sounding musical when you play and to be listenable for your audience. There is no short cut to this. It takes time, discipline, and hard work. Heather is looking to take on students who are willing to put in the work. This means coming to your lesson consistently and "wood shedding" the material on your own so you are getting the most out of time spent with your instructor each week. Be as attentive as you can in your lesson and almost view it as a mini performance to your teacher. Care about how you sound. Make music, not noise.

How To Practice

How should you structure your practice to get the most from your time?

Many teachers say " now go home and practice." But HOW should you be practicing? Practicing should be fun, not feared. Just because you're not getting something easily, doesn't mean give up. It means exhaust yourself working on that particular concept and then move on to another area of your playing and come back to it. Perhaps practice in two separate sessions during a given day, giving your brain and muscles time to absorb what you just put them through. You'll be surprised that even a few hours later, you now can play it smoother.

New players should start with scheduling their practice time at nearly the same time every day. This creates habit and a ritual you can count on. Practice at a time of day where your focus and energy level is high. Limit distractions like phones, pets, and people coming in the room and take something to drink with you. Your practice room is your wood shed. Have everything you need at your reach like a music stand, metronome, pencil, music player, media to reference, and a GOAL. Yes, every practice session should have a goal in mind. It could be mastering a new rock groove, getting faster at a rudiment, playing a difficult jazz fill smoother, or repping phrases of a challenging orchestra piece or song.

Structure your practice session like this:

Warmup for 1/2 the time you plan on practicing. This means you cannot expect to play well in 30 minutes of practice until you've given your muscles 15 minutes to snap into it. Warmups are repetitive exercises working each limb equally and building on speed and endurance. You'll learn many warmups studying with Heather.
If you're not focused mentally for your practice session, play something inspiring to you until you are motivated to put in work. Play a piece of music or a song you're good at and have mastered already, or improv and tap into your creativity. This sets the tone for a positive session because you're sounding good at the beginning and not diving right into a work load. Don't be self defeating by beginning with something too difficult and then psyching yourself out.
Now some real shedding begins. Open the book you're working out of and slowly work on what I gave you the previous week of lessons. Work small sections of a song or piece and go over and over them until you can back up and put the smaller sections with larger sections, making it further through the piece each time without mistakes. You do not "have it" after 1 or 2 times. You have it when you're hitting it 9/10 times or MORE. Ask yourself, could I play this in front of an audience and not make mistakes?
Finally, when the meat and potatoes of your practice session is coming to a close, play something fun to reward yourself and feel accomplished. Much like you did at the start to get focused. Now you're fully warmed up and ready to cut loose, so use that and see what amazing things you're able to play.

A NOTE TO PARENTS...

Please ask your young musician to play for you at home as much as possible. Not only does this allow you to see progress and whether lessons are helping them, but this prepares them for performance. Please provide a practice space and schedule practice time for your child if they are unable to self motivate. It's human nature to have to be told to do something we find uncomfortable, challenging, or maybe not able to see the benefits right away. Create a dedicated and disciplined young musician by creating a practice regiment and helping them stick to it.