Drum lessons in Chichester and surrounding areas with Jimmy Roman

Drum lessons in Chichester
& surrounding area

Jimmy Roman, mobile drum teacher
Close this window

Should I take grades?

Approximately half of my pupils take graded exams and they like the sense of achievement in passing something that requires quite a lot of hard work and skill.

LCM Certificate

The focus of each grade is mainly on reading notation in order to play solo pieces or pieces to backing tracks, in a variety of styles. There are also rudiments to learn from memory, a little sight reading and some ear tests too.

Pupils taking grades will find lessons based more on learning from notation than pupils not taking grades, where lessons will be more evenly split between learning by ear and from notation – there will be more time for improvisation and composition too.

One thing that is very useful to have, whether taking grades or not, is a hi-fi system or a cd player connected to a small guitar amplifier (via a jack plug lead) that is loud enough to cope with the volume of the drums for when playing to backing tracks.  This is ideal, as not only is it a good way of perapring pupils to play to a PA system at the graded exams but also at concerts and gigs too.   An alternative to this is a pair of ear defenders to go over the top of some earphones connected to an iPod or portable/walkman cd player, which will subsequently reduce the sound of the drums enough to hear the music.

I prefer to teach London College of Music (LCM) or Trinity Rockschool grades but am happy also to teach Trinity Guildhall if you come to me already mid way through one of these grades. To take grade 8 with LCM, pupils need Grade 5 Theory or a C or above in GCSE Music. Alternatively they can take Grade 8 with Trinity Rockschool with neither.

Mock exams can be conducted.

The benefits of grades:

Please appreciate that taking grades does not necessarily mean that a pupil will be a better player than one who doesn't take grades. In fact, many pupils who haven’t taken grades have ended up equally as good players as those who have – it’s just whether grades are the best way to go or not for the individual pupil; for some it is and for others it isn't.

Close this window

Congratulations to the following students who have been successful in their grade exams.

Grade Name Board Result
1 F B Guildhall Honours
1 George Bolingbroke Guildhall High Honours
1 Thomas Godolphin LCM Distinction
1 RH Guildhall High Honours
1 Jacob Loveman Guildhall High Honours
1 Emma O'Driscoll Guildhall High Honours
1 Samuel Pym Guildhall High Honours
1 Ellie Simpson LCM Distinction
1 AndrewTamplin Guildhall High Honours
1 Thomas Taylor Guildhall Merit
1 Rosie Timlick LCM Distinction
2 George Bolingbroke Guildhall Honours
2 Gideon Bridgman Guildhall Merit
2 Ellie Simpson LCM Distinction
2 Rosie Timlick LCM Distinction
3 Matthew Dunne LCM Merit
3 George Bolingbroke Guildhall Merit
3 Gideon Bridgman Guildhall Merit
3 Oliver Dyer Guildhall Merit
3 Oliver Holmes Guildhall Merit
3 Caitlin Jeffery Guildhall Merit
3 Michael Jeffery Guildhall Merit
3 Jacob Loveman Trinity Rockschool Merit
3 Ellie Simpson LCM Distinction
3 Thomas Taylor Guildhall Honours
3 Rosie Timlick LCM Merit
4 Matthew Dunne LCM Distinction
4 Oliver Dyer Guildhall Pass
4 Oliver Holmes Guildhall Honours
4 Caitlin Jeffery Guildhall Pass
4 Michael Jeffery Guildhall Merit
4 Jacob Loveman LCM Distinction
4 Samuel Pym LCM Distinction
4 Thomas Taylor LCM Distinction
5 G C Guildhall High Honours
5 Nathan Hill Guildhall High Honours
5 Oliver Holmes LCM Distinction
5 Caitlin Jeffery Guildhall Merit
5 Michael Jeffery Guildhall Honours
5 Jacob Loveman LCM Merit
6 Michael Jeffery LCM Distinction
6 Samuel Pym LCM Distinction
8 Nathan Hill Trinity Rockschool Merit
8 Michael Jeffery Trinity Rockschool Merit
Drum lessons in Chichester and surrounding areas © Jimmy Roman 2010