Over the summer Chronicle reporters have been trying their hand at something new, under the supervision of experts. Liz Wylie picks up the drumsticks for the first time.
I have always been in awe of drummers.
Incredibly gifted people who can manage several simultaneous actions at once and provide theright tempo for other musicians to follow.
As someone who could never master clapping games at primary school, I have spent a lifetime believing that rhythmic ability was a gift I did not possess. Little girls can be cruel and my dexterous classmates’ ridicule cut deep.
So when I needed to try something new for this assignment, having a drum lesson seemed like it would provide the right level of discomfort for me.
My journalistic colleague Mike Tweed is a drummer who also gives lessons and he put me in touch with his fellow tutor Chester Nevil.
Despite his evident youth, Chester has been honing his abilities for the best part of a decade, including a few years of tuition with local master Michael Franklin-Browne.
While being a keen student, Chester has obviously developed some impressive teaching abilities of his own. I’m immediately at ease when I meet him and confident that he is unlikely to be unkind.
He started my lesson by showing me how to hold the sticks.
“Maintain a loose grip and let the thumb and forefinger do most of the work,” he advised.
I was complimented when I demonstrated that I was following his instruction adequately and we moved on to practice drum pads.
Sitting alongside me, Chester showed me how to hit the pads at four beats to the bar and, when he was satisfied that I could do that, we moved on to the kit.
Drum teacher Chester Nevil instructs reporter Liz Wylie on practice drum pads before moving on to the full kit.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Chester talked me through the anatomy of the drum kit.
There is the snare drum that produces the sharp, staccato sound made by the band of tensely held wires against the bottom skin. The big bass or kick drum, the hi-hat that combines two symbols and a pedal, the crash and ride cymbals, two tom drums, and the big floor tom.
For my first lesson, we would use the bass, the snare and the hi-hat.
We started with four beats or kicks on the bass drum before Chester instructed me to hit the snare on every second beat.
So far, so good, but I started to lose the plot when he instructed me to hit the hi-hat on every third beat.
It required an extra level of concentration I wasn’t quite ready for but I’m confident that, with practice, it would be something I could master.
After one short lesson, I no longer believe that I am as rhythmically inadequate as I thought I was.
I ask Chester how he first found his way to drumming and he said he discovered his aptitude early.
“I would be riding in the car with Dad when I was 2 or 3 and I would be beating out a rhythm in time with a Led Zeppelin song playing on the radio.
“He thought I showed an aptitude and my parents bought me a small drum kit back then but I was too young to take it seriously.”
The Nevil family moved to Whanganui from the United States in 2015 when Chester was 10 and, within a year, he was seriously studying drums.
“I like all kinds of music but I really love jazz drumming,” he said.
“I listen to a lot of jazz and Albie Micklich is a drummer who really inspires me.”
Chester has students in Whanganui and Palmerston North and he said they have a wide age range.
“I always have a basic lesson plan but I tend to respond to the needs of the individual student,” he said.
“Everyone has different reasons for wanting to learn and people have different learning styles so you adapt the lessons to suit.”
Liz Wylie testing the sound of the ride cymbal as Chester Nevil explained the anatomy of a drum kit.
Photo / Bevan Conley.
As Chester said, every student has a different reason for wanting to learn to play drums and, even though I’ve left too late to become a percussive genius, there would be many benefits for me to continue lessons.
There are numerous health benefits to be derived from playing drums on a regular basis - it is known to reduce anxiety, stress and blood pressure. It improves co-ordination and flexibility, burns calories and it’s good for the brain.
Drumming can help ease the symptoms of depression and enhance happiness and, for a “mature” brain like mine, it helps synchronise both the left and the right hemispheres. And it also helps synchronise the lower parts of the brain with the frontal cortex. The integration leads to feelings of certainty.
Chester sent me a text message after my lesson to say that he’d had fun. I also had fun and gained a big confidence boost along with my lesson.
There are some gaps in Chester’s schedule for anyone keen to learn to play drums. He can be contacted via email at chesternevildrumtutor@gmail.com.
