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Dulwich drum tutor Joe Nicklin has had quite the year. His band Lawne have been tearing up London’s music scene, heard regularly on BBC Radio 6 and are due to release their debut LP “Attic” later this month.
It’s been quite a while since we last caught up with Joe. So we’re eager to find out how his career is feeding his teaching style.
If you’re looking for a south London based drum teacher, do check out Joe’s profile right here – if you live near or around Dulwich, there’s a good chance he’s your man!
Broadening horizons
Hi Joe! I’m super keen to dive right into your performing career but I do feel we have to go somewhat back to the beginning. I’ve given myself a ten question limit today, so I’m using them wisely! Thinking back to when you first picked up the sticks, is there a moment that really solidified your love for drumming?
I think it was pretty common for aspiring drummers born in the early 90’s to be mad about Dave Grohl, Chad Smith and Taylor Hawkins. I remember having a live Foo Fighters DVD called Everywhere But Home. Hawkins had this really cool jet black, Roger Taylor-style Tama kit. I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. I burned the setlist from the show to a CD – remember those?! – so I could try playing along upstairs on my much-less cool kit, all the while imagining it was his.
When we last spoke, you mentioned how your taste in music has evolved. Are there any artists that have influenced you more recently?
I think from starting Lawne I’ve definitely broadened my horizons somewhat. I’m listening to more jazz, funk and psyche than ever before. I’m drawn to stuff that moves through styles and artists that make it look easy. Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd do this so well, particularly on their more recent records. But if you’re looking for an artist that really rattle through the genres, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard take this to another level. Jazz, rock, psyche, electronica, metal… I could go on and I still can’t get enough!
Creative journey
Your band, Lawne, has an album coming out this month. How has being in a band shaped your approach to teaching, and what insights do you bring from that experience to your students?
When starting out in a band you have to be across everything – writing, recording, playing live and self promotion. All of this requires time management, just as learning an instrument does. You also need to be effective at communication so that the people you’re collaborating with feel valued and want to give their best. There’s definitely crossover there when it comes to teaching. Knowing how to communicate with a student effectively so that they can have the best experience and develop is a key part of the role of a teacher.
And how does the process of creating and performing music influence the way you teach your students?
Being on your own creative journey as a teacher is really important. It reminds you that concepts can take time to get to grips with and how much patience is required.
It also gives you the tools that you can then hand over to your students to problem solve and make the most of your time learning an instrument.
Celebrate your progress
Problem solving is absolutely key, I totally agree. But in terms of starting out, what do you find is a more common challenge for students new to the instrument?
A challenge can be managing people’s expectations in the early days. Occasionally, students want to race ahead at a time where it’s really important to be patient and sit with the fundamentals for a while so that a solid foundation is formed.
I try to help students navigate this period by really celebrating every little bit of progress, whilst stressing how important it is to make small steps so that concepts aren’t rushed and compromises aren’t made. For example, try only increasing an exercise by a maximum of 5 BPM on the metronome at a time.
When we last spoke you mentioned the importance of warming up. Can you share a specific warm-up exercise that you find particularly effective? Perhaps one you use before going on stage with Lawne?
There’s an exercise I use as part of my warm up which uses the paradiddle – RLRR / LRLL. The idea is to start by accenting the first stroke of the phrase and then move that accent through one stroke at a time on every repeat.
I love this exercise as it really gets the cogs whirring both physically and mentally. Written below with caps marking the accent, loop it with a click to help keep your place:
Rlrr Lrll rLrr lRll rlRr lrLl rlrR lrlL
A different angle
And for someone considering taking up drums later in life, what encouragement would you offer to help them get started?
There are loads of great reasons for taking up drumming later in life. One of the pros I notice in my adult students is how taking lessons serves as a great stress relief from busy work and family lives.
Learning drums also allows you to perceive music from a different angle, so it’s always lovely to see older learners gain a new found appreciation of music and artists that have been with them all of their lives.
Can you share a particularly memorable gig you played, and what made it stand out?
I’ve been really lucky to have played some amazing shows/venues including Glastonbury, Brixton Academy and a coast to coast US tour with Astronomyy.
More recently I’ve been really enjoying getting the first few Lawne shows under our belts too. Our label, Wah Wah 45s, is turning 25 this year and we recently played as part of their anniversary celebrations at London’s Village Underground – it’s one of my favourite venues. We opened up for afrobeat legend and label friend Dele Sosimi and it turned out to be such a special night. There was an amazing atmosphere in the room.
Above: Check out the single Mamasong by Joe’s band, Lawne
Today’s challenges
I agree – and I know, I was there! It was an incredible evening. Looking ahead, what are some goals you have for both your drumming career and Lawne, and how do you see those influencing your teaching in the future?
Our debut album is coming out on 29 November so we’re just gearing up to support that as much as possible. We’ve had some amazing radio plays with the singles so far from BBC6 Music, NTS, Jazz FM and KEXP in the states and have some exciting live shows to announce for the new year too.
There’s so much you need to be on top of when starting out with a new project. I’ll need to be on top of my time management, practice, communication and people skills – all of these things are required to be a good musician and I’ll look forward to passing on how I dealt with all these challenges to my students.
We’ve done it, we’re at question 10. So, with the new album coming out, what lessons have you learned from the process that you think could benefit your students in their own musical journeys?
I’ve learned that you have to be willing to grow in public. There are some things I’ve learned along the way, particularly with the recording process that made it tempting to tear the whole thing up and start again. But a more healthy and productive approach is to think: “this thing is still good, but from what I’ve learned I’m excited to try this approach next time”.
You can apply this to starting out playing drums. You won’t be the finished article when your first public opportunity arises but you should definitely still take it and learn from whatever the experience brings.
Joe, thanks so much for your time!
Interested in starting up lessons with Dulwich drum tutor Joe Nicklin?
If you’re looking for drum lessons and you’re based in south London, then Dulwich drum tutor Joe Nicklin is surely your first port of call now! Make sure to drop us an email to find out Joe’s availability. Don’t forget to let us know a bit about yourself too.
If you’d like to read more, head on over to Joe’s profile right here.
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