FROM A HANDFUL TO 89 STUDENTS A WEEK
What started as a handful of lessons in the late 1990s quickly grew into a thriving drum teaching practice — by 1999, Rob was teaching 89 students per week, reflecting the demand for quality drum tuition in Cape Town. Private Lessons & School Engagements Across Cape Town.
ROB HAS TAUGHT DRUMS BOTH PRIVATELY AND AT SOME OF CAPE TOWN'S MOST RESPECTED SCHOOLS
RONDEBOSCH BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL
At Rondebosch, where Rob taught from 2010 to 2021, drum kit formed part of the formal music curriculum using the Trinity College of London and Rockschool syllabuses.
Rob's matric students consistently achieved A's in their Grade 8 practical exams. Students are selected annually to perform with the South African National Youth Orchestra — including one of Rob's own drummers.
THE RHYTHM ROOTS SERIES
Drawing on decades of classroom experience, Rob has authored two original instructional books for beginner and intermediate
drum students.
Rhythm Roots 1
An Introduction to Drum KitA foundational guide covering essential techniques, patterns, and concepts to build confidence from the very first lesson.
Rhythm Roots 2
How to Play with a Bass GuitarA practical resource teaching drummers how to lock in with a bassist, understand their role in a band, and play musically alongside other instruments.
A NEW QUESTION - AND A NEW METHOD
Reflecting on how we naturally acquire language - through listening first, then speaking - Rob developed an intuitive, body-centred drum teaching method:
"If music is a language, why are so few people learning to speak it?"
Listen. Say. Move. Play.
Listen
Rob vocalises the rhythm
The student hears and internalises the pattern
Move
Both play the rhythm as body percussion.
The rhythm becomes physical and felt
Say
The student vocalises the rhythm
The rhythm is owned verbally before physically
Play
The student takes it to the drum kit.
They arrive at the kit already knowing the rhythm.
By the time a student sits at the kit, the rhythm is already in their body and the sound is already in their head. Proven with students as young as five years old.
Rob's philosophy extends beyond the drum kit entirely. He believes that rhythm is the foundation of everything — present in nature, in speech, in the patterns of the world around us.
By training students to notice and connect with rhythm in everyday life, Rob cultivates not just better drummers, but more deeply musical human beings.
