Drumadiddle is a fun drum school for children (aged 8-18) based on the North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand. It was started in 2005 by Mark Pinto de Menezes, a professional musician, educator and drummer. It's function is to educate, encourage and motivate young children about drums as an instrument in a fun environment and at their own pace. Lessons are individually structured to suit the needs of the student and are conducted on a one on one basis.
Lessons follow the NZ school term and are approximately 10 lessons a term. Each lesson is normally of a half hour duration. Lessons are conducted after school hours, between 3.00 - 7.30pm, Monday to Friday. Students who get enrolled, need to make a reasonable commitment to learning the instrument and make sufficient progress. If this is not the case, parents will be notified and lessons terminated from the following term, in order to give other students a chance, due to the limited number of lesson slots.
The students learn modern drum kit and play on actual drum-sets at the lesson. There is no immediate need to go out and buy a drum kit for practice at home, these will be recommended once it can be determined the student has the required potential or the motivation to continue with more serious study. This process may take 6 months to a year. All students are taken on a first come, first serve basis and there is no audition or pre-requisite to know the instrument. Drum-set is by far one of the more complex instruments to learn and requires a great deal of co-ordination, hence the suggestion to wait the 6-12 month period before investing in the purchase of a drum kit.
Most children wish ‘instant gratification’ from learning the instrument and though this is not possible, a modified performance approach has been incorporated to get the student playing songs as quickly as possible. Prior to that, students develop co-ordination skills (hands & feet), learning to grasp rhythm concepts and basic reading/counting. Progress and development varies from student to student based on age, natural ability, talent and most of all practice. A fair number of students can read and write their own drum charts in a fairly short time based on their own initiative and hard work. This builds confidence and independence and their ability to work without a teacher (outside of the lesson) for simple average day to day contemporary music.
For the more serious students lessons are also catered and structured to follow the Trinity College of Music (London), Royal Schools of Music as well as local NCEA (Levels 1-3) drum & percussion syllabus. These lessons are conducted solely for purposes of development and for students to have a sense of what the Grading system is like, should they wish to pursue exams in the future or to explore more complex drum studies. Between 2009-2020, about 300 students from Drumadiddle sat for the Trinity College of London Drum exams (Grades 1-8) with stunning results, some of them possibly the highest scores in NZ. Students who've sat for NCEA, likewise have done very well!
Lessons structured around the above syllabus, develop the students versatility, as the music incorporates different styles and genres; Rock, Pop, Jazz, Blues, Funk, Country and Latin thereby helping students to get involved and perform in their local school orchestras, jazz or rock band and even theatre or dance productions.
Over the last few years, Drumadiddle has enrolled students from St.John’s School, Kristin School, Pinehurst School, Albany Jr and Sr High, Albany Primary, Mairangi Bay Primary,Takapuna Primary, Silverdale Primary, Forrest Hill Primary, Sunnybrae Primary, Bayswater Primary, Belmont Primary, Target Rd Primary, Torbay Primary, Upper Harbour Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Belmont Intermediate, Murray’s Bay Intermediate,T N I S, Northcross Intermediate. Orewa College, Rangitoto College, Westlake Boys and Girls, Rosmini College, Carmel College, Takapuna Grammar, Northcote College, Birkdale Intermediate and Birkenhead College. Mark is currently employed as an itinerant teacher at Henderson High School, St Kentigern, Orewa College and Carmel College, Takapuna. For 2021, Mark will also teach at Glenfield College and Takapuna Grammar.
Lessons follow the NZ school term and are approximately 10 lessons a term. Each lesson is normally of a half hour duration. Lessons are conducted after school hours, between 3.00 - 7.30pm, Monday to Friday. Students who get enrolled, need to make a reasonable commitment to learning the instrument and make sufficient progress. If this is not the case, parents will be notified and lessons terminated from the following term, in order to give other students a chance, due to the limited number of lesson slots.
The students learn modern drum kit and play on actual drum-sets at the lesson. There is no immediate need to go out and buy a drum kit for practice at home, these will be recommended once it can be determined the student has the required potential or the motivation to continue with more serious study. This process may take 6 months to a year. All students are taken on a first come, first serve basis and there is no audition or pre-requisite to know the instrument. Drum-set is by far one of the more complex instruments to learn and requires a great deal of co-ordination, hence the suggestion to wait the 6-12 month period before investing in the purchase of a drum kit.
Most children wish ‘instant gratification’ from learning the instrument and though this is not possible, a modified performance approach has been incorporated to get the student playing songs as quickly as possible. Prior to that, students develop co-ordination skills (hands & feet), learning to grasp rhythm concepts and basic reading/counting. Progress and development varies from student to student based on age, natural ability, talent and most of all practice. A fair number of students can read and write their own drum charts in a fairly short time based on their own initiative and hard work. This builds confidence and independence and their ability to work without a teacher (outside of the lesson) for simple average day to day contemporary music.
For the more serious students lessons are also catered and structured to follow the Trinity College of Music (London), Royal Schools of Music as well as local NCEA (Levels 1-3) drum & percussion syllabus. These lessons are conducted solely for purposes of development and for students to have a sense of what the Grading system is like, should they wish to pursue exams in the future or to explore more complex drum studies. Between 2009-2020, about 300 students from Drumadiddle sat for the Trinity College of London Drum exams (Grades 1-8) with stunning results, some of them possibly the highest scores in NZ. Students who've sat for NCEA, likewise have done very well!
Lessons structured around the above syllabus, develop the students versatility, as the music incorporates different styles and genres; Rock, Pop, Jazz, Blues, Funk, Country and Latin thereby helping students to get involved and perform in their local school orchestras, jazz or rock band and even theatre or dance productions.
Over the last few years, Drumadiddle has enrolled students from St.John’s School, Kristin School, Pinehurst School, Albany Jr and Sr High, Albany Primary, Mairangi Bay Primary,Takapuna Primary, Silverdale Primary, Forrest Hill Primary, Sunnybrae Primary, Bayswater Primary, Belmont Primary, Target Rd Primary, Torbay Primary, Upper Harbour Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Belmont Intermediate, Murray’s Bay Intermediate,T N I S, Northcross Intermediate. Orewa College, Rangitoto College, Westlake Boys and Girls, Rosmini College, Carmel College, Takapuna Grammar, Northcote College, Birkdale Intermediate and Birkenhead College. Mark is currently employed as an itinerant teacher at Henderson High School, St Kentigern, Orewa College and Carmel College, Takapuna. For 2021, Mark will also teach at Glenfield College and Takapuna Grammar.
The Instructor: (Mark Pinto de Menezes)
Mark has been a professional musician since the early 80's and studied drums and percussion at Musician's Institute, Hollywood, California, graduating in 1986 (http://www.mi.edu/) His teaching career began in Hong Kong in 1998 working at the much sought after English Schools Foundation (ESF) establishments - Bradbury School, Kennedy School, South Island School, West Island School, Kowloon Jr School, Phoenix International School (Canada) and King George V as well as the prestigious French International School with over 70 students having private one on one lessons in a week. (Referral letters have been displayed in the Testimonials Section/sub-folder Referrals).
Mark migrated to Auckland, NZ in early 2005 and setup Drumadiddle. Mark works as an Itinerant at some of the local schools - Henderson High School, Carmel College, Glenfield College, Orewa College, Westlake Boys, Takapuna Grammar and St. Kentigern, most mornings.
Mark has performed with bands of varying styles - Rock, Blues, Funk, Pop, Soul, Country and has done Recording and Sessions work as well as Musical Theatre. Mark received an MTV award in Los Angeles (1992) with band Rock Machine/Indus Creed http://indianbandshub.blogspot.co.nz/2010/09/indus-creed-rock-machine.html and has performed alongside POP/Rock Bands: Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Nazareth, Europe, The Blues Brothers, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool and the Gang, The Three Degrees & The Pointer Sisters. Mark worked as a sessions drummer at the Hong Kong Jazz Club with visiting American Blues artists such as Elvin Bishop, Duke Robillard & Carey Bell (Harmonica Player with Muddy Waters) and also touring U.S. Country Band –The Lost Gonzos.
Locally, Mark has played drums for stage musicals : The Buddy Holly Story, Celebrating the Musical, HAIR, Jekyll & Hyde (North Shore Music Theatre), Grease, Little Shop of Horrors (Playhouse Theatre), Guys n Dolls, Titanic-The Musical, Hello Dolly, Les Miserables, The Railway Children, The Boyfriend, Jesus Christ Superstar, Barnum, Chicago, West Side Story, Chess, The Producers, Narnia The Musical, Starlight Express, Witches of Eastwick, 42nd Street (Centrestage – Orewa), Evita and Carrie for AMT and The Prisoner, The Princess & the Goblin (Crossbridge Theatre, Silverdale), Jesus Christ Superstar (Howick)
Mark has his own covers band (for corporate events) as well as starting NZ’s first Bollywood Band - NASHA. Website: www.nashaentertainment.co.nz
Mark has been a professional musician since the early 80's and studied drums and percussion at Musician's Institute, Hollywood, California, graduating in 1986 (http://www.mi.edu/) His teaching career began in Hong Kong in 1998 working at the much sought after English Schools Foundation (ESF) establishments - Bradbury School, Kennedy School, South Island School, West Island School, Kowloon Jr School, Phoenix International School (Canada) and King George V as well as the prestigious French International School with over 70 students having private one on one lessons in a week. (Referral letters have been displayed in the Testimonials Section/sub-folder Referrals).
Mark migrated to Auckland, NZ in early 2005 and setup Drumadiddle. Mark works as an Itinerant at some of the local schools - Henderson High School, Carmel College, Glenfield College, Orewa College, Westlake Boys, Takapuna Grammar and St. Kentigern, most mornings.
Mark has performed with bands of varying styles - Rock, Blues, Funk, Pop, Soul, Country and has done Recording and Sessions work as well as Musical Theatre. Mark received an MTV award in Los Angeles (1992) with band Rock Machine/Indus Creed http://indianbandshub.blogspot.co.nz/2010/09/indus-creed-rock-machine.html and has performed alongside POP/Rock Bands: Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Nazareth, Europe, The Blues Brothers, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool and the Gang, The Three Degrees & The Pointer Sisters. Mark worked as a sessions drummer at the Hong Kong Jazz Club with visiting American Blues artists such as Elvin Bishop, Duke Robillard & Carey Bell (Harmonica Player with Muddy Waters) and also touring U.S. Country Band –The Lost Gonzos.
Locally, Mark has played drums for stage musicals : The Buddy Holly Story, Celebrating the Musical, HAIR, Jekyll & Hyde (North Shore Music Theatre), Grease, Little Shop of Horrors (Playhouse Theatre), Guys n Dolls, Titanic-The Musical, Hello Dolly, Les Miserables, The Railway Children, The Boyfriend, Jesus Christ Superstar, Barnum, Chicago, West Side Story, Chess, The Producers, Narnia The Musical, Starlight Express, Witches of Eastwick, 42nd Street (Centrestage – Orewa), Evita and Carrie for AMT and The Prisoner, The Princess & the Goblin (Crossbridge Theatre, Silverdale), Jesus Christ Superstar (Howick)
Mark has his own covers band (for corporate events) as well as starting NZ’s first Bollywood Band - NASHA. Website: www.nashaentertainment.co.nz
