Jim Ayres Drum Tuition

Please note that as of April 2026, I am currently on hiatus from teaching. This is due to my "day job" getting busier and busier, and because my wife has recently returned to full time employment.

Huge thanks to all those pupils and parents of pupils who have worked with me over the years, and I hope to stay in touch with you all 🥁

Huge congratulations to Adam, who took his Grade 1 exam last week and achieved a phenomenal 90% and a distinction in the process 🥁 💥

Even more impressive as this was Adam's first exam 👏

It seems Adam's resident elf has been inspired to pick up the sticks himself...

A different sort of work this evening, this time assembling a very swish brand new Roland TD-27KV2 kit for a customer.

So many boxes, so many wires 🎁 🎁 🎁 🔌 🔌🔌

Need help assembling your own kit, or advice on what gear you need? Get in touch!

YouTube channel is now up and running! 🎥

In time, I'll be posting tutorial videos from all Rockschool Grades from Debut to Grade 8. As a starter, videos of all nine 2024 Debut Grade songs are now available, together with some guides on technical exercises and ear tests 👂👂👂

Jim Ayres Drums I'm a drum teacher based in Plymouth, UK. I've been teaching for over 15 years and playing for nearly 30 😲 I'll be posting a variety of content, from short simple videos on individual techniques to play-throughs of songs. Rockschool have released their 2024 syllabus and so a lot of my content wil...

Now I'm no mathematician, but with Rockschool releasing nine new books for their 2024 syllabus with nine songs in each book, that makes...a lot of new songs to get learning 🥁

I'll be posting some tutorials on YouTube in the coming weeks (my mum always said I had a face for radio, but I'm sure she meant YouTube)

Huge congratulations to three of the latest Rockschool graduates following today's excellent results. Exams are marked as a pass (60%-73%), merit (74%-89%) or distinction (90%+), and today we've seen two merits and a distinction 💥

This means that of all my pupils who have taken Rockschool exams over the last five years, 96% have achieved a merit or a distinction. Since 2013, 0% of my pupils have failed their exams 📜

Hearty congrats to Eve, who hammered her Debut exam today with a whopping 82%! 🔨 🥁 Not bad for her first ever exam 🎓

Very well done Eve, and very well deserved 👏

(Image shared with parental consent)

I have successfully taught the Rockschool syllabus for nearly 15 years. However, I have never taken any graded exams myself, either when I was first learning the drums as a child or since (largely because all I wanted to do when I was first learning was play mega fast and loud rock & punk music 🤟)

So on occasion, despite the excellent results my pupils have achieved in their own exams down the years, I have found myself wondering in moments of doubt just how qualified I really am to teach Rockschool.

To put the issue to bed, today I took my Grade 8 exam. The whole experience has served to really highlight how very brave my pupils are when going in for their exam; I was nervous, and I am a grown man with more than 25 years experience of playing. It showed me how much work has to go into practising and preparing for the exam; I have spent hour after hour playing the songs and other exercises until they were just right.

The result of my exam is already in, and I am delighted (and relieved!) to say that I passed with 95%. So, to answer my own question, yes, I am qualified to teach Rockschool 🥁

🥁 🥁 🥁 Roll up! 🥁 🥁🥁

(I'll get my coat)

I now have a lesson slot free on Thursday afternoons after 17:30. Get in touch if you'd like to book 👍