It is never too late to do your Trinity music grades

I played drums for over 10 years before I decided to actually do my grades.

I always loved music and messing about on instruments when I was a kid, but never found that one thing that I just became obsessed with until I sat down at a drum kit during a lunch break at school.

A bunch of my friends played guitar and bass and while I was hanging out with them, the only seat free was the drum stool.They were messing about with some Chilli Peppers tunes and I picked up some sticks and decided to join in. Straight away I knew there was something special about this drumming malarkey.

After swiftly being told off by the music teacher for using what turned out to be expensive beaters instead of cheap drum sticks, I started work on convincing my parents to get me a drum kit for Christmas.

I taught myself. I convinced friends of learn instruments so I would have someone to play with. I ended up forming a band and playing gigs for years around London. We all got a bit older and I became a little lazy.
 
I was so far into my comfort zone that I didn’t even consider pushing myself any further. This was it. This is how I drum and this is the limit of my abilities.
Then I went to a theatre showfor the first time since I was a kid. I saw The Book Of Mormon and it was amazing. The music and the musicians were just incredible.
 
After the show I couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment with myself. I’m not saying I now want to work in theatre, but I realised there was still so much to learn. Why had I just stopped?
 
My partner convinced me to get in touch with Planet drum and think about doing my grades. A year and bit later and I am studying for grade 7 and learning so much.

Music grades are great because they force you to learn different styles and techniques.

Once you’ve discovered genres you’ve never even heard of before, you’ll find ways of being so much more creative when it comes to making your own music.
 
Not only this, but it gives you a goal to work towards and you get a big sense of achievement when you get your grade certificate.
 
I whole-heartedly recommend it to any musician, regardless of how long they’ve been playing.

​Planet drum student
Laura Barnes