Drummer shares musical talent with kids
“Does this sound any good, Alex?” asks 12-year-old Brian Wyatt.
“Yeah, it’s better than before, but just make sure to press your index finger down harder on the second fret to get more of that clean, crisp sound.”
Alex Jacobs is in the middle of teaching his hour-long private guitar lesson to his brand-new middle school-aged pupil. This is the first instructing lesson of the day for the 23-year-old whose familiarity with playing the instrument is almost as similar to his ability to teach it.
“I picked up playing the guitar about two or three years ago and I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it,” said Jacobs, a former music major at the University of Pennsylvania. “Good enough to teach first-timers, at least.”
Giving private lessons seems to be an outlet for young adults who are passionate about music but are having a difficult time in finding a stable career in the field. This is especially true for Jacobs who dropped out of the music program at the University of Pennsylvania.
“The excuse I always give to people is that I just couldn’t afford the tuition anymore,” explained Jacobs. “But to be honest, a degree in music tends to inevitably lead to becoming a school music teacher, which is something I’m not really interested in doing with my life.”
Ironically, that’s basically what he’s doing now.
Jacobs just recently began giving private guitar and drumming lessons to kids. Despite his genuine appreciation of teaching others, this is really a necessity for him when it comes to making some much-needed money.
“I guess you could call me a struggling musician,” said Jacobs. “My biggest passion is playing the drums, which I’ve done my entire life and would love to make a living off of, but until I find a legit career in drumming or my band somehow makes it big, I’ve got to find other ways to pay the bills.”
Jacobs (far right) and his band The End Result pose for a picture.
He got the idea of teaching private lessons from his mentor and old drumming instructor Josh McIntyre. He’s the one who suggested to Jacobs to not only offer to teach the drums, but the guitar as well.
“In my experience, the guitar is a lot more popular than the drums,” said McIntyre, who also happens to give private lessons in many different instruments. “It’s a lot less noisy, too.”
Jacobs still maintains high hopes in becoming a financially-secure, professional drummer someday. Aside from giving lessons to six kids for 12 hours a week and his full-time job as a cashier at a local grocery store, he still finds time to musically improve himself and his band.
“Alex’s got this crazy knack for coming up with some sick beats for us to use. He’s definitely the most musically talented out of all of us,” said Mike Molvez, the 21-year-old lead singer of The End Result. “Maybe some of that talent can rub off on those kids.”
The kids are indeed benefiting from Jacobs’ instrumental expertise, especially when it comes to the drums.
“I’ve gotten so much faster,” said a smiling 11-year-old Richard Wu after his drumming lesson. “Not as fast as Alex, though. At least, not yet.”
Not only do the children appear to take a liking to Jacobs’ teaching, but the parents also seem to really appreciate what he does for them. He’s always complimented when a parent comes to pick up their kid.
And, yes, that includes the first-timers too.
“I’m happy. Brian seems to have really enjoyed himself,” says Eric Wyatt while waiting for his son to pack up his guitar. “That hasn’t been the case with previous guitar teachers.”
“We’ll be back next week for sure.”
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