Devon Van Rooyen (Online Only)

My name is Devon. I have been been playing the drums for over twenty years and have been involved in other facets of music for much longer. I play other percussion instruments (also the steel pan) and have experience on the piano and flute. Drums became my main instrument and this has been my main area of teaching since 2006.

I moved from South Africa to Hong Kong in 2018 where I continued teaching and performing. I left Hong Kong in July 2023 and I am currently based in Germany.

I have worked in schools in South Africa and Hong Kong giving one-to-one or group drumming lessons. I have also helped lead percussion ensembles and other school ensembles.

I have always been a performer while teaching. My experience covers playing in musical theatre productions, philharmonic orchestra, Big Band Jazz, small Jazz ensembles and party bands covering a variety of styles.

While performing is a thrill, so is teaching. It's such a rewarding feeling seeing students succeed and develop a love for their instruments. I have taught students from 5yrs to 60yrs old. It's never too late to learn and if you have your mind set on it then it's totally worth giving it a fair go.

I cater the lessons to the student's needs and level and basically customise it as we go along. It's always important to include the fundamentals of course, although this might not always feel interesting. We find fun ways of getting around this and including it because all our favourite musicians had to start somewhere and all the basics are built into what you hear coming from them today.

So I try to cover everything that you need to succeed but also try to keep it current and fun at the same time.

When I teach I try to do it with a practical approach in mind and try to help develop listening skills etc. This is a vital part of playing an instrument and this has been a huge benefit to me over the years having to perform with different groups of people and in different styles. Sometimes I wouldn't know who I'm playing with until shortly before our gig and we'd all have to use our listening and communication skills to let the music happen and enjoy the journey through music together.