Four-week beginner percussion class

Group music lessons.
Right here in Bainbridge Island.

Snare drum and bell kit. One hour a week with a trained facilitator. Short videos at home, real playing in class.

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Everything on this page updates for your location.

Reserve a seat How it works

How Practicing Musician’s group lessons work

Most classes spend the hour explaining, then send you home to practice alone. We flip that: you watch short video tutorials at home, and class time is for playing together with a facilitator in the room.

Watch

First: before class, your facilitator assigns a handful of one-to-three-minute video tutorials in our learning platform. Watch them whenever you like, as many times as you like.

Play

Second: come to class once a week. No lecture. You set up, warm up, and play, with hands-on help from your facilitator and the people next to you.

Grow

Third: your facilitator tracks your progress and reassigns anything you haven’t nailed yet, so the group stays together without holding anyone back.

Tested in San Diego

February 2026, Copley-Price Family YMCA. One instrument, one room, no marketing budget.

32

participants, with a waitlist

30–83

years old

100%

said they'd pay to continue

57%

bought or rented their own instrument

Pricing for Bainbridge Island

Standard covers what your seat costs to run. Give a little more and you help keep a seat open for a neighbor. If cost would keep you out, a reduced Community rate is here for you.

Prices are set for each community based on what it costs to run the program there.

Sustainer

Keeps a seat open for a neighbor

$149 for 4 weeks

About $37 a class

Pay it forward. Each Sustainer seat underwrites part of a Community seat in Bainbridge Island.

Community

Reduced rate, if you need it

$49 for 4 weeks

About $12 a class

For households where the Standard rate would keep you from joining. No paperwork, no income check.

Every rate includes

  • Four weekly one-hour group classes
  • A trained facilitator in every class
  • Full access to the Practicing Musician online platform
  • Progress tracking so you always know what to work on
  • A class capped at 30 people
  • One payment for the whole pilot — no subscription

Reserve your seat

Takes about two minutes. You’ll pay on the next screen.


Secure payment through Stripe. You’ll get a confirmation email right away.

Your four weeks

Start on snare drum, finish on bell kit, and leave with the technique to keep going: on your own with our free online courses, in a future session, or in private lessons.

  1. Snare drum foundations

    Grip, posture, and your first sounds. We set up together, so bring your kit and nothing else.

  2. Rhythm

    The beat, the staff, and quarter, half and whole notes. You'll play for each other for the first time.

  3. Rudiments

    Single and double stroke rolls, practiced as a group.

  4. Bell kit

    Switch instruments: setup, technique, and your first pitches. We close with a short performance.

What you’ll need

A snare drum and a bell kit. Most beginners get both as one student percussion kit.

The kit comes with sticks, mallets, a practice pad, stands, and a rolling bag, so there’s nothing else to buy. (A bell kit is a small keyboard of metal bars, sometimes called a glockenspiel.)

We don’t provide instruments in class, but our partner Sweetwater Sound rents and sells kits to Practicing Musician students, ships to your door, and your first month of rental is $5. We’ll send you the link when you register.

Already own a snare drum or bells? Bring what you have.

What participants say

“Before this class, I had never held a drumstick in my hand. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Elizabeth, participant

“I’m enjoying returning to the basics. I would love to continue. Playing and learning in groups is good for me.”

Ian, participant

“Everything I heard from the members was positive. They keep coming up to me saying, ‘What’s the next step in this?”

Ann Conway, Adult Programming

Director, Copley-Price YMCA

Questions people ask

I've never played an instrument. Is this for me?

Yes. The class starts with how to hold a stick. Most people in the San Diego class had never played percussion, and several had never played anything.

Can my child join?

Yes. Classes are open to all ages. If the participant is under 18, a parent or guardian completes the registration and the waiver.

What if I miss a class?

The video tutorials are always there, so you can catch up at home, and your facilitator can reassign anything you missed.

What happens when a class time is full?

Each class caps at 30. Once a time slot is full you can join its waitlist at no charge. We'll email you if a seat opens or when we add another session.

Is the Community rate for me?

It's there for anyone the Standard rate would keep out. We don't ask for documentation; we just ask you to choose it because you need it, so it stays available for the people who do.

What happens after the four weeks?

You keep full access to our free online courses. We're planning ongoing monthly classes in your area, and pilot participants will hear about them first.

Ready to play?

Bainbridge Island

Classes start the week of October 26, 2026.

Reserve a seat

Sandpoint

Classes start the week of October 26, 2026.

Reserve a seat

Want this in your community? If you run a church, community center, senior center, or school, write to pmlistens@practicingmusician.com.