About Planet drum
London's drum and music school since 1997, built by drummers, for drummers, with room for every other instrument too.
For three decades, Planet drum has been one of London's best-known names in music education. Thousands of children, teenagers and adults have walked through our doors as beginners and walked back out as drummers, singers, pianists, guitarists, bassists and bandmates. This is how we got here.
From Borough to Islington: a short history
Planet drum was founded in 1997 by drummers Alain Maurel and Mirko Schmitt, in a small studio in Borough near London Bridge. The school stayed there until 2004, before moving to Camden Town, where it grew through the 2000s and early 2010s.
In February 2014 we settled into our current home, the historic Crypt of St Mary Magdalene Church on Holloway Road, a four-minute walk from Highbury & Islington station. It's a building with serious acoustics and even more serious character, and after more than ten years here, it feels exactly right.
We've never lost the original idea: a school built around real one-to-one teaching, run by working musicians, with the equipment and the community to back it up.
What we're known for
Teaching London to play since 1997
Planet drum made its name as the official workshops and lessons provider for the Rhythm Sticks Festival, seven years running from 2001 to 2007, working alongside some of the greatest drummers in the world (including Billy Cobham, Stewart Copeland, El Negro Hernandez and Roy Haynes) at the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Trinity's main Rock & Pop centre in London
Whether you want to play for fun or work towards a graded qualification, you're in the right place. As Trinity College London's main Rock & Pop exam centre, our tutors prepare students for both Trinity College and Rockschool exams, from first grade right through to grade 8, all held on-site.
Studios built for the way people actually learn
Six teaching rooms, each with two full drum kits (one for you, one for your tutor). Pro-grade keyboards, amps, microphones and PA in the rooms that need them. Just minutes from central London and from the City, and easy to reach whether you're coming from Camden, King's Cross, Hackney or Highbury.
A school, not a booking agency
We're not a directory that pairs you with a freelance teacher in a coffee shop. We're a single, central building with a permanent team. Everyone teaches under one roof, students rehearse and perform together, and there's a real community to be part of.
A space for music
Planet drum is a welcoming space for making music. Whatever your beliefs, you're welcome here. We simply ask that lessons and shared spaces aren't used as a platform to promote personal views or causes, so the focus stays on the music for everyone.
The instruments we teach
We started with drum lessons and we still teach more drummers than anything else, but over the years our roster has grown.
Who we teach
Adults who've never played before. Teenagers serious about a career in music. Kids whose parents just want them to try drums for an hour. Returning players brushing off the rust. Working musicians prepping for an audition. Couples and friends learning side by side. There's no "typical" Planet drum student, and that's the point.
Our teachers
Every Planet drum tutor is a working musician with serious teaching experience. They've trained at the world's top conservatoires, toured internationally, recorded on records you've heard, and chosen to put the same care into their teaching that they put into their playing.
What people say
"Absolute pleasure — I think what you have created, with all the brilliant teachers around you, is very special and I hope it continues for many years to come."
"Really happy to see that Planet drum is doing gift vouchers! A family member is super keen to learn the drums and I can only think of one drum school in London that I would recommend!!"
"I am very happy I discovered Planet drum."
Ready to start?
If you've read this far, the next step is the easy one. Book a taster session, come and see the studios, and meet the tutor who'll be teaching you. From there, the membership that fits your life is the one we'll build with you.
Visit us
This map is provided by Google and uses cookies.
This will allow YouTube, Google Maps and Spotify on this site.
The Crypt, St Mary Magdalene Church, Holloway Road, London N7 8LT
Open in Google Maps →