Grade 8 (A2) · Diary · 218 words

My First Week on the Drums

A diary of Maya's first week of drum lessons: the difficulty, the wish to give up and the moment the beat finally worked.

Tap any word to hear it · dotted words have a definition in the glossary

🎧 Listen

Maya's Diary

1Sunday — Today was my first drum lesson! My teacher, Ori, has long hair and a loud laugh. He gave me two sticks and said, "Before we play music, we learn to count." So for forty-five minutes, I hit a pad and counted to four. Not exactly rock and roll.

2Monday — My arms hurt. I practised on a because Mum says the real drums are only for the afternoon, when the neighbours are at work.

3Wednesday — Second lesson. Ori showed me a simple with the bass drum, the snare and the hi-hat. My right hand, my left hand and my right foot all had to do different things at the same time. My brain felt like it was going to . I kept stopping and starting again.

4Thursday — I almost gave up. I told Ori I have no . He laughed and said, "Nobody is born with this. is what you call practice when you can't see it." I'm not sure I understood, but I wrote it on a note above my bed.

5Saturday — Something amazing happened. I played the slowly, and then a little faster, and it worked! My little sister Gali danced around the room. It was only ten seconds, but for the first time I felt like a real drummer.

📘 Glossary

wooden - made of wood
rubber - a soft material that bends and bounces
pillow - a soft cushion for your head
beat - a regular rhythm in music
explode - to burst with a loud bang
gave up - stopped trying
talent - a natural ability to do something well

Questions

Finding details
1. What did Maya do in her first lesson?
Making inferences
2. "Not exactly rock and roll" shows that Maya felt…
Finding details
3. Why did Maya practise on a pillow on Monday?
Finding details
4. What was difficult in the second lesson?
Word meaning
5. On Thursday, "I almost gave up" means…
Reference words
6. On Thursday, what does "it" refer to in "I wrote it on a note"?
Reference words
7. On Thursday, "He" in "He laughed and said" refers to…
Making inferences
8. What does Ori mean by "Nobody is born with this"?
Making inferences
9. How did Maya's feelings change between Thursday and Saturday?

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