Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, September 08, 2011

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Ninth-grader Tyler Mayfield sets up the percussion pieces before a lesson with LTMS Principal Alison Hayes. “It’s so easy because she picks up things really fast," said Tyler, now a student at Henry Clay High School.

After hours at Lexington Traditional Magnet School, Principal Alison Hayes pulls on a pair of well-worn jeans, grabs her drumsticks and jams to classic rock in the second-floor band room.

She’s been taking lessons since early summer from former student Tyler Mayfield, now a freshman at Henry Clay High School.

“She was really pumped because she wanted to play, so I agreed to do it,” he recalled. “With Ms. Hayes, it’s so easy because she picks up things really fast. I can show her something once, and after five minutes of practice, she’s got it.”

Hayes is no novice musician, and a healthy dose of determination propels her.

“I’ve always been into playing instruments,” she said, recounting how in fifth grade, her band teacher told her that girls didn’t play drums or trumpet so she wound up on clarinet.

“My sister picked up the saxophone and I was real competitive, so I played the sax, too,” said Hayes, who also learned the French horn.  

Years later, however, the drumbeat still called to her.

“I just thought it was more like an art form since you’re moving four extremities in different patterns. So to keep it all straight in your head is fascinating to me,” Hayes explained. “If you watch a drummer, it really becomes a dance. You get to see that rhythm as well as hear it.”

Besides, “I was a rocker at heart.”

One day last spring, the principal noticed Tyler’s playing when she stopped by the band room.

“His talent really touched me, so I told him my story and he said, ‘Oh, Ms. Hayes, I’ll teach you how to play. Don’t worry.’”

Tyler, who now is in the marching band, concert band and jazz band at Henry Clay, adjusts his schedule to meet with her weekly.

Since Hayes doesn’t yet have her own drums, she sets up pots, pans, pillows and books to practice at home. At LTMS, she started out on the basic four-piece set – snare, tom, kick drum and high-hat cymbal. As she gains skill and confidence, Tyler adds more percussion to the mix.

“Every week I can tell when I go back that she’s getting better,” he said. “She is dedicated to the max.”

Hayes finds her main inspiration in Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, and shares her love of ’80s rock with Tyler, saying, “We kind of teach each other.”

During a typical one-hour session, Tyler introduces new rhythms with various tempos to make sure Hayes can feel the music.

“I don’t want her to just copy off of me. She can go off and make it her own,” he said. “It’s really improvisation.”

Hayes agreed, saying, “He gives me the basic beat and I freestyle it.”

“I come with 20 years of dance experience, so I’m used to being able to use different extremities. But it’s never been in such a fast, intricate way,” she said. “I’m having to retrain my body. It is challenging, but my background in the arts definitely helps.”

Battle of the Bands

LTMS Principal Alison Hayes, who takes drum lessons from a ninth-grader, is paying it forward to math teacher Tina Cox. Now they’re forming two rival groups for a Battle of the Bands showdown before winter break.

“A bunch of people have jumped on board,” Cox said.

Each band will include teachers and administrators, a community member and a parent, along with students as backup dancers.

With songs like Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” in the works, LTMS will surely be rocking!

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