Mentorship for
musicians
You play a lot. But you no longer know where it comes from.
At the conservatory you learn how to play. Work harder, more difficult pieces, higher demands. And it works — you get better. But somewhere along the way you lose something.
The why. The reason you ever started.
The feeling that music is yours, instead of something you have to perform.
Not technical tutoring.
Not therapy. But deep.
This is mentorship focused on who you are as a musician — not just what you play. We use your instrument as a starting point, but from there we look at how you treat yourself.
How you breathe. What you feel when things don't work. Where your music comes from.
Your instrument becomes a mirror. And sometimes that is confronting. But always valuable.
You feel that your playing has become disconnected from who you are
You want to go back to why you started
You want to truly understand for the first time why you make music
You don't have to be able to name it exactly.
Many musicians who end up here don't really know what's going on. They only feel that something is going on.
You play technically strong. You receive compliments. But it no longer feels like yours.
You have pushed yourself past your limits for too long. You are tired, tense, empty.
You play because you think you have to — no longer from enjoyment or desire.
You want to go back to why you started, but you don't know how.
Somewhere in your body, your head, your heart there is something you can't quite name. But it is there.
This applies to every instrument. Not just drums.
Not for those looking for a quick technical fix. But for those willing to look honestly at themselves behind the instrument.
Personal, 1-on-1,
without a checklist
The first moment
We talk first. I want to know what you bring, where you come from, what is going on. No checklist. Just genuinely listening. From there we decide together whether this is a good fit. I will be honest if this is not the right format for you.
When we start
We work in sessions — every two weeks or monthly, depending on what is needed. We decide the cadence together. Each session begins where you are. Not where I think you should be.
We stop when you can do it yourself
No fixed programme, no subscription. We work for as long as it is needed. The goal is that you can continue without me — not that you become dependent on me.
We look at
Your relationship with yourself
How do you talk to yourself? Where do you meet yourself with harshness?
Your body
Where is there tension? How do you breathe? Because your body never lies.
Your motivation
Where does your music come from? What feels true, and what doesn't?
Your attention
What gets your attention, and what makes that difficult? Focus is something you learn.
The space in between
What happens between the notes? That is where the authenticity lives.
Stefan van de Brug
Drummer, teacher, coach and body-oriented therapist. More than twenty years of teaching — to beginners, to advanced players, to people who got stuck on exactly these questions.
I have ADD myself. I know what it feels like when your head works harder than your body can handle. And I know how music can become a place to come back to yourself — instead of escaping from it.
What I bring above all: I genuinely want to know who you are. Not what you achieve.
Feel how this works
Two short lessons from the mentorship.
Balance between work and private life
How do you maintain the balance between your music and the rest of your life? About recognising boundaries, taking yourself seriously, and how to tackle that concretely.
Relaxation and connection between tasks
What do you do between tasks? How do you build in moments of rest — not to escape, but to come back to yourself.
We start with a
free conversation.
Limited spots available. This is deep work and I guide only a small number of people at a time.
Frequency
Monthly or every two weeks — depending on what is needed. No fixed programme. We work for as long as it is needed, and stop when you feel you can do it yourself.
Price
We discuss this in the introductory conversation. The price depends on frequency and what is needed.
This is not a quick fix. And this is not therapy, even if it sometimes goes deep.
This is mentorship for those who feel that music can be more than performance. For those who want to find themselves again behind the instrument.
If that is what you are looking for, you are welcome.
This mentorship is for musicians of every instrument — not just drummers. Many people who end up here are studying at a conservatory and experience performance pressure, loss of motivation or the feeling that their music has become hollow. Others have been playing professionally for years and are looking to reconnect with why they ever started. The guidance combines coaching, body-oriented therapy and principles of consciousness.