Education

October 29, 2010

Here you will find many helpful resources to begin drumming, or expand on what you already know. Drumming is a very individual thing – no two drummers are alike. The more you know, the more enjoyable drumming can be. See what’s for you, and drum on!

Products to help your drumming

Mike Michalkow’s “Drumming System” – A complete drumming instructional course, for beginners and more

“Learn and Master Drums”, by Dann Sherrill – Another great complete drumming instruction course worth your serious consideration

“Stick Technique” – Want to play faster, more controlled rudiments, and improve your speed on your kit? Then you must check out this book! Written by Jim McCarthy

Snare Drum Basics – The most important drum in the kit; here’s a guide to help you understand and play it better

“Unburying the Beater”, by Matt Ritter – A whole new approach to bass drum play – a must read!

Educational Articles

Rudimentary, My Dear – a commentary on drum rudiments

Traditional vs. Matched Grip – The Paradiddler’s Take

The Emergence of Air Drumming – A guilty pleasure of wannabe drummers is now coming to the fore

Brute Force Learning – The Paradiddler coins a phrase describing a way some learn to play the drums

The Thing About the Neighbors – The Paradiddler discusses how to have your drums coexist peacefully with the neighbors

The Next Note – Smooth and relaxed drumming entails awareness of ‘the next note’

Name That Tune – Spend time tuning your drums properly, and you’ll be rewarded with great sound

When You Least Expect It – The Paradiddler describes how he landed his [at the time] latest drumming gig

Record Yourself Playing Drums – The Paradiddler begins to spill the beans on how to record great drum covers

Recording Drum Covers – Seeing Is Believing – The second in the series regarding drum cover recording. Tips regarding camcorders and lighting are the focus.

Recording Drum Covers – Sound Guidelines – The third in the series regarding drum cover recording. Getting great sound from your drum covers is discussed.

Recording Drum Covers – Presentation – The fourth in the series regarding drum cover recording. The virtues of Windows(R) Movie Maker video editing software is discussed, plus an upcoming guide is announced

Posting Drum Covers on YouTube – Brace Youself – What the proper frame of mind is for posting drum covers, and how to deal with those useless negative comments

Dazed, But Not Confused – The Paradiddler joins a budding band (again). See how it goes this time…

Your Way Is the Right Way – Local teacher, DVD, online – what’s a newbie to do to determine the best way to learn to play the drums? And all those forums, with all those opinions – who’s right? who’s wrong? and does it matter? This article will help you have the right attitude and point of view regarding your approach to learning to play the drums

Improve Your Play With Drum Covers – Jared Falk of Drumeo.com invited The Paradiddler to contribute an article to their blog, which I was honored to do. Drum covers can play a significant role in improving your drumming skills. Here’s why…

Instructional Videos

Instructional Video: Vex Pro Touring Double Bass Pedal – Slave – Since I didn’t see any videos regarding double bass pedal adjustments for the Vex Pro Touring pedal, I decided to produce one myself! Take a look for some adjustment ideas.

Instructional Video: Vex Pro Touring Double Bass Pedal – Round Two – An update to the previous videos regarding the same. The differences? Click the link to find out!

How to Record a Drum Cover When the First Note Is a Drum Beat – This is the first lesson in the “How to Record Drum Covers With Just Your Camcorder and Windows Movie Maker“. This video explains how to ensure you start playing synchronized right on the first note of the song – every time.

Lessons

Drum Fills – Playing the Right Ones at the Right Time – New York City-based pro Mike Veny shows how to improve your fills

Rudiments In Action

The Paradiddle

Single Stroke Roll and Single Stroke Four

Double Handed Crossover Fill
A variation of the single stroke roll rudiment. My favorite fill!

Web Resources

DrumLessons.com

Vic Firth – Education Resource Center

Modern Drummer – Drumming Education

Pearl Drums – Drum Education – Although some lessons may be Pearl-slanted (naturally), the lessons are very useful nonetheless

Online Drummer

MikesLessons.com – Live, online drum lessons, downloads and a lot more

Downloads

40 Rudiments – Percussive Arts Society International Drum Rudiments. You’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this document (if you don’t have it, you can download it for free here). FreeDrumLessons.com has an excellent section of their web site dedicated to demonstrating all rudiments. Click here to see.

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