For years, if you really wanted to learn how to play the drums, you would have to look for a reputable professional drum instructor in your local area to take private lessons from. This often could be very expensive and time consuming as well, since you would have to basically learn the drums on a teacher’s schedule. This usually caused much more frustration than fun.

These days, it is possible to learn the drums in the privacy and comfort of your own home using your own drumset.  There are now a large number of drum lesson DVD products and courses available on the market.  These courses are a great alternative to people who don’t want to be tied down to a strict schedule, as you can often learn at your own pace which is great for the beginner drummer. They are often a lot cheaper than private lessons as well, and can be much more fun.

Buying the correct drumming DVD course is:

• Much cheaper than private lessons
• Convenient since you get to learn at your home, on your own pace
• Much higher quality than “free” sites, with multiple camera angles to ensure you’re playing everything 100% correct, instead of the often incorrect drum tabs you’ll fine on free sites
• More varied in the types of music you can learn such as rock, latin, swing, etc.
• A great way to learn to play drum solos and cool fills, along with more basic rudiments

Click Here to See Which Drumming DVD Course We Rated #1

The annoying thing is, it’s often hard to separate the good courses from the bad courses.  It seems every guy who can play a basic snare drum and bass drum beat, and can get in front of a video camera is a “professional drum teacher” these days. Many pro drummers have drumming courses, but since other companies produce the material, these courses can have a lot of weak content despite the big name behind the lessons.

The end result for the average consumer is someone who buys DVD after DVD trying to learn all the drum “secrets” and shortcuts without really getting anywhere. You really can’t become Gene Krupa or Buddy Rich by only taking a couple beginner drum lessons!

Well, we’re here to break that cycle. We review some of the best selling “Drumming Lessons on DVD” courses on the market today so that you won’t have to waste your money on crappy courses ever again.  And the courses we recommend actually work, and fit into YOUR schedule and not the other way around.

To date, the best and most complete drumming DVD course we have found is Learn and Master Drums, which is produced by Legacy Learning Systems. This is a very high quality drum lesson DVD course, and can be a bit pricey as well. But when you factor in the cost of private lessons (sometimes as much as $1500+ a year just for a DECENT teacher), the price doesn’t seem quite as expensive anymore.

You should read reviews of courses to determine which course is best for you and your overall drumming ambitions. If you are just a casual drummer, for example, then you might not need an expensive course since they are usually made for people who want to get *serious* about learning the drums, learning to solo and play cool beats, etc.

One last thing: we are often asked about free online drumming lessons. While there are definitely a lot of “free” online drum lesson sites on the internet these days, most of these sites are very unorganized, with lots of low-quality information on sites that have thousands of ads and load very slow. And the lessons are often very scattered, which leads to brain overload and not accomplishing very much at all.

While there are a few credible sites out there, for the most part we advise our students to stay away from a lot of these sites.  You don’t really want to pick up bad habits when you are learning the drums, especially in the beginning. Since there aren’t a lot of high quality free sites out there, this can be a big concern and is the main reason we discourage using them.

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Learning how to play the drums is therefore a great challenge. Not too many musicians can make music out of drumming a shell with sticks. For you to be able to learn how to play drums, you need to invest. And your investments are time, effort, passion and good judgment.

First and foremost, you need to learn how to choose your drums. Are you a rock drummer? Are you a jazz drummer? The sound of your drums depends on the shells, drumheads and tension of the drumheads. Making loud music will require bigger shells. Creating softer music will need smaller shells.

Then, you need to discern how you are going to learn how to play the drums. You can either enroll yourself for a private lesson or you can teach yourself how to play the drums. This can come through online lessons or effective drum lesson DVD tutorials on how to play the drums.

This is when you need your good judgment. Learning anything these days can be a smorgasbord. However, you would want to pick the right choices and not waste so much time, effort and passion on your part in a useless musical endeavor.

What works best for you? You may want to ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you  really want to spend $1000 to $1500 a year for private lessons?

• Do you think you can learn with thirty minutes to one hour lessons each week covering less than what you should be learning?

• Do you want to have to book yourself at a music studio or music school to get the personal training you need without the assurance of qualified teachers to teach you?

• Do you want to wait for long hours before the teacher arrives at your place for a private lesson to learn how to play drums?

• Do you want to avail yourself of free, poor-quality, web-based videos to teach you to play drums?

• Do you want to download different online videos which can put your computer at risk and fill up most of its memory space?

• Do you want to purchase an effective DVD drum course on learning how to play drums, videotaped with different angles covering footwork, drum fills and all other small details, at affordable rates without extra charges?

• Do you want to learn through DVD courses on how to play drums at your own pace, considering your own progress without the hassle and pressure on your part?

• Do you want the convenience of setting up your DVD in your own room or music studio while you learn your instrument?

With good judgment, time, effort and passion for learning how to play the drums, you will be leading your own band in no time to the beat of the music.

 Buying a used drum set allows the purchaser the opportunity to get a very complete set of stylish brand-name percussion equipment that, in some cases, may still have a warranty.  In most cases, a knowledgeable buyer can maximize the equipment and minimize the expense.

We always feel the 5-piece drum set is the way to go.  We also strongly recommend a 4-piece cymbal package.  Not all sellers of used drum sets include the cymbals.  

Evaluating the used drum sets begins by recognizing the name brands.  Drums from Ludwig, Slingerlands, Gretcsh, Premier, Sonsor and Rogers are all highly regarded for their re-sale potential.  Some of these manufacturer’s unique sets tend to be expensive because of their history and reputation.  However, the success of your used acquisition is directly related to your ability to know what you are looking at.

The 5-set drum set should have these basics included:

• 22” bass drum

• 12” rack tom

• 16” floor tom

• 14” snare drum

• 13” rack drum

Again, we recommend an accompanying 4-cymbal package, including hi-hats, one crash cymbal and one ride cymbal.

When inspecting the used drum and cymbal package use the three-step inspection formula.

• Inspect drums including shells, lugs, bolts, rims, hoops and heads.

• Cymbals

• Hardware including all stands, mounts, braces, bass pedal and hi-hat assembly.

The shells should be perfectly rounded.  Check for indentations and cracks, which would render the shell useless.  Make sure the gap between the rim and the shell is consistent.  If possible or if the drumhead is transparent, try to inspect the shell’s interior.

Rims and hoops must also be round.  These parts can be replaced but you are adding to your sets’ expense.  A damaged hoop or rim is a good indication of the care the set received.  

Worn out drumheads are a sign of use.  These heads are basically disposable and can easily be replaced.  Be sure to check the strings that stretch across the bottom of the snare drum.  Check the usability of the knob and wires that tighten the strings

When checking the cymbals, look for dents and cracks.  Listen to the sound and if the cymbals sound dull they were most likely part of an inexpensive starter set.  It is very possible that you may elect to purchase separate cymbals.

When looking over the hardware, look for dents to the braces and verify that movable parts and retractable parts still work.  The moving parts need to be checked.  Best of all, complete your tire-kicking inspection by a few minutes of play.  There is nothing quite so re-assuring as some hands-on play.

Perhaps musicians benefit the most from repetitive practice sessions.  Creating a meaningful practice mindset and routine go hand in hand with achieving a higher level of play.  Practicing the drums should be a disciplined, goal-oriented pursuit of improved play.  Great musicians enjoy practice.  This is their time to study, perfect and increase their appreciation for their talent.  Drummers who do not enjoy practicing should pursue another skill.

Practicing the drums and playing the drums are two completely different musical activities.  Another wise adage says drummers do not play when they practice and do not practice when they play.  The reality is that the more effective the drummer’s practice routine, the better drummer will play.

While most serious drummers settle into their own routine, it never hurts to have a checklist to help build that routine:

• Set your posture – proper posture is important to every musical instrument but with the drums it is essential. Establish a playing posture that allows you to stay focused and is comfortable for extended periods. Your posture says a lot about your passion.
• Warm up session – dedicate the first ten to fifteen minutes to a good loosening warm up. Play basic rudiments on a pad to get your wrists, body and mind ready for action.
• Let me Hear You Count – Counting out loud helps the drummer work through those challenging beats and rhythms. Make sure your play and your count are on line.
• Metronomes welcome – A metronome is a handy practicing tool. The metronome keeps you on track and on pace through those especially grueling sessions.
• Win the Session – Every session is the accomplishment of those little goals set by the drummer prior to the session. As the lesson unfolds, obstacles will arise. Do not pass them by. Achieve one complete goal at a time. Celebrate your victories with a victory lap and finish ion a high note.

Musicians, like athletes, wind down at the end of a practice session.  A quick way to refresh the session is to ask yourself three basic questions:

• What did I do right today?
• What did I do that needs improvement?
• What did l learn today?

These questions signal the end of this practice routine, but will help set the tone of your next session.

Beginners may want to recruit some experienced help when testing the sound of a new drum set.  Most stores will allow the purchaser to sample the set or at least to have a store employee provide a sound sampling.  If you have an experienced friend, you may want the friend to test the set.  Be sure to heed the experienced drummer’s advice.

The first thing you might notice is balance.  If the components emit an uneven sound, it may be a question of proper tuning.  Each component should be checked.  If the overall sound is dull, move on to another set.  The desired sound should be distinctively clean.  For the beginner, the clean sound is easiest to recognize in the cymbals.  However, the toms, snare and bass should also come clean.

If the set sounds even, you should next listen for pitch, tone, projection and ring.  Many times these qualities can be controlled by your play and by proper maintenance and setup.

Tuning is a major influence on the overall sound of the set.  If you have a clean sound to start, you will learn through trial and error to find the balanced sound you need.  By being slightly looser with you tuning, your set will take a deeper tone.  Likewise, tightening raises the pitch.

Decide on the overall sound you seek.  Sometimes that is influenced by the style music you want to play.  When tuning, the drummer is pursuing an overall sound.  As you tune the individual drum components, attempt to allow each drum contribute to the overall sound.

The audience usually hears the “attack” sound.  The drum’s other sounds are called overtones.  It is the overtones that differentiate the drums from other musical instruments in the piece.  Beginning drummers often do not understand the range of sounds a drum can emit.  Remember that the higher the drum is tuned, the stronger and longer the ringing will be.

Many drummers find that tightening the snare and keeping the strainer fairly loose helps find the right mix.  This is really a matter of choice and experimentation.  Listen to sounds that you want to emulate and play with different tuning combinations until you find a home.  Chances are, your sound choices will surprise you.  Enjoy getting to know you new friend!