Speed is a lot more than playing patterns at fast tempos. It’s about being prepared for any combination you can think of on the spur of the moment. This type of freedom on the drum set comes from practicing a humongous number of combinations. However daunting this task may seem, do not fear. In this free live drum lesson Sean Lang shares his system for developing speed around the drum set. The exercises you’ll find within will not only speed you up around the drum set but also free up your mind and limbs to play whatever you want, whenever you want. More »
Art comes together as a mix of skill and imagination; it gives hail to aesthetic objects, environments and experiences that can be shared with others. As an art form, music has in personal expressiveness its pinnacle. It’s what musicians strive and work for their entire life. In this free live drum lesson, Jay Deachman shows how you can work on your drumming voice and style by using what he likes to call the Construct. More »
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death-metal band. The song Sean Lang covers in this video is “Like The Average Stalker” and is taken from Soilwork’s 2001 release A Predator’s Portrait. Before pressing play get your favorite drink, sit back and relax while you watch Sean “smoke” his drum set. More »
The drum set is an instrument that’s primarily focused on playing rhythm. Rhythmic possibilities, although finite, are pretty much endless in the sense that no one can play every one of them in a lifetime. Still, learning as much as you can about different rhythmic combinations and possibilities is still well worth it due to their musical value. Having the ability to play different rhythms will greatly enhance your musicianship and the music you play along to. You’ll be able to complement it better and be a lot more creative and expressive. In this free live drum lesson, Mike Michalkow teaches how to spice up your rhythmic vocabulary on the hi-hat while playing rock-based drum beats with broken hi-hat patterns. More »
Along with rhythm and orchestration, dynamics are the main tools a drummer has for coming up with different ideas on the drum set. Playing accented patterns on the hi-hat is a great way to instill variety and expressiveness to whatever you perform on the kit. It’s also great for complementing parts from other musicians. In this free live drum lesson we’ll be taking a look at 10 drum beats that include different accented hi-hat patterns. Dave Atkinson exemplifies how to break them down between different instruments and how to play them using drum rudiments and with double bass going continuously underneath. More »
Odd-time signatures have been part of heavy-metal drumming for quite some time now. It’s especially easy to find them in heavy-metal styles of music like progressive heavy-metal. The music of bands like Meshuggah, Opeth, Dream Theater and Tool are a great example of that. Due to its rather important role in heavy-metal drumming and music, Sean Lang wrote eight odd-time signature drum beats for this heavy-metal free drum lesson. The odd-time signature heavy-metal drum beats are in 7/4 and 5/4. More »
Hand-to-feet combinations are nothing more than linear patterns played as drum fills. In this free live drum lesson Chris Warunki takes you through 10 of his favorite hand-to-feet combinations. These hand-to-feet combinations go from beginner all the way to advanced so there’s something for everyone to work on. Chris also gives you some tips on how to practice them efficiently and use them in a musical context. More »
Groove is playing the right notes in the right place at the expected time. Groove cannot be notated nor summoned but can be practiced and felt. Developing groove behind the drum set takes time and dedication. Playing along to a lot of music and with good musicians and practicing the exercises Calum Rees wrote especially for this free live drum lesson will help straighten your groove out. More »
Drum fills are the type of pattern that’s most easy to get creative with. From the more simple to the more complex, there are tons of different concepts you can use to take standard drum fills and make them sound unique and fresh. In this free drum lesson Dave Atkinson shares a simple one: playing drum fills on different counts. More »
Every pattern you play is a blend of rhythms from a finite set that are spread around the different instruments on a drum set. You can take distinct patterns and mix their phrasing for coming up with totally new ones. This is something that works great for the development of fresh drum beats and drum fills. In this free drum lesson, Jared Falk shows how combining the phrasing from different drum fills is an awesome tool for coming up with new drum fills and working on your creativity. More »
