Drum Lessons on DVD Compared
Want to Learn to Play the Drums? Not Sure what Course to Use?
The Top Drum Lesson DVD Programs for 2010
Learning the drums, it might annoy the heck out of your neighbours but it’s a heck of a lot of fun for you.
Private drum lessons can cost you more then $1000 a year, and online drum lessons are tough to learn from since you usually want to be close to your kit when watching these video drum lessons. If you have to be on your computer to watch your lessons it can difficult to teach yourself drums. This is why drum lesson dvds are quickly becoming the best way to learn the drums at home.
I’m not a professional drummer, I’m a guy who has fooled around with the drums for a few years and enjoys jamming with my friends. I know the drums aren’t easy to learn so that’s why I created DrumLessonDVD.org.
I’ve compared and reviewed the top drum instruction dvds to help you make an informed decision about which course is best for your expectations and goals.
I compared each course based on: lesson content, quality of lesson videos, instructor, supplemental resources (i.e. Lesson books, jam discs), support and over all value for the money.
Below are my top 3 drum lesson dvd courses for 2010.
#1 Learn and Master Drums |
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From the Award Winning Company, Legacy Learning Systems, comes their drum dvd course Learn and Master Drums. Taught by professional drum teacher, performer and studio musician Dann Shill, this course was authored with beginner and intermediate drummers in mind.
The course provides 4 resources for learning:
What attracted me most to this course was it’s straight forward to the point lessons that get you playing within the first two sessions. While there are bigger drum courses out there Learn and Master Drums has created a lessons plan that is well rounded on all aspects of playing the drums for a variety for a variety of musical styles. Just take a look at the topics covered.
The 12 DVDs are very well produced and provide multiple angle camera shots to aid in your learning and on screen graphics to help strengthen your understanding. Once you complete a video lesson you can refer to the 100 page lesson book included with the course to review and refresh yourself on the topics learned. Once you’re confident in the new skills taught in each lesson you can begin to practice along with the Jam discs included with the course. There are over 70 different songs mixed with and without the drum track included so you can practice just like you were playing in a full band. Take a listen to some of the Jam Tracks included now. The committment of both Legacy Learning and Dan Shill comes through in their online support website and community. Few beginner drum lessons courses provide the in depth online support that Learn and Master does. If you get stuck you can post a question on their site and Dan personally answers many of them. Other students often chime in and provide feedback and encouragement as well. Learn & Master Drums has received some great testimonials from happy customers and offers great value to beginner and intermediate drummers. When you consider a private drum lesson session can cost $20 or more per week a years worth of lessons could cost you more then $1000. Right now there’s a special offer from Legacy Learning Systems where you can purchase their learn drums dvd course for $100 off the regular price. That’s only $149 for their entire self study drum course. They also offer a 60 day satisfaction guarantee on their drum course. |
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#2 The Drumming System |
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I can’t ignore the fact that the Drumming System is one huge drum lesson dvd program.
Included with the course you receive:
There is a ton of content, in fact over 30 hours of it, on these drum DVD lessons. So why is the Drumming System not #1? Truthfully for some beginner drummers this course may be too much information. The Drumming System DVDs cover everything Learn and Master Drums does and more, so why is this bad? Well truthfully it’s not if you’re serious about becoming a great drummer and want to learn from home. How ever the increased price of the Drumming System (it’s $98 more then Learn and Master Drums) and smaller community built around the course pushes it to #2 on our list. Something you can’t ignore about this drums course is the teacher. Mike Michalkow is endorsed by some of the biggest names in the business including Yamaha Drums and Sabian cymbals. He’s been playing and performing for more then 20 years and has experience in more styles then I can list here. Quite simply you wouldn’t get the chance to learn from someone like Mike if you were taking private drum lessons in your home town. The list of topics taught on all 20 drum lesson DVDs goes on and on. If you visit their official site and scroll down about a quarter of the way you’ll see what each one of the 20 discs. The 5 workbooks included provide great reference material and practising exercises and the Jam along discs make you feel like your playing along with a real band. The publishers of the Drumming System DVD course is Rail Road Media Inc. They got their start in the music education business by selling self study drum courses and this product is their flag ship course. The course comes with a 90 day money back guarantee and to make it more affordable they offer several payment plan options. |
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#3 The Rock Drumming System |
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This drum lessons dvd is the little brother of our #2 rated course the Drumming System. Also produced by Rail Road Media Inc. This is one of the only self study drum courses that is available both online and offline (this course is sold in some Costco stores in Canada).
This is a great value course for beginners who want to learn to play Rock Drums. The course is very focussed on teach the basics of rock drumming then building on those with intermediate and advanced skills. The course includes:
The instructor for the Rock Drumming System is Jared Falk, a professional drummer in over 10 different bands ranging from Jazz and Funk to Rock and Roll. He’s personally taught more then 150 students privately in one-on-one sessions and has rock-solid credibility in the drumming community. The highlight of these drum lesson dvds is the multi angle shots used. At different points of each lesson you’ll get a 4 way split screen so you’ll have multiple different angles to view what the teacher is playing. Picture-in-Picture techniques make it easy to see close up hand techniques on the high hat, snare drum and kick. The down fall to this course is that it only focuses on rock drumming and not a lot on theory and the finer points of learning to play the drums. How ever if you’re looking to be a drummer in a rock band for the price this course will get you there fast. In comparison to Learn and Master Drums and the Drumming System the Rock Drumming System provides good value as it’s a lot cheaper. If you’re looking to Jam with friends or play in a cover band this is likely the best value for your money. |
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