Begin Drumming Review
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Publisher: Jim McCarthy (Self published) Course Website: www.BeginDrumming.com Best Price: $49.95 Best For: Beginners |
While Jim McCarthy’s website for his Begin Drumming product could use a little work I have to say that his online/downloadable drum course is a sort of Diamond in the rough.
Jim has been teaching the drums for the past 20 years and spent the last 10 of those perfecting his Begin Drumming teaching materials. There are some downfalls and holes in this course as a multimedia teaching tool., how ever Jim’s teaching styles and lesson content are right on par with the best of the courses I’ve seen.
What Comes with the Course?
The course is for complete beginners and it’s main focus is rock drumming. The Begin Drumming system is one of two 100% online courses I compared and reviewed for this site. The 4 hours of video lessons, 198 audio files and lesson book can all be downloaded from the members area of the Begin Drumming website or you can view the lesson videos right online.
If you choose to watch each lesson on the website I would suggest you download and print out the workbook as Jim (course author and instructor) references particular pages in the book as he’s teaching. Having the book printed off and in front of you while you watch each lesson will make the time spent far more valuable.
Workbook
Begin Drumming started out as a workbook that Jim created for his private drum lessons and students. Having taught over 20,000 private drum lessons he’s had a lot of time to perfect his teaching style and materials so it comes as no surprise that the PDF workbook is the hub of the course.
Through each video lesson Jim tells you which page he’s referencing from the workbook so it would be a good idea to download and print off the PDF file as soon as you join.
HINT: You can find paper saving print programs that will allow you to print two pages on one side of a sheet and on the front and back.
The workbook uses text, illustrations and music on each page to help you follow along, understand and practice the techniques being taught. I feel this workbook is almost as good as other courses I’ve reviewed on the site.
Video Lessons
This is the part of the course that could use a little work. The lighting and quality of the lesson videos is sub par compared to other courses such as the Drumming System or Learn & Master Drums. Of course the price for Begin Drumming is less then $40 so you get what you pay for I guess.
The instruction that Jim provides in the videos is decent and his teaching style is easy to follow demonstrating techniques in an easy to follow step-by-step method.
His years of teaching private lessons shines through in how smooth he is on camera. You can tell he’s taught these concepts hundreds of times.
So while the videos are watchable, I’d have to say that for this online drum course to really be competitive with the DVD lessons available a re-record of the video content would be needed.
Audio Files
While I’m personally not a huge fan of online video drum lessons I do like the downloadable MP3 tracks avaiable with this course.
There are 198 audio files in all that come with the course and you can choose to download them all at once or one at a time. These MP3′s are each 45 seconds long and available at three different tempo’s. They cover each rudiment, fill and solo that is taught in the course so you can listen to them while at your drum kit practicing.
Putting these on your MP3 player and taking them to your drum kit so you can practice would be an ideal way to learn and practice the techniques.
One thing the Begin Drumming course is missing is jam tracks. There are no full-band tracks without the drums that you can play along to for practice. This is understandable seeing that it’s a budget course, how ever playing along with other musicians and instruments is an important part of learning to be a good drummer.
There’s an intro video that Jim has recorded right on the first page of his website (watch it here). You can see just from that short clip that this guy has a lot of energy and a quirky personality.
Conclusion
Begin Drumming offers great value for the $49.95 price point. Sure the video quality isn’t as good as the DVD courses I’ve reviewed but Jim’s teaching style and enthusiasm for the drums shines through in the lesson videos and he doesn’t take any short cuts with the lesson content.
While I am inclined to say that the Drumming System or Learn and Master Drums is a better over all self study program for beginning drummers I recognize that no everyone can afford to spend a couple of hundred bucks on a drum course.
If you’re looking for a budget alternative to the DVD courses I recommend on this site the Begin Drumming course is your best bet.
Disclosure: If you choose to visit one of the courses we review via our website and make a purchase we may recieve a commission, how ever we do not allow this to interfere with our rating and review process. We never accept paid reviews and each product is thoroughly tested by us. All opinions offered here are our own. |