While live lessons were postulated in Germany for many years, online drum schools have been popular in the USA for a long time.
I find onlinescholls a very interesting tool. Not only that you can access a teacher at any time, so to speak, you can take lessons when you have the time or inclination, but you can also cater to your own personal interests or needs. Last but not least, you can set your own pace !! Isn’t it crazy that while we learn to walk or speak, we allow people to move at their own pace, but later always have to complete skills or projects on time ?! That can only lead to the castration of intuitive creativity, because it cannot be forced. It comes in relaxation and in a timeless workflow.
Only those who take responsibility for themselves set out on the path of personal freedom.
Konrad Lorenz
I think that in the future we will have more and more responsibility for our learning and doing because we all don’t want to give up our accustomed freedom. For people who need more security, in addition to coaching for life crises, coaching for family problems, coaching for the self-employed, there will be coaching for the hobby. I wonder if that doesn’t lead to the feeling that you have to buy everything instead of exploring and experiencing the world yourself like a child.
With the oversupply of free YouTube material, it is a relief that special packages are now being offered on certain topics. I find it absolutely legitimate to pay money for it, after all, the learning material is professionally prepared.
Below are some websites that I have tried out personally or that I have just noticed because they offer special features. The offer is rich, see this page as a suggestion to start your own search.
.
Drumteacher – online
.
Dave Wackl
I am connected to Dave Weckl’s cymbal series. I didn’t buy it because he is an influential drummer in our time, because I didn’t even know that back then. I was about to buy a drum set and because I had no idea & couldn’t play particularly well, I had the seller play the cymbals for me. I closed my eyes and … then decided on his cymbals. Not only do they have a very nice sound, they are also soft to the touch, but more on that later in the “Theory & Tools” section.
Dave Weckl has now also put together an online school. I think his price offer is great, namely with a monthly subscription of around 30 dollars that can be canceled at any time. For the money everyone can have a look! Look inside his weekly Q&A hour. The example above shows a lot of great information about set arrangement, grips, sounds & practical routines. You can see a small overview of the lessons in the example above or on the website. It’s a collection of information that he would have wished for as a beginner. That was my motivation to write this blog too. But now I see this page more as a collection and reminder of my own personal “drummer journey”. I think it’s important to try out your own things and to find your personal setup and style of play & not run after a horde without hearing, feeling & reflecting yourself. My site is supposed to inspire and in Dave his remarks exactly this research and experimentation can also be seen.
Orlando Drummer
”Orlando Drummer” is Adam Tuminaro’s drum school. I found out about him through a podcast from “DrumGab”. In addition to a permanent membership, you can also buy packages separately. A package can be inserted as a short-term destination when you are on vacation or when you have to prove to yourself that you can do something. Adam is one of those online teachers who has many years of experience. It prepares topics very clearly and offers good packages for beginners to lay the foundations. His topics are always up to date and I also find the overall appearance cool and appealing. I’ve never seen it in Germany often, but in the American drummer scene you work with loops in the advanced area. I think the idea is to move from a fixed groove metric to a melodic drum performance. For this purpose, Adam offers packages in various genres. Everything is not overly expensive and the processing via PayPal is perfect, so you can get started right away.
.
Louie Palmer – play better drums
I’m not on YouTube that much, but thank God I discovered it. Louie is English, but has lived in L.A. for years because he thinks the drumming scene in America is progressive and leading. Maybe because his long-time teacher, Thomas Lang, also emigrated to L.A.? In any case, L.A. is a magnet for many musicians.
Louie is one of those professional drummers who started at the age of 5 (!), Took lessons from many well-known drummers, has endless gig experience and has also recognized the signs of the times and started online lessons at an early age. His teaching material is now rich & special. You can buy a permanent membership or monthly packages. It’s absolutely structured and stylish.
.
Mike Johnston
I have not yet had any personal experience with this site, but I mention it here because I really like its offer. It links online and live elements. His learning methods are great to look at and easy to understand. His YouTube channel has a great offer. There are also two apps for creating and sharing your own grooves. All in all, the site makes a professional, modern and contemporary impression. Let’s see what I try, then I will report more.
.
Austin Burcham
I also came across Austin on YouTube. He brought out the series “Study the greats”. Advanced drummers in particular can find inspiration here. As a non-drummer you can find out what is actually behind the drumming there. I also always learn a lot about music theory here. It’s a page for everyone to get to know drum legends.
When you consider that in the past you could only get such inspirations live and now everyone can get this information on the sofa. What developments are possible! Absolutely amazing !!
Not entirely unintentional, here is an example from the series “Study the Greats” mentioned above. I love layed back;)
He also has an online school that is attractive, up-to-date and based on the latest web design. I should definitely test it.
.
Drumschools – online
.
Drumeo
Drumeo is the internet giant in the drummer scene. All well-known drummers and internet greats offer online courses here. Super interesting, drummers present themselves, once a week, with their skills and perform on a topic that is accompanied by a moderator. Always a real show! The site has now been online for 15 years and has perfected itself accordingly. Above you see Jared Falk, the CEO and Founder of Drumeo. I chose this video because it sums up very nicely what 10 years of drumming experience have brought him. It’s also exactly how I feel when drumming. I wonder if it’s a sign of the times or a sign of age?
On Drumeo you can buy packages and you can perfect your skills in a kind of challenge. The platform is now also available as an app. (DrumeoEDGE) I find the idea of having everything on the phone as an app very tempting. But 1400 euros is a lot of money! A short-term subscription is offered, but I felt compelled to try everything out right away. But for that you need time in a row and I would have to sacrifice a vacation for it!
But 1.8 million subscribers on YouTube is an announcement !! In any case, you should watch the freely available shows! For me it’s always an alternative to TV & Netflix.
.
Art of drumming
This is the German online drum school format, which, like Drumeo, offers teaching material from well-known, currently predominantly German drum teachers. I picked out an example of a course from Jost Nickel for you. Jost is from Hamburg and I saw him live at the drum festival in Switzerland. There he passed on a lot of his knowledge. It was nice to see, because in my job experience nobody wanted to share something.
Art of drumming is a very appealing name for a drum school. But can you ever compete with Drumeo? I think that always includes an idea of its own. What makes the offer really appealing is that, at the moment, it is offered for free.
This reminds me a bit of my early years as an interior designer. I did a lot for free, which then led to the fact that at some point I felt exploited and finally said that my work was worthless. In addition, I always looked very young and, as a woman in the construction industry, was always laughed at. Male leadership styles were never authentic with my appearance and therefore probably not successful either, but that’s another story.
I wonder if you will ever voluntarily pay money for a service? The much discussed “standard salary” could perhaps contribute to relaxation, especially in the creative area. Perhaps one would also have fewer burnout syndromes, because with this salary one would have the opportunity to orientate oneself in another professional sector or simply to do jobs that are more fulfilling, but bring less income. I am curious what will be born from the combination of “Basic Income Experiment” & “Corona Crisis” 🙂
.
This page will be updated again and again