Drum Lessons

Virtual and in-person drum lessons available.

In-person drum lessons in Thurmont, MD, just 25 min outside of Frederick, MD.

Check out a few videos and you will find that you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to begin drumming—reach out if you have questions about getting started and I will be happy to point you in the right direction.

Start Here for Drum Lessons

The "money Beat"

The rhythmic pattern that drummers play to a song is called the “beat” or the “groove”. Here is a groove that forms the foundation for many others in rock, pop, country, hip-hop, and R&B. My goal is to have a student play this groove within the first lesson or two.

Rudiments

Rudiments are similar to scales—a long story short they are patterns that help us play the drums. Here are the first three rudiments that I work on with students.

More Drum Lessons!

Having Fun With A Backing Track

Backing tracks are a great way to have fun and improve your skills. Checkout Spotify and Bandcamp to find some that catch your ear.

Beatles Drum Lesson

I often make music instruction videos for my students to help remind them of what we learned in our drum lessons or piano lessons. Here is “In My Life” by the Beatles for a very talented young lady that loves drumming.

More Drumming

My first instrument—pure fun! Drum lessons in Thurmont, MD. Check out a method book I published on Amazon. It combines technique, rudiments, and reading with a healthy dose of real-world application through play-along lessons.

Rudiments On Drum Set. 1 Of 4

Here’s the first of four quick lessons I posted to social media for a student who had questions about what to practice during weeks when he had very little practice time.

Rudiments On Drum Set. 2 Of 4

Rudiments over a “4 on the floor” foot pattern.

Rudiments On Drum Set. 3 Of 4

Rudiments over a Samba pattern.

Rudiments On Drum Set. 4 Of 4

Rudiments over a 2nd Line/Clave pattern.

Black Crowes “hard To Handle”

Here’s another quick follow-up video lesson I made for a student. This is the Black Crowes version of “Hard to Handle”.

“the New Breed” By Gary Chester

His book “The New Breed” is one of my favorite drum books of all time—right up there with “Stick Control”. If you want to improve your coordination, time keeping, creativity, and awareness then pick up a copy of his book and get to work. It is well worth the time and money invested.

More Gary Chester

Here’s an idea of how to use “The New Breed” to work on your jazz/swing playing.

Imagine Dragons “underdog”

This band has some really interesting drum parts in many of their songs. I’m using a practice pad for a snare drum here—you don’t need much to get started with playing drum set.

Herbie Hancock “palm Grease”

Very funky drum part to this song. Herbie Hancock wrote this tune as part of the soundtrack to the movie “Death Wish” in 1974.

Led Zeppelin “custard Pie”

I forgot my camera tripod so a student was kind enough to help me out. I often make quick videos like this during our lesson so students can more effectively practice at home.

Technique Tips For Funkier Drumming

Technique isn’t everything, but it certainly helps. Here are a few ideas to help move you closer to playing in the style of drummer David Garibaldi from “Tower of Power”.