After using her brain all day at work, my wife will often spend a part of her evening in one of the rooms of our home wrestling with Sudoku puzzles. I’m a little confused, but I think this helps her to unwind.
Conversely, I spend my time staring at a computer screen located in my office right across the hallway from where she practices her Sudoku mastery.
Yesterday she ambled into my office unexpectedly and discovered me watching one of “those” videos again. She gave me one of her patented stares, shook her head in bewilderment and left the room.
I can’t help myself. I admit that. I think I’m sorry.
I know that I should be balancing the household budget or checking my email or reading a book on the lessons of history or something like that, but I just cannot help myself. I somehow end up in front of my laptop or a tablet watching these videos. They always draw me in and I think I’m addicted to watching them.
It’s beginning to perplex my wife.
She doesn’t understand that time spent watching someone hit on another thing in such a beautiful and ingenious way is really stress-relieving. I also get the opportunity to learn new things without really getting too involved and I can pause the video whenever I’ve had enough.
As a drummer, I’m always trying to explain to her why I sit and watch the same videos over and over endlessly, sometimes pausing and tapping on my desk while my eyes are scrunched and I stare blankly at the wall in front of me.
She just doesn’t understand.
Of course, I’m referring to the time that I spend watching YouTube videos of drummers demonstrating various tricks and methods on a drum kit or a drum pad.
Paying A Master Seems Redundant.
Many people pay handsomely to study with a master of a specific field of endeavor so that they can learn the nuances of that craft to help them become legendary.
Cyber mentors are so accessible on the Web and knowledge is so prevalent, paying a master seems redundant. Now it’s possible to learn what a private teacher might have taught years ago but with little monetary cost.
There is, however, one major caveat to acquiring any knowledge via the Web.
Drum videos may be calling us to watch and study them but what is the quality and veracity of the information therein contained? Might we be leaning our “learning” ladders up against the wrong wall? (Say that 5 times fast…)
Who are these drummers on the Web anyway and what are they teaching us?
I’ve been playing the drums for over four decades and I must warn you that just searching “drum videos” on YouTube will expose you to a ton of interesting but useless nonsense.
Fun? Yes indeed.
Helpful?
I respectfully must say…
Not really.
Here’s some of what you may discover:
- Best Drummer Ever
- Amazing Girl Drummer Does BIGBANG – Fantastic Baby Street Performance
- Vadrum Meets Super Mario Bros (Drum Video)
- Travis Barker – Drum Solo & Warm Up
Did you learn anything yet?
I’ll cut to the climax and give those of you who have followed me this far some examples of drum videos that I have found to be useful, instructional, inspiring and challenging.
Some of these examples come from notable players who really know their stuff and others are courtesy of drummers that I have never heard of before but who provide valuable instruction that will make you a better and more aware drummer.
- Mike Johnston: The Linear Triplet Fill
- Drum Lesson by Mike Johnston: Building Speed Around The Kit
- Drum Lesson: Dave Weckl Eye of the Beholder Lick
- Drum Groove James Brown Give it Up or Turn it Loose Improv
- Jost Nickel Linear 9’s | STUDY THE GREATS
- Peter Erskine Triplet Tom Rolls | STUDY THE GREATS
- Swing Drumming – Advanced Snare & Kick Combinations
- Bass Drum Slide Technique For Double Strokes
Your next challenge is to focus on just one video, go to your drumkit or practice pads and master the new concept illustrated in that video.
In my enthusiasm to learn as much as I can, I often skip ahead to other videos before mastering what I have just viewed. Don’t do that. Don’t be like me. Go after one concept and singularly master it.
“The man who chases two rabbits catches neither.” ~ Confucius
(This advice applies to all women drummers of course. I suspect that Confucius meant this for women as well.)
I wish you good fortune and I hope that this article has been useful, helps you improve your playing and introduces you to some new ideas and challenges.
Share this post with anyone you know who’s trying to improve as a drummer.
Please don’t be shy to reach out through my social media channels or via email and tell me your thoughts. If you have any video suggestions, please share them.
Now everyone…get to your kits!!
