logo

Bill Powelson's School of Drums

Introduction and Orientation.


Free Lesson Menus

Introduction and Orientation
(Beginners thru Ultra Advanced)
Hi, I'm Bill Powelson, the author of these drumming courses.

This first 125 lesson drum course is designed to take you from wannabe-air-drummer to accomplished pro in as little as 6 months, (or maybe less.) The additional courses (icons on the right and at the bottom) may be studied at any time they interest you. When you are here at the password site, the icons lead directly to the e-books, (if I've done the linking job correctly). Click on them any time you wish and dive in. I doubt if you will finish all this in one day, but, you can be WELL on your way in under an hour.

Drumming is a lifelong endeavor. I've been playing and teaching over 50 years, now . . . but, I still learn something new about drumming, every day. There's never an end to the things we can learn, but SOME things are more important than others, especially for the novice drummer.

This web site, and these courses of instruction, are designed to take you from your current level of knowledge and boost you into the profession . . . one-lesson-at-a-time. It has taken me the better part of 50 years, working as a drum instructor (by day) and a pro drummer (by night), to assemble and prepare this line-up of lessons for you. These lessons are designed to get the best results, in the fastest, and most thorough way.

You'll be wise to dig-in for the long haul, and study at your hearts content. Think of this as weekly drumset lessons that you can take on an hourly, or daily basis. The harder you work, the sooner you will produce results and become the drummer you were meant to become. It is possible to devour this course in under 6 months; Yet, in a private setting, it might take you up to two years to do all this, (at an eventual cost of several thousand dollars).

FORGET THE MYTH that you need to be in a room with a private instructor to learn. If any of your brain-cells are working, you can learn much faster this way.

This online course is better than private lessons because you can study as often and as long as you might want to.

Yet, with the sound files, videos and other teaching-aids in use, you may learn at a rate that's up to 10 times faster than you might experience in private lessons.

Yes! Air-drummers can definitely become the BEST real drummers, with only a little knowledge. If you 'feel' the beat of the music the rest is a matter of simple (and very EASY to learn) techniques. Most of what you need to know will tend to come natural, if you'll simply follow my advice while working your way through these structured lessons.

'Feeling' the beat is the thing that defines real drumming talent! Air-drummers are most often 'natural' drummers; All they need is a little direction, and instruction. You'll find that direction, help, and instruction, within these lessons.

NO DRUMS OR STICKS NECESSARY. YOU MAY BEGIN RIGHT NOW!

Begin immediately!
I've found that approximately 7 in 10 people can become working pro-drummers in under six months (or less), using the methods you'll discover here. The only thing stopping you is your own negativity and procrastination. We'll put an end to that within the first couple of lessons! I plan to show you an addiction to drumming that will change your entire life, for the better. You can learn it all right here, even if you've never been behind a drumset in your life, or held a pair of drum sticks in your hands.

DO IT WITHOUT DRUMS OR DRUMSTICKS!
As a matter of fact, you can study 95% of the lessons in this complete course without ever being behind a drumset! I'll show you exactly what I mean, as you progress through the lessons. I would not make such an outrageous claim unless I was sure I could back it up. Believe it . . . and keep reading.

NO DRUMS?
HERE'S HOW TO PRACTICE . . .

Just tap on your computer desk, (or the arms of your chair) and pat your (right) foot on the floor. You will need access to recorded music of your choosing. That computer in front of you will provide all you will need. Search for your favorite artists. You'll be playing along with the music you love most.

You will be learning to play the DRUMSET, using the same (feet and hand) movements we drummers use at a real drum set. You will be learning to play along with all the same music you'll hear playing around you every day, but you'll do it as you sit there at the computer desk. Later, when you find yourself behind a drum set, you will be able to sit down and burn 'em!

ENGRAIN THIS HABIT: From this day forward, as you hear any song playing on the radio, jukebox, CDs, tapes, movies, etc., etc.,; You'll learn to habitually listen, analyze, then play ANY song correctly and instantly. You'll quickly and easily discover that you do not need a drumset or sticks to learn. The formulas for doing that are all here in these lessons, and you may never find all these secrets anywhere else . . . all in one place.

Once you've learned to study and practice MY way, you'll discover how to MAKE EVERY IDLE MOMENT, A PRACTICE MOMENT . . . no matter where you are. This secret is the one secret that will virtually guarantee your success! It's as simple memorizing the exact hand and feet movements, then repeating no matter where you are, any time you have a dull moment. (We all spend half our lives waiting in line for something or waiting on something. Smart drummers use those otherwise wasted moments repeating the lastest beat or roll they are trying to master.

NO SHEET MUSIC, EITHER!
You're going to learn to play, the way all your drumming heroes play. You'll learn to read drum notation, but sheet music and tabs are virtually useless to the REAL drummer. We rarely use any of that on the gigs. We learn to play from the heart, often with both eyes closed! Sure! You WILL learn to read music (painlessly) as you study, but you will quickly discover that reading should not be the priority. The objective here is to teach you to play the way all pro drummers do it on-stage.

You are also about to learn to practice the way all pro drummers practice (24/7/365) when they are away from their own drumsets. If you do NOT learn to practice this way, (without drums), I doubt you'll ever become truly successful, anyway. This is the way all pro-drummers do it!

As a matter of fact, this one secret may be the TOTAL secret, to professional success. I doubt, if you have ever read or heard much about this method of practice at all. It's really just so practical, and a matter of common-sense, that most teachers never 'think' to tell you about it.

Here it is the best kept secret in pro-drumming . . .

YOU WERE BORN WITH A SET OF DRUMS!

As you sit in any chair, your right knee becomes your hi-hat, your left knee becomes your snare, and as you pat your right foot on the floor, it simulates the bass. Practicing this way develops the needed muscles and coordination, in the same way as if you were sitting behind a $2,000 drum set. It may not be nearly as much fun, but you can learn 95% of the techniques this way. It means you can prove to yourself that you have talent, before spending a fortune on any equipment. You'll get the hang of it in the first few lessons of the course.

ALL working drummers practice this way no matter where they may be. It turns every waking moment into a potential practice moment. As any song plays in the elevator, in the car or wherever, the real drummer, analyzes the song and goes through the needed movements as the song plays. The idea here is to prove to yourself that you can play any song, instantly, by analyzing it for a few seconds, then going through the routine movements and patterns we all use as we play.

Those PATTERNS are the same patterns you'll be studying in this entire course. The more patterns you know and learn, the better drummer you'll become.

A little later in the course, once you are successful with the early lessons, I'll show you how to save a bundle on your drumset equipment. But, that's for later! First, you will need to successfully coordinate the movements, and connect those movements to the music, as you listen to your favorite recordings, (ie; CDs, MP3s, and tapes) right there at the computer!

Further down on lesson menu #1, we'll discuss a myriad of ways you can save a fortune on equipment and completely fulfill all your drumming dreams, without dropping a bundle of your hard earned dollars, rubles or pesos. My objective here is to help you make it all happen, the easiest, fastest, most thorough, and least costly way possible . . . anywhere on earth.

This complete course will save you the equivalent of 30 or 40 years of frustration. You'll save thousands of dollars, and years of wasted time. That's my promise to you! I've designed every lesson over a 50 year span of time, through trial and error. Only the best of the best lessons have made the cut, here. All this has been done in order to save you from searching book after book, and hitting brick walls as a result of ignorance. Just follow the lessons. It will all be explained as you go. Most of the info contained here is NOT in the many books and study methods you'll encounter elsewhere. THIS is the stuff you'll learn the hard way, onstage in front of a crowd, . . . if you don't get it here.

WHERE TO BEGIN, DEPENDING ON YOUR LEVEL

BEGINNERS:

You should simply start at Lesson #1, then follow the first 6 to 8 lessons in the order they appear Lesson Menu #1.

By the time you have completed the 3rd lesson (Basic beats), you will automatically and naturally gain the ability to jam with as many as 200 million songs, the SAME way all working drummers do it! After that, it's ok to jump around to the lessons that interest you most. These lessons are ALL designed to catapult you into the profession in the fastest, easiest, most thorough way, possible. You could purchase a thousand books, videos and/or instruction methods . . . and not achieve what you'll achieve here, in these free and easy lessons.

I've been teaching a very long time. Over the past 50+ years as a professional drummer and instructor, I've discovered ways to trim away 90% of the unnecessary garbage, without jeopardizing any of the really important things.

READING DRUM NOTATION AND RUDIMENTS:

You'll learn to read, and you'll master the rudiments much quicker here than any where else on the planet. Better yet, You'll also learn to play, the same way all working drummers do it, (ie: by the seat of your pants, and by ear.) You'll learn to play with both eyes closed and with your imagination flying wildly, inside of any and every song you choose to play.

INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED DRUMMERS:

If you think you are INTERMEDIATE OR ADVANCED, I recommend that you should at least look over lesson #3, (the basic beats) before for moving any deeper into the course. If you can repeat all five of those patterns from memory and recognize them (by ear) in the music playing around you everyday, it means you are 'at least' an intermediate drummer. At that point you should feel free to study any lesson that interests you.

Check out all the lessons on all four lesson menus. There are more than 125-lessons here. No matter how long you have been playing, or what levels you may have achieved, there is something here for just about everyone. Surely you will gain some new and useful knowledge. Yes! We'll cover everything, including beats with street names like, 'Fatback', 'Funk', 'Punk', and so many others that tend to change names with each new generation of musicians. You will ultimately learn to play ANY and ALL styles of music here.

'EVERYTHING', is a big word . . . but it is ALL here. This is a COMPLETE course in drum set techniques.

As you work your way down lesson menu #1, the techniques to be learned will increase in difficulty. If a lesson seems too simple, then move on rapidly. If a lesson seems too difficult, it may mean that you have missed something along the way. You'll either want to slow down and study harder, or back-up to something you can digest more easily. Almost all the lessons in this course(95%) can be practiced without a drum set, right there on the desktop, your lap, or the arms of your chair. You'll need all of it sooner or later; So, find topics you can wrap your brain around, and keep studying until you feel you've covered it all.

I'm a veteran working drummer and teacher with 50 years of rock, country, jazz and a million other music styles, under my belt. I can help! I've been teaching students of all levels since the early 1960s. If you want to become a drummer (or a better drummer), you are in the right place. This web site is designed to help teach you as if you were enrolled into private weekly lessons (with me), a working pro-drummer/teacher.

My absolute favorite students are the total beginner 'air-drummer' types. You are the easiest to reach and teach. However; The lessons you'll find here, can help any drummer at any level, and I don't care how long you've been playing, or how much you 'think' you know. I can definitely get you out of the ruts you are in. You'll soon be progressing at rates that will truly amaze you, if you'll just use a little common-sense and logic.

Before you click on one of the links below, it's important that we make the right connections, in order to get you moving in the right directions, without wasting a lot of your time.

INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED, AND ULTRA ADVANCED STUDENTS:

If you were to come to me for private lessons, I would help you determine where you should begin. It's a little more difficult to do that here, but not impossible . . .

I find that most of us (myself included) have trouble deciding, or knowing, which level we might belong. That's very understandable! As far as I know, no one has ever put together a 'level rating' system for drummers. It's difficult to know exactly where you are on the overall scale of needed and necessary knowledge. I can help with all that too. I'll try to describe it all in detail (below.) All you'll have to do is, decide for yourself, and that should be easy.

I've designed a special web page for Intermediate and Advanced drummers that might help. I call it Knowledge Assessment. If you'll look it over, it may help you discover the best place for you as an individual (with some drumming experience) to begin studying.

It's very important that you should begin lessons with material you need (as an individual). There's nothing worse than wasting time on lesson material that you already know. If you can make the right decisions for yourself . . . it may help you avoid that dilemma. If you need special help, click on the 'E-mail' tab and drop me an e-mail.

Check out all the lesson Menus at the top of every web page. You are looking at the very same lessons I teach privately at $50 per hour. What you see here are years of high quality, ($50 per hour) private instruction.

Most of all, HAVE FUN!

"The teacher, of indeed wise, does not bid you to enter their
house of wisdom, but leads you through the threshold of your own mind"-Kahil Gibran.