logo

Bill Powelson's School of Drums

Drum Lesson Menu #1

Free Lesson Menus

spacerxMake Your Bookmark Here img spacerx imgOrientation study tips img

This is a completely free course of drum set instruction. My objective at this web site is to provide the absolute BEST free drum instruction in the World. Money is NOT the prime objective here. I have no advertising budget at all. If content is still king on the web, you will find me easily. If not, then YOU will lose. Blame the greedy (advertising oriented) search engines.

spacerx imageKnow This Before Investing img

BEGINNING DRUMMERS! (Test Your Drumming Aptitude) and learn to play 50,000,000 songs 'by ear' at the same time. Start with LESSON #1 (below) and then follow the bottom links of the first 3 'suggested' lessons.

Skip past the first few (General Knowledge and Preliminary) lessons. Go back to them later, if you are curious about those topics. I want you to see indisputable results right now! immediately! Lesson #1 will do it!

There is a 70% to 95% chance that you will DISCOVER the NATURAL DRUMMER within, by the end of the 3rd SUGGESTED lesson. You will know immediately, (usually within the first few minutes to 1-hour of study). You will also be learning the (very easy) secrets of ALL pro-drummers (and 'Natural Drummers'), within those first 3 lessons. After the Basic Dance Beats lesson (Lesson #4) , study any lesson that strikes your fancy. Most of you; (up to 95%) will remain hooked on drums for the rest of your life.

You are about to learn the secrets that ALL pro-drummers use (knowingly and sometimes unknowingly) to instantly play ANY of more than 500 million songs. This is how we instinctively play (by ear) the 'NATURAL' way. You'll gain the ability to quickly analyze then play almost ANY song; as you are hearing it for the very first time in your life!

It's very simple! Drumming ISN'T rocket science, folks! It's a simple matter of knowing (and then using) 5 simple and easy to play, Basic Beat Structures. Once those 5 easy patterns are engrained (deeply) into memory, the rest comes NATURAL, 70% to 95% of the time.

INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED DRUMMERS: should use their own judgement. If you know all the 5 basic beats by name and by heart and if you are jamming routinely with all forms of music already, you may skip lightly over the Basic Dance Beat lesson. It is very important to be fully aware of their importance in all music styles, though. They are nucleus of brand-new drumming theories that will unfold into a MUCH larger picture of ALL song-beat and dance-beat rhythms to follow. If you DO know them by name and by heart, then you should feel free to study any of the free lessons, on any of the four menus that interest you. There's really no special order or lesson plan that needs to be followed after the basic beats have been firmly established. If you study the things that interest you most, you'll probably have more fun and progress faster. That alone will lead to more enjoyment and increased success.

If you are in doubt about where to begin . . . be sure to check-out the 'Knowledge Assessment-Help' and read it, OR E-MAIL ME for additional guidance and help. Yes, I'll help for free! Half the chore of progressing, is in knowing where NOT to begin. Try to avoid studying the techniques you already know. Focus on the techniques you need most, RIGHT NOW.

ADVANCED DRUMMERS! Explode with NEW Creativity!
What I'm about to tell you could catapult your career into orbit! Those first five beats ALSO contain the hidden (lost) keys to the discovery of the more complex beat-structures we often label with a myriad of popular street names like; Hip Hop, Funk, Fatback, Soul, Punk, Shuffle, Progressive, Fusion, etc.,etc. (The street-name list is endless.) All of the those (admittedly more complex) beat-patterns reside as EASY TO SEE mathematical permutations (variations) of the initial 5 Basic patterns. Stop and think! This is something of which you, or the 'current' music-world, is completely unaware. I'm about to lead you towards something unimaginable.

Do you see the (blue) e-book icon immediately to your right? "Finite to Infinity" IS your future, (know it or not)! Read about it. You will lose (big-time) if you do not at least read about it. Click the "Finite to Infinity" e-book icon to your right and prepare to accelerate your rhythmic abilities and drumming knowledge, exponentially.

Popular music is soon to change radically, as pro-drummers (and all musicians) discover the magic within "Musical Time: Finite to Infinity". Wise musicians and drummers who read and understand this mesmerizing 7-chapter study (2-hour read) will be the ones to bring the inevitable coming changes to modern music; while gaining potential fame and great potential wealth at the same time.

You'll be very wise to fully understand what my own 62-year drumming career has revealed. It begs to dwell within the creative minds of all the younger generations of musicians; those special musicians who are preparing and seeking to take the music world by storm. Read about "Finite to Infinity", in the column immediately to your right. If you are looking to (easily and very quickly) advance your drumming knowledge beyond your wildest dreams, you have found it. "Finite to Infinity will shake your rhythmic world to its core!

spacerx imgblueline img
spacerxTake Lesson #1 asap

Skip the Preliminaries. (Read them later.)

PRELIMINARIES . . .
The Introductory Page My goal here is to convince everyone they should give drumming a try. On this page I'll explain HOW TO PRACTICE (WITHOUT DRUMS OR STICKS) and you'll discover who I am. Skip this lesson if you are in a hurry. Come back to it later. Just start with DRUM LESSON #1, below.

Skip this too . . . if you are in a hurry to see definite results.
PRELIMINARIES: Holding the sticks, kicking the pedals and tips for lefties. Just slap and bang on the computer desk or arms of your chair as you tackle these early lessons.

Parts of a Drums Set. Skip over this very basic info too. Learning the names and positions of the various drums within the average drum set. If you know the difference between a snare drum, bass drum and a hi-hat, then save this page for later study. The following lesson (below) is the VERY BEST and most important place to begin for most beginners.

MOST IMPORTANT DRUM LESSON #1: (No sticks or drums necessary).

  1. Drummers Aptitude Test: This page is a must for the curious. Prove that you can do it. Complete this page and discover that a career in drumming may be only five minutes away! You will come away from this one lesson with the potential ability to play 50,000,000 (or more) songs on a full drum set. Bang on the computer desk. Don't sweat the small stuff. This lesson may launch you into a new career RIGHT NOW!
VERY IMPORTANT LESSON: DRUM LESSON #2- Read Notation (in 10 minutes),
  1. Reading Drum Notation Forget all your fears about reading music. You will be doing it comfortably in five minutes. This little bit of knowledge will get you through the more difficult lessons ahead.
DRUM LESSON #3: Skip this for now . . .
  1. Note Values, Rhythm Terminology and Symbols: This material is essential but somewhat boring and dry. You can move ahead without it! Do the best you can but don't let it kill your spirit. This material will begin to make more sense later, as you continue to study and play.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DRUM LESSON #4
DRUM LESSON #4: May be the most important lesson any drummer will ever take.
  1. The Basic Dance Beats: If you can't name and play these five basic dance beat categories from memory, please take this lesson. This is foundation knowledge and it is extremely important! After memorizing these patterns you will find yourself playing along with nearly every song on the radio. Use the 'Song List' to help get the feel of each beat.
DRUM LESSON #5: This next lesson is optionally important.
  1. 3/4 Waltz: This BASIC DANCE BEAT is so special that it deserves a page of its own. The modern rock scene has very much ignored this potentially volatile rhythm structure, even though it contains over five-quintillion variation possibilities. If you want to innovate a few decades of new music styles, take a hard look at this dance beat category as we discover many ways to make it explode with imagination and creativity.

NOTE: Beginning drummers after mastering the 5 Basic Dance Beats, it's okay to begin jumping around through the lessons that interest you the most. Be sure to check out ALL the lesson menus (See: 'Lesson Menus'- at the top of every page).

spacerx imgblueline img
spacerxWhat About Drums img
You were born with a free drumset! It's within your imagination! Learn to use it every day. Don't let negativity stop you from learning. Learn to practice the way ALL successful drummers practice (24/7/365) when they are not physically behind a drum set. You WILL NOT need a drumset to learn, once you are aware of this one tip.

The World's Cheapest Drumset: Do not buy a drum set until you are sure. Simulate a practice set instead, this inexpensive way.

How to buy a Drumset Tips on getting the most for your dollar when buying drums.

Tips on Tuning your Drumset: I contend that even the cheapest drums can be tuned to satisfaction. It is simply a matter of knowing what sound you want and then knowing how to get it.

Buyer's Guide for Drummers: (insider info) Save BIG on drum set purchases, new or used, brand-name or generic

How to Assemble a Drum Set: Directly from the (UPS) box.

WHAT'S NEXT?

FILLS & ROLLS: As working drummers onstage, with a band, we do two things. We play beats and we play rolls. That's it!

"The drummer who dies with the most beats and rolls, WINS!" :)

So now, we need to focus on rolls. We need to learn how to use them inside the songs we play. You'll discover just how easy it is, if you'll religiously study ALL the lessons in this section.

There are classic rolls, and there are improvised (or ad-libbed) rolls we often tend to create on the fly, in mid-song. You'll learn to do both types of rolls (aka; Fills) in the lessons below.

DRUM LESSON #6: Improvised Fills.
  1. Playing Perfect Fills in mid-song, every time: ALL MYSTERIES SOLVED! Before we begin with the classic rolls and fills, I want to show you how to create improvised fills on the fly. This is the way we tend to do it most often, onstage. We tend to make-up or invent the rolls we need, as we need them in the music. All it requires is a little imagination and timing. The rest is made-up. You'll learn to play whatever seems to fit with the specific songs you will play. This is a text lesson, but what you'll learn here will eventually become a routine playing habit.
DRUM LESSON #7: All about rudiments.
  1. Rudiments, Rolls and Fills (Part 1A): Boring RUDIMENTS are not so boring when used as thundering fill patterns in mid-song. (Simplified for beginners!) This page contains links to the 26 N.A.R.D. rudiments, but I do NOT advise studying Rudiments directly from the charts. It's just too slow and boring. The trick is to quickly learn to use them easily and habitually as Fills, then use them every day as you play and jam for fun. They'll develop 100 times faster, my way . . . and you'll have ten times the fun. This is also the beginning development of awesome drum solos. As you study the drum solo lessons you'll see that the development of these simple rolls and fills is the essence of soloing techniques as well. Fun follows more fun . . . in the lessons below . . .
DRUM LESSON #8: Most Popular Classic fills.
  1. The Classic: (16th-note) Single Stroke Roll It's the most often used fill pattern in Rock styles and it's the first fill that every drummer learns to play.
DRUM LESSON #9: Other Popular Fills.
  1. 16th Double Stroke and Paradiddle Rolls Different and classier ways to play 16th fills. They sound the same as single strokes . . . UNTIL you move them to different drums within the set. Then they take-on a life of their own. Both are very important roll/fill patterns. Strive to master them both by finding way to use tham as you jamm with recordings. they're tough at first! For most of us it will require 3 to 5 hours of eventual repetition before max speeds will be achieved. Once you have them mastered you will use them everywhere. They are both major ingredients when soloing and when jamming with wilder rock and jazz styles. Paradiddles are especially popular amongst the best of the best rock drummers. Take your time. Don't expect miracles to occur in 5 minutes. It might take 30.
DRUM LESSON #10: 75% of all solos are based on this fill/roll type.
  1. 8th Triplets You will build this very important fill type slowly. First; using triplets as fills when playing along with recorded music. However; as you build speed and control with them, you will begin to realize that almost 70% of ALL drum solos are based in this same note-value-roll or fill type. Mastery with triplets is a very big part of becoming the drummer you aspire to become. Practice them on your lap (constantly) during all your down-time, bored moments. Build them as you waste time elsewhere, away from the drums. Then; as you eventually return to the set they'll go ballistic automatically. Listen to a lot of drum solos and try to identify this roll as you hear it being used millions of ways around the drum set. It's a biggie! Master it! For most of us, this roll-type will require approximately 4 to 6 hours of repetition before maximum speeds will be achieved. Once you've done the time, they will explode, (almost automatically).
DRUM LESSON #11: THE CLASSIC FILLS. This is a Triple-Whammy lesson!
  1. Rudiments, Rolls and Fills (Part 1B): SPICE UP YOUR FILLS! Learn to use a FULL PALETTE of rhythmic color, at all times. This complete assortment of NOTE-VALUE fills, once memorized, will add variety to your 'imagination tool-box' as you jam. Here, you'll improve your reading/writing skills, and your improvisational (or jamming) creativity at the same time. This may be one of the most important lessons in this course. It's also one of the most difficult! Take your time. With my private students, I spread this lesson over a 4 to 6 week period. It'll be difficult to digest all of this in one sitting. Take it slow, but get it all, eventually. It's really about 6 lessons rolled into one. Watch the videos and memorize the fill names, and the way each one sounds. Be able to call these fills by name as you hear them in the music that plays around you every day. You'll be hearing these fills every where. They are the classics!
DRUM LESSON #12: MORE . . . Intermediate and advanced lessons . . .
  1. Popular Rock Variations: These are the foundation rhythms that have dominated rock music styles for the past thirty-five years. You should do more than just learn them. Memorize and play these patterns until they are a part of your soul. If you are into pop and rock styles you will be using various forms of these patterns every day of your career. Master each, and commit each to memory. These beat structures tend to take on a myriad of names. Every musical 'click' will tend to call them by different labels. They are the basis of 'funk, fatback, boogaloo, soul, rap, raunch, progressive, independeIT MEANSnt, syncs and hundreds of other technical and/or street-names. Whatever street-name is the current flavor (or buzzword) of the week, you will be needing all these patterns and various syncopated forms of them, a lot. Memorize them, then listen for them. They are out there . . . everywhere. You'll learn to recognize them in the music, AFTER you have studied them. Look-up the broad definition of "syncopation" in the dictionary too. If it's a new term to you, try to understand it. I'll be using it and its abbreviation (sync.), a lot. The term syncopation holds a little different connotation for us drummers. In brief, it means IN-BETWEEN. A sync (for us drummers) is when we toss a bass drum note or snare drum note, 'in-between' the steady, repetitious cymbal flow).
DRUM LESSON #13: Put a Band together. They're waiting for you to call!
  1. Getting Your First Gig: Some of the most gifted drummers never graduate from the practice room. Maybe this lesson will offer insight enough to help guide you into the profession in the simplest, most practical way possible. It's easier to go pro than you might imagine if you'll only use a little logic and encourage nature to take it's course. (A little politics will always help too!)
DRUM LESSONS #14 thru #92: An Arsenal of Archived Drumming Knowledge.
  1. The complete Tempo Dispatch Archives, (78 drumset lessons): Take a break and just read for awhile, as you pound on the desk and repeat any of the patterns studied above. Pick-up on many of the tricks of the drumming trade as you repeat a pattern you need to memorize.
    These newsletter lessons were once sent out to a huge list of drumming enthusiasts each month. With the advent of e-mail filters and spam paranoia, I just stopped trying to beat a dead horse. It became a thankless, frustrating job, just writing then sending them. Now, you can simply read any of them at your leisure. At the current time there are 78 lessons here. Each will add in some way to your bank of pro-drumming experience and knowledge. Pick a topic and read as your interest dictates. There's really no specific order that must be followed here.
LEVEL #3: Getting Funky! DRUM LESSON #93:
  1. Rock Syncopations: These patterns will put the 'fun' into 'funky'. You should have a solid feel for rock variations before attempting syncopations. Syncopations are really just more complex forms of the same patterns. Again, you'll use these patterns every day of your career!
DRUM LESSON #94: Slicker, Cooler Fills.
  1. Rudiments, Rolls and Fills (Part 2): A little knowledge can take you a long way. Learn to extend and combine fills within a beat pattern or a song. This lesson, when mixed with a little imagination, will add polish to your style. Imagination is the key element!
DRUM LESSON #95: Secrets to Landing gigs with the Best Bands.
  1. Beat the Monster Drummers to that Sought-After, Dream Gig: Precious tips and tricks that winners live by. This may be the lesson that will put you over the top.
DRUM LESSONS #96 TO #110: Lesson Menu #2 . . .
  1. More Free Drum Lessons! Drum Set Lessons #96 To #110. All with sound and video. Study drumset lessons E-M #1 thru E-M #14 now! These lessons are for the Intermediate to Advanced, but they're crucially important to the working drummer. This knowledge needs to be in every drummer's bag of tricks.
DRUM LESSONS #110 TO #117: Lesson Menu #3 . . .Classic Latino Rhythms
  1. Every drummer needs a latino Bag of tricks. This is only a humble start. All with sound and video. These lessons are for the Intermediate to Advanced students, but if you understand and can repeat them, it means you are ready. They're crucially important to every working drummer. You will need them sooner or later. This knowledge needs to be in every drummer's bag of tricks.

I do hope to pass this web site along to my heirs after I'm gone, if it is still paying it's own way. I'm now well into my 70s. I would hope to see it stay online forever. But' if doesn't pay its way, it'll fade to black, when I do. However; if it is paying its own way, it'll more or less go on automatic, (I hope, forever). Much will depend on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and Ask.

I know it's a lot to ask, but good link-backs to this site will influence the search-engines more than anything. If you can provide link-backs to this free public web site, please do it. A good link-back is probably MORE valuble to the future of this web site than the donations! Therefore; ANYONE who can provide a link-back to studydrums.com will qualify as a paid member, as long as I can beat a drum. I'll promise you free access to everything!

spacerxLink Back For Free Membership img spacerx imgblueline img

Excellent and totally FREE drumset lessons online (no tricks or gimmicks). Beginner thru Ultra-Advanced lessons will help anyone quickly achieve Monster Drummer status. Bill Powelson's Homestudy Institute of Drums at: www.studydrums.com
<a href="http://www.studydrums.com"> www.studydrums.com</a>

spacerx imgblueline img

After you've added the above link to your web site, notify me by e-mail and inform me where you've placed the link. I'll send you your passwords and free access to everything.

These lessons need to be easily accessible to everyone, indefinitely! You can help make that happen with a donation or a link-back. I know in my heart that it's the easiest, fastest and BEST way on earth to learn and develop the art of drumming. You will too, if you study these free lessons.

My e-book, "Finite to Infinity" goes several hundred years into the future of song-beat rhythms and drumming possibilities. It shines a brilliant beacon on what is yet to come (rhythmically), many, many years from now. That info will never become outdated, even if drummers and drum-sets disappear, (only to be replaced by big, green, "Go" button).

Your future begins here . . .
To simply make your donation and become a member QUICKLY, visit this sign-up page.

To learn MORE about everything that is included in the (virtual give-away) donation plan visit this web page.

Bill Powelson 1995 Bills Bio. . . Take dis link only if you wanna meet da teach'.

spacerx img Copyright Bill Powelson 1965-1994-2008-2014 @ all rights reserved. spacerx imgblueline img

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