The blog
Every guide, review and feature — newest first.
Acoustic DrumsAdvice for DrummersCymbalsDrum HeadsDrum LessonsDrummersDrumsticksElectric DrumsHardwareNewsSearch the site →
The Beginner Course
Lesson 1: Hold the sticks and sit like a drummer
Matched grip, the pivot between thumb and first finger, a seat height that saves your back, and your first strokes on a pad — the free beginner drum course starts here.
The Beginner Course
Lesson 4: Hi-hat variations
Quarter notes for a bigger sound, sixteenths for a busier one, the open hat on the 'and' of four, and moving the pattern to the ride — four ways to change a beat without changing the beat.
The Beginner Course
Lesson 3: Playing to a click
Why 60 BPM is harder than 120, how to lock the snare to the click until the click disappears, and why 'boring' is the signal you are looking for.
The Beginner Course
Lesson 10: How to practise so it sticks
A twenty-minute routine that covers hands, time, something new and a song; the practice log and the streak; and where to go after the tenth lesson — rudiments, classic grooves and a hundred songs.
The Beginner Course
Lesson 8: Rudiments on the kit
The single paradiddle from the practice pad to the drums: as a groove with the hands split between hi-hat and snare, and as a fill around the toms — one sticking, three sounds.
The Beginner Course
Lesson 5: Sixteenth-note kick patterns
Counting '1 e & a', and the kick on the 'a' of two and the 'e' of three that turn a straight beat into one that grooves — three patterns, played, with the count underneath.
The Beginner Course
Lesson 2: The money beat
The beat behind most songs you know — eighths on the hi-hat, kick on one and three, snare on two and four — built one layer at a time, with notation you can hear.
The Beginner Course
Lesson 9: Your first song, When the Levee Breaks
A real song at its real tempo, from the tempo database: When the Levee Breaks at 71 BPM, the most sampled drum beat ever recorded — the beat, the placement, and how to play along.
Head to Head
Best 5A drumsticks | Vic Firth vs Promark vs Vater
The three 5As most drummers actually buy, side by side: dimensions, tip, balance, durability, consistency and price per pair — and which one to put in your bag first.
Head to Head
Ludwig Supraphonic vs Black Beauty | Which Ludwig snare?
Aluminium against brass: the two most recorded snare drums in history, side by side — shell, sound, sensitivity, the price gap, and which one belongs in your first serious snare slot.
Head to Head
Pearl Export vs Tama Imperialstar | Which first kit?
The two kits every beginner cross-shops, side by side: shells, hardware, the cymbals in the box, the pedal, the sound and the resale — with a verdict on every row and a straight answer at the end.
Head to Head
Roland TD-07KV vs Alesis Nitro Max | Is the Roland worth double?
The two electronic kits at the start of the ladder: pads, module, sounds, Bluetooth, what is in the box and what is not, row by row — and whether the Roland earns its price over the Alesis.