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The Beginner Course
Lesson 1: Hold the sticks and sit like a drummer
Matched grip and the pivot, a seat height that saves your back, and your first strokes on a practice 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 the ride — four ways to change a beat without changing it.
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 for hands, time, something new and a song; the practice log and streak; and where to go after lesson ten: rudiments, grooves, songs.
The Beginner Course
Lesson 8: Rudiments on the kit
The single paradiddle from the pad to the drums: as a groove 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, counted.
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 a 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: 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 5A drumsticks most drummers buy, side by side: dimensions, tip, balance, durability, consistency and price per pair — and which to buy first.
Head to Head
Ludwig Supraphonic vs Black Beauty | Which Ludwig snare?
Ludwig Supraphonic vs Black Beauty: aluminium against brass, the two most recorded snares in history — shell, sound, sensitivity, price, and which to buy.
Head to Head
Pearl Export vs Tama Imperialstar | Which first kit?
Pearl Export vs Tama Imperialstar, the two kits every beginner cross-shops: shells, hardware, cymbals, pedal, sound and resale — with a verdict on every row.
Head to Head
Roland TD-07KV vs Alesis Nitro Max | Is the Roland worth double?
Roland TD-07KV vs Alesis Nitro Max, row by row: pads, module, sounds, Bluetooth and what is in the box — and whether the Roland earns its price over the Alesis.