Is Drumeo.com Right For You?
Being a drummer will definitely run up a rather large bill. Musicians can argue all they want about who has the most financial burden as a musician but I will always nominate the drummer. A small 4 piece drum kit may not cost as much as a high-end guitar but the maintenance will surely win the argument in the long run. So, when looking for the best online drum lessons, the last thing you feel like doing is dropping hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on learning how to play the instrument. However, after running through our drumeo.com review you may want to make that investment.
Learn Drums From Your Favorite Drummers
Drumeo.com has been around for many years and is known for its amazing roster of well-known, professional drum instructors. They have refined their mission statements over the course of the years to better adapt to the “nouveau” drummer as well as the old school percussionist. Their current online drum lessons are offered under the “Drumeo Edge” banner, with focus on organized, detailed and easy-to-follow lessons.
While writing this Drumeo review, we were impressed by their website, especially the number of freebies they offered. They had us at “learn from your favorite drummers”. It was barely 15 years ago that having close-up access to you your favorite drummer was a daydream. Now, not only can you get an up-close look, you can even have a conversation with them during your weekly live lessons.
Free The Beat!
While writing this Drumeo review, we were hoping for some free content and we definitely got some. Let’s start with the free trial drum lessons. They throw you the classic “how-to” videos like short clips of all the major rudiments, how to hold a stick, bass drum and snare drum technique, common knowledge on tuning a drumhead and so on. I strongly suggest running through a few of those videos so you can get to know the main instructors of the site like Jared Falk and Dave Atkinson. It helps to get to know these guys so that you can build trust in them and their teaching methods. You can browse their free content to get a feel. There is a ton of free knowledge in their articles that will help you get that jump start too.
Check this free Drumeo video content from their YouTube channel, demonstrating the single stroke roll:
Free Drum Lesson Videos
Once you’re done with the free stuff and still want to go further but aren’t fully ready to lay down your payment information, subscribe to their podcast and youtube channel. Another free way to learn from the conversations they have with the most experienced, world-renown drummers out there from Matt Gartska and Peter Erskine, to Anika Niles and Michael Jackson’s drummer, Jonathan Moffett. In my opinion, their perspective on the instrument over the years is worth more than the drum lesson themselves. If you are at an intermediate or expert level, this will definitely interest you. It may be a little intimidating if you’re still starting out however, if you have the drive to learn, not even Tony Royster Jr will scare you.
Speaking of, here’s a clip of a Tony Royster Jr’s drum solo during a Drumeo session:
Drumeo Step-By-Step Book
If you made it this far in our Drumeo review and are willing to invest in yourself, there’s no better start than with the Drumeo step by step book. It’s more of a hands-on, bring it everywhere (even to the bathroom) kinda book. It’s great for beginners and intermediate drummers wanting to learn something new or brush up on techniques you already know. As you anxiously wait for your book to come (also available on Amazon), hit the menu button at the top and select your level and be amazed at the number of options at are included for 197$ a year. Learning from famous drummers to learning some of your favorite songs. I must say, it is a little overwhelming. When I started playing drums, I barely had options of teachers, let alone, options to learn from my favorite drummers.
Drumeo P4 Practice Pad
So many advantages pracitcing on Drumeo’s P4 practice pad. This multi-surface pad eliminates the restriction to a single surface type. Finally a practice pad that can simulate a high-tom, snare, floor tom and cymbal on 4 different surfaces. Great for pre-show warm ups and practice routines.
Ready For Drumeo Edge?
This is dependant on which learning style suits you best. Are you disciplined? Do you learn well on your own? Can you point out your own mistakes? Will you be able to focus? Are you easily discouraged? What are your expectations? This is similar to joining a gym for the first time without a plan. Unless you are able to focus, you may have a different outcome. With the right trainer, you may be able to shed those 10 pounds in less time than had you go on your own. Learning drums works the same way. Depending on your answers to my questions above, you may learn more efficiently with a face to face teacher.
Drumeo Edge – One-Month Access Pass
Drumeo Edge – One-Year Access Pass
Drumeo Edge | Loads Of Quality Content
Drumeo’s tech is pretty great. The site is 100% mobile responsive so considering that most drummers will take their online drum lessons on a tablet on smartphone, this is a huge plus.
Drumeo takes greta care in their video production, delivering multiple camera angles so that you can see every drum technique clearly. This is a great advantage because it leaves no questions about the mechanics of the technique. Even small details like where on the cymbal the teacher is striking are crystal clear.
Additionally, Drumeo allows you to build your own course list. You can mark courses as complete as you go along, organizing and managing your progress. Your lesson progress gets automatically tracked so you know where you left off if you need to cut your lesson short and come back to it later.
One-On-One Drum Lessons
Luckily, with today’s technology, Drumeo has that option too. Though it comes with a heavier price tag, it will be worth it once you start hearing the results. The price ranges from $1200 to $1500 a year, depending on the options you choose. Let me compare apples with apples when it comes to one-on-one teaching.
If you choose to go to your local music store for lessons, you will be paying about 30-40$ an hour. This depends on the level of expertise of the teacher. If you go once a week for a full year, that’s $2080 for that year. We can discuss the advantages and disadvantages in my next post. Ultimately, you will be saving over 500$ in the long run. More importantly, you are learning from reputable drummers. I don’t want to knock your local drum teacher but would you rather learn from General Drummer Teacher X or Matt Gartska for ¾ of the price? Crazy right?
The Drumeo Edge Community
The Drumeo Edge community is huge as is and growing. You can use the community for many things, among them is asking questions. You will receive great insight from the community itself and by Drumeo’s drum teachers as well.
Another cool aspect to the community is the Student Focus section. Here, you can upload of a video of you playing drums and the drum teachers at Drumeo will disect your playing. They’ll get back to you with tips, tricks and advice to imporove your playing.
The Drumeo Edge forums are a great place to exchange ideas and share your drum learning story with others. Talk drum gear and even get feedback about your playing frm other avid drummers. What’s really nice about the forum is that it’s a troll-free zone, unlike other music community forums that are a little bit of a circus.
Since these forums are only accessible through a pid membership, you will sure to find relevant, solid advice and answers to your questions.
Drumeo Review | The Verdict
If your serious about building your drum skill level, start building a budget and see what you’re able to afford. Drumeo.com may be the best way to go. Even if you decide against a subscription to drumeo.com, be sure to follow them on youtube and their podcasts. You will always learn something new and can only benefit from their free video lessons.
Is singing is more your thing? Check out our full review on Ken Tamplin’s Vocal Academy!
We hope you enjoyed our Drumeo review! If you’ve learned from Drumeo’s free content or have decided to get serious with their online, paid drum lesson, leave us a comment below and let us know what you think and how your progress is doing!