Virtual Drum Lessons: the Trap of Online Drum Instructional Videos

The Information Age has granted us immediate access to essentially all human knowledge at any given time. It’s possible to find information on practically any subject imaginable, as well as an endless supply of tutorial and instructional videos. But one of the biggest challenges of having access to so much information is the caveat that ANYBODY can claim to be an expert on a given topic, even if they don’t have any idea what they’re actually talking about.

While the prospect of learning to play the drums for free with the help of YouTube drum lesson videos seems alluring, they really shouldn’t be the foundation of a music education.

Before I dive into the numerous reasons YouTube instruction shouldn’t be your primary source of information, I should clarify that I produce YouTube instructional videos. Of course, for obvious reasons, I’m not going to come out and say “You shouldn’t try to learn from YouTube.” I spent countless hours scouring the web for mind-blowing performances to use as sources of inspiration, and continue to do so. A large part of my own drumming vocabulary comes from my attempts to reverse engineer grooves and licks played by my favorite drummers. The ability to slow down and scrub through videos is incredibly valuable for the purposes of examining technique and learning specific stickings and combinations. But I’ve also stumbled across numerous instructional videos that dole out truly bad advice.

Taking drum lessons from a qualified expert offers three main advantages: ensuring you play with good technique, working with a customized learning plan, and developing solid practice habits.

1) Technique

The most important reason to study under the eye of an actual professional is to develop good technique, which prevents injuries from occurring. If you’re an absolute beginner, it’s extremely important to have someone help you develop healthy techniques from the get-go. This is precisely where instructional videos fall short. Videos can’t tell you if you’re doing something wrong. Even if you think you’re holding the sticks and striking properly based on a couple videos you watched, you’re very likely to unknowingly develop some bad habits. I don’t think I ever had a student that began by self-teaching come into their first lesson with excellent technique.

There’s no substitute for somebody helping you adjust your technique in real time. There are so many factors to consider: how tight is your grip, are all of your fingers touching the stick, are you holding the sticks too far forward or back, are you lifting the sticks to the same height, are you throwing the sticks or driving them into the drum, and on and on. But your first drum lesson will ensure you hold and use the sticks in a way that makes playing easier and safer.

2) Progression Path

Beyond technique, a skilled teacher will be able to provide a custom learning plan to help you achieve your specific goals faster and more efficiently. If a beginner (or even intermediate) player is left to their own devices to progress, it could be incredibly difficult to determine the next step forward amid the tremendous amount of information available. It’s very easy to find yourself hitting a wall because you’re attempting to work through something that simply requires more developed skills than you currently have.

By having a curated roadmap, it’s much easier to track your progress and plan out next steps. No two drummers are exactly alike. Your individual tastes and goals will determine the path forward. You may come across certain videos or resources that attempt to outline a general progression for skill development, but none of them will account for your specific learning styles and goals. Customized drum lessons target your drumming weaknesses while still conforming to the ways you best learn.

3) Practice Habits

In addition to providing a progress plan, a private instructor will help you develop good practice habits. Looking back, perhaps the most valuable takeaway I got from years of private lessons was learning how to practice. That includes developing a practice routine, as well as techniques for working through challenges, memorization, and ear training. Learning an instrument is about more than just physically playing. It also requires learning about more generalized music concepts, and learning how to listen to music with a more critical ear.

By this point, it probably seems like I completely loathe YouTube instructional videos and think they have little to no value (despite producing them myself). That’s not really the case, though. While they shouldn’t be the primary basis for learning an instrument, they are an incredible supplement to private instruction.

Supporting Private Instruction

Like I mentioned previously, I spent many, many hours over the years soaking in grooves and patterns from videos of my favorite drummers, but it was always in addition to private instruction. The plethora of material available for viewing and listening is useless if you don’t have the necessary skills to understand, analyze, and interpret it. My teachers equipped me with the music theory knowledge to help me understand what I was listening to, and learning techniques to help me practice new things most efficiently. And, of course, they made sure I had good stick technique to achieve the best sounds from the drums without potentially causing a repetitive strain injury.

While the pandemic has forced us to adapt to remote lessons for the time being, virtual meetings still offer practically all of the same benefits as in-person instruction. A good teacher helps make learning an instrument easier, faster, and more engaging, even at a distance.

Interested in getting started on your personalized drumming path? Schedule a trial lesson to get closer to your goals!