Tommyu Igoe brings 25 years of teaching and playing experience to create the first DVD for beginner drummers! Includes: Setting up your drums, Start playing, and various special features including 3 great songs with play-along versions.

Perfect for beginners of any age.

140-minute DVD.

Average Customer Review: ( 63 customer reviews )
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As far as playing.. Ive checked hundred of web sites, downloaded lessons, and purchased 4 other DVD's to learn.. This is the best BY FAR. Several good fills, grooves to jam to.. its great. I never write reviews on stuff I get from amazon.. but had to give praise.. Buy many, you can't learn to much, but if you are just getting 1, get this one.. if you're buying many.. this is a must have.

Great DVD.

79 of 80 found the following review helpful:

This should ship with every drum kitDec 01, 2004
By Victoria Tarrani "writer, editor, artist, designer"
Depending on the drum brand you may or may not receive instructions on how to set up the kit, much less how to get started. To an aspiring new drummer this DVD will not only lead you through how to set up the kit in an optimum configuration - it will also take you through the basics of selecting sticks, strike zones on your drums, and how to adjust and use each piece of a standard kit.

I like the format, which is divided into Setting Up and Start Playing. The Setting Up part is full of information and tips. My husband has been playing for over 40 years and he learned a few things from this section (incredible as that may seem).

Start Playing provides a little fun and a lot of encouragement. After tips on selecting and holding sticks, and a quick overview of drums and pedals, you get three grooves that even a new drummer can quickly master - building confidence - and some excellent instruction on fills and rolls. A nice feature is the three play-along pieces, which adds even more fun to this DVD.

Igoe is a masterful instructor and accomplished drummer. You feel as though he's in the room with you throughout this DVD, and the wealth of knowledge - presented in easy to grasp bits - that he imparts is amazing. I also recommend getting Igoe's "Groove Essentials" (ASIN B00064YTKM) for anyone who has progressed into intermediate or better playing. It will take you to the next step.

38 of 39 found the following review helpful:

Great!Nov 09, 2004
By Brian Barao
Very well done. This DVD teaches you everything from setting up your set to basic grooves that the pro's use. He also has some of his students come in and play but it's not what you think. I thought it would be some little 10 year old playing and sounding better than me. It's not, they make mistakes too. He goes over grip and how to hit the drum very well and to top it off you can download play along songs that they use in the video on the web site.

24 of 24 found the following review helpful:

Best drum intro video out thereJul 05, 2004
By jw "jw"
A perfect DVD for someone new to drums. Tommy first walks you through each piece of equipment, shows you how to arrange your drums, hold your sticks, and not make mistakes from the beginning.

But the best part is the 2nd half of the video where you get to learn to play. He teaches the basic rock groove, and then some variations - and throws in some fills to make it fun.

As a total beginner to the instrument, I was very surprised to see how quickly I could play along to basic songs after just watching the video.

Highly recommended.

17 of 17 found the following review helpful:

Start here--Oct 02, 2009
By Craig Chalquist, PhD, author of TERRAPSYCHOLOGY and DEEP CALIFORNIA
This DVD takes you all the way from pulling drums out of the box to putting them together to holding the sticks to playing simple beats and grooves. The instruction is clear and includes some of Tommy Igoe's students, ending with some playing of his own. Perfect for the beginner with little or no drumming experience. Highly recommended.

BTW, a few extra tips for beginners:

1. Resist the urge to buy tons of drums and cymbals. You'll quickly feel overwhelmed. Start simple and add pieces as you get better.

2. Learn everything with both matched and traditional grips on the sticks.

3. Find a drumming instructor who is interested (my first one seemed bored), encouraging, and challenging (makes you count out loud when you don't feel like it, makes you play music you don't like, pushes you when you need it).

4. If you have trouble playing something, SLOW DOWN. There's an almost irresistible urge to play too fast when you start. Resist it.

5. Face the fact that learning drumming requires a lot of repetition, especially when you start practicing the 40 rudiments. Use this repetitive work as a contemplative practice, a kind of drumming meditation. That's what the shamans did in traditional cultures.

6. A long practice session that feels crappy or difficult does more for you than a short one that goes smoothly. Let your brain and body learn in their own time.

7. Have fun! As the film says, drumming is not a race, nor is it a competition or something you "should" do. Let it be a source of satisfaction. Use it creatively.

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