Monday Drum Day: Melody with Todd

At this time next week I should have just finished a materclass with Styx drummer Todd Sucherman in London. There should be about thirty of us spending three hours with Todd and I hope to learn a lot. This will be my first in-person drum kit lesson of any sort. I used to play African drums with a group of others years ago, but this is really a different instrument. Todd has done various lessons on Drumeo, including a course called Rock Drumming Masterclass that covers lots of topics. I thought I ought to do some more of that to be more prepared for what he will be teaching so that I can get the most from it.

In the lesson I just looked at he went over some basics about the course covers and provides a song to play over. He says to keep it simple. The piece is notated with lots of 'ghost' notes and high hat accents. I did not play every note there, but tried to keep the beat. I think I may have been very slightly off it, but that is something to keep working on. I also messed up a little at the end, but that is what happens during practive. This is definitely a practice video rather than a polished performance, but it is useful to track my progress.

I quite enjoyed this tune. I definitely feel that my playing has come along, but there is much more to learn and you can always be better. Todd does say that there are no fixed goals to reach in music. It is an art, not a sport. He also says there are no short-cuts.

The lesson also has some exercises on consistent single and double strokes that I will try.

Rock on!