Module 1 Lessons
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Lesson 1
Creating your first drum beat
In this lesson, Simon shows you how to play an essential pop/rock drum beat. The 8th note beat is the foundation for so many drum parts,… -
Lesson 2
8th Note Beats. Five more ideas
Now that you have your basic 8th note drum beat in place, we are going to add five different bass drum patterns to give you some… -
Lesson 3
8th Note Beats. More Bass drum variations
After a quick check-in on your progress, Simon gives you another five bass drum patterns to further develop this crucial drum beat. These involve using the… -
Lesson 4
Creating your first drum fills
Now that you are playing a solid and comfortable basic drum beat, it’s time to add some drum fills. Simon explains exactly what a drum fill… -
Lesson 5
8th Note Drum Fills. More ideas
Moving on nicely from the previous lesson, we show you how adding 8th note rests to your drum fills can give you a few more musical… -
Lesson 6
16th Note Beats. An Introduction
Using a fundamental bass and snare drum backbeat, Simon talks you through playing your first 16th note drum beat. These beats are extremely common in music,… -
Lesson 7
16th Note Beats. More Ideas
Now that you are comfortable with a basic 16th note beat, it’s time to add some variations on the bass drum! We’ll ease you into five… -
Lesson 8
16th Note Beats. More Bass Drum Variations
These different bass drum patterns will test your coordination further! We add some eighth note rests to the bass line to keep things exciting and challenging!… -
Lesson 9
16th Note Drum Fills. An Introduction
Now that you have built up your confidence on 16th note drum beats, it’s time to throw in some drum fills! After a quick check-in on… -
Lesson 10
16th Note Drum Fills. More Ideas
So far, we have shown you some basic descending 16th note drum fills, with some 8th notes mixed in for good measure. It’s time to get… -
Lesson 11
1/4 Note Drum Beats. An Introduction
In this lesson, you'll learn why we wait for you to develop your coordination and timekeeping before showing you these important drum beats. They sound solid… -
Lesson 12
8th Note Beats. Adding the left foot.
Now that you are comfortable with three-limb coordination, it’s time to get that left foot working. We call this four-way coordination, and it’s a great part… -
Lesson 13
8th Note Beats. Opening and closing the hi hats
Using the hi-hat foot pedal, Simon will show you how to add hi-hat opening and closing motions to your 8th note hi-hat beats. These are musical,… -
Lesson 14
8th Note Beats. Adding "E" and "A" to the snare drum
We start this lesson with a check-in to make sure you are where you need to be in the curriculum. You will learn to add extra… -
Lesson 15
8th Note Beats. Adding "E" and "A" to the snare drum - More ideas
Now that you have become comfortable adding these extra snare drum beats, we make the bass line more challenging and fun! We'll also introduce you to… -
Lesson 16
16th Note Beats. Adding "E" and "A" to the snare drum
Simon shows you how to add extra 16th note snare beats to your 16th note grooves. A demonstration at different tempos shows you the full potential… -
Lesson 17
8th Note Beats. Adding the "A" to the Bass Drum
Get ready for some fun coordination! Now that you have worked through all of the exercises on eighth-note and sixteenth-note drum beats, it's time to add… -
Lesson 18
Shuffles. An Introduction
The shuffle beat is the final piece of the groove jigsaw for our first module! Such a cool groove and a great feel - but surprisingly… -
Lesson 19
Triplet Drum Fills. An Introduction
Now we add some drum fills to your shuffles and introduce the concept of counting in triplets. These practical fills will be the perfect practice tool… -
Lesson 20
The Dynamic Strokes. An Introduction
If there’s one lesson that we encourage you to spend a lot of time on, it’s this one! This will be a “work in progress” lesson…
Module 1 Music Notation
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Notation 1
Basic Notation. An Introduction
This first music notation lesson is your first step in understanding the language of music. We discuss what each basic note means, how to count music,… -
Notation 2
An Introduction to whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes - including rests
In this first notation video, Simon explains these three important note categories. We’ll also talk about counting, rests, and look at which hand is responsible for… -
Notation 3
An introduction to 8th notes
Now that you are comfortable playing whole, half, and quarter notes with your right hand, we’ll work on some 8th notes and bring in the left… -
Notation 4
An introduction to the 8th note rest
This lesson introduces the 8th note rest. In addition to talking about the “training motion,” we’ll give you various examples of how these rests work and… -
Notation 5
An introduction to 16th notes
Congratulations on getting through the eighth-note lessons. Get ready for some tongue-twisting counting! In lesson 5, you’ll get acquainted with the 16th note grouping. Simon talks… -
Notation 6
More popular 16th note groupings
You’ll discover some interesting musical phrasing when removing just one 16th note from the grouping. These can also form very popular and versatile drum fills. We’ll… -
Notation 7
An introduction to basic dotted notes
OK - so some math is needed here, but we promise to make it as pain-free and straightforward as possible. A dot increases a note value… -
Notation 8
More complex 16th note groupings, and an introduction to the 16th note rest
By now, you should be happy counting basic 16th note groupings. That means you’re ready to dive deeper! In lesson 8, we introduce the 16th note… -
Notation 9
An introduction to basic note ties
It's time to look into the fourth and final rest scenario - the tied note. There are some challenges ahead, but nothing you can't handle if… -
Notation 10
An introduction to 8th note triplets
Congratulations! You have broken the back of a large chunk of music theory. We round off the notation section in module one with an introduction to…