The Internet has made it possible to learn almost anything online. With that being said, online drum lessons have become more popular than ever. There are so many great platforms that have excellent resources for drummers of all levels.
If you’re looking for the best online drum lessons, you’re in the right place. While there are several good ones, one of them may be the best suited for you. So, let’s have a look at all of them and see what they offer!
Drumeo
Drumeo is arguably the platform where you’ll find the best online drumming lessons. They have thousands of drum lessons that you can unlock once you subscribe to a Drumeo Edge membership.
The platform is the biggest drumming entity in the business with the YouTube channel having around 2 million subscribers. While you can find free and useful content there, the real meat and value come with an Edge Membership.
You get access to the Drumeo Method which is one of the most comprehensive and elaborate drum lesson courses you can find. You also get access to unique courses, live lessons, a play-along library, and the Drumeo Coaches program.
Drumeo Coaches is where 10 professional and popular drummers give weekly live lessons related to their field of expertise in drumming. You can learn about live performances with Matt McGuire or jazz techniques and musicianship with Larnell Lewis.
On top of all of that, there’s a large library of notated songs for you to learn. You can learn some easy ones, or even attempt to learn Dream Theater songs if you’re looking for a challenge.
Mike’s Lessons
Mikeslessons.com is a platform run by the highly accomplished drum educator, Mike Johnston. This is a great place to get drum lessons online that are taught by a guy who is fun and relatable.
The real magic behind the lessons comes from Mike’s personality and his fantastic ability to teach and get you to understand things.
The platform has a paid membership that unlocks all the content. This involves single lessons covering a wide range of topics, as well as courses that will take you from an entry-level point to a point where you’ve mastered that topic.
Mike also does weekly live lessons with all the members on the site and gives them homework to do, helping them grow with accountability. It’s a good site for drummers who want a more personal online drumming lesson experience.
180 Drums
180 Drums is a platform run by multiple drummers that offer high-quality drum lessons. It’s very similar to Drumeo in that it has a library of lessons taught by famous drummers. However, the membership is a bit cheaper every month.
The platform has over 100 lessons, with many of them being lessons that you can’t find anywhere else. New classes are added every week, so you constantly have content to go through.
While there are no courses on the platform, they’ve strategically designed all the lessons so that you can follow them systematically depending on your skill level. So, beginners, intermediate drummers, and professionals will all find value on the site.
Siros Vaziri
Siros Vaziri is a drummer who gained all his popularity from posting quick drum tutorials on Instagram. The unique thing about them is that they have no talking. He took this idea and monetized it with his website membership.
When you subscribe to his site, you get hundreds of quick tutorials that are easy to follow and supplied with drum notation. He does no talking in all of those either. It’s a great platform for drummers who can read sheet music and are looking for new and quick ideas.
The membership has two tiers, and on the higher paid tier you get access to a few elaborate lesson packs where Siros explains concepts like tuning and everything related to drum microphones.
Drum Beats Online
This drum platform is run by Gabe Helguera and it’s one of the best places for rock drummers to find drum lessons online. He’s a rock drummer who has a successful YouTube channel. He also plays for the band, I Prevail.
There’s plenty of content for other types of drummers as well. The unique thing about these online lessons is that you get supplied with a strict roadmap to follow once you sign up. The aim is to progress through it and become a better drummer through the process.
The membership doesn’t have all-year-round access, so you need to sign up for a waiting list and then join once the platform is open. There’s a limited number of spots available as Gabe likes to give all his attention to the members. He wouldn’t be able to do that with too many members.
Orlando Drummer
Adam Tuminaro is the driving force behind this platform. You can sign up for the membership to have access to hundreds of drum lessons. They’re all very meticulous, and there is a wide variety of beginner to advanced lessons.
The unique thing about this platform is that Adam offers lessons for creators. He teaches how to use cameras, lighting, and how to speak to a camera. He also has a few yoga for drummers classes which are quite interesting.
Apart from the lessons, OrlandoDrummer.com also has an extensive drumless loop library. All the loops sound high-quality and they’re intended for drummers to practice along to.
Stephen’s Drum Shed
Stephen Taylor runs this website as a platform for drummers to progress with goals in mind. All the lessons are goal-oriented and they help drummers stick to systems in order to progress. The lessons are all taught by Stephen and he brings his expertise to the table in every drum topic.
The site advertises itself as an online drum school instead of an online drum lessons platform. This means that you get hands-on feedback and personalized lesson plans to help you learn and improve.
The whole goal behind this platform is that you see daily progress in your drumming if you use it correctly. Stephen does a great job of getting the members to achieve that.
Matt Greiner Lessons
This platform is arguably the most personal one out of all the online drum lessons mentioned. Matt Greiner is one of the top metal drummers in the world and plays in the band, August Burns Red.
This website provides tutorials on how to play all the ABR songs. Each song has demo playthroughs from Matt where he plays the tracks at 3 different speeds. You can watch those and then attempt them yourself.
If you sign up for a membership, you can have private 1-on-1 lessons with Matt Greiner at a discounted price. This is where the main value comes as Matt is one of the top drummers in the metal scene, and getting private drum lessons from him is a fantastic opportunity.
Jeff Randall YouTube
If you’re not looking to sign up for any monthly memberships, YouTube is always a good place to look for free online drum lessons. One of the best and most consistent YouTube drum teachers is Jeff Randall.
Jeff is a rock drummer who plays for popular artists like Phillip Phillips. His lessons on YouTube are focused on teaching drummers how to sound good, even when playing simple things. He doesn’t teach elaborate chops or blazing-fast grooves. Instead, he teaches very practical advice on playing in the pocket.
If you’re a drummer in a band and want to work on your sound, Jeff Randall’s YouTube channel is a great place to find some inspiration. He also has a website where you can book private lessons with him that will be taught online.
Sheila E MasterClass
Sheila E is one of the most accomplished female drummers in the world. While she’s more of a performer than a drum teacher, she partnered with MasterClass to create an in-depth course for drummers and percussionists.
The course goes through a wide scope of topics, including basic drum lessons, performing advice, and breakdowns of songs that she’s played with popular artists.
Sheila E has a wonderful personality, and it feels like you’re right there with her when going through all the lessons. The course is 2 hours and 50 minutes in total, giving you a good amount of content to work through.
DrumTraxApp
DrumTraxApp is a platform run by several drummers that mainly perform in the Gospel drumming scene. The main drawcard of the platform is the sheer number of drumless tracks you get supplied with, hence the name.
Apart from that, you get dozens of lesson videos covering topics like chops, rudiments, shedding, and performing.
The best part of the platform is the fact that all the teachers are hilarious. You’re going to have a laugh in every drum lesson you watch, making you feel at ease when attempting to learn difficult things.
If you want to learn how to play complex chops and patterns, this is the platform for you to learn on.
Contents
Dimitri Fantini
Dimitri Fantini is an incredible drum educator who puts a lot of emphasis on teaching drummers how to utilize proper technique.
On his website, he has a few courses that you can sign up for and work through. One of them is called The Technique Blueprint, and it’s a comprehensive course for drummers of all levels to help strengthen your playing technique.
He also has a program called The Drum Hub, which is a live service program that you can sign up for and get personal lessons from Dimitri for about eight weeks. The program always changes as it happens, and you get varying benefits depending on when you sign up.
There are a few other courses available, with Dimitri constantly adding new ones for drummers to check out. He also offers free lessons every now and then.
Dave Weckl Online School
Dave Weckl has been widely recognized as one of the best drummers in the world for years. He’s also one of the best teachers, gaining major popularity with all his educational DVDs that came out in the 90s.
He started up a website several years ago so that he could offer online educational courses. His drum lessons have fantastic production value, and he does a brilliant job of breaking down the finer intricacies of playing the drums.
His website has a membership fee of $30, and you get over 30 hours of lessons to work through.
I’d recommend this membership to experienced drummers, as a lot of the content is geared toward intermediate and advanced players.
Drum Channel
Drum Channel is another big drumming education platform that has been running for years. The site is quite similar to Drumeo in that they bring professional drummers on to do lessons. However, Drum Channel is a bit smaller in what it offers, but it’s more personal.
They have a subscription program called the DC Method where you pay just under $12 a month to get access to over 2000 drum lessons.
Many of these lessons are in the form of a masterclass, which is when a pro drummer focuses on a certain topic to teach.
This is another site that I’d highly recommend to experienced drummers, as you could find plenty of valuable content on here to help you improve.
There are also beginner lessons, but they’re not as coherent as some of the other online lessons we’ve looked at.
Matt Garstka
Matt Garstka is one of the leading drummers in the world at the moment. He plays in Animals as Leaders, and he has a seriously strong amount of control over various drumming techniques.
On his website, you can find a few courses where he breaks down systems he uses to learn different playing styles. He also offers full transcriptions of drum parts that he’s done for Animals as Leaders.
Most of the content in these online drum lessons is aimed at advanced players, as Matt Garstka’s drumming is incredibly advanced, and his lessons are all about helping drummers get to a similar level.
The JP Bouvet Method
JP Bouvet made his name known in the drumming industry when he won the Guitar Center Drum Off about a decade ago. Since then, he’s focused on teaching and creating a solid platform where drummers can go to improve their skills.
The JP Bouvet Method is an educational program run by JP where he posts weekly live lessons and hosts a variety of courses.
You get an excellent sense of personal connection here, as JP ensures that he keeps up relationships with all the students that sign up to the program.
Drum Ambition
Drum Ambition is a platform aimed at beginner drummers. This is an elaborate course that covers all the fundamental aspects of playing the drums.
The goal is to start from the very beginning and then comfortably be able to play drums by the end of the course.
The production quality of the video lessons is exceptional, allowing you to get clear views and sounds of everything being taught.
Final Thoughts
While online drum lessons are never quite as in-depth as face-to-face ones, they’ve come a seriously long way in recent years. If you’re looking to get the best bang for your buck when paying for drum lessons, the best online platform would arguably be Drumeo.
The other online drum lessons listed here are great for drummers who look up to those specific players and teachers and want to learn more from them. They’re better for developing as much of a personal relationship with the teachers as you can online.
Whichever platform you choose, just know that they’re all highly valuable and worth the money you pay for them.
