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Ultimate Beginner Series: Drum Basics (DVD) Review

Star Ratings: Teaching Effectiveness: Styles Covered: Features: Ease of Use: Formats of Supplied Materials: Customer Support: Value for Money: Editor's Overall Rating:

Cost

• $19.99.  (Currently reduced to $17.99 on Amazon.com.  Includes free shipping on total orders of over $25.)
• $13.45 on www.cduniverse.com.

• Also available is the Ultimate Beginner Mega Pak: Drum Basics Mega Pak, incorporating the DVD and additional book and CD.  $24.95 from www.alfred.com or $21.33 from Amazon.com.

Features:

• 65 minutes of high quality video on one DVD.

• Takes a steady step-by-step approach.

• Covers a broad variety of basic topics, including:
• • Basic rhythm and music theory.
  • Sitting position and posture.
  • Warm-up exercises.
  • Basic stick technique and grip.
  • Using the foot pedal.
  • Playing rock beats and rock variations.
  • Playing blues beats.
  • Playing fills.
  • The role of the drummer in a band.
  • Song structure.

• Presented by Sandy Gennaro, accomplished session musician and writer of tuition material.

• Mega Pak (additional purchase - see above) contains:
• • A 40 page book of patterns, exercises and lessons.
  • A practice CD, so you can hear examples, and play-along.

Editor's Verdict:

Ultimate Beginner Series: Drum Basics doesn't do anything extraordinary or particularly unique, but what it does it does well.  At a total of sixty-five minutes, it is considerably shorter than many drum tuition DVDs on the market.  However, it manages to cover a good range of material.  If you have no previous drumming experience whatsoever, and are even a complete musical novice, this program will get you playing.  Most of the vital information you need to start playing is here: sitting position at the drum kit, the theory of note values, and how to hold your sticks.  Admittedly, there are some details missing.  Some tuition packages take you every step of the way, and that includes advising you on what sort of equipment to buy.  Ultimate Beginner Series: Drum Basics isn't that comprehensive.  However, it does give you some useful information that other DVDs don't touch upon, such as exploring the role of the drummer in a band and looking at typical song structures.  These will be particularly useful if you are just looking to pick up enough skills to jam with your friends.

The production quality of the DVD is better than many of its competitors, and it is presented with enthusiasm and skill.  Also putting it above much of the competition is the simple and step-by-step approach.  Some tuition DVDs can veer randomly from one topic to another, but Ultimate Beginner Series: Drum Basics logically progresses from the simplest technique to slightly more complicated ideas.

As has been made clear above, there is the choice of purchasing the 'Mega Pak' with this product.  Given the small increase in the cost for this option, it is probably worth doing.  This allows you to see written examples of patterns and exercises, which is great for weaning you off the DVD and getting you to start reading drum notation.  The CD also gives you greater flexibility, meaning you don't have to sit in front of the television or computer for your practice sessions.  The book is simply set out, making it easy to find what you are looking for, and the CD and book are cross-referenced, so it is simple to hear what you are reading and vice versa.

This series of tuition packages contains a vast number of products, for drums and other instruments.  Also available for drums are a DVD specializing in Blues drumming, a DVD specializing in Rock drumming and various companion books and CDs.  (For a full list of products in the series, go to the publishers at www.alfred.com and search for 'Ultimate Beginner Series').  However, Ultimate Beginner Series: Drum Basics will give you a broad introduction from where you can explore more specialized material.  The series has been established for some time and there are several editions of all these products.  Therefore, be careful when you order that you are getting exactly what you are after, as it is still possible to purchase the VHS versions, rather than the more recent DVD package.

If you are looking for a brief and affordable introduction to drumming, and don't mind doing the work yourself after this initial tuition program, Ultimate Beginner Series: Drum Basics is a worthy product.

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Review of Ultimate Beginner Series: Drum Basics (DVD)