You’re here and ready to learn your first skills to become a drummer. That’s great. A couple things to keep in mind before diving in. And a heads up about this list.

First. These are in a particular order for a good reason.

1. Stick grip. This is an obvious one. You gotta know how to control these thin pointy things. Grip is a key ingredient. Take your time. It’s going to feel awkward, and that’s okay. Embrace the awkward. It will get better.

2. Rebound for stick control. Same as above. Take your time. Repetition is essential.

3. If you have a set of drums, you can skip this. Or watch it in case you missed anything important.

4. The Fundamental Backbeat. This right here is where things get fun. You will be able to jam along to most songs with this one beat. Seriously. This tutorial has a couple cool drum fills as well. But you won’t need them for the song you will be jamming along with later in the list.

5. Fundamental Rhythms. This is going to be a super fun video to learn from and play along with. It’s not a tutorial, it’s a play-along…. you’ll see.

6. Play along to Green Onions! Your first play along song is an oldie from Booker T. and The M.G.s. A classic! No fills, no frills, soul blues tune written by a 17 year old!

Ready? Let’s gooooo!