Books, DVDs, or Online?

My 2 cents...There is nothing wrong/negative with any method of learning, so long as the material is well-researched and understood by the person presenting it. I could put an educational drumming video on YouTube, and, unless it was a lesson on what not to emulate, it would be terrible.

Further:
#1. There are classic methods of learning, in books, that really can't be beat IMO.
#2. Support an artist, pick up their material, you'll learn something...or enjoy yourself at the very least.

There are many many good resources on the internet too! Good for all :)
 
I have yet to see anything on-line that comes close to the quality and length of a good book like Syncopation or Stick Control. (Maybe they’re out there, but I’ve not found them.)

And I’ve never seen an on-line video, or collection of videos, that is anywhere close to the better-quality full-length DVD offerings out there.

And a physical book doesn’t need a power supply. When the grid goes down (and it will), my decades-old books will still be perfectly useable.
 
I have yet to see anything on-line that comes close to the quality and length of a good book like Syncopation or Stick Control. (Maybe they’re out there, but I’ve not found them.)

And I’ve never seen an on-line video, or collection of videos, that is anywhere close to the better-quality full-length DVD offerings out there.

Yep. Most of what's available on line is commentary on/complementary of things you learn conventionally from teachers, personal experience, and books. Most of the bad videos-- which is most of the videos, period, including the ones from the big "lessons" sites-- are trying and failing to be substitutes for real, in person private lessons. I haven't conducted any kind of exhaustive research, but the best online sources I've seen are the Firth site, the people in my blogroll, and of course my amazing blog-- but none of them are a replacement for drum lessons and traditional print. Oh, and Jazz Heaven and Hudson are good, too.
 
... but none of them are a replacement for drum lessons and traditional print.

Todd is right. The original question did not even mention one of the most important aspects of learning - a teacher. A youtube video or video subscription service cannot assess your technique, reading, coordination, etc... Also, with so many books on the market, a qualified teacher should be able to direct you to (and take you through) the right books.

Jeff
 
Todd is right. The original question did not even mention one of the most important aspects of learning - a teacher. A youtube video or video subscription service cannot assess your technique, reading, coordination, etc... Also, with so many books on the market, a qualified teacher should be able to direct you to (and take you through) the right books.

Jeff

So true Jeff!
It is the first and last place we should all be looking.
Casper
 
Jared Falk is a controversial person here on DW... As some might remember he really messed up on claiming to be the inventor of the one-handed/freehand roll.

If you forget this episode for a moment - I think his site is ok. I bought their Drum System Online and Drum Fill System packages but haven't subscribed to their new product Drumeo. In the past they had a weekly live lesson for all buyers of one of their packages, with Drumeo they provide lessons almost daily, if not daily (not sure about the weekend but there's definitely lessons Monday through Friday).

I think their packages are ok. Their marketing is, well, 'aggressive' but personally I don't have a problem with that because ultimately it's the product that counts. Both Jared Falk and Dave Atkinson but also any guest teachers (e.g. Mike Michalkow, Lionel Duperron) I've come across on their site/during their lessons are doing a great job. They're certainly not telling people crap, I've picked up a lot of good advice. Their subscription fee for Drumeo is reasonable I think. As for their regular packages - those are offered with huge discounts quite often. On various threads some DW members expressed that they think the Railroad Media/Jared Falk stuff is overpriced, I don't really agree but that's personal. I've stopped using their packages but that's because I bought them when I picked up drumming (2.5 yrs ago) and gradually bought other DVDs/books so with a bit more understanding of techniques/motions/rudiments, a good deal of what they're covering in their lessons/topics (across the DVDs/CDs of those packages) will become somewhat obsolete. But it's a great encyclopedia for anybody getting into it, plus for the first few steps. (Actually I wanted to give those packages a go again, now having a bit more practice than when I started out, to check their benefit if you have some basics down already.)

What many can do without is Railroad Media marketing their stuff as 'secrets' to e.g. bass drum playing. The 'secret' is to learn 3 techniques - because this is what you basically get in that respective package - plus a thousand ways to implement them/a myriad of playing examples. This isn't a bad thing but from a proportional perspective, 1% of that package is discussing the technique while 99% is that mentioned myriad of patterns. If this makes sense for you - go for it, haha. I didn't buy that one because the techniques themselves are known to me (you'll learn heel-toe, slide and flat foot - I think they don't even cover swivel).

- - -

This thread is not about Railroad Media so back on topic - personally I prefer a mixture of all of those aspects, I wouldn't reduce it to an either/or.

Also, I wonder why the original poster hasn't come back to his own thread with some feedback or why he didn't describe his own take on this in his first post. I think overall he started a number of threads but didn't get back there, too. Seems strange to me.
 
Does anyone rate Jared Falk's system out of interest? Don't kno what to think of it!

As a teacher and player, I think there are probably at least a dozen guys of similar or greater abilities and qualifications in every city in North America with a population over about 80,000, so there's that. He's a good businessman, to all appearances. Really great marketing. Wonderful marketing. To me the product looks like pure snake oil, but it's hard for me to judge because the few videos of his I have sat through did not inspire me to view more. I don't think his product can legitimately be called a “system”; it's more “a bunch of videos”, dealing with as many single licks, rudiments, or beats as the business partners could think of.

Teaching music this way, in little isolated bits of information, is a deliberate technique some teachers— unethical ones— use to keep you paying for lessons, without giving you enough information to begin learning on your own. The web site is supposedly a good value, because the per-month cost is cheaper than hiring a professional to teach you for real, but to me, that's something like eating a bag of sugar for dinner because it's cheaper than food.
 
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Todd is right. The original question did not even mention one of the most important aspects of learning - a teacher. A youtube video or video subscription service cannot assess your technique, reading, coordination, etc... Also, with so many books on the market, a qualified teacher should be able to direct you to (and take you through) the right books.

Jeff

So true.

I'll add by saying that video's are nothing more than a one way street to learning. They provide no feedback / assessment on what you are trying to learn. They are unable to cater to your own learning style, etc...

Video's are a wonderful tool. Nothing though to replace a qualified teacher.
 
For a different perspective, substitute the phrase "online lessons" with the phrase "online dating".

-John
 
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