“What do I do first?”

Welcome to Colonial Drum Lessons at The Radio Hour!
I have prepared a series of interactive lessons using scorch to teach you the skills needed to be successful at the three levels of drumming. As your view the page below you will find interactive drum lessons where you can view and play along as the music cursor moves across the screen. You can also download and print these lessons for when the computer is not available. You can also view video lessons in quicktime format or download lessons to your video iPod. These lessons include rudiments(sticking patterns), Level exams, and actual performance songs.

Level 1 - Bass Drum
This is the entry level for all colonial drummers. The Bass drum is the foundation of all drumlines. Therefore, it is very important. In the first five lessons you will learn to play with a steady beat, count and play half, quarter, and eighth notes and their rests. If you want to move up the drumline to tenor of snare you must first pass the level 1 test on lesson 5. You can view the test online in quicktime format or download it to your video iPod using in the video lessons links below.

Level 2 - Tenor Drum
This is the intermediate level for colonial drummers. The tenor drum is the middle voice of the colonial drumline. Therefore, it is very important. In the next five lessons you will review eighth notes and their rests and learn to count and play in 2/4 time, count and play sixteenth notes and their rests, and quarter notes and eighth notes and their rests in 6/8 time. If you want to move up the drumline to tenor you must pass the level 2 test on lesson 10. You can view the test online in quicktime format or download it to your video iPod using in the video lessons links below.

Level 3- Snare Drum
This is the advanced level for colonial drummers. The snare drum is the top voice of the colonial drumline. Therefore, it is very important. In the next five lessons you will review eighth and sixteenth notes and their rests, meters in 2/4, 4/4, and 6/8 and learn to combine rhythms and rudiment(sticking patterns) into percussive accompaniment. If you want to move up the drumline to snare you must pass the level 3 test on lesson 15. You can view the test online in quicktime format or download it to your video iPod using in the video lessons links below.

Now continue down the page to the lessons of your choice. Happy Drumming!

Video Drum Lessons

Download and Print the Drum Music (pdf format)

Listen to the Somers MS Fife & Drum Band

• Tenor Drum

• Field Drum

• Snare Drum

• Bass Drum

• Rudiment

• Tenor Drum

• Sticks

• Roll

• Flam

• Batter Head

• Tempo

• Turn

• Pickup

• Snare Head

• Beat

• Meter

• Flam Tap

• Gut

• 5 Stroke Roll

• 9 Stroke Roll

• Notation

• Mallets

• Triplet

• Theme