These books are amazing resources for developing your drumming skills. They work perfectly as a training path with private drum lessons to guide you through them, as well as on their own for self-teaching resources if you prefer that route.
View / purchase the ‘Play Drums Now Series’ on Amazon
For questions about Adam’s drum lessons or the books, use the contact form (on the main page of this site).
This is an education program to help beginner, intermediate, and expert drummers improve their skills. The 3 main tiers of skill accommodate the phases of the drumming path and help students progress rapidly.
You can also use multiple books at once, and float between them to cover a wider variety of grooves, fills, etc.
Drumset Training Books
EXERCISES IN 1.0: (The ‘quick-start’ book for drummers). Basic technique, stick coordination, rhythms, grooves, fills.
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 1.0’ on Amazon
EXERCISES IN 2.1:
stick-speed, metronome practice, rhythms, grooves + coordination, agility, fills, songs (includes a complete ‘Reading Notation’ section)
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 2.1’ on Amazon
EXERCISES IN 2.2: accent basics, speed workouts, hi-hat pressure, rhythms, grooves, fills, songs
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 2.2’ on Amazon
EXERCISES IN 2.3: stick-speed, foot coordination / open hi-hats, rhythms, grooves, fills, songs (includes themes of ‘swung’ and ‘halftime/doubletime’)
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 2.3’ on Amazon
EXERCISES IN 2.4: rudiment training, rhythms, grooves, fills, songs (includes themes of jazz and latin styles)
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 2.4’ on Amazon
EXERCISES IN 3.1: stick-speed, polyrhythms / mixed grids, coordination, agility, rhythms, grooves, fills, songs
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 3.1’ on Amazon
EXERCISES IN 3.2: dynamics (volume control), ostinatoes, alternating hi-hat patterns, rhythms, grooves, ‘set-up’ fills, songs
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 3.2’ on Amazon
EXERCISES IN 3.3: stick-speed, open hi-hats, agility, rhythms, grooves (including latin style and tom-based), fills, songs
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 3.3’ on Amazon
EXERCISES IN 3.4: rudiment training, rhythms, grooves, fills, songs (most exercises have rudiments mixed in)
View / purchase ‘Play Drums Now 3.4’ on Amazon
Adam has several more books available on Amazon as well, and maybe more on the way.
Taking drum lessons can accelerate your progress with these books
Many people find themselves frustrated, unless they’re taking drum lessons from a highly experienced instructor. Why? The drumming path contains a bunch of common pitfalls that can turn would-be drummers into quitters. Usually those who end up leaving the drums behind are bored with their drumming, unmotivated to practice, or simply unaware of how to progress further. Not to worry, these issues are all easy to prevent! All you need is a plan and some knowledge, inspiration to tackle the instrument, and materials to train from.
I feel that an overview of the training path on drums is important for beginning drummers to have, to steer them away from mistakes and discouragement, and especially from quitting.
Knowing your plan can bring you success!
As a drum lesson instructor, I have always felt that it was part of my job description to come up with a good answer this question: What is the most ideal training plan for drum lessons? I felt that way because a plan is possibly the most important part of the path to being a great drummer. It helps you avoid mistakes and setbacks, and gives you an overview of your training and specific goals to shoot for. It organizes your progress.
Start your drumming path with the basics.
If you are just starting out on the drums, here are some basic goals you should begin with.
Goal #1: Learn to play with songs.
This is a great first step, because in order to achieve this goal, you first must first gain all of the most important basic drumming skills anyway. This approach also gives you something rewarding to apply your skills toward, and a realistic taste of what drumming is all about. (The “Play Drums Now” training program is engineered to help drummers reach this goal in the fastest way possible.)
Goal #2: Become a versatile drummer.
Expand your range of comfortable styles and tempos in music, and get experience working on each of the skills in drumming. This step is setting you up for the rest of your practicing career.
Goal #3: Set new goals, to become whatever kind of drummer you want to be.
For example: develop creativity, learn salsa and jazz and metal drumming, jam and/or perform with a funk band, do video recordings for Youtube, teach lessons, get rich, or other reasonable goals. Anything is possible! You can take drumming in whatever direction you want to, and have fun in the process.
Where does the drumming path lead?
There are incredibly various opportunities in the musical world. It can be difficult to directly exchange your drumming talent for a steady income, but it is very possible – and there are also other ways to work in the music industry.
Start playing drums now… take drum lessons to get inspired!
Drumming is one of the best things you can learn to do as a human being. I know of very few things that are remotely as fun as drumming, while also being healthy, challenging, virtuous, and maybe even humanitarian.