Category: Drum Education


  • Drummer Seba Stephens Is 10 Years Old…

    And apparently pretty amazing. He just earned a professional certificate from Berklee college of music (you know, that little place that graduated drummers Cindy Blackman, Gary Burton, Will Calhoun, Tommy Campbell, Terri Lyne Carrington, Vinnie Colaiuta, Joey Kramer, Mike Portnoy, John “J.R.” Robinson, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Steve Smith, and Antonio Sanchez). He’s the youngest person ever to get the certificate.

    Why do we care? Well, we weren’t around to post when the incredible Tony Royster Jr. first came on the scene in 1997, so we don’t want to miss the chance to jump on the Seba bandwagon now. If he’s super famous in another 10 years, maybe he’ll send us a free signature snare.

    And for those of you who also missed prepubescent Tony Royster Jr., prepare for humiliation:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8UG22AiHyA


  • ICMP Launches 2009 Drum Scholarships

    [Press Release]

    London’s Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) is delighted to announce, in partnership with Mapex, Paiste, and Drummer magazine, the launch of its 2009 drum scholarship program.

    The lucky winner will receive a free place, worth £5,250 [around $10,500], on the Institute’s renowned Higher Diploma course starting in October 2009, while the runner-up will receive a £2,600 [$5,200] award for study on the same program. In addition to this fabulous prize, the winner will also be a contributor to Drummer magazine, the UK’s loudest drum magazine, for a year! Applications are invited from students both from the UK and internationally.

    The Higher Diploma is a specialist one-year full-time course, developed by the Institute to train and develop students of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals for a career in the music industry. It was the first full-time course of its kind ever developed in the UK and achieving a place on the course continues to be an aspirational goal for young musicians. Institute alumni can be found throughout today’s music industry, working with artists of the caliber of Babyshambles, Lemar, Radiohead, Eric Clapton, Keane, and KT Tunstall.

    This drum scholarship is part of the annual program of Institute scholarship awards and represents a fantastic opportunity for deserving students to access world class training and tuition at one of the world’s leading schools of contemporary music. Closing date for entries is Friday, March 6, 2009, and there is always great demand, so any interested drummers should apply now by downloading the application form at www.icmp.co.uk. Remember, if you don’t apply, you definitely can’t win!


  • New Jason Bittner DVD

    Aw yeah, Hudson Music is about to unleash a new Jason Bittner DVD, What Drives the Beat. It’ll clock in at three hours and feature Bittner demonstrating enough concepts to fill a six-hour DVD:

    • The basic beats and fills of metal drumming
    • Applying rudiments
    • Hand and foot technique
    • Developing both feet evenly
    • Two-handed ride patterns
    • How to “metalfy” jazz, funk, shuffles, slow blues, and world beats
    • Soloing

    Check the vid below for a sneak peek.