Free Drum Lessons

Drum videos. Everywhere. Pro ones. DIY ones. Where do you start? How do you
compare info from one to the next? How do you know the content is good?

If you’re on the hunt for free drum lessons, congrats: you’ve come to the right place. If you scroll down, you’ll find dozens of drum videos for beginner and experienced drummers, created by industry pros and organized by category.

Whether you want to learn your favorite tunes, find out how to play different drum fills and rudiments or improve your technique, make sure you bookmark this page!

(P.S. If you’re a new drummer, you should also check out this complete guide for beginners - it includes photos, videos, gear basics, and diagrams, too.)


Free Drum Fill Lessons

Drum fills (or ‘fill-ins’) are used to transition from one section in a song to another. Are you bored of playing the same ones over and over again, want to take your fills to the next level, or have never played a fill before? Check out all the great ideas here:


Jost Nickel
A Fun & Easy Way
To Approach Drum Fills

Dave Atkinson
7 Rock Drum Fills For Beginners

Heather Thomas
7 Steps To Better Drum Fills

Jared Falk
3 Easy Fills That Sound Hard

Harry Miree
Backbeat Fills for Drummers

Brandon Khoo
Drum Fills That Sound Musical

Stephen Taylor
Quintuplet Drum Fill

Luke Holland
Luke Holland’s Favorite Drum Beats & Fills

Stephen Taylor
10 Drum Fills Every Drummer Should Know

Jimmy Rainsford
One Tip That Will Change The Way You Play Drum Fills

Jimmy Rainsford
How To Learn Drum Fills By Ear

Brandon Toews
How To Incorporate Your Feet Into Your Drum Fills

Jared Falk
One Bar Drum Fills – Play Along

Jared Falk
Two Non-Boring Drum Fills

Jared Falk
Try This Easy Crossover Drum Fill!

Jared Falk
Beginner Lessons: Rock Drum Fills

Dave Atkinson
Single Stroke Seven Drum Fills

Mike Michalkow
Eighth Note Triplet Drum Fills

Jared Falk
I Love This Drum Fill

Jared Falk
9 Note Linear Drum Fill

Jared Falk
Make Your Drum Fills Go Boom!

Larnell Lewis
How To Build Epic, Kick-Driven Fills

Stephane Chamberland
How To Build Tastier Drum Fills


Free Bass Drum Lessons

The bass drum is the anchor of most beats and fills on the drum set, and getting your bass drum foot (or feet) up to snuff can be a challenge. Are your lower limbs not doing what you want them to do? Do they have a mind of their own? Do you want to play faster? Here are some practical lessons to improve your single and double bass technique:


Stan Bicknell
How To Play A Single Pedal Quad

Stan Bicknell
How To Build A Better, Stronger, & Faster Single Kick

Jared Falk
5-Minute Single Pedal Bass Drum Workout

Senri Kawaguchi
How To Play With More Power On The Drums (Feet Edition)

Gavin Harrison
Gavin Harrison’s Bass Drum Exercise

Siemi Di
Creative Exploration With The Left Foot

Jared Falk
Fastest Way To Get Faster #7: The Main Foot Killer

Russ Miller
Triple Your Foot Speed In One Day

Rashid Williams
How To Play Triples On A Single Pedal

Eric Moore
One Simple Exercise To Better Your Single Pedal Speed

Siemi Di
Left Foot Challenges For Beginner Drummers

Siemi Di
Left Foot Challenges For Intermediate Drummers

Brandon Toews
How To Incorporate Your Feet Into Your Drum Fills

Aaron Edgar
Easy Double Bass Grooves That Sound Hard

Ash Pearson
How To Develop Control & Dexterity On Double Bass

Dom Famularo
How To Play Fast Double Bass Patterns

Ash Pearson
The Double Bass Drum Pyramid

Gavin Harrison
Gavin Harrison’s
Double Bass Herta Groove

Gene Hoglan
Gene Hoglan’s Double Slap Technique

Derek Roddy
One Exercise To Develop Foot Speed

Sean Lang
Double Bass Foot Assignment

Derek Roddy
Derek Roddy’s Double Bass Technique


How To Improve Your Drum Technique

Bad technique can negatively affect your sound, and in the worst case scenario, cause injury. If you’re feeling rigid on the drums or your hands just don’t want to do what you tell them, it might help to get a close-up view and specific instructions and exercises that work for pro drummers around the world. Play more relaxed, get tighter, play faster, and sound better and smoother on the drums:


Heather Thomas
Improve Your Weaker Hand In 30 Minutes

Russ Miller
Triple Your Hand Speed In One Day

Bruce Becker
How To Fix Your Bad Drum Technique

Jared Falk
Your Biggest Drum Technique Questions Answered

Bruce Becker
One Simple Exercise To Improve Your Fluidity On The Drums

Bruce Becker
The Most Important Drum Technique

Bruce Becker
5 Truths About Hand Technique

Taylor Gordon
Developing Your Own Pocket

Bruce Becker
The Truth About Hand Technique

Keith Carlock
How To Play Silky Smooth Doubles

Scott Pellegrom
Improve Fluidity Around
The Drum Set

Rashid Williams
How To Be A Tighter Drummer

Randy Cooke
How To Make Your Drum Grooves Sound Better

Aaron Edgar
10 Drum Beats To Break You Out Of Your Beginner’s Rut

Derek Roddy
Derek Roddy’s Blast Beat Technique (Slo-Mo)

Gene Hoglan
How To Deal With Blisters As A Drummer


Drum Rudiments Free Lessons

Rudiments are sticking patterns that give drummers a foundation for beats, rolls, fills, and more. Most players start learning rudiments on a snare drum or practice pad before applying them to a drum set. The most common ones are single stroke rolls, double stroke rolls, and single paradiddles, but many drummers also use flams, drags, and other techniques in their daily playing. Here are the 40 standard rudiments, starting with a few of the most important (you can also find them organized by rudiment type on this page):

Single Stroke Roll

Double Stroke Roll

Single Paradiddle

Double Paradiddle

Single Paradiddle-Diddle

Five Stroke Roll

Six Stroke Roll

Seven Stroke Roll

Flam

Flam Tap

Drag Ruff

Single Stroke Four

Single Stroke Seven

Multiple Bounce Roll

Triple Stroke Roll

Nine Stroke Roll

Ten Stroke Roll

Eleven Stroke Roll

Thirteen Stroke Roll

Fifteen Stroke Roll

Seventeen Stroke Roll

Triple Paradiddle

Flam Accent

Flamacue

Flam Paradiddle

Pataflafla

Single Flammed Mill

Flam Paradiddle-Diddle

Swiss Army Triplet

Inverted Flam Tap

Flam Drag

Single Drag Tap

Double Drag Tap

Lesson 25

Single Dragadiddle

Dragadiddle 1

Dragadiddle 2

Single Ratamacue

Double Ratamacue

Triple Ratamacue

Juan Mendoza
11 Ways To Make Rudiments Fun

Juan Mendoza
5 Hybrid Rudiments That Every Drummer Should Know

Dorothea Taylor
Why Paradiddles Are So Important

Jared Falk
The Paradiddle-Diddle Turnaround Pyramid


How To Warm Up On The Drums

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been playing drums - warming up is always important. If you’re about to start an intense practice session or a gig, here are some exercises to get the blood flowing and help you avoid injury:


Jared Falk
4 Drum Warm-ups For Beginners

Pat Petrillo
The Best Practice Pad Warm Up

Todd Sucherman
The Rock Star Drum Warm-Up

Anika Nilles
Anika Nilles’ Top Two Drum Warm-Ups

Ash Pearson
How To Warm Up Before A Gig

Jared Falk
5-Minute Drum Set Warm-Ups

Jared Falk
Fastest Way To Get Faster #3: The Forearm Crusher

Jared Falk
Learn How To Shred With This Simple Warm-Up


Learn To Play Your Favorite Songs

Sure - we all want to be better drummers. But playing songs is a big part of what makes the instrument so much fun. In these videos, you’ll learn how to play some of your favorite tracks, like “When The Levee Breaks”, “Superstition”, “Hot For Teacher”, “Smooth Criminal” and more:


David Garibaldi
The Oakland Stroke

Murray Creed
How To Play The “Come Together” Beatles Groove

Randy Cooke
How To Play “When The Levee Breaks”

Stanley Randolph
How To Play “Superstition” On The Drums

Aaron Edgar
How To Play The Famous Fill In “Walk” By Pantera

Aaron Edgar
Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” Drum Intro

Mike Michalkow
How To Play The Tom Sawyer Drum Beat

Mike Michalkow
Toto’s “Africa” Drum Fill

Jared Falk
The Most Famous Drum Beat In The World

Harvey Mason
Harvey Mason performs “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock

Jonathan Moffett
Michael Jackson’s Drummer (Jonathan Moffett) Performs “Thriller”

Jonathan Moffett
Michael Jackson’s Drummer Performs “Smooth Criminal”

Jonathan Moffett
Michael Jackson’s Drummer Performs “Beat It”

Aaron Edgar
How To Play The Bridge In “First Date” By Blink 182

Aaron Edgar
How To Play “Jambi” By Tool

Jared Falk
How To Play 17 Iconic Drum Fills

Brian Tichy
5 Must-Know John Bonham Drum Licks

Mike Michalkow
How To Play Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” On The Drums


How To Do Stick Tricks

“How did they do that?” Today’s the day you stop wondering about the secret to showmanship and start learning how to add flare to your own performance. Watch these videos from master performers like Glen Sobel, Chip Ritter, Gerry Brown and Marco Minnemann:


Marco Minnemann
6 Crazy Stick Tricks

Jimmy Rainsford
The One Stick Trick That Will Impress Your Friends

Gerry Brown
Showmanship While Grooving

Chip Ritter
How To Juggle Your Drumsticks

Chip Ritter
The Oldest Stick Trick In The Book

Chip Ritter
Stick Tricks To Impress Your Friends

Glen Sobel
How To Twirl Your Drumsticks


Free Rock Drumming Lessons

Focusing on any genre means learning the elements that make it unique. Rock drumming is based on specific concepts, beats and fills, many of which developed over time or were made popular by the greats (check out this guide if you want to know more). If you want to be a solid rock drummer, these videos cover everything from basic beats to lessons that both newbies and experienced players can learn from:


Dave Atkinson
Rock Drumming 101

Randy Cooke
Everything You Need To Be A Rock Drummer

Jared Falk
Rock Drum Beats #1

Jared Falk
Rock Drum Beats #2

Jared Falk
Rock Drum Beats #3

Jared Falk
Rock Drum Beats #4

Carmine Appice
Realistic Rock Linear Drum Beats

Todd Sucherman
Sounds & Choices – More Methods & Mechanics

Brian Tichy
Brian Tichy:
Effective Triplets for Rock Drumming

Glen Sobel
The Secret To The Perfect Arena Rock Snare Sound


Free Jazz Drumming Lessons

Jazz is a unique genre because not only are there certain concepts, licks and techniques that make something ‘jazz’, but because there’s more of an emphasis on improvisation and freeform playing than other styles (check out this guide if you want to know more). Here are a few videos to help you build a foundation and learn how to solo and improvise, plus some cool licks you can borrow:


Mike Michalkow
Your First Jazz Drum Lesson

Steve Lyman
The Jazz Drum Soloing Formula

Mark Guiliana
Exploring Your Creativity On The Drumset

Dave Atkinson
Dave King: Improving Your
Improv On The Drums

Steve Lyman
Steal These 5 Iconic Jazz Licks

Steve Lyman
5 Jazz Licks You Should Learn


Free Full Lessons From Your Favorite Drummers

We like to emulate our heroes, right? Many of Drumeo’s lessons are taught by your favorite drummers, including Larnell Lewis, Gavin Harrison, David Garibaldi, Luke Holland, Anika Nilles, Tony Royster Jr. and Dennis Chambers. Here’s a whole slew of full lessons from the pros (don’t forget to take notes):


Luke Holland
Luke Holland’s Favorite Drum Beats & Fills

Harvey Mason
Harvey Mason: Becoming A Chameleon Behind The Drums – The Art Of Versatility

Anika Nilles
Anika Nilles: Exploring Quintuplets

Jonathan Moffett
Jonathan “Sugarfoot” Moffett: Leading Drum Grooves With Your Foot

Tony Coleman
Tony Coleman: Authentic Blues Drumming

David Garibaldi
David Garibaldi: Building Coordination

Todd Sucherman
Todd Sucherman: Sounds & Choices – More Methods & Mechanics

Marco Minnemann
Marco Minnemann: Freedom In Odd Time

Bernard Purdie
Bernard Purdie: The Purdie Shuffle

Gavin Harrison
Gavin Harrison: How To Create Amazing Drum Parts

Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham: The Art Of The Rhythm Section

Alex Rudinger
Alex Rudinger: Mental Health For Modern Drummers

Glen Sobel
Glen Sobel: The Secret To The Perfect Arena Rock Snare Sound

Larnell Lewis
Larnell Lewis: How To Build Epic, Kick-Driven Fills

Sarah Thawer
Sarah Thawer: Exploring Indian Grooves On The Drums

Mark Guiliana
Mark Guiliana: Exploring Your Creativity On The Drumset

Will Calhoun
Will Calhoun: Frequency Rhythmic Assimilation

Matt Garstka
Matt Garstka: Utilizing Systems & Methods For Efficient Practice

Flo Mounier
Flo Mounier: 5 Tips To Improve Your Metal Drumming

Derek Roddy
Derek Roddy: The Truth About Developing Speed

Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice: Realistic Rock Linear Drum Beats

Brian Tichy
Brian Tichy:
Effective Triplets for Rock Drumming

Mercedes Lander
Mercedes Lander: 5 Tips For Making A Song Catchy

Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette: How Learning Jazz, Rock & Reggae Will Supercharge Your Drumming

Gil Sharone
Gil Sharone: Why Modern Drummers Should Still Use Old School Techniques

Dennis Chambers
Dennis Chambers: Legendary Tips For Modern Drummers

Tommy Igoe
Tommy Igoe: Great Hands For Groove Essentials

Stanley Randolph
Stanley Randolph: Tips & Tricks for the Funky Drummer

Thomas Lang
Thomas Lang: Applying Technique On The Drum-Set

Tony Royster Jr.
Tony Royster Jr.: Creative Concepts Drum Lesson

Jim Riley
Jim Riley: Creating Grooves That Work

Keith Carlock
Keith Carlock: How To Make Your Drum Solos More Interesting