Drum Set Fundamentals: Build Better Time, Technique & Groove with DC Workshop – Level One

Every great drummer you’ve ever admired started in the same place — learning how to hold and bounce the drumstick, develop great time, and build the coordination needed to play a solid groove. DC Drum Set Workshop – Level One takes that foundation and builds an entire course around it: 8 courses, 64 lessons, and a lineup of instructors who have spent decades teaching these essential skills. Whether you’re picking up sticks for the first time or returning to strengthen fundamentals you may have skipped, this is where it begins.

The workshop opens with the foundation of everything — how to hold the sticks, taught by Don Lombardi, Joe Porcaro, and Ralph Humphrey. From there, it moves into wrist turns and the bounce stroke, Ralph Humphrey’s foundation for control and efficiency on the kit. Don Lombardi then applies that groundwork to Basic Rock Beat #1: locking in the right hand and bass drum first, then adding the left hand once that foundation is solid. It’s not flashy, but it’s the sequence that works.

In Course Three, Chad Smith introduces the Outside Release® Motion — A technique used by the greatest drummers in the world that will help improve your sound, groove and speed. In addition Ralph Humphrey breaks it down stroke by stroke — showing how one down-up motion can produce two controlled strikes.

By Course Four, Chad Wackerman introduces the single stroke rebound, demonstrating how three or four notes can come from one relaxed drop of the stick and how much speed you can gain by letting the stick do the work instead of forcing it. As Chad explains, “If I loosen up my grip, I’m playing double time with half the effort.”

Throughout the eight courses, you’ll learn to combine 8th and 16th note fills and orchestrate them around the kit with precision and timing, giving you the tools to apply these techniques in a real band setting.

Drum Channel’s DC Drum Set Workshop is designed for anyone starting their drumming journey or anyone looking to revisit and strengthen the fundamentals that make great playing possible.

Get started today: Start DC Drum Set Workshop – Level One →