Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 1 – Knowing Your Instrument
This module will give you all the information you need to ensure that your drum kit is
set up correctly and ready to play. It will inform you on which drums and sticks to
purchase based on the style of music you want to play.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
1-1 Kit Selection To make an informed decision on which
drum kit to purchase.
Different drum kit configurations all have
different benefits and hindrances, this
lesson will cover some of the most
common.
1-2 Kit Setup Learn about how to set up a drum kit once
you have purchased one.
1-3 Drum Tuning Learn the basics of assembling and tuning
as well as the anatomy of a drum.
1-4 Stick Selection Learn about all the different varieties of
drum stick and find out which particular
stick will suit your style of music.
1-5 Technique Get starting playing your drum kit. Learn
about how to hold the drum sticks, how to
hit a drum correctly and how to maintain a
steady pulse.
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 2 – The First Steps
This module will teach you how to play some basic grooves and fills and how these rhythms are notated
on the stave. Drum dynamics will also be covered.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
2-1 Quarter Note Groove Learn how to play and count basic quarter
note rock, pop, soca and bouyon groove
etc. using the bass drum, snare drum and
hi hats.
2-2 The Crash, Fills and Phrases Understand the importance of creating
longer phrases within music. Learn how to
do this by using the crash cymbal and fills.
2-3 Eighth Note Groove Learn how to play a basic quarter note
rock, pop, soca and bouyon groove etc.
with the bass, snare and hi hats.
2-4 Rudiments 1 Learn what drum rudiments are and why
they are so important in mastering the
drum kit. You will learn 3 rudiments in this
lesson.
2-5 Musical Form Learn how to create variation in your
groove to highlight different sections of a
song such as verse/chorus.
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 3 – Bass Drum 8th Notes
This module will help you to begin playing bass drum 8th notes in your grooves. You'll also learn how to
incorporate 16th notes into your fills.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
3-1 Bass Drum 8ths Learn how to add bass drum 8th notes to
your 8th note groove. This lesson will look
at 2 common grooves and 2 caribbean
grooves.
3-2 More Permutations This lesson will expand on our previous
bass drum 8th note grooves by looking at
some other permutations.
3-3 16th Note Fills Learn how to create your own simple 16th
note fills to add some speed and intensity
to your playing.
3-4 Longer Phrases Learn how to combine the grooves you
have already learned to create longer
musical phrases.
3-5 Musical Example Learn how to play a groove taken from a
famous pop/rock/soca song.
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 4 – The Left Foot
Begin playing the hi hat with the left foot. Learn how the left foot can work in the context of a groove
and start using it to add depth to your playing.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
4-1 Why The Left Foot? Understand why it's important to develop
left foot coordination and what role the
left foot plays.
4-2 8th Note Groove with Left Foot Add hi hat quarter notes while playing a
basic 8th note groove on the ride cymbal.
4-3 Open Hi Hat Begin opening the hi hats to create a
different timbre. Learn to play a funky or
groove using the open hi hat.
4-4 Open Hi Hat 2 Learn some other open hi hat applications
and learn to combine 2 different open hi
hat grooves.
4-5 Rudiment Coordination Develop your four way coordination in this
lesson. Add a foot ostinato to the three
rudiments we looked at previously.
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 5 - Backbeat Variations - Stylistic Studies
This module will focus on some variations on the standard backbeat and will analyse how displacing the
snare drum plays a key role in many pop and rock sub-genres, from rock n' roll to hip hop.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
5-1 Rock n' Roll Backbeat Learn the rock n' roll 8th note snare drum
groove. This lesson will crank up the tempo
and really push your technique.
5-2 Hip Hop Backbeat Variation Learn a common hip hop backbeat
variation by removing the snare drum from
beat 2.
5-3 Funky Delayed Backbeat Start displacing the snare drum by 8th
note subdivisions across the bar. This can
sound really funky when played tastefully.
5-4 Motown/Soul Backbeat Variation Learn a common Motown groove, playing
the snare drum on every beat of the bar to
really give your groove momentum.
5-5 The 6/8 Ballad Understand the difference between simple
and compound time signatures. Learn
what 6/8 means and begin playing a slow
6/8 groove.
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 6 - 16th Note Grooves
This module will teach you how to add snare drum 16th notes to your 8th note groove, creating a busier
more funky feel. Begin playing hi hat 16th notes and learn some new rudiments.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
6-1 Snare Drum 16ths 1 Begin adding syncopated snare drum 16th
notes. These grooves are really common in
funk, indie and grunge music. This lesson
will look at four common permutations.
6-2 Snare Drum 16ths 2 Take the grooves learnt in the previous
lesson to the next level by combining
these 16th note snare drums with bass
drum 8th notes.
6-3 Snare Drum 16th Combinations Learn how to combine all of these snare
drum 16th note permutations into longer
phrases.
6-4 Hi Hat 16ths Learn two very different grooves which
both use hi hat 16th notes.
6-5 Rudiments 3: The Paradiddle Learn about 3 more paradiddles; the
inward Paradiddle, the reverse Paradiddle
and the delayed Paradiddle.
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 7 – Bass Drum Independence
This module will look at some more linear grooves and will focus on freeing up your right foot. This will
enable you to play some really involved funky grooves.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
7-1 Bass Drum 8ths Over Hi Hat Quarter Revisit the quarter note groove from
Notes module 2, take the tempo up and add bass
drum 8th notes.
7-2 Bass Drum 16ths 1: Four This lesson will take a similar approach to
Permutations our snare drum 16th note grooves but will
focus on the bass drum.
7-3 Rudiments 4: The Double and Triple Understand the uses of a further two
Paradiddle paradiddles and how they can be
combined to make longer more complex
fills.
7-4 Bass Drum 16ths 2: Hi Hat 16ths Revisit the hi hat 16th note grooves adding
bass drum 16ths to add a funky edge.
7-5 Bass Drum 16ths 3: Consolidation Consolidate everything in this module.
Combine 16th note grooves with some
tasteful Paradiddle fills.
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 8 - Backbeat Variations - Stylistic Studies
This module will focus on some variations on standard Caribbean backbeats and will analyse how
displacing the snare drum plays a key role in many pop and rock sub-genres, from rock n' roll to hip hop.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
8-1 Soca Backbeat Variation Learn the soca snare drum grooves. This
lesson will crank up the tempo and really
push your technique.
8-2 Reggae Backbeat Variation Learn common reggae backbeat and hi-
hat) variations.
8-3 Bouyon Backbeat Start displacing the snare drum by 8th
note subdivisions across the bar. This can
sound really funky when played tastefully.
8-4 Latin Backbeat Variation Learn common Latin grooves.
8-5 Kadence & Kompa Backbeat Learn common Kadence and Kompa
Variation grooves.
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Duane Benjamin Drum Lessons 2021
Module 9 - Making It Musical
Take your drumming to the next level by improving your musicality. Learn about the importance of
articulation and dynamics, learn about how to enhance a song with band hits, stabs and stops.
Lesson Number Lesson Name Key Objective
9-1 Articulation Understand what articulation is and how it
can be used to make your music groove!
9-2 Band Hits Learn some common band hits, how to set
them up and how to interpret them from
a chart.
9-3 Bass and Snare 16ths Combinations Learn complex 16th note grooves using
1 syncopated bass drums and snare drums.
9-4 Bass and Snare 16th Combinations 2 Enhance the material from the previous
lesson by thinking creatively about
dynamics and articulation.
9-5 Case Study Learn how to play along to a song as well
as with accompaniment. Learn how to
make it groove by focusing on the finer
details of your playing.
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