Drum Lesson Academy

Darren Ashford•www.drumlessonacademy.com

Professional drummer Darren Ashford has helped literally hundreds of drummers achieve their drumming goals through his private lesson practice and as a faculty member at one of Europe's leading schools of modern music. Now you have a chance to benefit from Darren's 20 years of experience as a professional drummer with this high quality drum tuition podcast. Take your drumming to the next level with the Drum Lesson Academy.

Last refreshed: July 23rd, 2025 at 1:56 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

DLA 05: Mike Mangini intro fill from 'Hip Today' (Part 2 of 2)

This intro fill spans two beats of a 4/4 measure before playing hits on beat three and the second sixteenth note of beat four before finishing with a flam on beat one of the second bar. Ex.01 The first part of the fill is based around a paradiddle-diddle. The sticking is RLRRLL. This is followed with two notes on the kick drum, a right hand on the floor tom and a left hand on the snare drum. This takes us up to beat two. Ex.02 In this example we add two more kick drum notes on the second and fou...

Nov 30, 2011•5 min

DLA 04: Mike Mangini fill from 'Hip Today' (Part 1 of 2)

The sticking for this fill is based around a linear five pattern, which consists of 4 hand notes and one kick drum note. You may find it helpful to practice this pattern in a continuous flow of notes Ex.01 The fill spans the first two beats of a 4/4 measure in 16th note triplets (sextuplets). Here we have the fill leading into a single crash and kick drum note on beat three. Practice slowly at first to ensure you have the correct sticking and subdivision of the pulse. Ex.02 In this example we ha...

Oct 31, 2011•7 min

DLA Introduction to Linear Drumming (Lesson Preview)

In this two part video lesson I'll teach you how to get started with linear drumming using a easy to learn pattern. I'll walk you step by step through a creative process I've found to be very effective in adopting fluid movements around the drums. Adding linear drumming to your repertoire will also give your playing a dynamic and contemporary sound. This downloadable lessons comes with PDF lesson notes plus HD and mobile/ipod video files. Part 1 £3.99 Part 2 £3.99 Part 1 + 2 £5.99 ***SAVE 25%***...

Aug 29, 2011•1 min

DLA 03: Awesome lick used for stops and set ups

In this lesson I’ll show you how to play a lick that I first heard Buddy Rich play on an album with Lionel Hampton. This versatile lick can be used as a stop or a set up for a hit or push. This lick has been widely used by many of the worlds top drummers spanning a variety of musical genres. In the top tip I answer a question posted by one of my subscribers about closing fills for songs. This lick is based around a left lead six-stroke roll but with two additional notes. The basic sticking is: R...

Aug 29, 2011•13 min

DLA 02: Breathing life into a basic 16th note groove

In this lesson we change the internal dynamics of a simple 16th note groove to give it added depth. Exercise 1 Our basic pattern features a 16th note flow notes played with hand to hand sticking (single strokes). 16th notes are where we subdivide the beat or pulse into 4 evenly spaced notes. In a 4/4 time signature we can use the phonetic 1 e + d 2 e + d 3 e + d 4 e + d to help us count this subdivision. Exercise 2 voices beat 2 and 4 on the snare drum. Exercise 3 adds the kick drum on beats 1 a...

Jul 21, 2011•9 min

DLA 01: Boost your technique with the 5 Stroke Roll

In this lesson I show you 3 ways to play a 5 stroke roll to help boost your technique. The basic 5 stroke roll consists of 2 doubles and a single. (RRLLR), we then repeat the pattern starting with the opposite hand (LLRRL). The last note of the 5 stroke roll is accented, therefore we have four unaccented notes and one accented note. Exercise 1 is in 4/4 time and has the five notes of the roll being played in eighth notes. The last accented note being play on beat three of our 4/4 time signature....

Jun 08, 2011•10 min

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