When starting to write this Drumeo review there was one truth on my mind – that taking the right lessons makes or breaks a drumming career.
Invest in the right ones and you can learn in months what other drummers have learned in years. Pick ineffective lessons and you’ll end up wasting not only those years but also your money.
So it’s good that your not limited to choosing from the 5 drum teachers around your corner any more. In the age of the internet, you can get yourself a new world-class drum instructor every other week.
Drumeo is now the largest platform for online drum lessons on the internet. But does it really work?
Is Drumeo worth it? Is it better than traditional face-to-face tuition or teaching yourself via Youtube? And what about this in relation to Drumeo cost?
My answers are right here in this Drumeo review.
What Drumeo offers: Courses
Drumeo offers a lot of videos (2500+) and adds several more each day. That is a lot and potentially too much – unless they were usefully organized.
And organized they are: Drumeo has compiled over 260 courses consisting of a handful of videos each.
One course covers one topic and each video within it will explain one particular aspect of that topic. So you won’t get overwhelmed at all. You just watch a video and practice what’s explained in there.
When you feel comfortable with it, you move on to the second video – until you’ve completed the course. That’s as simple as 1, 2, 3.
At the same time you’ll never run out of things to learn, because Drumeo offers such an enormous amount of videos: course topics range from Useful grooves every drummer should know and How to learn songs quickly down into specialized stuff such as Polyrhythmic phrasing over the barline or Gospel drumming.
This variety is perfect for you as an evolving drummer, because you will have to experiment to find your niche. It would be hard though to find a private teacher who has mastered both Rock drumming and Latin. On Drumeo you simply get to learn from a master in each field.
And even if you’re confused and don’t know what to learn next: simply filter courses according to your level of proficiency. (In addition, I’ll offer to get you a free lesson plan tailored to your individual needs at the end of this article.)
And the final strength of Drumeo’s course format is this: alongside every video lesson, you can download everything that’s covered. That might be an mp3, a table detailing a practice routine to tick off, or sheet music as shown below.
This way you can simply grab the essence of a lesson and practice even when you’re away from your computer or left with no internet access. On Youtube you’ll almost never find this.
Drumeo Professional Teachers & Famous Drummers
Drumeo lessons are delivered by over 80 professional drummers, including drumming celebrities like Thomas Lang and Benny Greb as well as world-famous instructors such as Pat Petrillo.
The latter charges $15 for only one weekly online lesson on his own website. Thomas Lang and Benny Greb do not even offer lessons anywhere outside Drumeo (they only do face-to-face workshops for $1000+).
But Drumeo doesn’t only come with master teachers. It also comes with lots of them – more than 80 – and you are free to choose.
That is a serious strength, because your teacher around the corner might be a hard rock pro. But then it’s more than likely that he is not quite the jazz drummer. Simply because both styles come with different techniques, different motions and even different mindsets attached to them.
At Drumeo you can pick a different teacher for each style. And you’ll learn from someone who has mastered hard rock – and from someone else who excels at jazz.
A word of caution
Of course, Drumeo does have its weaknesses. The most important one is that you won’t receive feedback on what you’re practicing.
Now, some people are very good at emulating what they see and correcting themselves in the process. If you are that kind of person, Drumeo will be just fine. They explain technique just as well as any other teacher would (and in the member videos they sometimes use slow motion cameras which helps to decipher those really quick movements you can’t differentiate in real time).
If you think you’re not very good at correcting yourself, especially with respect to motions, this doesn’t mean Drumeo isn’t for you. It’s just that you might need some feedback from a physically present teacher every once in a while.
Anyway, the best way to find out is to get the 1 month free trial and to test which kind of person you are. You might be pleasantly suprised!
Last but not least, Drumeo also hosts so-called “student focus” sessions for which you can apply, send in a video of your drumming, and have the instructors dissect what you do and suggest improvements. Besides learning a ton, it must be a huge motivational boost to be featured on a video that’s part of the instructional library of 147,000 users.
Are people successfully learning the drums with Drumeo?
With millions of students (some of them famous guys like Petr Cech, the goalkeeper of Arsenal London) Drumeo is by far the largest online drumming platform out there – and it is growing by the day. As is usual on the internet, you can find negative talk about Drumeo, but I think the numbers testify to the contrary.
And so does Brian Crane.
Brian had been a hobby drummer for some years. He knew the basics, but he never really practiced consistently or with any goal in mind. Then he tried Drumeo. With nothing else but the video lessons, he practiced for two years and then emailed one of the founders of Drumeo with a video of himself on the drums. The Drumeo team was blown away and gave Brian the opportunity to put up a lesson on Drumeo himself.
That’s a potential audience of millions people. So here could be your first long-term goal: get Drumeo, get good, and show them all.
Of course, at the end of the day success is up to you – not Drumeo or any teacher in this world. Yet, Drumeo motivates tremendously. And it provides an effective framework to become a successful drummer. Brian thinks so too.
The price tag
That’s the easiest part: not a dime for the first 30 days. You’re in for a free trial.
You will have to give Drumeo your credit card details, but you won’t be charged until day 29 – unless you cancel before that. This is a no-brainer and after all that talk, I can only recommend you jump in and try it out for yourself.
After 7 days, Drumeo does cost money, and it does so on a monthly basis. That might be annoying to some of you, but Drumeo is not a static product. New videos and courses are added each day, the members’ area gets the latest design every other year, and Drumeo hosts community meetings every few months. So you’re paying for a product that lives and grows.
This costs you $29 per month or $240 if you pay annually (in which case you save $108). Even if you go for the more expensive $29 option, this is what the average face-to-face teacher would charge for 1-2 lessons of 45 minutes. With Drumeo there’s no limit on the instructions.
Plus: you still have a 90-day money back guarantee after the first month. So in essence you could use Drumeo for 120 days and still come out paying nothing (but obviously most people do stick around).
Drumeo review at one glance
I can talk all I like and (deservedly) praise Drumeo. And you can believe me or you can’t. But the best thing is: you can try it out now. For 30 days and for no money at all. If it isn’t for you, you won’t have wasted a dime (and learned something anyhow).
Hello,
I want to take you up on your offer . I just started and after reading your review I decided to give Drumeo a go. Now…I a very early beginner , did a few classes (both online and with actual instructor). Managed to play a song or 2. I’m very open to what to do next but I guess limb independence is what’s getting my attention the most. I try to play everyday…although for only 20-30 min…so there it is…can send me a suggestion of learning plan?
Thanks and great article
Thanks Marcos! The plan’s in your inbox.
Happy practicing!
That’s perfect, thank you so much for going above and beyond to help us “kickstart our drumming” (no pun intended).
Already on the recommended lessons and it’s working good for me.
Best regards
Marcos
Tremendous! Keep at it and good things will follow.
A very good and interesting review. I’d heard about Drumeo before, but your review finally answered the question that had been left open. I just signed up. Thanks!
I’m glad I could help, Livingstone! I’m sure you’ll not be disappointed by Drumeo! Let me know if any new questions come up!
Hello
Thank you for the great review.
I’m 51 and been playing drums when I was about 30, bit of a late starter.
I’m in 2 projects right now, the first is your average bar band, the second is s bit off the wall.
There is just the guitar player and I, the guitar player triggers the bass with a pedal board.
Anyway that being said, there is a different vibe with this and we love it!
So I need to step up my game.
I’m a decently solid time and beat keeper, but my fills get repetitive, call it a rut.
I’m thinking I need to work on my independence and speed to develop a higher skill level.
Thank you in advance for your input.
P.S. I would love to practice a couple hours a day, but having kids, own business, and 2 bands, thinking 30 min a day would be realistic.
Hey Charlie,
Thanks for the compliment and for reaching out! I replied to you via email to ask some further questions so I can put together a useful lesson plan for you.
Looking forward to your answers.
Best,
Yannick.
Hi Yannick
I’m 63 and decided to buy a drum kit and after reading your review on Drumeo i feel i have to give it a go.
I want to take you up on your offer . I just started and after reading your review I decided to give Drumeo a go. Now…I a very early beginner , did a few classes (both online and with actual instructor). Managed to play a song or 2. I’m very open to what to do next but I guess limb independence is what’s getting my attention the most. I try to play everyday…although for only 20-30 min…so there it is…can send me a suggestion of learning plan?
Hey Zane,
Thanks a lot for reaching out! And great choice there: I’m happy you’re getting into drumming!
I’ll work out a lesson plan focusing on independence and send it to you on Monday! In the meantime, if you want to look into Drumeo, you can already sign up for the 7-day free trial. And please feel free to grab my free report over here. It will teach you the fundamentals (as well as a few shortcuts) of how to practice the right way.
Talk to you on Monday!
Hi Yannick
I am totally a beginner, and want to know where to start and if i could start without a drum set
Hey David,
Thanks for your question! I’ll answer it in 2 parts:
The easiest way would be, in my opinion, to sign up for the free Drumeo trial (links at the end of the article above) and to set the filter inside the course area (not the individual video section) to “Beginner 1”. Then I’d recommend you pick whatever course jumps out at you and follow it for a few days.
I actually prefer that method to me handing you a lesson plan, because your individual preferences might be different than mine.
However, if you would want me to hand you something, just tell me, and I will 🙂
(This answer assumes you don’t want to spend big money a drum set just yet. However, if noise concerns keep you from buying one, read up on this exciting alternative.)
Sure! I’d recommend you do buy drum sticks, because you can practice just as well on a cushion. Actually that would even give you less rebound and require you to be more exact in your technique – which can potentially make you really good once you apply that to an actual drum set with rebound.
Foot technique is certainly more difficult to emulate without a pedal. Actually I can’t think of any useful way to do this. So I’d recommend to buy at least a practice pedal here.
Otherwise, just arrange a few cushions, use your imagination and you’re good to go.
Hope that helps!
Hello!
I am a little late on your “custom tailored” lesson plan but I am a drummer of 16 years and I have played in groups of varying styles but my “formal” training came from high school drum line and that was basic singles and doubles warm ups/exercises.
I am looking for greater limb independence, tighter sight reading skill, and to widen my lexicon in regards to the styles I can play. Hopefully this is enough info and that theboffer for the plan still stands. Thanks for this review as I have been on the fence about the investment and a disappointed with what my local drum instructor “pool” has had to offer, especially as an adult student.
Hey Mikael,
I just sent you the lesson plan. Hope you’ll find it useful!
Best,
Yannick.
Hi Yannick,
I’m thinking about joining Drumeo as a late beginner (I’m 52) and want to thank you for your review.
Do you still stand by it or has is changed in any way in the last year?
And what can you offer for a lesson plan for a beginner? Is this something I have to do with Drumeo?
Tineke, Rotterdam Holland
Hey Tineke,
My opinion on Drumeo hasn’t changed at all. I still think it’s the best lesson platform around and they continue to improve it.
I’ve emailed the lesson plan to you. And yes, all the lessons in there are inside the Drumeo member’s area, but you can try them via the free trial in the article above.
Best,
Yannick.
hi
i’m a beginner drummer and will try the drumeo trial.
i’ve been working on limb independence and parradiddles. what should i work on next?
Hey Oly,
Before I suggest something, I’d like to suggest you make the call here. 2 questions that help me figure out where to go next are:
1. What do you WANT to work on?
2. Which aspect of your playing so far do you think needs improving?
If that doesn’t help, I’d say stick with independence (beyond paradiddles) as this translates into so many other aspects of drumming. I can send you a Drumeo lesson plan for this. Just let me know once more!
Hi,
I’m a beginner drummer (31 years old) who knows the basics ( reading music, basic grooves, fills, few rudiments, etc).
I used Drumeo a while back and was really impressed with the amount of content on the website. So much that i didn’t know where to start and what to go to next. Can u help in that aspects of things?
Sure, Addryan. I just sent you a lesson plan focussing on limb independence.
Hi,
I am possibly bordering into the intermediate level of drumming after picking it up again (32) after maybe a 15 year break. Im currently jamming in a rock/metal band with some friends which is really helping my creative/timing side but feel my fills arent quite on par with my beats so wondered if you could maybe help with a plan for rock/metal fills on a single bass pedal. Think i may well have to look into joining drumeo aswell after spending the last 6 months browsing their youtube videos which have already helped me. Im from the uk and have struggled to find the right teacher for my genre. I look forward to your response.
Thanks, Tom
Just sent you a reply via email, Tom!
Hello,
My friend As the dream to learn but have never jump to it. I would like to surprise her for her birthday with a package for her to star. What would be the essential I should get her in addition of a drumeo month?
Thank you,
Pauline
Hey Pauline,
Thanks for your question. Great dream that is!
I’ll need you to answer 2 questions in order for me to properly help you out here:
1. Does your friend have a drum set or any other drumming equipment?
2. What’s your budget?
Feel free to answer this via the contact form or drop me an email in case you don’t feel comfortable sharing this on the blog.
Best,
Yannick.
She doesn’t have a drum set yet. Not the space available but can access one once in a while
And my budget is around $150 would that be ok ? If not how much more would be good? Maybe I can recruit her best friend 😉
Thank you
Pauline
How much space does she have? Drum sets can be as “small” as 4×3 ft.
I’m just asking because it’s absolutely possible to practice drumming without drums – but it’s not nearly as motivating without a kit as it is with a shiny one in front of you. And they don’t have to be expensive. This, for instance, is a very good, affordable electronic drum set (and because it’s electronic, it’s also more quiet than an acoustic kit).
You’d have to double your budget for that though.
But, in order not to lose perspective here. I think good lessons are a tiny bit more important than a drum kit, so I’d go for Drumeo and then decide between the kit I’ve linked to above or a practice pad or an air drumming kit.
Hope that helps!
Oh my, how thorough! I was looking into Drumeo for a little bit thinking about going ahead with a membership but I wanted to make sure it was as good as people say. This review pretty much erased all doubt I had about it. My son is such a drum addict, he will love this!
Thanks, Rebecca. I appreciate your kind words!
Hi!
Thank you for this review. I’ll try the 7-day free trail.
I’m a beginner and what to know what kind of exercise do I need to do to “loosen” my wrists?
Thank YOU, Dorothy. Drop me another comment once you’ve signed up and I’ll send you a lesson plan for beginners based on the videos inside Drumeo.
As for stretching this is a long, but good video on why and how to stretch from a well-known metal drummer.
Hope that helps!
Best,
Yannick.
I have had some basic training (rudiments mostly). I need a little help learning to read the sheet music, limb independency and accompaniments (im sure im getting ahead of myself). I practice about an hour a day. I know you posted this a few months ago, but if your offer is still good, i would like a personalized lesson plan. Thank you!
Hey Jessi,
You should have the lesson plan in your inbox right now. Happy practicing!
Best,
Yannick.
I took snare drum lessons as a kid. Then I was self taught on a kit. Eventually life happened and I sold my kit to pay for diapers and formula. The kids are grown and on their own now, so it’s my turn. I bought a kit and signed up for Drumeo. I want to review the basics and then move on to playing hard rock and jazz. I absolutely need to work on the independence of my limbs. It just doesn’t come naturally to me. I intend to practice for an hour a day. Thanks!
Great stuff, Dave! I just send you the lesson plan via email. Let me know if you have any questions about it – or anything else drum-related.
I have a son who is 8 years old and wants to learn the drums. We don’t have a drum kit yet, but I have been looking at your recommendations for electric starter kits. I play the guitar and would love for us to be able to jam together some day. Do you think Drumeo would be good for a beginner child (with help from dad)? Does Drumeo have a good lesson plan for people starting out? Or, do you recommend a more specific plan for a total beginner? 20 minutes a day is probably the best to hope for with an 8 year old. Thanks.
Hey Jeff,
First off, it’s great your son wants to be a drummer!
As for your question: it depends on your son’s motivation and personality. Does he learn off of videos well? If so, Drumeo could be a good starting point. They have no lesson plans, but I can send you a beginner one. It’s designed for 30 minutes a day, but I agree this could be to long for your son initially – yet, you can easily just leave things out there.
At the end of the day, however, these are just my 2 cents and your best bet is probably to let your son test Drumeo (you’ll get the 7-day trial through the link in the article above). If you decide to do so, let me know and I’ll send you the lesson plan.
Hi, great review! I’ve already joined drumeo while being an intermediate drummer and it’s a great site packed with A LOT of useful stuff but on the other hand, I feel overwhelmed by it. There are so many things that I want to learn that I need a lot of patience and motivation in order to stick to 1 course only. I’ve been drumming for about 5 years, I used to attend lessons with a teacher so I know the basics of almost each style but I still need to develop and improve them and sometimes recollect it while I haven’t played it for a while. For now I’d like to focus on develpoing triplets ( which I think have always been my weak point) with shuffle and swing rhythms. I even started John Riley’s book (Art Bop..). Any tips for those who want to improve their acquired knowledge or at least keep it at the same level?
Hey Maggie,
I can relate! I felt the same way pretty often during the first few years of playing drums.
I guess the best way to handle this is to focus on something new at a time (for instance triplets). And by that I mean: grab a handful of videos that Drumeo has on triplets in a shuffle and swing context and practice them everyday for however long you feel is appropriate. After that, add some improvisation / free-style time in which you can revisit beats and fills that you have already added to your “drumming vocabulary”.
Both phases don’t have to be long. In fact, if you do this every day, as little as 45 minutes can be plenty.
Hope that helps!
Hi Yannick!
I am a brand-spakin’ new drummer. My immediate goals are to learn to play some simple rock songs (I’m teaching myself Billie Jean at the moment). I need the fundamentals, and some guidance on how to get started. I’m teaching myself how to read and play with sheet music for long-term success. My husband and brother are both musicians (Bass and Guitar), and I’d love to play some beginner tunes with them.
I’ve been practicing close to an hour a day.
Thanks so much!
Hey Briana,
That sounds like you’re very motivated and ready to go!
Is there anything I can do for you? I can send you a beginner lesson plan for Drumeo if you want to.
Just let me know!
Best,
Yannick
Considering this, but wondering about all the perfect reviews. It sounds legit, but at the same time it does not sound “real”… as if there is some catch somewhere. For example, not a single comment on this thread seem typical of comments people leave. They all sound as if they were left by people part of the vendor/company.
I really want to try this, but hesitant on the 197. I read there is a 30day trial but when I click on the option button only a 7 day trial is offered. How does one do the 30 day trial? Thanks
Hey Miguel,
After moderating 991 comments on Kickstart Your Drumming, I can’t really find something atypical about the ones in this thread. That said, Drumeo does run a strong marketing machine, but I can’t imagine they would go to the length of buying 40 comments on a single site.
So the best I can recommend is, take the trial and judge for yourself. (They used to offer one for 30 days, but shortened it to 7 now – still that should be enough to get a taste of Drumeo.)
Best,
Yannick
@Miguel,
It’s a bit late.. but here is my experience.
I joined Drumeo many months back since they offered a very good deal. There is access to an overwhelming amount of drumming course material on signing up. After that it’s your call to do as you please 🙂 If you wrote to them, I guess they would assist you, I did not.
Unfortunately, till today I have not been able to decide what I should start with and how I should progress. Of course it’s mainly my fault for not perserving and being proactive.
Hey Sylvester,
Thanks for your comment! That’s exactly the potential problem I saw with Drumeo too – so I wrote some lesson plans. Do you want me to send over one?
I have one plan for absolute beginners and one focusing on (limb) independence.
Just let me know!
Best,
Yannick
Hi Yannick, I am planning to give Drumeo a try, can you share your learning plan?
Thank you,
Send it to you via email. Hope it will help you!
Hi Yannick,
I would deeply appreciate that.
ps: yes, I am an absolute beginner, took classes for a around 3 months, moved to another place, so I stopped that.
Around the same time, I also joined Nerd Fitness, and loved their daily workout plans. Drumeo could learn (a lot) from them.
God bless ya buddy for sharing your passion and knowledge.
Sylvester.
I just sent it to you via email.
Thanks again for your kind words – and funny you mention Nerd Fitness. I like them a lot too!
Best,
Yannick
Thank you Yannick, got your e-mail and attachment. Will kick-start my drumming practise today.
Oh… more than one thing in common with us! (I guess Marvel, DC & Bourne too?)
Yes, and Steve’s e-mails are so much fun to read, ironically funny!
We digress, but Ces’t la vie. My apologies.. to the serious drummers.
A little bit of humorous off-topic should be okay in the comments 🙂
Thanks for all you contributions here lately!
Thank you Yannick. My pleasure.
btw: I listened to Tape Shapes – Flowers To Cry ; cool stuff.
schönes Wochenende
Sylve*
Yeah, I don’t play with them any more, but I like this song very much!
Have a great weekend too!
Good Evening
Great article.
I bought my first kit around April of this year. I have done more upgrading to it than playing. Now I got everything upgraded and love it. I signed up for Drumeo a couple of days ago and really want to get into it now. I started with the basic of basics on the Getting started with drumming with Jared. Most of the first few videos I already knew just wanted to hit everything from the beginning. I could use a game plan after that lesson pack is done. Thanks
Hey Christopher,
Thanks for your comment – and I can relate: upgrading is a lot of tun and practicing is, well, kind of an effort at first (but becomes fun too really quickly though).
In any case, I’ve sent you 2 lesson plans via email. Hope they will get you up to speed.
Best,
Yannick