Getting Started on Drums Featuring Tommy Igoe Setting Up / Start Playing

Getting Started on Drums is basically "how to set up your drum kit", with a couple simple beats at the end. I would recommend this DVD if you're an absolute beginner, but otherwise it's only good for picking up a few tips regarding setup. I watched it once and it's now shelved, probably forever. Good Netflix rental, bad purchase. However Groove Essentials is a DVD I will probably be referring to for the next couple of years and is absolutely worth buying. I've rented a few drum DVDs on Netflix, and most of them include a lot of filler, like around 80-90% filler, and the material included in them should be covered in about 10 minutes. Tommy's DVDs get to point after about a 10min introduction, so it amounts to 210 minutes of purely relevant instructional material that gets progressively more difficult. Tommy's instruction is clear and focused, and the film production doesn't interfere with his teaching (which doesn't seem like a lot to ask for unless you've seen some of the other drum DVDs out there). I wish that he would break the beats down to the extent that he does with the rock section(the first section) on the later sections, but I guess that's what the included chart is for... Overall this is a good DVD for beginners getting started, or for later intermediate/early advanced players looking to expand their sound and broaden their range of styles. This DVD is probably below the ability of professional level players. I have it uploaded to my Ipod and practice along with it about once a day. Because of this DVD, Jojo Mayer's Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer, and some quality daily practice time, my friends have expressed amazement at how quickly I've progessed at drums in only 10 months.

after purchasing a starter drum kit for our two boys, we included this dvd. there are clips on youtube for you to preview. this is an excellent choice for someone just starting out. if they have even a little prior experience i would recommend a different dvd but by this same drummer. very well done. could be a little louder recording considering drummers are playing along with it. rock on!

This is a really good DVD. Tommy is very thorough, and starts at the beginning. He really is a great teacher. I'm a music teacher myself, and let me just say, as a teacher, this guy knows how to convey ideas and share knowledge like a pro. He explains what he is doing and why, and is positive and encouraging the whole time. The drums aren't like other instruments where you take it out of the case and start playing--you have to put them together (at least the first time), and if this is done wrong, you have set yourself up for difficulty later on. Tommy shows you how to set up your kit correctly, including everything from assembling isolation mounted toms to tuning resonant heads to bass drum pedal setup. Again, as a music teacher, I can tell you that getting started right is half the battle. (Okay, maybe not half, but you get the idea.) And rather than playing everything himself (which might give you a "shucks, I can't do that" attitude), he has students demonstrate most of the beats (which gives you subliminal encouragement-"if a kid can do it, then so can I"). And if you are under 16, then you get to see what someone your age can do. Tommy chose the right beats to start with, too--cool grooves that if you can master (which you can) you will want to keep practicing. This DVD has it all--fills, grooves...even some play-alongs. And yes, just to inspire you, Tommy plays one piece at the end, but somehow it doesn't have a "show-off" feel. It's more like Tommy saying, "See how cool the drums can sound? If you practice and stay dedicated, you can do this too." Or at least that's the way I felt when I watched it. The camera work is good, the sound quality is good, and Tommy is awesome. Honestly, I can't recommend it strongly enough. Nice work, Mr. Igoe!

I played for about 6 years when I was younger...much younger (high school plus) then I got away from them...college, grad-school, and life kept me busy.....but things change so at 46 I bought a kit (and have been adding to it like a mad man...love it).... That said if you have played before this is very basic...but good to get back into it and recall those "fun" exercises......you won't use this much unless you are a beginner or very rusty

I was checking out the "groove essentials" DVD for my 9 year old son who wants to learn to play. While looking at it on amazon I saw the listing for this 2 -dvd set for the same price of 14.99 so I chose to get him this set. My husband is a singer/ guitar player and has had drums for a while with minimum hours of play. When my son said he wanted to play my husband was all for it so we decided to get some drum stuff for his birthday. My son was eager to play and popped in the getting started dvd. Once he realized it was only about set up he didn't want to watch it because he was excited to get started but my husband said he wanted to learn how to set his drums up better. We all learned a lot and I really feel like for beginners this is a great DVD. It shows you how to set up the drums and put it together for your body. We learned the names and how the parts are adjusted. It was very informative. This DVD is old school. You can tell by the guys clothes and hair. Normally that would irritate me but he is a good teacher. To the point, doesn't try to be funny but he is easy to follow and understand for a large age range.

I actually thought I was ordering a book...I was in a hurry and didn't pay attention. However, I like this. It taught me how to properly set up the drums from the time I opened the box and tune them. I didn't even know you have to tune a drum. My daughter plays drums and I didn't pay attention to how much work goes into maintaining them! Well, now I know and I'm way more involved! Just because I accidently ordered this DVD.

This DVD takes you all the way from pulling drums out of the box to putting them together to holding the sticks to playing simple beats and grooves. The instruction is clear and includes some of Tommy Igoe's students, ending with some playing of his own. Perfect for the beginner with little or no drumming experience. Highly recommended. BTW, a few extra tips for beginners: 1. Resist the urge to buy tons of drums and cymbals. You'll quickly feel overwhelmed. Start simple and add pieces as you get better. 2. Learn everything with both matched and traditional grips on the sticks. 3. Find a drumming instructor who is interested (my first one seemed bored), encouraging, and challenging (makes you count out loud when you don't feel like it, makes you play music you don't like, pushes you when you need it). 4. If you have trouble playing something, SLOW DOWN. There's an almost irresistible urge to play too fast when you start. Resist it. 5. Face the fact that learning drumming requires a lot of repetition, especially when you start practicing the 40 rudiments. Use this repetitive work as a contemplative practice, a kind of drumming meditation. That's what the shamans did in traditional cultures. 6. A long practice session that feels crappy or difficult does more for you than a short one that goes smoothly. Let your brain and body learn in their own time. 7. Have fun! As the film says, drumming is not a race, nor is it a competition or something you "should" do. Let it be a source of satisfaction. Use it creatively.

I don't normally write reviews, but this DVD inspired me to write one. After getting my drum set, I purchased quite a few drum DVDs looking for the best substitue for lessons. The two Tommy Igoe DVDs (Beginning Drums and Groove Essentials) are by far the best DVDs I've ever seen for that purpose. In fact, Tommy actually shows students learning the drums and talks to the audience as if he's in a lesson. I didn't really need the first section on setting up the drums as I'd already had quite a bit time to play around with them, but for someone that's new to the drums, that part is excellent too. Tommy has one of the best personalities for teaching that I've ever seen on a DVD. As an expert level, accomplished drummer, he knows the material and is able to professionally convey it on a DVD to his students. His attitude of having fun and feeling the music also comes out in his excellent approach to teaching. Having never taken a proper lesson, I can say that I've learned more from Tommy's DVDs than I have from any other source. The section on drum fills was especially usefull to me as no other DVD describes the technique as he does. I would HIGHlY recommend both of his DVDs to anyone learning to play the drums or even to intermediate drummers who want to pick up