Learning Drumming from a Master

Although I have been making music for most of my life I am still fairly new to drumming. I properly started learning it about two years ago and am deep into it now. I now have decent electronic and acoustic kits to practice my skills on. I joined the Drumeo online school over a year ago and upgraded to lifetime membership as there is enough to last me that long. One of the teachers was Todd Sucherman who has played with various artists, including Brian Wilson, and is now a member of the band Styx. When I heard him say he was doing some masterclasses in the UK I thought it could be a good experience. He is currently on a tour of the UK teaching to groups of about thirty people for three hours. My session was last night in London.

That is me in the white t-shirt right in front of Todd. The photo was taken by the organiser Mike Dolbear. The venue was an industrial unit run by a company that rents out percussion instruments. They had everything in there including gongs, cowbells and massive Japanese drums. Todd just used a Pearl drumkit and I think he brought his own Sabian cymbals.

I will say that it is quite an experience to sit right in front of a great drummer. The sound really hits you. I did take some earplugs, but did not use them. He was not playing for too long anyway.

Todd's first instruction to us was 'No cellphones'. I can understand that he does not want unauthorised videos going online. He also does not like people to reveal exactly what he teaches or the details of the sessions, so I will just give some outline elements.

The class ranged from total beginners to professionals, including a guy who plays with a 90's band that has a few hits. There were three women and some people had flown in from abroad for the class. I think some had been to other classes organised by Mike.

We were asked to bring a practice pad so Todd could see us playing and he went into detail on some techniques that I could be working on for a few months. He has played for about fifty years and knows what he is talking about. He also gave lots of tips on the general craft of being a drummer and told a few fun stories.

The three hours flew by. Afterwards everyone wanted to talk to him and get something signed. I had an eye on the time as I needed to get a train home, so I just snapped a photo whilst he was talking to someone. That was allowed after the class.

I did have a quick chat with him. I had exchanged a few comments with him on Drumeo and he remember who I was. He signed my practice pad.

Getting home was not too bad and I was lucky that my train was running a bit late so that I did not have to wait for the next one.

This is not a cheap experience. It costs £150 for the session, but as an hourly rate it is similar to general private lessons and you have to decide what has value to you. I got some good tips that I will be applying to my playing. Obviously others thought it was valuable enough to justify a bigger trip. Todd told us how he had driven four hours each way for a lesson with a teacher he respected. Music is a craft that requires dedication. You have to want it.

I would definitely consider going to other classes like this. I may go to the UK Drum Show in Liverpool this year. That has lots of top players as well as all the gear.

Rock on!