Drummer Boy Drum Lessons

05/22/2025

Learn to play drums and travel, as I have, playing drums behind some of the biggest names in Rock n Roll. I have students from 6 to 81, and can teach you all the exciting rhythms you need to know, whether Rock, Swing, Funk, or Latin.

Contact me for some great learning and great fun. Learn in my studio, online, or for your convenience, I will come to your home.

Barry Casson c.s.c.
[email protected]
250-721-2113
https://www.barrycasson.com/category/music/

07/21/2022

Hi, everyone.
It's a fact that a lot of drummers when they sit down to practice play what they already know.
unfortunately, this goes on for the whole practice when it should just take up to five minutes. The result is that these drummers don't advance as players the way they could.

The best way to get something out of a practice session is to do this! Take five minutes to just fool around on what you know, just to warm up. Then...Get a binder and divide each page into four vertical columns with these written headings.....

Column one - The Date and time of day.
Column two - The name of the groove or rudiment you are working on.
Column three - Your metronome speed on this date.
Column four- the length of time you put in on this practice session.
Column five - your comments on how it went..(eg. Left hand felt stiff)

I suggest doing each session after your warm-up for a full five minutes on the clock. I use a clock with a big face on it so I can monitor my time.

You could divide your half-hour or hour of practice into doing 5 minutes on several grooves or rudiments that you are working on. In 40 minutes of practice this way you could warm up
and then do six sessions of five minutes each. Trust me, this method is more of a concentrated practice session than most drummers achieve.

Now, let's be real about this. The method really works but it is not easy to keep this focus up day after day. But if you do this for an hour a day, five days a week, you will be amazed at how it pays off in your ability to play drums. It all comes down to one question...
"How Bad Do You Want It?

If you want to get inspired by what is possible in life, then grab a copy of my book...
"How To Become Who You Were Meant To Be"...available on Amazon, Kindle, and at Bolen Books in the Hillside Shopping Centre here in Victoria. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Contact me for your free half-hour introductory drum lesson.

Cheers, Barry
Barry Casson c.s.c.
[email protected]
https://www.barrycasson.com/
250-721-2113

“Read my book and I guarantee you will have your own roadmap to success, right there in your hands. Learn and use the same simple techniques that I have used, to reach my goals. Bring about the life you want more than anything else. You can do it.”

07/07/2022

Thought some of you might enjoy this article from the late 60's when I was touring England as the drummer for Chuck Berry.

It was quite a night of carnage that scared the hell out of most of us. Not your average nightclub gig.

Call me for your free introductory drum lesson at [email protected] or 250-721-2113. Cheers, Barry

06/23/2022

Learning Drumming can Help Teenagers With Behavioural Problems.

Music is good for the health. And drumming may be the best of all. As well as being physically demanding. It requires people to synchronise their limbs and react to outside stimuli.

It is particularly helpful for children who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. Researchers at the Clem Burke Drumming Project – an organization named after Blondie’s drummer, who was one of the founders- have shown that teaching such
children to drum help them to control their reactions more generally, to focus more effectively on tasks they are given, and to communicate better with other people.

The project's latest work, published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a team led by Marie-Stephanie Cahart of Kings College, London, goes a step further. It
looks at the neurological changes which accompany these shifts.

Ms. Cahart and he colleagues recruited 36 autistic teenagers ad split them into two groups. One group had the drum lessons twice a week for eight weeks. The others did not. At the
beginning and end of the project, everyone was asked to stay still for 45 minutes in a resonance imaging (MRI) machine, to see how the activity of their brains had changed. Their behaviour, as reported by their guardians, was also recorded.

As expected, most of the drumming group showed positive behavioural changes. And these were indeed reflected in their brains. The (MRI) scans showed several clusters
of connectivity between parts of those brains that had strengthened during the experiment. In particular two regions involved in attention control, the right dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex and the right inferior frontal gyrus. formed strong links, respectively, with the places associated with introspection and with areas involved in deciphering facial expressions.

These changes in the brain’s “wetware” thus nicely match the changes in behaviour that learning to drum induces. Not a surprise, perhaps, but a gratifying confirmation of drumming’s
power to heal.

I’ve always known about this and am proud I could do my part in teaching drums Contact me now for your free introductory lesson.
Cheers, Barry
[email protected]
250-721-2113

06/20/2022

Four things that separate good from bad drummers
1. Good drummers listen.
This may sound matter of fact but it isn’t. As the drummer in any band, you are contributing to the whole. Often times a vocalist will bring charts but is not uncommon that they don’t have the drum chart. This is where the drummer has to pay particular attention to the rest of the band or he is going to mess things up. In my case, from playing so many years I know most of the standards that a vocalist may have chosen. As the drummer, if you don’t know the tune, then right off the top ask the bass player if the tune is a swing, shuffle, or rock? He will have this written on his chart. Get as much information from the bass player or vocalist as you can before the count-in. Play softer behind the vocalist until the instrument solos where you can crank it up a bit. Be prepared by listening hard in case there are breaks in the song. Pay particular care to the ending.
Count in’s are not that hard but endings can be tricky. With no chart, this is where your eyes and ears have to be ready. Watch the band leader or keyboard player for arms waving that will give you the ending feel.
2. Good drummers have learned all the different rhythms.
If you want to stay employed as a drummer you will need to know all the various rhythms. There is more to life than rock n roll. A good drummer knows how to play swing, shuffles, rock, funk, and Latin and knows the difference between them all. Swing and shuffle rhythms are different but both have a triplet kind of feel. Funk is often similar to rock but a lot more syncopated. In funk, the bass and drums have to be very coordinated. Now Latin rhythms played well by a drummer let him or her shine. But there is quite a difference in the feel between a Samba, a Bollero, and a Cha Cha. Make sure you are equipped to handle whatever is given to you. There are many great drum books that can teach you all of the above take the time to learn it all. Drummer Mike Michalkow has some great books on Latin rhythms. Remember, you are not going to learn these rhythms overnight. You will need to schedule many hours of practice to become proficient at all of them.
3. Good drummers discipline their practice time.
This is where many drummers fall down. I would say that 80% of most drummers sit down to practice and spend most of their time playing what they know. They should be warming up with what they know and then dig into the work of learning something new. I often tell my students to mark on a weekly calendar the days and times of their practice times. Then circle these times in red. Nothing should interfere with this drum practice schedule. I’ve heard it all: “I couldn’t practice because I had to”… blah blah blah. If you want to succeed you simply have to make you're drumming a priority and whatever comes second, keep it second. Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and, Friday’s for an hour each time is a good start. Monday to Friday for two hours is better, much better. How bad do you want it?
One very well-known drummer was in my town recently with his trio. He is well into his 60s and still practices three hours. A day. That’s why he is a well-known drummer.
4. Good drummers have learned the essential rudiments and how to apply them.
There are over 35 different rudiments. What is a rudiment? It is a variety of sticking methods other than but including single strokes. There are a number of these that are essential and that every drummer should know and play well. They are the paradiddle (RLRR-LRLL) The single stroke (RLRLRLRL) The double paradiddle (RLRLRR-LRLRLL) The paradiddle-diddle (RLRR-LL) The triplet (RLR-LRL-RLL-LRL) double strokes (RR-LL-RR-LL). Learning these and other rudiments is the backbone of drumming. Once mastered then you can apply these different sticking patterns to the varied voices of a drum kit. I’m speaking here of snare drum, hi-hat, small tom, medium tom, floor tom, bass drum, cowbell, and ride cymbal. This is where your creativity starts. The patterns and rhythms you can create while experimenting with rudiments are endless and can provide you with some of the most rewarding practice sessions.
you’ll ever have. Contact me for your free half-hour introductory lesson, and I promise, I will not pressure you to sign up.
For more info visit my website at.
https://www.barrycasson.com/drum-boy/
[email protected]
1-250-721-2113

06/14/2022

Hey, Did you see what that drummer did?... How the heck do they do that, anyway?

06/02/2022

Here's a simple but very effective ChaCha beat that I use all the time for various rock and jazz songs. It works for anything that has a Santana type of groove. Contact me for your free introductory drum lesson. [email protected]

05/31/2022

• BARRY CASSON’S DRUM LESSONS

How everyone.

If drumming is your passion, as it is mine, I can teach you all the styles and techniques you need to have to reach your goal. Not only that, but most of all, I can show you a way to practice that will get you to your goal fast, and isn’t that what all drummers
want?

My name is Barry Casson and I have been teaching the art of drumming here in Victoria for the last eleven years.

I can teach you: Rock, Funk, Shuffle, Swing, and Latin, and how to read a drum chart.

I have a number of younger students in school bands that have benefited greatly from my drum teaching. In addition, I have provided drum clinics for many local schools.

I run my classes out of Tempo-Trend Music at 410 Burnside Road East here in Victoria, and I have drum students from 5 to 70 years old.

My background includes:

• Touring England, France, and Germany playing drums behind some of the biggest names in Rock.

• Being inducted twice into Victoria’s Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

If you’re looking for some of the best drum lessons around, then contact me for your FREE introductory half-hour lesson with no pressure to sign up.

I’ve attached a photo of myself, (I’m at the front) while touring as the band with Legendary Chuck Berry on his British and French tour.

Contact me now at,
[email protected]
250-721-2113

05/28/2022

Thought you drummers would be interested in this article.

Wow! I Never Knew This...
I'll Bet You Didn't Either.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest drum solo was accomplished by Carlos Santos of Portugal on January 24, 2015, who timed it out to finish on his young son's birthday and it lasted 133 hours.

He had to play recognized songs and got only 30 seconds between songs along with the official break periods.

I think my longest drum solo was around 3 minutes but most of the audience left after the first 30 seconds which unfortunately included all the band members. Should have practiced more!!

The longest group drum roll was accomplished by The Royal Marines Band Service. It was performed at The Tower of London in 2014. It lasted for 64 hours and actors Harrison Ford and Tom Hardy attended part of the event. So from now on, there must be no griping or excuses about not having time to practice.
Can you dig it?
Cheers, Barry