Hybrid Drums Program
The Hybrid Drums Program at Sound Collective is a unique year-long experience designed to blend the flexibility of online learning with the depth of in-person training.
InstructorAlex Cohen
Total LengthSelf-paced
About Course
The Hybrid Drums Program at Sound Collective is a unique year-long experience designed to blend the flexibility of online learning with the depth of in-person training. Students begin with self-paced online courses and personalized 1-on-1 Zoom lessons with our world-class instructors, building skills in technique, artistry, and performance. Along the way, they complete projects and receive structured feedback to track progress. In the final trimester, students come to New York City for an immersive residency, gaining full access to our state-of-the-art facilities, attending weekly in-person classes, and working closely with faculty in private lessons. Combining digital convenience with hands-on mentorship, the program prepares drummers for both the stage and the studio.
Course Content
- Zoom Session 1
- Overview of Introduction to Drum Technique
- Before We Start Playing
- The 90 Degree Principal
- Arm and Hand Basics
- Down Below
- The Perfect Warm Up
- My Four Way Melody
- Active Hi-Hat Balance Test
- All At Once
- Paradiddle Cross Polynation
- The Ever Present Back-Beat
- Finger Technique
- Moeller Technique Basics
- Flams
- Bass Drum Techniques
- Hi-Hat Technique
- Platform No.1
- The “Lowly” Ruff
- Swiss Army Triplet Platform
- Learning What You Don’t By Using What You Already Do Know
- Paradiddle Groove Bass Drum Extensions
- Overview of Rudiment Applications for the Drum Set
- Single Stroke Roll
- Single Stroke Rolls Using Hands and Feet
- Double Stroke Roll
- Odd Timed Double Stroke Rolls
- Ten-Stroke Roll
- Correct Flam Execution
- Flam Accent
- Flam Tap
- Flamadiddle-diddle
- Flam Paradiddle
- Half Drag a.k.a. “Ruff”
- Single Drag a.k.a. “Drag Tap”
- Drag Paradiddles #1 and #2
- Ratamacue Around the Drum Set
- Lesson 25 Orchestrations
- Single Paradiddle Beats and Movements
- Double Paradiddle: 6/8 Afro-Cuban Application
- Paradiddle and Inversions
- Single, Double and Triple Paradiddle Combinations
- 4-way Coordination Paradiddle
- Overview of Learning Classic Drum Beats and Groove Techniques
- Introduction
- Charting and Transcribing
- Practicing
- Recording
- “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC
- “Eternal Life” by Jeff Buckley
- “Manic Depression” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
- “Fool in the Rain” by Led Zeppelin
- “The Funky Drummer” by James Brown
- “Funky Snakefoot” by Alphonse Mouzon
- “Just Kissed My Baby” by The Meters
- “Kissing My Love” by Bill Withers
- “3 on E” by Vulfpeck
- “Can’t You See” by Tower of Power
- “Ebony Jam” by Tower of Power
- “La Grange” by ZZ Top
- “One Love” by Bob Marley and The Wailers
- “Fungi Mama” by Blue Mitchell
- “Don’t Fight Your Wars” by Tony Allen
- “Jingle Jangle” by Chuck Brown
- Overview of Modern Drumming
- Everyday Technique
- Note Value and Reading
- Rudiments
- Independence and the Grid
- The Kick Drum
- The Snare Drum
- The Hi-Hat
- The Left Foot
- The Rosanna Half Time Shuffle
- Triplet Vocabulary
- Patterns
- Displacing Patterns
- Odd Time Signatures
- Polyrhythms
- Advanced Rudiments
- 8th and 16th Note Triplet Relationship
- Quintuplets
- Charting
- Playing with a Bassist
- Musicianship
- Overview of Introduction to Jazz Drumming
- Introduction to Jazz Drumming
- Jazz/Snare Independence
- Bass Drum Independence
- Hand to Foot Independence
- “Well You Needn’t” Chart Breakdown
- Performance Breakdown of “Well You Needn’t”
- “Lady Bird” Chart Breakdown
- Performance Breakdown of “Lady Bird”
- Trading 4’s / First Trade
- Second Trade
- Third Trade
- Putting the Trades Together
- Introduction to Jazz Brushes
- Standard Patterns for Jazz Brushes
- Ballad for Jazz Brushes
- Brush and Stick Combinations
- Introduction to the 2-Feel
- Performance and Variation Patterns of the 2-Feel
- Introduction to Double Time Feel
- Double Time Performance and Variation Patterns
- Overview of Introduction to Hand Percussion
- Sounds
- The Slaps
- Hand Combinations
- Heel – Fingertip Combinations
- Conga Tumbao
- Variations for 1 Conga
- Variations for 2 Congas
- Variations for 3 or More Congas
- The Clave
- The Bongo and Cowbell
- The Timbal
- Güiro and Maracas
- Guaguancó Basics
- Guaguancó Variations
- 6/8 Time
- Songo
- Exercises for 4 Congas; Knowing Your Space
- Other Grooves
- The Percussion Set-Up
- Basics to Improvisation
- Overview of Modern Piano by Rosemary Minkler
- Basic Piano Technique and Notation
- Modes
- Triads and 7th Chords
- Voicing Chords
- Improvisation
- Improvising Over Chord Progressions (Scale Based)
- Improvising Over Chord Progressions (Melody Based)
- Improvising Everything (Chord Progression and Melody)
- Jazz
- Pop and Rock
- R&B and Neo-Soul
- Reggae, Bossa Nova, and Salsa Montuno
- Classical
- Jazz
- Pop
- Learning and Memorizing New Songs
- Practicing Scales
- Practicing Your Repertoire
- Practicing Improvisation
- Practicing Composition
- Modern Piano Quiz
- Overview of Modern Music Theory by Martina Liviero
- Basic Rhythm Notation Part 1
- Basic Rhythm Notation Part 2
- Basic Rhythm Notation Part 3
- Basic Rhythm Notation Part 4
- The Musical Alphabet and Pitch Notation
- Accidentals
- Tetrachords
- Key Signatures
- Intervals
- Major and Minor 6ths and 3rds
- Major and Minor 2nds and 7ths
- Augmented and Diminished
- Circle of Fifths
- Solfege and Transposition
- Other Musical Symbols
- Building Triads
- 7th Chords
- Basic Harmonic Progressions
- Cadence and Form
- Transcribing
- Modern Music Theory Quiz
- Foundations of Drumming
- Zoom Session 2
- Overview of Groove, Feel and Timekeeping
- Sekstoles
- 5:0 Groove and The Concept of Alternative Orchestration
- Inside-Out Playing
- Paradiddle Displacement
- Left Foot 16th-note Upbeats; Left Foot “&-ah” Ostinato
- Linear Drumming Basics
- Acquiring Freedom In Linear Playing – Preordained Vs. Improvised Approach
- The New Frontier Linear Approach
- Marko’s Four-Way Linear Flow
- Linear Time Feel Examples
- The Campbell 6/8
- Sone Ka La
- The LIDC Idea
- The We’ll See 5/8 over a 3/4 Groove
- What Time Is It?
- Ballad Strokes
- Standard Swing Strokes
- Non-Standard Swing Strokes and Sweeps
- Up-Tempo Swing Strokes and Sweeps
- 3/4 Swing Sweeps and Strokes
- Overview of Traditional Funk and R&B Rhythms
- Hi Hat Technique
- Snare Drum Technique & Tuning/Head Choices
- Bass Drum Technique & Tuning/Head Choices
- Combined Techniques
- Bass Drum Variations
- Snare Drum Variations
- Hi-Hat Variations
- Combination of Variations
- Description and Breakdown of the “Fatback” Groove; the Foundation of “Cold Sweat”
- Description and Breakdown of the “Cold Sweat” Groove
- Appropriate Fills and Transitions
- Ways to Vary the “Cold Sweat” Groove
- Description and Breakdown of the “Chicken” Bass Line and Rhythm Section Approach
- Description and Breakdown of the “Chicken” Groove
- Appropriate Fills and Transitions
- Ways to Vary the “Chicken” Groove
- Ghost Note Pattern #1
- Ghost Note Patterns #2 and #3
- Displacement
- Displacement Ostinato Variations
- Overview of Advanced Modern Drumming
- Standard Rock
- Half Time (16th Note) Rock
- Shuffle Feels
- Other Rock Styles
- Funk and Ghost Note Patterns
- More Ghost Note Patterns
- Displaced Funk and Linear Funk
- Afro-Cuban Grooves and Mambo Bell Patterns
- Songo
- 6/8 Bembé Patterns and Nanigo
- Other Afro-Cuban Grooves
- Brazilian Grooves and Baião
- One-Drop Reggae
- Steppers, Ska, Rocksteady, and Reggaeton
- 5 Forms of 8th Note Independence
- Independence With Triplets
- Contemporary Jazz
- Jazz Charts and Their Interpretations
- New Orleans Style Drumming
- Soloing
- Overview of Introduction to Shuffle Drumming
- History and Demonstration of the Shuffle Rhythm
- Variations of the Standard Shuffle
- Bass Drum Variations for the Standard Shuffle
- Fills and Transitions
- The Rock Shuffle
- Various Techniques for the Rock Shuffle
- Bass Drum Variations for the Rock Shuffle
- Fills and Transitions for the Rock Shuffle
- The Two Handed/Jazz Shuffle
- Proper Techniques for the Two Handed Shuffle
- Variations for the Two Handed Shuffle
- Fills and Transitions for the Two Handed Shuffle
- The Texas Shuffle
- Proper Techniques for the Texas Shuffle
- Variations for the Texas Shuffle
- Fills and Transitions for the Texas Shuffle
- The Ghost Note Shuffle
- Proper Techniques for the Ghost Note Shuffle
- The Purdie Shuffle
- Proper Techniques for the Purdie Shuffle
- Overview of Introduction to Pad and Kit
- John’s Three Go-To Rudiments
- Unisons and Flams
- Dropping the Diddle
- Dry Run
- The German Grip
- The French Grip
- The American Grip
- The Dreaded Fingers Exercise
- Proper Breathing
- Proper Seating to Snare to Pedals Set-up
- Proper Posture
- Heels Up Footwork
- Heels Down Footwork
- Swivel Technique
- John’s Double Stroke Foot Technique
- Dominating the Double Strokes
- Different Patterns for the Double Stroke Foot Technique
- Exercises for the Double Stroke Foot Technique
- Role of the Hi-Hat in the Double Stroke Foot Technique
- Shuffle Beat with the Double Stroke Foot Technique
- Overview of Introduction to Blast Beats
- Blast Beats: History
- Traditional Blast Beat #1
- Traditional Blast Beat #2
- Traditional Blast Beat #3
- Introduction to the Smith Blast
- Foot Pattern for the Smith Blast
- Linears and Fills for the Smith Blast
- Introduction to the Two Foot Blast
- Building Resistance in Your Two Foot Blast
- Building Resistance In Your Crispy Blast
- Fills and Putting it all Together
- Introduction to the Bomb Blast
- Different Patterns in Relation to the Bomb Blast
- Creative vs. Utilitarian Time-Keeping
- Hybrid Blast
- Hyper Blast
- Introduction to the Gravity Blast
- Gravity Blast Kick Patterns
- One-Handed Roll on a Multi-Snare Set
- Putting It All Together
- Stylistic Versatility and Groove
- Advanced Drumming and Hybrid Performance
- Final Project Submission
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