I’ve been writing and recording drum videos, lessons and blog entries on the great John Bonham for a couple of weeks now. It’s really cool how much I’ve been learning as a consequence. I mean, by trying to notate and teach a drum part you end up learning the part yourself…without really trying. There’s a lot to be said about teaching drums when it comes to improving your own playing ability.
This means that I am now feeling pretty confident about my Bonham impersonation skills. Maybe I could apply for the position of Jason Bonham’s drum dep on the next Led Zeppelin tour? Maybe not 😉
Since studying this master drummer I’ve learnt so much about exactly what it is that made the man so popular…and not just amongst drummers! He was a well respected musician amongst all musicians, no one ever had a bad word to say about his playing that’s for sure.
It was his groove, feel and excellent drum part choices that made him so great. He chose to play totally unique drum parts, that other drummers simply weren’t playing at the time, in places within a song that complemented them perfectly. He had a natural ear for drum kit composition that few drummers ever learn, let alone master.
I’m almost coming to the end of Led Zeppelin songs that I wanted to record and teach and will be putting together a special “Bonham Master Drum Lessons” package of videos containing all the Bonham video drum lesson products in the next few weeks. This will consist of all the greatest drum parts Bonham ever played, available in one place and in for one single purchase. I’ll keep you informed with the progress of this exciting drum product as the pieces fall into place.
Until then I’ve got some other great videos that I’d like to talk about and share with you. One of the video drum lesson that I’m most proud of however is the video drum lesson teaching the drum solo at the end of “Rock and Roll“. I spent a good half a day carefully notating the solo on the recording trying to ensure that every single note was transcribed 100% accurately and to the fullest extent of my ability.
Video drum preview for the “Rock and Roll Drum Solo Video Drum Lesson”
The problem that I had was not working out what he played but working out how to notate it. You see, John Bonham was not a perfectionist. He kept his mistakes in on many of the Zeppelin recordings and would frequently play from his heart rather than with the metronome. The drum solo at the end of Rock and Roll is a classic example of a drum part that sounds amazing but that is not necessarily in time with itself.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the drum solo is therefore “wrong”. Not at all, it’s a great little piece of drum performance and still sends shivers down my spine whenever I hear it. What it is then, is simply a piece of Bonham Fantasy. He let go and just played and gave us what we now hear at the end of the Zep song “Rock And Roll”. My issue, then, was trying to transcribe this drum solo “fantasy” using notation that anyone could read and understand.
It’s because of the difficulty involved in notating and explaining the Rock And Roll drum solo that no other drum teachers have attempted to do the same online. No where else could I find a video drum lesson teaching me this classic drum solo…and believe me I looked. I can honestly say that I am the only drum teacher out there on the web that has actually put the effort into offering a drum video lesson explaining this drum break once and for all.
This is a totally unique package. The drum video lesson and accompanying drum notation gives a full and clear understanding of exactly what Bonham played during that drum solo at the end of Rock And Roll. The drum break has been notated fully and the video drum lesson explains how to put the drum solo together slowly and note by note. I’m really pleased with the final result.
Within the drum solo are two unique Bonham style licks that once learnt can be taken and used anywhere else in your playing. The drum parts for the solo at the end of Rock and Roll can be broken up into smaller and easy to use drum licks. This means that by learning the drum solo you’re also learning new and exciting licks to be used elsewhere in your drumming.
I hope you find this drum lesson as fun to watch and learn from as it was for me to record and teach. This little piece of drum history has finally been set onto video tape and paper so that anyone, no matter what they’re drumming ability, can have a go at playing this brilliant and exciting drum solo.
