If you are here, you love drumming and can't imagine living without it.

I completely understand this feeling because that's exactly how I feel. I've devoted 40 years of my life to the art of drumming and have loved every minute of it.

Feeling the rhythm effortlessly flowing through you while you are drumming gives you joy that it is second-to-none!

But, along the way, I went through some very frustrating, low points on my drumming journey.

One of them almost ended my passion for drumming and made me quit playing for an entire year.

Every drummer will go through some low points in their journey and these moments can be crippling to your confidence:

• The sentiment that you can't improve a skill further no matter how hard you practice...
• The feeling that you can't grasp the concepts that are making your drunming stale...
• The disappointment of trying new complex styles or rhythms and thinking they are just "too hard" to play...

Moments like these make you feel disappointed with your playing. You might even think of quitting like I did.

However, a year after I stopped playing, I enrolled in a percussion class with Gene Graves at the local junior college. What I learned in that class reignited my passion for drumming.

With the help of this enlightening experience and the new knowledge I gained, I developed a method to confront these low points effectively every single time.

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Here, I will teach you how to achieve these same results...

By working on the foundations, you should never neglect, you will achieve your full potential and become the best drummer you can possibly be!

This method led me to confidently play more complex drumming styles and rhythms and be able to work with drumming legends such as David Garibaldi, Peter Erskine, Colin Bailey, Steve Smith, and others...

I have performed in a variety of musical settings ranging from jazz, rock and funk to big band, R&B, and fusion.

In my career I have had the great pleasure to have collaborated with some of today's most talented drummers including Neil Peart, Kenny Arnoff, Terry Bozzio, Mike Portnoy, Dave Weckl, and Gregg Bisssonette.

For the past 40 years, I've been teaching drummers of all ages and skill levels to read drum notation, develop their technique, and play a variety of different drumming styles comfortably and confidently!

The Beginnings of My Drumming Journey

I grew up playing to records by the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, and Cream.

When I was a senior in high school, I joined a successful, cover band with some of the Bay Area's best musicians.

However, when playing in the band, I felt like I was in a gray zone. I simply played the drum parts I felt best fit the songs. But, I really didn't understand everything I was playing, nor did I understand the concept of song form.

I didn't think much of it at the time because I was having so much fun.

The band was playing gigs throughout northern California and I thought I could possibly make a living performing with this group.

Then a year after I graduated from high school, the band fell apart. I WAS DEVASTATED...

At that time, I thought it was the end of my dream.

I kept practicing on my own to get out of the gray zone. But, no matter how hard I practiced, I still didn't develop the confidence I knew I needed.

At this point, I quit playing for a year.

During this year, my passion for drumming never left me. I thought about drumming all the time and deep down knew, there had to be a way I could become as good as the drummers I always admired.

I realized all of these drummers that I admired knew exactly what they were doing.

But in my case, I couldn't read music and didn't completely understand what I was playing.

I then decided to enroll in a basic percussion class at the local junior college. What I learned in this class changed my life forever!

I finally learned how to read music. I also learned how to break down the complexity of drumming to a simple, easy-to-understand manner.

Now, when I was playing, I completely understood everything I was doing. At this point, I was no longer in the gray zone.

Now I had the knowledge I needed to master my instrument and play with confidence.

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Through this life experience and much trial and error, I've perfected a method to apply these fundamental principles to your playing, giving you the key to playihg confidently in any style:

JohnX Online Drum Lessons

This powerful method covers the art of drumming with a proven, clear path to building your drumming confidence in any style.

My practical, easy-to-understand video drum lessons include:

• Jazz Studies
• Rock, Funk, and R&B Grooves
• Stick Techniques and Rudiments
• Drumset Independence
• Fills and Solos
• And more...

"I've known John for many years and have watched his evolution as a player and teacher. The catalog of lessons he's put together cover the art of drumming from many angles. The content of each lesson is excellent... expertly taught, skillfully performed and beautifully filmed. Congratulations my friend"....David Garibaldi (Tower of Power)

"John X has developed a style of teaching online lessons that is clear, concise and full of exciting content that has the potential of adding an abundance of new ideas to your playing. Well done John" ...Steve Smith

"John X has long been a master of systemizing what it takes for a drummer to sound good. And the simple truth is this: when we sound good, we feel good ... and then band feels good, and so the music benefits! John's lessons are concise, effective, to the point and, most of all, they are fun. For you or a drummer you know, John X's lessons are a gift that will keep on giving." ...Peter Erskine

"This is supreme Drumming education, so many licks and solos to learn from different areas of Funk and Jazz . John X's presentation is excellent, the filming and sound are great, and his explanation of every single solo is right on. I highly recommend this series."...Colin Bailey (Jazz Drumming Legend)

Watch This Short Video About JohnX Online Drum Lessons