[.ca] Steve Smith: Drumset Technique/History of U.S. Beat

Wow! Steve, what a piece of work!:
First off: I was never a huge fan of Journey, so any effusive prose that may come from the tips of my little fingoids as I type is not coming from there. ;o) Steve is one of the most well-rounded and musically diverse drummers that I've ever seen. He plays it all and does it amazingly well. I've been playing since 1964 and have taught my son to play and am now starting to teach my grandson. My son was blown away when he came to my house and watched some of this DVD with me. In less than an hour, Steve had shown my son an appreciation for diverse musicial styles that I'd been trying to open him up to for years. Steve is *that* good as a teacher. I don't think I've ever seen better. While I would indeed rank this as an intermediate-to-advanced instructional DVD, he succeeds wonderfully in communicating his techniques for expanding your own expertise on the drums. The only thing that I find a drawback is that when I watch it, I am distinctly jealous of those just starting out in their young drumming careers today and who have great instruction like this to begin with. :o) This is amazing stuff. I own many drum technique video/DVD sets and this is the best of the breed. If I could give it 10 stars, I would. Thanks Steve for giving fresh inspiration to a grandpa who still loves to drum and who can't wait for his next chance to kick some ass behind the kit, and is truly grateful that I can get this kind of instruction to my son and grandson so that one day they can blast past the old man -- but they're going to have to work at it to do so, I ain't giving in that easy! ;o)

Well Worth The Price:
I found this to be one of the most useful instructional DVDs i've seen so far. It incorporates a lot of different material and it easy to understand because Steve is an awesome teacher to learn from. His techniques are all useful and he tells you why also while adding in extra incite and tips along the way. I especially found his Metric Modulations very interesting that you can use in creating a song by changing the feel and time without actually changing the tempo. Very Cool. Well recommended by myself.

Very dissapointing:
From reviews and recomendations, I expected a lot from this DVD. When I got it home and watched the first ten mins or so about traditional grip techniques, I got bored. I play match grip. The overall audio level was low. I had to crank my TV to double the normal listening level of 10 to 20!! There are a couple of peak distortion audio splats on loud kick drums etc.. I lost interest with Steve's boring explanations. He goes into some gunk on polyrhythms that has no written reference and you can only see his hands. Not for intermediate players. I'll probably fast forward through the rest of it then take it back....

The Best Drumming dvd Ever:
Its very simple-this is the best instructional drum product ever. Thankyou Steve Smith.

Excellent DVD - Excellent Value:
I never thought I'd call a $50 DVD a great value, but this is. Disc #1 is your own personal lesson with the Master himself. The hand and foot techniques are tremendous. I really enjoy disc #2. The historic band with Steve on a vintage drum set is a treat. Then they get into a long set with Vital Information where you can see the practical applications of the techniques he taught in disc #1. Be sure to check out the extras. I didn't see the hi-hat thing at first, but WOW. I had no idea you could do that with a hi-hat! A nice feature is that you have the option to play only the music without the talking in between, or even just the solos if that's all you're in the mood to view. I don't have any other instructional DVD's to compare this to, but it was recommended to me by a pro as the ONE to get. I have to agree!