Monday, December 2nd
2024 Drum Lesson Program Reviews
Melodics
- $0 to $14.99 per month
- Free trial for 5 minutes per day
- Yearly subscription
- 1,200+ lessons
- Emphasis on rhythm
- Gamified approach similar to Rock Band
- App and PC compatible
- Beginner, intermediate, and advanced content
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- 4.6-star average rating
Promising an interactive program that stands out from the pack, Melodics' drum lessons are a technology-driven option for new and returning drum students. Melodics was developed as an app by Sam Gribben in 2014. It's downloadable on desktop and mobile to help you develop your drumming skills through 100+ lessons. Unlike many other sites in our review, Melodics offers a free plan that allows you to learn (with some limitations) at zero cost.
Take Rock Band games to the lesson room
Melodics is an app that tracks performance and progress through your drum kit. Using sound-based tracking, Melodics helps you improve your drumming precision and timing. The entire approach is a gamified learning tool to make practicing more fun. Ever played Rock Band or Guitar Hero? This is a lot like that. The 1,200+ lessons themselves are broken down into easy steps. First, you can preview the audio you'll be learning, and then you'll play through it following the on-screen prompts (just like those video games). Finally, Melodics will score you on timing, streaks of correct beats, how many beats you hit early or late, and how many were completely missed. You'll be scored out of 100 points, and get a pass/fail notification too. With the guided lesson paths, you'll also learn about fundamentals and technique, so it's not all games.
Works with all drum sets and for all drumming levels
Melodics promises beginner, intermediate, and advanced drum lessons. You can expect to see real-time feedback, a path to help you stick to a particular course with regular practice, and hundreds of songs to play along to. Since this is high-tech, you might be wondering about extra purchases, but don't worry, the program listens to your playing. You don't need anything outside your normal drum kit, but buying electric drums is an option if you want more accurate feedback.
Prices from $0 to $14.99 per month
There are three packages to choose from, and one of them is free. You can start your Melodics journey by playing for 5 minutes each day. You'll have access to 20 lessons and an introduction to the guided lesson path. The next tier up is the Standard plan. This costs $10.99 per month and includes unlimited play time, 1,200+ lessons, a complete guided path, and advanced practice tools. Finally, the Premium plan is $14.99 per month and offers unlimited play time, and an additional 180+ song lessons on top of the features offered by the Standard program. Keep in mind both plans seem to be priced monthly, but Melodics states you will be charged annually for both plans ($131.88 for Standard and $179.88 for Premium).
14-day refund policy
Melodics offers a refund policy within 14 days of your purchase. Otherwise, Melodics allows students to cancel subscriptions at any time. While this is much shorter than most refund policies we've seen for drum lessons, you also can use the free plan to preview the content, so you can get into Melodics without needing to spend any money at all.
Solid ratings from Trustpilot
While Melodics doesn't have a page with the Better Business Bureau, it has a great reputation. According to Trustpilot, Melodics currently holds a 4.6-star average rating. 90% of all reviews have received 5 stars. Students praise how helpful the program is in seeing their progress. The fun exercises keep students coming back for daily practice sessions, and despite not offering any teaching from a particular instructor, customers praise the methods and the in-app tools for supporting learning the drums. Speaking of the app, Melodics has a more balanced reputation on Apple. The app has a 3.5-star average rating. Most students love the program, with over 50% of reviews still at 5 stars, but there are some complaints. The primary concern is that the monthly price listed is charged as an annual fee, so those students felt like the site was dishonest.
Best gamified approach to drum lessons
If you're looking for a program that will allow you to learn the drums without the need for an instructor, Melodics is a great option. With the gamified approach using a Rock Band-esque scrolling and scorekeeping style, the app creates a highly rhythm-based program that keeps you coming back for more every day. With high ratings on Trustpilot, this is a great choice for all levels if you need something more motivating than practice books to get your groove on each day. While the annual fee can make Melodics a little pricier upfront, it still earns a solid rating in our review.
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The 10 Best Drum Lesson Programs
Where is the Best Place to Take Drum Lessons?
Ever sit and listen to your favorite bands and dream of being the next lead drummer? Whether you like jazz, classic rock, or you just grew up trying to beat the high score on "The End” by the Beatles on Rock Band, we get your groove. Drums are one of the most interesting instruments out there and a great way to enjoy learning rhythm, get your cardio in, and gain all the benefits of music education at the same time.
No matter what anyone says, the drums are the most important building block of the band (we love you, lead singers, but it's the drummer's turn). Go on, pick your favorite song, and listen to it on YouTube with "no drums.” You'll feel the emptiness, like the heartbeat of the piece is missing.
Drum Lesson Program FAQ
Continued from above...
While all elements of a song are needed to create music magic, the drums are the basis of the beat. In the studio, the drummer usually puts his or her tracks down first to give everyone the beat to follow. And there's no age limit to learning the drums; so, no matter where you are in your journey, you can pick up drum lessons anytime.
Drums have a unique history as one of the oldest instruments known to man. While most people are familiar with the drums through our favorite bands ("Moby Dick” by Led Zeppelin, anyone? Or maybe you're a fan of "Drumming Song” by Florence + The Machine), you can find drums in almost every culture. From steel pans in Trinidad to tabla in India, drumming has been used as an ancient art form since over 7,000 BC. And drums aren't just for music. In Africa, drums have been used for long-distance communication for centuries. So, whether you're trying to be the next Ringo Starr or explore music from another culture, the drums are a great place to start.
Many recent studies show that there are plenty of benefits to drumming when you practice a few hours per week. Most drummers work on two motor skills at the same time, so regular drumming practice can help you improve your ability to perform multiple large body movements in different directions at the same time. Drummers also have more symmetrical brains because regular drumming can make your brain more efficient. Cool, right?
Plus, drummers tend to have better connections between different hemispheres of their brains, so you don't have to worry anymore about being "Right” or "Left” brained; you'll be doing it all once you start drumming. The benefit that most surprised us was that drummers tend to be calmer, and drumming can have positive impacts on those with ADHD. Drumming really helps you get all that energy out.
Ready to rock and roll? Great! - but now you might be stumped at where to find the best drum lessons. It can be costly to pay for private instruction, and not everybody has the time. Luckily, there are plenty of online drum lessons to choose from. Here are a few things to consider as you browse different courses and teachers:
- Cost. People make a career out of music, so it can get pricey to pick up lessons. As you browse drum lessons, make sure that the course or teacher offers what you need within a budget you can handle. You'll want to look at who is teaching and how far you'll get with the instruction (do they stop at beginner or can you go all the way to advanced or professional?) to make sure the cost and value are worth it.
- Methods. Learning anything is a personal experience, and you know how you learn best. So, keep an eye out for drum lessons that teach the way you like to learn. Whether that's synchronous online video lessons or distance learning from videos and booklets, you'll want to be comfortable learning throughout your drumming journey.
- Guarantees. Sometimes things don't work out, and that's okay. But you want to make sure when you sign up for drum lessons that there's a guarantee or refund policy to support you if you change your mind. Some courses offer a trial period to test the drum lessons for yourself. Either way, you want to make sure you can move on to a better teacher or course if the first one doesn't work out.
- Reputation. There are plenty of other drummers (pros and beginners too) who have tried lessons and left reviews. Check out what they have to say to help guide you toward your best pick. Third-party review sites like the Better Business Bureau are a great way to see if drum lessons from a particular teacher are worth your time.
To help you start laying down a beat, Top Consumer Reviews has reviewed and ranked today's top drum lessons. We hope this gets your toes tapping (ideally on that snare drum) and pretty soon, you could be one of the next names in music history. Let us know when we can buy your new album!
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