Rudiments, rhythms, beats, fills, solos, technique; they're all important, but they are not what drumming is about!  Drumming is about artistry, and the exploration and fulfillment of your deepest musical self!  Artistry is woven into the fabric of Mike Trabulsie's Institute for the Artistry of Drumming.  Artistry will help you to become a more musical drummer, and have more fun drumming!

Here you will find every traditional element of drum set education, along with techniques and concepts I have developed over a lifetime of drumming.  I have morphed it all into the most important, most forgotten element of drumming... Artistry!  "Drumming without artistry is just drumming"!

Mike Trabulsie

Hello beginners and welcome!  If you are just starting your journey in drumming you have come to the exact right place!  Learning to play the drums is an exciting and unbelievably rewarding adventure; and it's fun!  It is also extremely important that you learn the proper techniques... the right way, the 1st time!  I have come to understand how critical the early learning period can be. Bad habits are extremely hard to break and will limit your ability on the drum set, which will limit the amount of fun you will have, which unfortunately, often leads to giving up.  Whether you want to be a recreational drummer, a local pro, a qualified instructor, or a national level artist playing concerts and touring the world, drumming will lead to personal fulfillment and is a rewarding life long adventure!

Mike Trabulsie

Many years ago I came to believe that “Technique is the key to a freer form of musical expression”!  There are many elements related to technique such as control, touch, speed, power, dynamics, dexterity, independence, coordination, and more!  All of the elements of technique  are woven into the fabric of this school.  Technique will allow you to express yourself on the drum set in untold ways, and will give you the tools you need to function at whatever level you aspire to in the world of drumming and music!

Mike Trabulsie

There is a reason why every school on the planet teaches children how to read! Imagine for a moment if you couldn't read the written word; it would be extremely difficult to function in society. While you can definitely play drums and have fun without learning to read music, learning to read music will open up a world of knowledge that you would otherwise not have access to; and if you want to be a professional musician, learning to read music is a must!

Mike Trabulsie

The snare drum is the most important and versatile drum in your drum set!  It is the mastery and implementation of the snare drum, in concert with other drumming techniques, that will turn you from a good drummer into and artist of drumming!  It's no coincidence that many of the greatest drummers in the world use the snare drum extensively in their rhythms, fills and solos!  Learning to play the snare drum will provide you with a multitude of technical tools, along with a deep well of musical ideas and ability!

Mike Trabulsie

Everybody loves a great drum fill!  Just think of the wild applause Neil Peart would get from 20,000 screaming concert fans when he would play one of his epic drum fills! You can go through the history of recorded music and find drum fills that are so integral to a song, that it's hard to imagine the song without them!  Playing drum fills is a specialized art!

Playing "musical drum fills" is part of what separates the great drummers from everybody else, but in order to play musical drum fills you must practice musical drum fills; "you are what you practice"!  In these drum fills classes we'll study some of the "greats", while working on the many elements of playing drum fills, including the musical and melodic.  There's a lot for you to practice; so lets get to it!

Mike Trabulsie

Everybody loves the fire and fury of a drum solo, but playing one is challenging! I've been fortunate enough to see many of the great soloists live, and have listened to and studied many of the greatest drum soloists of the 20th and 21st centuries.  I've also had the opportunity to play many drum solos myself.  Drum set soloing has a deep, rich history, with many approaches.  I will be posting my drum set soloing class soon, in the meantime, I think you'll enjoy this introductory lecture "An Introduction to Drum Solos".  

Mike Trabulsie

There are 195 countries in the world, and they all have their own rhythms and sounds.  Here is where you will learn to play rhythms from other countries, and they will all make you a more creative, skillful, and versatile drummer; and they're so much fun to play!

Mike Trabulsie

Developing artistry in drumming requires more than hammering out rudiments and playing fast! There is a world of concepts and philosophies that will deepen your knowledge of drumming and help propel you towards a greater level of drum set artistry!  Whether you aspire to be a recreational drummer, a local pro, a qualified drum instructor, or a national level professional playing concerts and touring the world, "Lectures" will help you to play better by providing you with greater knowledge on the artistry of drumming.

Mike Trabulsie

For those drummers who are in the late intermediate to advanced levels of drumming development, there are many lessons just for you!  While I continue to prepare and record classes, lectures, and lessons for your level, I think you'll enjoy, and learn from some of the material at the school so far. In the intermediate to advanced level, a lot of your drumming techniques are developed; you've paid your dues and you can definitely play!  Consequently, I focus on the more advanced, subtle, and in many cases, often ignored elements of modern drumming artistry such as metric modulation, beat placement, progressive jazz drumming, ghost notes, odd time signatures, playing over the bar line, creativity, dynamics, and more!

Mike Trabulsie

Hello Drummers of all levels!  I've been collecting and writing sayings for over 30 years.  I have found inspiration and wisdom in them.  I thought I would share a few of my favorites as is relevant to our goal of drumming artistry.  I hope you enjoy them!

"Drumming without artistry is just drumming",  "Artistry in art is not present on the human surface, you must dig deep", "Technique is the key to a freer form of musical expression", "It's never to late to be what you might have been", '"It's not what you look at, it's what you see", "The great danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark", "There is a power in you greater than any power that comes against you", "Think outside the box", "Everybody is ordinary until they do something extraordinary", "You don't choose your passions, they choose you"!

Mike Trabulsie