Description
John Bonham is a legend in the world of drumming!
In this edition of Classic Performances we’re going to take a look at Bonham’s recorded drumming performance of When The Levee Breaks with Led Zeppelin. The drumming in this song is deceptively complex. On the surface, it appears to primarily utilize a simple, heavy Bonham groove, but when you take a deep look at it, you realize there is a lot of rhythmic complexity as the song moves along, which is characteristic of a John Bonham performance. While there is a lot of complexity inside of the groove and fills, it is a great song for beginners wanting to have some fun, and get into a Led Zeppelin play-a-long!
When I was a kid, When the Levee Breaks was a Zeppelin tune I could jam along with, and I did! I have also used this song successfully with many students as an instructional play-a-long. In this class you will find an introductory lecture where we’ll discuss the class in general. The following 5 lessons we’ll break down and discuss the foundational structure of the song, the beats, the kicks, the fills, and finally some overall observations of the Bonham performance on this track.
You will walk away with a much clearer understanding of some of the characteristics of the John Bonham style, and at the same time, you will gain deeper knowledge of the drumming in this classic Zeppelin tune, along with some knowledge of the foundational structural elements of the song; something drummers often ignore! Oh yeah, when you’re done with it all…you can turn on your studio lights and have some fun drumming to When the Levee Breaks… John Bonham style!! Also included for download are the lessons files for practice and study.
Mike Trabulsie
LEVEL: all levels