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The Concept of Rhythm
I Can Play Drums breaks rhythm into simple, playful steps—listening, feeling the beat, relaxing your grip, and having fun—making it the perfect starting point for nervous beginners of any age. What do beginners misunderstand most about rhythm when they first start?
Kids see a drummer in action, mostly in staged videos, looking cool as whirling sticks and playing all over the place, then hound parents to buy them a drum kit, as they are now inspired.
The new kit arrives, a box of bits and pieces with no assembly instructions; the new kid drummer and parents have to work out how it pieces together with an unhealthy belief that everything on the internet is the Bible.
Once the kit is in some playable form, they then start to try to work out how to be like that cool drummer as seen on videos, fail to do so, and are unable to resist the temptation to just bash away, hoping something musical comes out, and learn bad habits.
Parents gasp at the cost of good tuition, as the kit sits in the corner collecting dust after finding lessons of playing single and double strokes all boring and repetitive (unbeknownst to them that is what and how that cool drummer learned and plays).
To add, many books on drumming after the initial pages of basic beats turn into daunting exercises. Not all, though, a good progressive one to mention is the Carmine Appice Realistic Rock. There is a gap in providing an initial guide to point someone new to drumming in the right direction, hence an attempt in writing I Can Play Drums, to hopefully provide some assistance.
The kit eventually is for sale due to a lack of interest after finding it all too hard, a shame, as with a good start and mind engaged in the concept of rhythm and how it works, there is then a chance to enjoy drumming, and what it brings with perseverance.
Once a learner can gather the basics and start playing rhythms, the immense world of drumming opens to them.
What’s the one piece of gear advice you wish every new drummer would hear first?
To play drums, there is no need to spend a lot of money on equipment. A drummer has all they need with two hands, two feet, and their head in the right place. Then, to prove me wrong, there is the band Def Leppard’s drummer, Rick Allen, who plays with no left arm.
The addition of a pair of drumsticks and a practice pad (a piece of a flat rubber sheet), then drums can be practiced anywhere.
Should anyone venture into a big-name rockstar drummer’s dressing room pre a stage show, they are likely to find the drummer warming up, playing his sticks on a practice pad.
There is also the question of what drummers should not hear. Please invest in hearing protection and use it.
What would you say to someone holding drumsticks for the first time and feeling unsure?
To read I Can Play Drums, taking note about grip on sticks to be so loose so that the drumsticks do the work as they naturally rebound, it is no secret, as this method is proven by many great drummers, such as examples Tiger Bill Meligari, Jo Jo Mayer, as well as most likely any corps drummer.
By playing with a controlled grip, problems of limiting playing ability and the risk of injuring the body are reduced considerably. Many drummers who play hard with a stiff grip end up with carpal tunnel issues, as well as foot issues for those who, by default, slam the pedal into the head. It is good to know about this at the commencement of drumming rather than later.
Another thing is to learn and play slowly to one’s own ability. Speed, power, and the flashy stuff that initially inspired them to take up the drums all come in time with plenty of practice.
Drumming is a very physical thing to do, learn to hold the sticks correctly, as well as placing and playing the feet correctly, and yes, you can play drums, well.
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The Art and Science of Aviation Instruction
The Art and Science of Aviation Instruction lays out a clear and urgent argument for reinventing how flight instructors teach. The book moves through research, case law, human behavior, assessment strategies, and curriculum design. It blends aviation with lessons from healthcare and other high-risk fields. It also pushes instructors to move away from time-based teaching and toward structured, competency-driven training. Throughout the text, the author ties pilot error, instructional gaps, and weak training standards together into one central message. Safety improves only when instructional quality improves.
While reading, I felt a steady mix of respect and frustration. Respect for the clarity of the author’s thinking. Frustration because so many of the issues he raises feel preventable. The writing is direct, almost clinical at times, yet the message carries a sense of personal urgency. I liked how the author admits that aviation has borrowed too little from other high-stakes industries. His comparisons to surgical education hit hard. They made me think about how casually we sometimes treat pilot training. I also appreciated the blunt stories about CFI turnover and weak instructional habits. They feel honest, and they sting a little, and that is what makes them effective.
The ideas on assessment struck me the most. The book keeps coming back to planning, documenting, and diagnosing learning like an educator rather than just a pilot. The tone gets a bit heavy with academic framing, but the purpose behind it is sound. I found myself nodding when the author described how poor remediation leads to bad habits that follow a pilot into every flight. The discussion of legal cases also stirred something in me. It felt like a wake-up call. Instructors are not just mentors. They are accountable professionals, and the courts treat them that way. Reading those sections made me reflect on how much responsibility sits on a CFI’s shoulders, sometimes without them realizing it.
In the end, I walked away feeling motivated. The book challenges you and asks you to rebuild how you teach. I came out of it believing the aviation community needs more books exactly like this. I would recommend it to CFIs, flight school leaders, and even advanced student pilots who want to understand the deeper purpose of training. Anyone serious about shaping safer pilots will get a lot out of this work.
Pages: 256 | ASIN : B0G32882YT
