If you want to see an epic theatrical performance on the drums, you’ve come to the right place.

Ryan Van Poederooyen says that the Devin Townsend album Deconstruction is “probably the craziest thing I’ve ever recorded.”

The fourth track, “Planet Of The Apes”, is an 11-minute saga that gets progressively more intense as it takes you on a wild ride from start to finish. It really doesn’t feel like an 11-minute song!

If you like progressive metal drumming – or even prog rock and odd time playing – this is the performance for you.

Want to learn how to play like Ryan? Click here to watch his full lesson on nailing odd time!

Don’t get mad. Get odd.

If you’re a drummer who’s spent a lot of time getting ‘even’ by playing in 4 or 6, you can take your playing to the next level by opening yourself up to odd time signatures.

It can feel awkward to push outside your comfort zone at first – especially when you’re trying to play in 5, 7, or 9 over a quarter note click – but with enough practice it’ll become second nature.

In this full live lesson with Ryan Van Pooderoyen (RVP), you’ll learn one simple exercise to break out of your 4/4 bubble and become the next Neil Peart (no promises, though).

Each of these columns represents a bar of time, and the numbers represent the time signature in that bar. Rotate through this chart to get used to switching from one time to the next.

1. First, clap along over a quarter note click while counting out loud.
2. Next, keep time on the hi-hat and hit the crash and bass drum on the 1 of each bar. Start over if you miss.
3. Finally, turn it into a full (simple) groove and rotate through the chart.
   

As soon as you get used to these numbers, change them up.

Don’t make it too complicated. Start simple and start at 60 BPM, increasing the tempo by 5 BPM as you get used to it. And if you find it difficult, keep trying. You will eventually get it. Quoth RVP: “Failure is your best teacher!”

Lesson Outline:
0:00 – SONG: “Hollow” by Imonolith
3:45 – Introduction
6:20 – Intro to odd time
9:50 – The challenge/exercise
17:21 – Trying it in a groove
21:49 – Making it more interesting
32:55 – SONG: “Planet Of The Apes” by Devin Townsend Project

For a longer, more in-depth lesson, Marco Minnemann has a great hour-long tutorial on playing in odd time.

About Ryan:
Ryan “RVP” Van Poederooyen is a Vancouver-based educator and clinician. He’s currently the drummer of hard rock band Imonolith and the former longtime drummer of Devin Townsend. With many years of world tours, albums and live CDs/DVDs under his belt with Devin, Ryan has also been hired for sessions with producers such as Brian Howes (Nickelback, Hinder, Puddle of Mudd, Daughtry), Chad Kroeger (Nickelback), Rhys Fulber (Fear Factory, The Tea Party, Josh Groban) and many others.

Ryan Plays:
Sonor
Sabian
Evans
Regal Tip

Follow Ryan:
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Looking for a new and fun way to apply some of the world’s most popular drumming exercises on the kit?

Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone is one of the most legendary drum books out there. If you’ve ever had a drum teacher, they’ve either mentioned it or inadvertently shown you exercises from it. Millions (probably) of teachers and students have flipped through its pages since it was first published in 1935. It’s the book that gets handed down from generation to generation.

If you haven’t heard of it until now, there’s no time like the present to get acquainted! Click here to go through some of the exercises with an awesome teacher.

There are just under 200 sticking exercises in the book, and each one can be applied to the drum set. That means you can play at least the same number of exercises as drum beats!

In this 7-minute lesson, Ryan Van Poederooyen from the band iMonolith (ex-Devin Townsend Project) will show you how you can use tried-and-true exercises from Stick Control to come up with new beats and ideas on the drum set while practicing your coordination.

To translate snare exercises into drum set exercises, play the bass drum where the exercise has right hand sticking, and play the snare drum for left hand sticking. Then add a cymbal with your other hand over top. 

1. Get comfortable

The very first rudiment in Stick Control is alternating right hand/left hand. On the kit, you’ll alternate right hand/left foot, and add 8th notes on the hi-hats with your right hand.

Ryan also loves to play exercises #6, #8, and #24 on the drums. Start at 60 BPM and work your way up (he suggests to his students that they not move on to the next page until they get to 150 BPM).

You can practice these over songs, too!

2. Move to quarter notes on the ride

Next, try it with quarter notes on the ride. Since you’ll be playing to a click, you’ll know that you’re on time because each ride hit will line up the click.

3. Improvise drum fills

To connect these two exercises together, play 8th notes on the hi-hat for first pattern. Then improvise a one-bar fill as you transition into quarter notes on the ride. After a few bars, throw in another drum fill and move back to 8th notes on the hi-hats.

What other rudiments from Stick Control do you think would sound awesome on the kit?

If this lesson got you itching to give your rudiments that oomph, watch this full-length lesson with Dorothea Taylor on applying paradiddles to the drum set.