Drumtalk: Dirk Verbeuren's warm up routines

Drumtalk is a brand new series of online drum lessons and tips! The first couple of episodes are online now, with Nile's own George Kollias kicking off the festivities. Episode number two- which you can watch below- features yours truly explaining some essential pre-show warm up routines.

Props to Philipp Koch for putting this awesome project together! Stay tuned for more lessons from your favorite metal drummers. Also, don't forget to check out the new Soilwork double album The Living Infinite and come see us on tour!

2012 drum clinic performance of DTP's "Juular"

Here's a video from my 2012 drum clinic tour in Germany, organized by Meinl Cymbals and Tama Drums. This one is for the song "Juular" by Devin Townsend Project, off 2011's Deconstruction album. A mighty fine double kick workout indeed- as Devin once told me, the part in "Juular" where the drummer gets to breathe is during the blastbeats! (Huge thanks to Philipp Koch for putting this one together).

I'll post some Soilwork studio footage soon. In the meantime, make sure to get your copy of our new double album The Living Infinite and come see us on tour!

Mastering double kick drumming, part 1

What's up fellow blasters and shredders?! Buried somewhere deep within my hectic schedule, I finally found some scraps of free time. In the resulting new instructional video series, I'll be focusing on double kick drumming.

Many of you have emailed me asking "How can I get faster feet?" or "How can I build my stamina when playing double kick?" In this and the following videos, I'm going to share what I've learned over the years in the hopes of answering some of those questions and maybe even making you happier drummers.

First up: a basic single stroke exercise which should get you started regardless of your level. I'm demonstrating a gradual increase in speed, but remember to begin at a tempo that's realistic for you. And don't forget the keys to success: Practice, Patience and Perseverance!

 

Feel free to email your requests and questions to info[at]dirkverbeuren[dot]com.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to present to you: The Toontrack Challenge! When the fine folks over at Toontrack realized that the Can You Play This video featuring their Drumkit From Hell EZX had an amazing 8 million + views, they asked me "Can you actually play this?" I answered with the video below. Enjoy!

# All sounds heard in the video come from Toontrack's Superior Drummer, the world's leading drum sampler.

# Dirk Verbeuren is the drummer in Soilwork. Besides recording and performing with renowned artists such as Devin Townsend, Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah), Jeff Loomis (ex-Nevermore), Aborted, Powermad and his own bands Bent Sea and Scarve, Verbeuren is also a longtime Toontrack endorsee. He's the drummer behind the Library Of The Extreme series of MIDI packs, and he contributed to the MIDI that comes with The Metal Foundry SDX (an expansion for Superior Drummer).

Tuning the Tama S.L.P. snare drum

People often ask me about tuning drums, so here's a little video showing how to get the best tones out of your snare.

And while we're at it, let's check out an exclusive piece of Tama craftsmanship, shall we? The kick ass snare drum featured in this video is the Tama S.L.P. Vintage Steel, officially presented at NAMM 2012 along with the new Tama Silverstar series. I'll be presenting both the S.L.P. and Silverstar during my upcoming European drum clinic tour. More details about that very soon; meanwhile, enjoy this new vid and keep those questions coming!

The "Dirk Blast"

Hey everyone, welcome to my official blog! As often as I can, I'll be posting new videos with drum lessons, tips and tricks for your enjoyment. And what better to start with than the "Dirk Blast"?

Feel free to send your requests or questions to info[at]dirkverbeuren[dot]com!

 

Correction: the rudiment I'm showing is actually the Flam Accent, not the Flam Tap. Sorry for the confusion!