Latin Drumming System Review

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There is a reason that Mike Michalkow has made a name for himself within the instructional drumming community.

With over twenty years of knowledge, the man knows his stuff. Not only that, but he is able to deliver it in a friendly, easily comprehensible fashion as well.

If you are familiar with Mike Michalkow’s Jazz Drumming System, then the layout of the Latin Drumming System will be no surprise to you.

This set contains 3 DVDs for the main content and a play along DVD to give you some fun jam time while continuing to further your knowledge. A work book is provided with the lesson to help you keep track of the progress you make, as well as allow you to read along with the sheet music for each lesson.

The Latin Drumming System covers an expansive number of styles including Bossa Nova, Merengue, Tango, Soca, Rumba, and the Mambo, among many others.

Mike Michalkow once again manages to cover each style with a friendly, helpful teaching style. Each and every technique is not only broken down and replayed, but he explains the tiniest aspects to help you to successfully perform the techniques correctly. There are no cumbersome theoretical concepts to confuse you, either; every lesson is straight forward, to the point, and explained simply.

This can be a bit of a turn off if you are a serious musician who wants to understand every aspect of music, however, because Mike avoids theory in exchange for beginner friendly explanations and examples.

This is a mixed blessing, as it can help you learn and at the same time bring about a state of musical ignorance. Depending on your goals or desires, this should be something you seriously consider before buying the Latin Drumming System.

As with all of Mike Michalkow’s programs, the course progresses as you do. As you develop skills, you are taught not only how to implement them, but when to implement them to receive the most out of your rudiments. This will help you later on when you begin learning to improvise with these new styles.

The jam along DVD is not only fun, but informative as well, helping you to develop skills necessary to properly improvise within the given context of the styles provided. The jam along tracks are built specifically so that you can be free to play to your heart’s content without feeling smothered by overpowering layers of voices and contrasting instrumentation.

Summary of the Jam Packed Course:

Ok. Even GOOD drumming courses has their downsides. So what are they?

The biggest drawback --besides the lack of theoretical concepts for you serious musicians-- is the price. The course costs nearly half the price of most programs that offer triple the amount of lessons and overall content.

This is mostly due to the fact that the program is somewhat limited in availability. However, if you are serious about Latin drumming and don’t mind dishing out a bit of money, then even with the higher price tag, this is a great program to learn various Latin drumming styles.

Overall, this is a course that I would highly reccommend to anyone who is interested in this genre of drums playing.