Drums of Thought DVD

[Dream Team]

Got this last week . . . anyone else have it? What are your thoughts? The commentary I felt was hit-and-miss, but I really like the isolated drum tracks because then I can really decipher what's going on during the more complicated rhythms. Also, since his back-up vocal tracks were isolated, it's pretty easy to critique them . . . some were pretty good, others were  .

One of the interesting things is that you can hear him pondering the ideas that would eventually come to fruition at the Score concert. Overall, I of course continue to be very impressed with his ability to sing/twirl/etc while playing complicated parts all at the same time  .

[TAC]

I also have this and like it a lot. I love the Commentaries and haven't bought the last few because there are none. But I definitely want to get the BC&SL one.

[bosk1]

Would you recommend this and/or Mike's other videos for newbie drummers?  I mean, obviously, I don't expect to be able to play anywhere near what Mike is playing on those tracks at my skill level.  But it seems to me, I can still pick up a lot of valuable things from being able to see and hear what he is doing in isolation.  Thoughts?

[Perpetual Change]

Since I'm not a drummer and have no intention to start playing the drums, the only good Mike's drum DVDs would do me would be as the commentary.  In other words, I'd be buying them just to hear Mike's voice.  Which is kinda creepy.

[Dream Team]

Would you recommend this and/or Mike's other videos for newbie drummers?  I mean, obviously, I don't expect to be able to play anywhere near what Mike is playing on those tracks at my skill level.  But it seems to me, I can still pick up a lot of valuable things from being able to see and hear what he is doing in isolation.  Thoughts?

Not really. Mike's videos aren't really aimed at beginners. Actually, he himself admits he's not a very good instructor. There's more value in just watching what he does, and the isolated drum tracks are great for that. His instructional DVDs, like In Constant Motion and Liquid Drumming, are also more focused on performance rather than instruction but they are certainly great for expanding your horizons and realizing what is possible on a drum kit with dedicated practice. I guess in fairness I should say that he does a pretty good job of explaining odd time signatures and approach to double-bass.

[bosk1]

Would you recommend this and/or Mike's other videos for newbie drummers?  I mean, obviously, I don't expect to be able to play anywhere near what Mike is playing on those tracks at my skill level.  But it seems to me, I can still pick up a lot of valuable things from being able to see and hear what he is doing in isolation.  Thoughts?

Not really. Mike's videos aren't really aimed at beginners. Actually, he himself admits he's not a very good instructor. There's more value in just watching what he does, and the isolated drum tracks are great for that. His instructional DVDs, like In Constant Motion and Liquid Drumming, are also more focused on performance rather than instruction but they are certainly great for expanding your horizons and realizing what is possible on a drum kit with dedicated practice. I guess in fairness I should say that he does a pretty good job of explaining odd time signatures and approach to double-bass.

The bolded parts are more of what I was getting at.  Would someone at a beginner level still find them useful for the things you mentioned?

[Dream Team]

Would you recommend this and/or Mike's other videos for newbie drummers?  I mean, obviously, I don't expect to be able to play anywhere near what Mike is playing on those tracks at my skill level.  But it seems to me, I can still pick up a lot of valuable things from being able to see and hear what he is doing in isolation.  Thoughts?

Not really. Mike's videos aren't really aimed at beginners. Actually, he himself admits he's not a very good instructor. There's more value in just watching what he does, and the isolated drum tracks are great for that. His instructional DVDs, like In Constant Motion and Liquid Drumming, are also more focused on performance rather than instruction but they are certainly great for expanding your horizons and realizing what is possible on a drum kit with dedicated practice. I guess in fairness I should say that he does a pretty good job of explaining odd time signatures and approach to double-bass.

The bolded parts are more of what I was getting at.  Would someone at a beginner level still find them useful for the things you mentioned?

Absolutely!

[perfey]

Great for drummers and hardcorefans , I have watched In Constan Motion and its great even for the nondrummers.

[Adami]

Would you recommend this and/or Mike's other videos for newbie drummers?  I mean, obviously, I don't expect to be able to play anywhere near what Mike is playing on those tracks at my skill level.  But it seems to me, I can still pick up a lot of valuable things from being able to see and hear what he is doing in isolation.  Thoughts?

Not really. Mike's videos aren't really aimed at beginners. Actually, he himself admits he's not a very good instructor. There's more value in just watching what he does, and the isolated drum tracks are great for that. His instructional DVDs, like In Constant Motion and Liquid Drumming, are also more focused on performance rather than instruction but they are certainly great for expanding your horizons and realizing what is possible on a drum kit with dedicated practice. I guess in fairness I should say that he does a pretty good job of explaining odd time signatures and approach to double-bass.

The bolded parts are more of what I was getting at.  Would someone at a beginner level still find them useful for the things you mentioned?

Well then I guess the question is, is watching portnoy play his parts at usual speed with no instructions helpful to you?