Cameron Carbone

I honestly thought typing was innocuous.

Last week an orthopedic hand specialist diagnosed me with acute tendinitis right before a two day Meinl shoot. Education reels one day, performances with my band Absentia the next. Both forearms cooked.

I spent hours scripting on my laptop, stacked 3 to 4 hours of drumming on top, then hit way harder than usual for the cameras. Plus my sleep had been trash for weeks and my stress was running higher than normal.

My forearms finally tapped out.

The big lesson for me:

Your body counts all of it.

Emails, charts, designing curriculum, scripting, editing, practicing, bad sleep, higher stress... It is the same tissue doing slightly different jobs, plus a nervous system that turns up the volume on pain when you are run down.

Right now I am:

• Treating typing as real load

• Counting sleep and stress as part of the equation, not separate from it

• Avoiding huge laptop days before heavy drum days

• Breaking practice into smaller chunks when I can

I am not a medical pro, just a drummer sharing what I am learning. If you are in pain, please see a qualified specialist.

Save this for your next busy week and tell me in the comments what has flared your arms up the most.

Serious drummers don’t build their chops from random reels.

It’s incomplete information in the wrong order. Educational drum content can be amazing *once* you already know what curriculum to practice and why.

The playing in this reel is what happens when you work on the right stuff, in the right order, for a few focused months.

I’ve spent 25,000+ hours teaching 500+ students full-time. My entire job is helping drummers who feel stuck and repetitive and helping them feel maximally creative, clean, and confident behind the kit.

I’m usually booked up year-round and cap my roster at 30 students. When a spot opens, I offer it to the most serious drummers in my DMs first.

Here’s what working together looks like:

- Weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 lessons (online or in-person in Austin, TX) tailored to your goals
- A clear written practice plan after each lesson so you’re never guessing what to work on
- Specific video/voice feedback between sessions so you always know exactly what to fix next

Give it 3 months. If you *don’t* feel noticeably better on the kit, we stop working together and you keep everything you’ve learned. I only want students who genuinely feel like they’re winning.

DM me “CHOPS” and when you do I’ll send a quick overview and 4 short questions to see if it’s the right fit. If you’re just here for the exercise, comment “BREAKDOWN”.

Serious drummers don’t build their chops from random reels.

You can’t turn scattered YouTube videos into a real curriculum. It’s incomplete information in the wrong order. Platforms like YouTube are amazing *once* you already know what to practice and why.

The playing in this reel is what happens when you work on the right stuff, in the right order, for a few focused months.

I’ve spent 25,000+ hours teaching 500+ students. My entire job is taking drummers who feel stuck and repetitive and making them creative, confident, and musical behind the kit.

I cap my roster at 30 students and usually stay close to full. When a spot opens, I offer it to the most serious drummers in my DMs first.

Here’s what working together looks like:

- Weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 lessons (online or in-person in Austin, TX) tailored to your goals
- A clear written practice plan after each lesson so you’re never guessing what to work on
- Specific video/voice feedback between sessions so you always know exactly what to fix next

Give it 3 months. If you *don’t* feel noticeably better on the kit, we stop working together and you keep everything you’ve learned. No problems. I only want students who genuinely feel like they’re winning.

DM me “CHOPS” and when you do I’ll send a quick overview and 4 short questions to see if it’s the right fit. # drumlessons

You’re not going to build a real drumming curriculum from YouTube. It’s incomplete information presented in no particular order. YouTube is a great tool, but only once you already know what to practice and why.

The drumming in this reel is an example of what happens when you’re practicing the right stuff in the right order. I’ve spent 25,000+ hours teaching drums to 500+ students. My entire focus is getting you from stuck and repetitive to creative and confident behind the kit.

I cap my roster at 30 students. Right now I only have 1 spot open for a serious drummer who wants to build their vocabulary, clean up their hands, and improve their musicality over the next few months.

Here’s what that looks like:

- Weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 lessons (online or in-person in Austin, TX) tailored to your goals
- A clear practice plan between lessons so you’re never wondering what to work on
- Specific feedback between sessions so you always know what to fix next

If after 3 months you don’t feel noticeably better on the kit, tell me and we’ll stop working together. I only want students who genuinely feel like they are succeeding.

DM me “CHOPS” and I’ll send you some details and a couple quick questions to see if it’s the right fit.

Stop falling into YouTube wormholes where you constantly second guess what to practice.

The groove in this reel is just one example of what you can sound like once you’re practicing the right stuff in the right order. I’ve spent over 25,000 hours teaching drums. My entire focus is getting you from stuck and repetitive to creative and confident behind the kit.

I cap my roster at 30 students. Right now I only have 1 spot open for a serious drummer who wants to build their vocabulary, clean up their hands, and improve their musicality over the next few months.

Here’s what that looks like:

- Weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 lessons (online or in-person in Austin, TX) tailored to your goals
- A clear practice plan between lessons so you’re never wondering what to work on
- Specific feedback between sessions so you always know what to fix next

If after 3 months you don’t feel noticeably better on the kit, tell me and we’ll stop working together. I only want students who genuinely feel like they are succeeding.

DM me “CHOPS” and I’ll send you some details and a couple quick questions to see if it’ll be a good fit.

Couldn’t resist 😂

Thanks for the sick track, & 🤘🏼

Stop falling into YouTube wormholes where you constantly second guess what to practice.

The displacement exercise in this reel is just one example of what you can sound like once you’re practicing the right stuff in the right order. I’ve spent over 25,000 hours teaching drums. My entire focus is getting you from stuck and repetitive to creative and confident behind the kit.

I cap my roster at 30 students. Right now I only have 1 spot open for a serious drummer who wants to build their vocabulary, clean up their hands, and improve their musicality over the next few months.

Here’s what that looks like:

- Weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 lessons (online or in-person in Austin, TX) tailored to your goals
- A clear practice plan between lessons so you’re never wondering what to work on
- Specific feedback between sessions so you always know what to fix next

If after 3 months you don’t feel noticeably better on the kit, tell me and we’ll stop working together. I only want students who genuinely feel like they are succeeding.

DM me “CHOPS” and I’ll send you some details and a couple quick questions to see if it’ll be a good fit.

Stop falling into drum YouTube wormholes and guessing what to practice.

The exercise in this reel is an example of what you can sound like once you’re practicing the right stuff in the right order. My whole job is to help you feel more creative and confident behind the kit instead of stuck and repetitive.

I cap my roster at 30 students. Right now I have 1 spot open for a serious drummer who wants to build their vocabulary, clean up their hands, and improve their musicality over the next few months.

Here’s what that looks like:

- Weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 lessons (online or in-person in Austin, TX) tailored to your goals
- A clear practice plan between lessons so you’re never wondering what to work on
- Specific feedback between sessions so you always know what to fix next

If after 3 months you don’t feel noticeably better on the kit, tell me and we’ll stop working together. I only want students who genuinely feel like they are succeeding.

DM me “CHOPS” and I’ll send you some details and a couple quick questions to see if it’ll be a good fit.

Stop falling into drum YouTube wormholes and guessing what to practice.

The groove in this reel is an example of what you can sound like once you’re practicing the right stuff in the right order. My whole job is to help you feel more creative and confident behind the kit instead of stuck and repetitive.

I cap my roster at 30 students. Right now I have 1 spot open for a serious drummer who wants to build their vocabulary, clean up their hands, and improve their musicality over the next few months.

Here’s what that looks like:

- Weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 lessons (online or in-person in Austin, TX) tailored to your goals
- A clear practice plan between lessons so you’re never wondering what to work on
- Specific feedback between sessions so you always know what to fix next

If after 3 months you don’t feel noticeably better on the kit, tell me and we’ll stop working together. I only want students who genuinely feel like they are succeeding.

DM me “CHOPS” and I’ll send you some details and a couple quick questions to see if it’ll be a good fit.

Stop falling into drum YouTube wormholes and guessing what to practice.

The double stroke roll exercise in this reel is an example of what you will be able to do once you’re practicing the right stuff in the right order. My whole job is to help you feel more creative and confident behind the kit instead of stuck and repetitive.

I cap my roster at 30 students. Right now I have 1 spot open for a serious drummer who wants to build their vocabulary, clean up their hands, and improve their musicality over the next few months.

Here’s what that looks like:

- Weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 lessons (online or in-person in Austin, TX) tailored to your goals
- A clear practice plan between lessons so you’re never wondering what to work on
- Specific feedback between sessions so you always know what to fix next

If after 3 months you don’t feel noticeably better on the kit, tell me and we’ll stop working together. I only want students who genuinely feel like they are succeeding.

DM me “CHOPS” and I’ll send you some details and a couple quick questions to see if it’ll be a good fit.