It is rare to find an educator that is capable of teaching well and playing well. Street smarts versus book smarts. Most teachers are “book smart” because they have a lot of knowledge on a subject and can teach it well, but haven’t applied those skills in the real world enough to have complete command and practical application in common professional situations. Most “players” are street smart, they have a lot of intuitive know-how, but lack any ability to teach what they know.

Every now and then you run into someone who is just as street smart as they are book smart. Has obtained just as much practical real world knowledge as they have ability to teach and communicate concepts. Todd Sucherman strikes the perfect balance of monster player and excellent teacher. The first DVD I saw of Todd’s was his Methods and Mechanics DVD. It has brilliant explanations of concepts mixed with these “quick tips” of real-world knowledge about how to keep your drums in tune when playing really hard, how to handle traveling full time, and so many other things I encounter every day as a professional musician.

This latest transcription is my attempt to uncover Todd in his “natural habitat”, reveal some of the licks he plays that I haven’t ever seen him explain before. These fills are transcribed from his Drumeo master class on YouTube you can see here. It is a great lesson and will give you a good idea wether you will dig his DVDs (which I’m positive you will). Access to the transcription can be found below!

Enjoy!