AS SOMEONE WHO has only recently taken the plunge into having drum lessons, I would until now have described myself as a completely self-taught drummer. I used to be very proud of this. I used to think: "I've learned all this on my own without anybody's help, aren't I clever?"

It was only after my first lesson, which I'd booked so I could expand and improve on what I already knew, that I realised I was not clever at all, and that what I'd learned I had stumbled on through a long period of trial and error. In short, I had not "taught" myself at all.

I was now confronted with the fact that there were huge gaps not only in my technique, but in my basic understanding of how to play the drums. A very humbling experience, and one that left me wishing to God I'd taken this particular plunge when I was as young and fresh-faced as you are. (You are young and fresh-faced, aren't you?)

So obviously, your progress as a drummer and your understanding of rhythm will be greatly assisted by getting a good teacher as soon as possible. This is not always as easy as it sounds. For a start, "good" teachers are relatively hard to come by and even if you do manage to flush one out in your area, they do not come cheap. Spending X amount of moolah on a kit and then not having the necessary readies to pay for tuition is an all-too-common problem. But it does have a partial solution: get yourself a video, John.

Video drum tutors are something of a mixed bag, ranging from the "famous drummer shows you his secrets" kind to the "completely unfamous drummer shows you absolutely bugger-all" type of thing. So it's enlightening - not to say very refreshing - to come across an excellent example of the "well-renowned drummer shows you pretty much all you need to know to get up and running" variety, in the shape of Paul Francis' 'The Complete Beginner'. Aimed at... well, aimed at the complete beginner really, this is an hour-long tape that explains and demonstrates the basic elements of playing the drums in a clear, straightforward manner.

It begins at the, um, very beginning, with a look at the kit itself: bass, snare, mounted toms, floor tom, hi-hat, and ride cymbal. These are not dwelt on to any great extent, because if you've gone out and bought the video you'll probably already have a fair idea of what a drum kit is all about. There is also some time spent on correct stick grip - something that's often ignored in tutorial videos but which can be important; you grasp rudiments more quickly if you start off with a proper grip.

After this little preamble, we're dropped straight in it with a section on music and basic reading. This is all explained in a very concise and comprehensible way by Mr Francis, who's has had 13 years' experience of this sort of thing - so don't panic. With his help, you'll discover the mysteries of drum notation, time signatures and the names and values of musical notes with their corresponding rests. If you don't already read music this might be a bit confusing, but to my mind it's a good move to have this early on in the tape because everything that comes after is continually related to music and counting. Definitely a case of starting on the right foot.

From there the video moves into the area of rudiments, which again is dealt with very sensibly. Rather than bogging you down in endlessly boring sticking exercises on the snare or practice pad, this section demonstrates only some of the most useful rudiments that can be applied to kit playing. The paradiddle, for example, is not only a fine exercise for stick control, but can also be used to great effect for fills and interesting beats. Touched on here are the single, double, and triple parradiddles, all of which are simple to learn and will impress your friends, but are not patterns you're likely to come up with on your own. Other things in this section include the flam, the flam paradiddle, the four- and five-stroke ruff, and the "ratamacue", a pattern similar to the paradiddle that you hear all the time and think "Jeez! That sounds flash".

Rolls are also included, with demonstrations of the five-and nine-stroke roll, the single-stroke roll and the press roll. Again, all are played slowly and explained very thoroughly.

From here on in, things start to be put together in a more recognisable form as we delve into some simple rock beats. Most of these are things we've all heard a million times before, but because they are all broken down and examined musically, there's an opportunity to gain a far greater insight into how a beat is actually constructed. Yes folks, this is where it all starts to make sense - and if you've spent the appropriate amount of time getting to grips with the different note values and how they relate to each other in combination, you'll not only have a grounding in how a simple rock beat is arrived at, but of how all beats are put together.

This tape is not designed as a "play-in-a-day" course, and to get the most out of it will take a good deal of time, application and practice. But taken step by step, it offers one of the most carefully considered introductions to playing the drums I have seen. Each section gives you the information you need to know before moving on to the next, and taken slowly - in chronological order, of course - it provides an excellent starting point from which to proceed to more sophisticated areas. Paul Francis' presentation is never lofty or patronising, and there are no gaps in the programme that leave you wondering how to get from one bit to the next. Even as someone who has been playing the drums for over ten years, I found much that was not only interesting but helpful as well.

If it's your aim to become a drummer and you are serious enough to want to do it properly from the beginning, you could do a lot worse than invest your money, and a little time, in this video. It's a damn sight cheaper than a couple of months' tuition, and if you absorb what it has to offer correctly, it'll stand you in good stead if you decide to take lessons later on.

With this in mind, Paul Francis has another video on the market titled 'Rhythmical Update'. Although you might think so from the name, this doesn't quite carry on exactly where the beginner's tape leaves off. Instead, it's for intermediate players seeking new directions in which to expand their (already developed) technique. Not for the beginner, then, but if you work hard at the first one, there might be something to interest you here. Latin rhythm is examined in depth, as is brush work and the use of triplet patterns - all stuff that is touched on in 'The Complete Beginner'.

As for me, I'm not sure which tape I should be watching at the moment. But following my lesson last Monday, I've got an unpleasant feeling I ought to be getting back to those triple paradiddles.

'THE COMPLETE BEGINNER' & 'RHYTHMICAL UPDATE' DRUM TUTOR VIDEOS: £22.95 inc P&P

INFO: Orchard Percussion, (Contact Details)