Drum Beats Online (drumbeatsonline.com) has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 61 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Education & Training and its reputation is excellent. Praise is nearly unanimous, with 96% rating it 4 stars or higher; The business has not yet replied to negative reviews; 11 of them were added in the last 12 months. Last updated 2026-08-10.
What people say
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Chris Dunlap · 1 review · Experienced 2025-02-23 ·
★★★★★
DBO Academy has been great for me
DBO Academy has been great for me! I recently got interested in playing drums and bought a practice pad and some sticks. I came across Gabe and DBO on YouTube and tried some sample lessons and really was impressed! Gabe has laid out several courses for all levels of players that guide you through the learning process step by step and gives you simple grooves and fills to start with and songs to play along with at your level.
I've gradually increased my skills and greatly increased how much i enjoy playing. Thanks, Gabe!
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Emzie · 1 review · Experienced 2025-02-17 ·
★★★★★
DBO Brings Out The Best In Me...
I signed up for Drum Beats Online after ending in-person lessons a few months ago. I was looking for a supportive, non-judgmental space to clean up my technique and learn new skills; I gained the above and so much more. Gabe and his wonderful team of professional drummers are methodical and patient in their teachings and explanations. They care about every single one of their students in the DBO community. The affordable tuition is definitely one of the main reasons I signed up for DBO Academy. But the daily encouragement and personalized attention to help me meet my drumming goals: priceless. Thank you Gabe and DBO Team for everything. Every day, I look forward to play drums, cement my skills, learn new skills, and challenge myself to be a more disciplined and dedicated drummer.
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Richard Matthews · 1 review · Experienced 2024-12-31 ·
★★★★★
One month in and totally hooked!
Well I’ve been a member of the DBO Academy for a month now - and I’m totally hooked! Love the platform and the lessons format and the supportive online community - and the fact that I’ve even had a couple of messages of encouragement from Gabe which really gives you the sense that he cares about his students! Basically can’t fault it - and as I’ve signed up to the Lifetime Membership with the Black Friday Deal on the price - I’m looking forward to years of lessons to help me become the best drummer that I can be!
RickM - London England
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Anni LaLa · 1 review · Experienced 2024-12-30 ·
★★★★★
Amazing even for beginners
As a complete beginner, DBO Academy was my first attempt to teach myself an instrument I didn’t know the rudiments of without knowing at least the basics before. So far in, the lessons are very approachable, well-explained and great great fun. Even years after founding, the community it still really great and you can absolutely feel the shared passion.
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Katie · 45 reviews · Experienced 2024-12-09 ·
★★★★★
Worth the money if you're serious about learning the drums.
Drum Beats Online is awesome, I totally recommend it. Gabe is a natural teacher and his enthusiasm just makes the whole learning experience so much better. The pace of the lessons is good, it's fairly fast but tells you what you need to know. You will genuinely progress with this structured learning rather than random you tube videos, trust me! It's worth the money if you're serious about learning the drums.
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Josh pruner · 1 review · Experienced 2024-12-27 ·
★★★★★
Love it
Love it, it’s so easy to do a lesson here and there. Gabe breaks it down so well and makes the lessons digestible at any skill level.
The platform is easy to use, works well on a laptop or smartphone and is responsive.
The lessons are broken down in useful increments and you choose how fast or slow you want to take it.
The support team is helpful and encouraging.
Gabe's teaching techniques are as wonderful as his drumming!
The community is filled with drummers at all ages and levels and it's a great resource to learn from one another.
Overall, Drum Beats Online checks all the boxes!
I'm glad and grateful I am learning so much and will continue for the rest of my life!
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Ronald · 2 reviews · Experienced 2024-11-20 ·
★★★★★
The instruction videos are clear and…
The instruction videos are clear and the lesson setup have a very nice build up. You learn something new from the basics and expand to more complicated beats very quickly. This makes it easy to make and track progress. I feel a huge difference already after just a month or two.
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Philipp Brandt · 1 review · Experienced 2024-09-26 ·
★★★★★
Great experience and cheaper than a music school
Gabe is a great teacher and it makes a lot of fun to learn with DBO academy. I would recommend it to everyone that wants to learn at home and don't want to spend so much money on a music school or something else. You will get great tools to learn with and get the know-how from a drummer of a rockband! I think that are enough arguments to start with DBO academy ;)
Greetings from Germany Hamburg
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Jason · 1 review · Experienced 2024-09-18 ·
★★★★★
This is a great site to learn the…Everything
This is a great site to learn the drums!I personally love it! I am 65 and started drum lessons when I was 8 years old. Then I stoped and now I’m retired, and love what you have done to make the drumming community able to learn. The only thing I can give to you is making the notes bigger! And put some more Beatles songs on the web site to learn.
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Erik Lacko · 1 review · Experienced 2024-08-20 ·
★★★★★
A positive learning experience
Short and engaging lessons that you can follow at your own pace. I've been at it for a month and definitely seeing improvements in different areas of my drumming
Beginner Comment
I thoroughly enjoy the beginner program, ie. 24 day program. I am not sure I will complete it due to feeling like I need to practice some lessons more than a day. One sort of confusing thought; the days and the lessons don’t necessarily line up due to skip days, maybe those are for practice. Not a big deal but on day 8, I would like to be on lesson 8, just so I know I am on track. On the beginning stick lesson, there is no mention of traditional left hand; I seem to like both grips sometimes. Also having not ever played a kit, it would be helpful to know how to space both pedals and stool; also I am not sure about heel up or down. Lastly I received some interesting other email tips/lessons from you that interrupted my 24 day program that I had to watch, not necessarily ready to practice. These are not critical comments because I look forward to improving my skills with these lessons; my goal is to become coordinated in a year.
Thank you so much for your teaching!
I Love DBO, because it ties many people together in an awesome community where you can learn from each other daily. Helps for motivating and reaching for new goals behind the kit!
Gabe is a great teacher and he makes learning the drums very easy
In a sea of unstructured drumming lessons and advices, DBO provides a clear path for drummers that want to improve!
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Nathan · 3 reviews · Experienced 2024-07-09 ·
★★★★★
One of the best learning platforms I've used!
There is no shortage of online content which can easily bombard and drown learning musicians. A click-through YouTube delivers a lifetime's worth of entertaining but unstructured content which can frustrate those looking for a systematic way to improve their musicality.
DBO is exactly the answer to this. It provides a range of lessons designed to help you grow in a progressive and structured way. I started learning drums with DBO from picking up the sticks for the first time to now growing in confidence and competency.
There's a lot of the drumming journey ahead but I'm glad to be part of the group because I know there's a path that will help me continue to improve and not get lost in the weeds.
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Sherry Tate · 1 review · Experienced 2024-04-07 ·
★★★★★
Great solution
Very useful guidance for beginners although the perfection depends on the practice
DBO Academy is the best choice for learning drums online. I use to struggle with confidence and creativity behind the drum set. But I progressed and learned so much. The community and Gabe and the DBO team are there to encourage and help you if you're ever stuck. I recommend DBO Academy to any one who is trying to learn drums. I highly recommend 10 out of 10.
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Paul R · 1 review · Experienced 2024-06-15 ·
★★★★★
Really ENJOYING my new found skill ...
Due to my co-ordination skills, I was very hesitant to sign up, but thought I would give DBO Academy a try as I have always wanted to play. I must say that after having been a member for a month and a complete beginner at the age of 57, I have been blown away by the way Gabe has put together an easy to follow, fun and effective learning program that has actually got me to make some fairly good sounding "noise" in just 30 days. I am excited to continue having fun and see where all of this leads ... I would definitely recommend signing up - well worth the spend so far :-) Thanks Gabe
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Alex Polonsky · 1 review · Experienced 2024-05-07 ·
★★★★★
I am in my 50s and have always wanted…
I am in my 50s and have always wanted to learn how to play drums. I sing in a band and am always keeping the beat, slapping my hand on my thigh. I play air drums when I am listening to music. But I never knew how to actually play. So I took a chance on a monthly subscription to DBO. Totally awesome. I am total awful and have a short attention span and the 6-minute long beginner lessons are right up my alley. Beginning to learn anything new is hard. But Gabe gives you such encouragement. I just signed on for a full year.
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Dr. Michael McCallion · 1 review · Experienced 2024-02-26 ·
★★★★★
Drumming as Play
I like that the lessons are laid out day by day over a month's time and that you can return to them over and again. I think the explanations are good and I like that you perform a slow version and then a faster version. I also like the email links you have sent me with additional lessons. Thank you. I am an old man, so I still have some difficulty with the website (maneuvering around - I keep thinking I am going to delete something). I am at the end of the first month and I do not know how to post a video of my playing but that does not bother me. I was wondering if I could print out the music, but again, no big deal really. I wish now however that I would have bought a real drum-set instead of an electronic version. But the electronic version still works. I look forward to next months lessons.
