Roland has an ongoing series of drum lessons over at their website. Each lesson is short and packed with information you can immediately integrate into your drumming. I just watched the "Basic 8th Note Grooves" lesson with Johnny Rabb. Other lessons are presented by Mike Snyder. You have the option of subscribing to these lessons via iTunes and there is an option to download the video file as well.
The site is well presented and pleasantly designed. So far there are 10 drum lessons and I hope there will be more. In lesson 7 Mike Snyder presents an overview of a basic Jazz/ Swing Feel, earlier in Lesson 5 he presents an overview of the basic Bossa Nova beat and makes a point of mentioning how the drum set beat for a Bossa Nova (or really any "Latin" beat) emulates parts of an entire percussion section. He explains that the Bass Drum is taking the place of the "Surdo" player, the cross-stick on the snare takes the place of an Agogo Bell player or Clave player and the hi/hat part takes the place of a shaker/ or cabasa player. I think it's important to remember that he is trying to quickly present an overview of the basic Bossa Nova beat, which is one of the first "Latin" beats/ rhythms beginning drummers usually learn.
I especially enjoyed Lesson 2 "Single Paradiddles" presented by Johnny Rabb. I think many beginning drum students have a hard time understanding the "practical" reasons for learning rudiments. Johnny Rabb shows us how to apply Single Paradiddles to the drum set and does it in a way that is interesting and allows the beginner to see how they could use this rudiment around the drumset.
Roland has started off well with their V-Drum Lessons. Let's hope they keep up the site and continue to add inspiring and informative drum lessons like the ones they currently offer.
If you are interested in purchasing a V-Drum Kit, I encourage you to check out the Roland HD-1 V-Drum Set
The Roland HD-1 V-Drum Set
