Ride Cymbal Vocabulary
Twelve ride patterns that keep the band comfortable, from quarter notes to the broken-time feel. With practice tempos.
Free PDF →Sean Dobbins'
The
Barbershop
Barbershop
IU Jacobs
Sub-brand · Education
A weekly hang,
not a class.
The Barbershop is where Sean's students at IU meet, listen, talk, and play. Here it houses his teaching: the philosophy, the studio, the outreach, and a library of free resources for any drummer who wants them.
How Sean teaches
Two rules. Serve the music. Keep the joy.
Everything else in the studio hangs off those two. Time, touch, reading, vocabulary: they matter because they let you take care of the band. A drummer who makes the bass player comfortable, who hears the pianist's left hand and stays out of its way, who knows the melody of the tune they're playing, is a drummer who gets called back. That is the whole job, and it is a joyful one.
Lessons are built around the bandstand, not the practice room. Students transcribe, they play with records, they play with each other, and they play in public as early as Sean can get them there. Mistakes are information. Ego is noise.
The Barbershop itself is the weekly hang: the whole studio in one room, listening to something, arguing about it, and then playing it. Nobody is graded. Everybody plays.
“You've got to make the band feel good before you make yourself sound good.”
From the studio
Students, parents, and bandleaders.
“I first met Sean Dobbins when we worked together at Indiana University. From the first time we played together I felt at home with his great groove and swing. I later saw what a great communicator he was with his students. Sean Dobbins has it all covered and he is a pleasure to play and work with!”
Dave StrykerGuitarist; former member of the Stanley Turrentine group“Sean is a master drummer who plays all genres of music well. I consider him one of the top drummers in the country and a great educator. He is very funky and is an intellectual of the drums.”
Ralphe ArmstrongBassist; formerly with Miles Davis“As an educator, Sean changed my entire outlook on Jazz and my role in it as a musician. Attending The Barbershop every week was the highlight of time at IU and I think back to the lessons I learned in that classroom all the time. Sean creates a truly welcoming space for every student who is lucky enough to study with him.”
Dana BadcockJacobs alum, 2026
Free resources
PDFs from the studio. Leave your email once and everything unlocks, forever.
Comping in the Cracks
Snare and bass drum comping that answers the soloist instead of stepping on them. Sixteen two-bar phrases, in context.
Free PDF →Brushes: The First Week
A seven-day plan for getting a usable brush sound: the circle, the sweep, and the first two ballad patterns.
Free PDF →Study with Sean at Jacobs
Jazz drumset, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bloomington.
The Jacobs School offers Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Music degrees in Jazz Studies, and drummers in the program study with Sean. Applications go through Jacobs, not through this site; the links below are the official ones.