First Class Drums was founded in 2010 by Sam Lumsden.
Introducing Your Tutor
My name is Sam Lumsden and I've been a professional drummer and educator since 2005.
My day to day work as a drummer includes performing, recording, notating, tutoring and coordinating music education projects for schools and organisations.
My career has, and continues to be, a very diverse and interesting series of events and experiences.
Highlights Include:
- Endorsement & Affiliation deals with Beier Drums, Evans Drum Heads, Porter & Davies, Vratim and Cympad.
- Countless major television, radio and newspaper features.
- 1st place in the UK section of the Shure International Drum
Mastery Competition.
- Recording music for the hit US Cartoon Network series "Stoked".
- Being hired to transcribe drum parts for theater productions and major international television shows.
- Being featured on MTV in South America and Japan.
- Meeting, recording and working with some of the best
songwriters and musicians in the world.
- Receiving private education and tutoring from some of the best drummers in the world - Dave Weckl, Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr, David Lee Roth, Santana), Aaron Spears (Ariana Grande,Usher)
MAJOR TIMELINE RESUME
These are the highlights so far...
Session Drummer - Gavin Sutherland - A Traveller's Tales
2019
It was a pleasure and an honour to record drums for Gavin Sutherland's (The Sutherland Brothers) album - A Traveller's Tales.
Endorsement Deal - Porter & Davies
I am honoured to be added to the artist roster for Porter & Davies, a UK based company who make the BC2, BC2rm, Gigster, BC-X, TT6 Equipped Thrones and KT Platforms patented tactile monitoring systems.
I added the BC2 to my set-up in January 2019, and I can honestly say that this product is unbelievable!
SESSION DRUMMER - PAULINA HONIG - THE SAIL LOFT WALTZ
2018
I provided drums for my friend Paulina Honig's song - The Sail Loft Waltz. We were joined by an abundance of talented local musicians from my home town of Portsoy, including Jim Paterson from Dexy's Midnight Runners on trombone.
Performing & Recording Drummer - ERNEST RAMBLES
2017 - present
I joined the band Ernest Rambles in 2017. In addition to several major festival appearances, the band is regularly featured on BBC Radio, and have released an EP entitled The Torridon Sessions, which was Album Of The Week on BBC Radio Scotland.
DRUMMER - FINALIST - SKY ARTS -
TONY VISCONTI'S A LIFE IN MUSIC
2017
I was selected as a finalist to appear on the Sky Arts television show "Tony Visconti's A Life In Music".
FREELANCE DEP DRUMMER
2016 - present
As a freelance session drummer, I stand in at (usually) the last minute for multiple solo artists and bands.
SESSION DRUMMER - SHARKY SHARKY
2014-2016
Initially brought in as session drummer to record drums for the album "Super Awesome Mega Rock", I ended up doing a lot of live shows with this band - dressed as a shark! Talk about fun jobs.
FREELANCE EDUCATION PROJECT COORDINATOR
2012 - present
I was hired to coordinate the following education projects for Youth Music Initiative/Aberdeenshire Council/Creative Scotland:
2012 - Making Music In Rural Areas Using The Internet
2013 - Band Workshop - Mintlaw Academy
2014 - Remote Audio Engineering - Auchterellon Primary School.
- Creative Edge - Phase 2 - Composing Music to Accompany Visual Art
2014/2015/2016/2017/2018/2019/2020 - YMI Audio Engineering Project
RECORDING DRUMMER - NANCY K DILLON & GAVIN SUTHERLAND
Recorded 2012 - Released 2018
I played drums on the single "Poor Man's Lullaby", which is a duet by Gavin Sutherland and Nancy K Dillon. The track features on the 2018 Nancy K Dillon record "A Game of Swans".
FEATURED ARTIST - BEIER DRUMS
Since 2012 I have played the best snare drums in the world - Beier Drums, made by Jim Beier. Pretty much all of my recording and live work features these snare drums. Jim is a fountain of support to me and it still blows my mind when he puts a feature on my work up on his website alongside drumming legends like Andy Parker of UFO, Todd Sucherman of Styx and countless other drum world heroes. Go to to find out more about these awesome drums.
2012 - Present
INTERNATIONAL SHURE DRUM MASTERY COMPETITION - 1ST PLACE IN UK SECTION
2011
Thanks to some phenomenal support, I was voted 1st in the UK Section of the Shure International Drum Mastery Competition.
OWNER - FIRST CLASS DRUMS
2010 - present
I started my own teaching business "First Class Drums" back in 2010. Starting solely in Macduff, I expanded to Inverness in 2014.
DRUMMER - FABIOLA GATTI/FABS/DREAM TRIBES
2005 - 2009
Releasing several records internationally, Fabs had some strong but short lived success. The band received international feature in magazines, newspapers, radio and television. Most notably contributing music to the hit US Cartoon Network series "Stoked" and appearing on MTV around the world.
HND MUSIC PERFORMANCE - PERTH COLLEGE
2003 - 2005
I started studying music properly at 18 years old. Two years into my college degree, I was signed to Over 18s Records to play drums for Uruguayan pop star Fabiola Gatti.
DRUM TUTOR - RWJ DRUMS PERTH
2004 - 2007
My professional teaching career started when owner of RWJ Drums Perth, Kevin Smith asked me to teach drums for his drum shop.
SESSION DRUMMER - GAVIN SUTHERLAND
2011 - present
Gavin Sutherland of The Sutherland Brothers (they wrote the song "Sailing" that Rod Stewart sings) asked me to record drums for an international recording project he was doing - The Big World Dance Band.
2019
I was hired to transcribe and notate drum parts that were to be performed on "Michael Bolton's Asian Dream" reality TV show, which was filmed in Singapore.
Notation Consultant - Michael Bolton - Asian Dream Reality TV Show
Endorsement Deal - Cympad
I am honoured to join the Cympad Artist Roster.
I use Cympad Optimizers in my live performance and recording work to enhance the sound of my cymbals.
I also use the Cympad Moderators in my teaching studios to reduce cymbal sustain. I have already made use of the Moderators in a recording setting too.
Check out my artist page here:
https://www.cympad.com/de/content/170/72/artists/artist-roster#L
2020
Endorsement Deal - Vratim
June 2020
I am honoured to join the Vratim family.
Based in Florida, USA, Vratim produce top quality footwear designed especially for drummers.
2020
Notation Consultant - Rock The Halls - UK Theatre Production
I was hired to transcribe and notate drum parts for the hugely successful Whitehall Theatre, Dundee production of Rock The Halls.
Affiliation Deal - D'addario/Evans Drum Heads
2020
I am honoured to join the Evans Drum Head family.
I have been using Evans drum heads for a number of years now, and will be using them exclusively in all of my performing, recording and education work.
Major UK Television Feature - Britain's Got Talent
May 2020
My recording work with the band Sharky Sharky was broadcast on the popular UK ITV show Britain's Got Talent, and shared on their social media to over 15 million subscribers.
Quite cool to see Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden dancing around to one of the craziest session jobs I've had so far.
Session Drummer - Gavin Sutherland - The Wishing Tree
August 2020 - February 2021
"...a collection of songs written and recorded during the introspective isolation months of 2020 with Dave Sutherland,
Irmi Wolvin, Digby Smith and Sam Lumsden . . ."
Cello came from Irmi Wolvin in Vienna, bass from Dave Sutherland in Birmingham, drums were recorded at my studio First Class Drums Inverness and guitars/vocals by Gavin Sutherland from his home by the sea in the North East of Scotland.
The EP was then mixed/mastered by Richard Digby Smith (Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Bad Company, Free, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Sammy Hagar, Jethro Tull etc)
It was a pleasure being part of this project.