Live group classes in lapstyle frame drum — the most expressive playing position for the round frame drum, where both hands work the head freely — with students from twenty-five countries. Yshai Afterman has been teaching percussion online since 2010, sixteen years of online teaching.
“Online frame drum lessons” here doesn't mean occasional tips or isolated classes. It refers to a structured, long-term process: a comprehensive method for building the language of rhythm itself — layer by layer, over months — guided through weekly live sessions with a small, dedicated group of students from around the world.
The Instrument
The frame drum is the oldest drum on earth — a single head stretched over a shallow, round frame — and it appears in nearly every ancient culture from the Mediterranean and North Africa to Persia and Central Asia. Its living family includes the North African bendir, the Persian daf, the Irish bodhrán, and the simple tar: each with its own voice, but a shared, elemental design.
"Lapstyle" describes the modern playing technique in which the drum rests on the leg and is played with the fingers of both hands. It unlocks a fluid, almost melodic vocabulary of deep bass tones, ringing rim tones, snaps, and rolls that reaches far beyond simply keeping time. The Conservatory teaches both lapstyle and upright frame drum.
Because a frame drum can be picked up and sounded on day one, it's one of the most welcoming instruments to begin — and because that simple frame holds so much expressive depth, it's also one you can spend a lifetime exploring. The curriculum builds both: a clean, reliable technique, and a genuine rhythmic language to use it with.
The Method
The Conservatory's frame drum program is a complete arc — from foundations to musicianship — unfolding layer by layer, every concept built on the one before, through a body of original compositions written specifically for this method. It rests on three pillars — Time, Language, and Expression — that together form a complete musical understanding.
The Curriculum
More than lessons
Studying frame drum here means more than a weekly class. You become part of a worldwide community of dedicated students — from twenty-five countries and counting — with a calendar of shared events that runs alongside the regular curriculum, and a private Community Portal where every lesson is archived with notation, demonstration videos, and progress tracking.
The Conservatory hosts an ongoing Masterclass Series with guest masters from the global percussion world, and an annual in-person Seminar where students gather to play, eat, and learn side by side.
Inside the portal
The Community Portal is the private hub where every student lives between sessions — recorded lessons with notation PDFs, a library of guest masterclasses, an interactive rhythm library and metronome for practice, and a calendar of upcoming events.
Events feed
A live calendar of upcoming masterclasses, open mic nights, and seminars — built into the portal.
Lesson library
Every recorded session with notation PDFs, demonstration videos, and lesson notes — organised by group and number.
Masterclass series
An archive of guest masterclasses with world-class teachers from across the global percussion world.
Practice room
An interactive rhythm library and metronome for practice between lessons — with a tool to build your own.
When I started my first session, Yshai told us something I'll never forget: “My plan is to teach you everything I know.” Many teachers hold back a little. Yshai has lived up to that promise every single day.
Mohsen Mehrafrouz · Iran · Lapstyle Frame Drum
Students
Students who arrive having studied frame drum elsewhere often describe the same thing — that they are, in a real sense, starting again. Not for lack of effort, but because the depth, structure, and personal guidance here take them somewhere they didn't know they could go.
Yshai's frame drum classes are the highlight of my week. The structure of the curriculum, the depth of the compositions, the precision of the feedback — everything is at the highest level. I leave each session knowing exactly what to practice next.Yoseph Goldman · USA · Lapstyle Frame Drum
Once in a lifetime, you may study with a master. Yshai is that master. His teaching goes far beyond technique — it transforms the way you hear, think about, and relate to music.Tamara Kolton · USA · Lapstyle & Upright Frame Drum
I started studying with Yshai years ago, when my knowledge of darbuka, frame drum and riqq were next to zero. His methods and compositions have allowed me to find my connection with these instruments like never before.Eugene Toh · Singapore · Darbuka, Frame Drum & Riqq
Yshai's system is extremely well structured, and he recognises exactly what each individual student needs — whether you're a beginner or advanced. It really was the best decision I made.Sybille Camenzind · Switzerland · Lapstyle & Darbuka
Questions