Live · Online · Weekly

Online Upright Frame Drum Lessons

Live group classes in upright frame drum — the original vertical playing position of the frame drum — with students from twenty-five countries. Yshai Afterman has been teaching percussion online since 2010, sixteen years of online teaching.

Upright frame drum

“Online upright 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

About the upright frame drum

The upright frame drum is the round frame drum played in a vertical position — held in front of the body and sounded with both hands, one working the face of the head while the holding hand articulates from behind. It's the modern concert approach to the frame drum, refined by players such as Glen Velez, and it draws a remarkably wide palette of tones, accents, and rolls from a single skin.

This position rewards control and true independence between the hands. The method develops it step by step — basic strokes, snapping rolls, split-hand technique, triplet rolls, paradiddles, and the techniques built on these — and uses it to go deep into traditional rhythms from across the Turkish, Greek, Balkan, North African, and Arabic worlds, with a special focus on their odd meters.

The Method

Three pillars. One crown.

The Conservatory's upright 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.

I Time
Knowing the rhythmic cycle intimately. The more deeply you inhabit a groove, the more freely you play inside it.
II Language
Technique, grouping, phrasing, composition — not patterns to copy, but tools to create with.
III Expression
Tension and release, dynamics, phrasing — the branches that make playing alive rather than correct.

The Curriculum

What you study

1
Hand technique
Basic strokes, snapping rolls, split-hand technique, triplet rolls, paradiddles, and the techniques built on these.
2
Rhythmic cycles & time
From steady grooves to the odd meters at the heart of the tradition — 5/8, 7/8, 9/8 and beyond — across Turkish, Greek, Balkan, North African, and Arabic rhythm.
3
Traditional repertoire
Traditional rhythms from across the Turkish, Greek, Balkan, North African, and Arabic worlds, plus original compositions written over them — the way real musicians learn music.
4
Phrasing & language
Not patterns to copy, but a vocabulary to think in. The frame drum becomes an extension of how you hear and speak musically.
5
Improvisation & ornamentation
The independence to make music genuinely your own — to invent, decorate, and respond inside any musical setting.
6
Sound, time, & expression
The deeper relationship between technique and feeling — the difference between playing correctly and playing alive.
90 min
Live on Zoom, Weekly
A full structured immersion every week — technique, repertoire, and musicianship, with dedicated time for questions.
300+
Original Compositions
Solos, exercises, and compositions written specifically for this method — building on each other across levels.
1,700+
Lessons Taught
Seven years of teaching this method to successive cohorts of students — the depth that only repeated teaching produces.
1 : 1
Private Feedback
Every two weeks, submit a video for personal feedback from Yshai — staying close to your evolution, even in a group.
Conservatory students learning together in a circle at the annual in-person seminar

More than lessons

You join a community, not a course

Studying the upright 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 — learning the same instrument together, with a calendar of shared events running alongside the curriculum.

That calendar includes an ongoing Masterclass Series with guest masters from the global percussion world (over the years we've welcomed Glen Velez, Zohar Fresco, Aleix Tobias, Pedram Khavarzamini, and others), and an annual in-person Seminar where students gather to play, eat, and learn side by side.

Weekly
Live upright frame drum classes 90 minutes on Zoom, taught by Yshai
Monthly
Masterclass Series Guest masters from the global percussion world
Annual
In-person Seminar A week of music, meals, and shared practice

Inside the portal

Every upright lesson, at your fingertips

Between sessions, every upright frame drum student works inside the private Conservatory Portal — recorded lessons with notation PDFs, the guest-masterclass library, progress tracking, and an interactive rhythm library and metronome in the Practice Room.

The Conservatory Portal events feed with upcoming masterclasses and open mic nights

Events feed

The Conservatory Portal lesson player with video, notation, and lesson notes

Lesson library

The masterclass library with sessions from world-class guest teachers

Masterclass series

The Practice Room with rhythm library and metronome

Practice room

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

Students

What students say

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.

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 · Frame Drum
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.
Yoseph Goldman · USA · 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
More testimonials →

Enrollment

$155 / month

Billed monthly · Cancel anytime

Next group launching January 2027

Join the waiting list to be notified when enrollment opens.

Join the Waiting List →
Reduced-rate placements. The Conservatory is committed to making serious teaching accessible to dedicated students around the world. A small number of reduced-rate placements are therefore offered each cycle to those living in countries with significantly different economic conditions, or facing exceptional personal circumstances. These require a 3-month commitment instead of 1 and are decided case-by-case. If this applies to you, write to yafterman@gmail.com with your situation when you join the waiting list.

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