A steady drummer is the backbone of a killer rock band; without its sturdy vertebrae, the band members would be gelatinous blobs and their lyrics reduced to inaudible gurgles. Be the rock amid the churning roll with today's Groupon: for $22, you get two private, half-hour drum lessons at the Memphis Drum Shop, located in Cooper-Young. Though drums are provided for the lesson, students are responsible for the cost of lesson materials (about $8).

Prospective snare-bangers learn the ins and outs of drumming at The Memphis Drum Shop School of Percussion in a one-on-one session with one of the shop's six experienced instructors. Under a curriculum devised by Director of Education Chris Burgess, who holds a master's degree in percussion, first-time students learn how to choose the appropriate drumsticks and use a method book and practice pad for rehearsing basic beats and mind-melting ways to excitedly point at a crowd. Whether you're into jazz, rock, country, pan-pipe thrash metal, or synth-opera, Memphis Drum School will tailor lessons based on the styles of music that make your chest-locked timpani pump songs of circulation. Professional Pearl Masters Custom drum kits in the shop await students eager to grab the sticks and show off their chops, and lessons take place in a soundproof studio, free from the lame, non-percussive sounds of the world.

Students can learn about the ingredients of a drum kit with Memphis Drum Shop's six showrooms' worth of acoustic and electronic drum parts, including what the owners believe is the world's largest cymbal inventory. The shop's reputation has attracted renowned guest artists, so once your lessons start a drumming career that's awarded by several Grammys, a Nobel Peace Prize, and the Crafoord Prize in Geoscientific Drumming, you can return to the shop and give it a little credit.

Valid for new students only.