From Box Beat to T-Top Groove

Unlock the full potential of your AV Box T-Top with a course designed specifically for this instrument. Whether you’re coming from a standard cajon, a drum kit, or you’re totally new to hand drumming, this step-by-step course will show you how to turn your T-Top into a powerful mini drum kit under your hands.

You’ll start by understanding the difference between a cajon and a T-Top – how it’s built, how it responds, and why it opens up a completely new world of grooves. From there, you’ll build a solid technical foundation: hand mechanics, control, and essential warmups that protect your hands while boosting speed and accuracy.

Once the basics are locked in, we move into rudiments and groove building. You’ll merge classic stick rudiments with hand drumming: singles, doubles, paradiddles (with creative variations), flams and flam taps – all adapted specifically to the T-Top. Then we plug those skills into real-world rock and shuffle grooves: 8th-note and 16th-note rock feels, driving patterns, and triplet grooves that teach you how to sit deep in the pocket and make the T-Top sing in any band or worship setting.

We wrap it all up with accent dynamics and feel – the secret sauce that makes your playing sound musical instead of mechanical. You’ll learn how to shape your grooves with accents, fills, and musical ideas so your playing has texture, emotion, and movement.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand the key differences between a cajon and a T-Top and how to use each surface musically.

• Play clean, controlled core sounds on the T-Top with good technique.

• Use essential hand warmups to build speed, endurance, and precision.

• Apply rudiments (singles, doubles, paradiddles, flams) creatively on the T-Top.

• Groove confidently with 8th-note and 16th-note rock patterns.

• Lock in triplet and shuffle feels with solid timing.

• Add accents, fills, and dynamic shaping to make your grooves come alive.

This course is perfect for:

• AV Box T-Top and cajon players who want to go beyond basic patterns

• Drum kit players looking for a compact, expressive percussion option

• Worship, acoustic, and small-venue musicians wanting big grooves in a small setup

Bring your T-Top, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to build serious groove, control, and confidence—one lesson at a time.