Roland has put together an electronic drum kit and software package designed to help you pick up some real drumming chops. Electronic drum kits have been seeing a surge in popularity since the release of the first Rock Band console game, with some kits compatible with both the video game and standard MIDI instrument interfaces. While kits like those can easily connect to your PC, you might feel like a fish out of water when trying to make the transition from playing a rhythm game to actually performing music without the game's guidance.

Rock Band 2 has a "drum trainer" mode, which teaches you the basics of rhythm and fills. Still, you're extremely limited by the game's drum kit's five inputs and unwillingness to distract from the entertainment experience by displaying proper musical notation. Roland's HD-1 drum kit and DT-HD1 Drum Tutorial software should help budding musicians move from playing the game to working with a more advanced, but capable setup.

The HD-1 kit has eight discrete input channels, including cymbals, toms, a snare, and a hi-hat. When paired with the Drum Tutorial software, you can play game modes, similar to the Rock Band interface, and then step up to playing along to proper drum notation, reading the music and having to respond with the kit accordingly. The software analyzes your timing, showing you where your beat needs to be tighter, and lets you break down songs pad by pad, learning the timing for each drum component on its own. The only big downside to Roland's setup is the cost: at up to $800 for the kit and $100 for the software, you'd better hope that big record deal comes through.

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