Drumbooks that all Drum Teachers should know about.
What follows is a categorised list of famous drum books that, in my opinion, should be known and (hopefully played through) by all drummers wishing to pursue a career in drumset tuition.
It has always been a concern that students studying music have had to pay an exorbitant amount of money for various books needed for their studies ....
To this end, the The M.M.D.C. has been written to address this concern; This acclaimed series of books, along with additional workbooks dealing with polyrhythms, duets, angles around the drums etc is the most comprehensive, reasonably priced series in the drumset vocabulary as reviewed in the ...
The 2005 Percussive Arts Society Review
The following are grouped in various “sub-categories” for easy reference:
Rudimentary / Snare Drum / Practice Pad
Stick Control for the Snare Drummer by George Lawrence Stone
Accents and Rebounds for the Snare Drummer by George Lawrence Stone
Master Studies by Joe Morello
The All-American Drummer (150 solos) by Charley Wilcoxin
Portraits in Rhythm by Anthony J.Cirone
Reading
Syncopation by Ted Reed
Modern Reading Text by Louis Bellson and Gil Breines
Odd Time Reading Text by Louis Bellson and Gil Breines
Rock
Basic Drumming (contains thorough elements of all categories) by Joel Rothman
The Drummers Cookbook by John Pickering
Funk / Linear
Advanced Funk Studies by Rick Latham
Groove Essentials by Tommy Igoe
Future Sounds by David Garibaldi
Jazz
Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer by Jim Chapin
The Art of Modern Jazz Drumming by Jack DeJohnette and Charlie Perry
Brush Artistry (if you can find it!) by Philly Joe Jones
The Art of Bop Drumming by John Riley
Latin
Latin-American Percussion by Birger Sulsbruck
Afro-Cuban Rhythms for Drumset by Frank Malabe and Bob Weiner
Ostinato
The New Breed I by Gary Chester
The New Breed II by Gary Chester with Chris Adams
Conceptual
The “Patterns” Series (Four Books) by Gary Chaffee
1 - Sticking Patterns
2 - Sticking Patterns
3 - Time Functioning Patterns
4 - Technique Patterns
Conclusion
I have not included any “play-along” books or “rock scores” of famous drummers etc, although these should also be sought whenever financially possible; neither have I been able to include books that have been invaluable to myself such as “Funk Drumming Workbook” by Chet Doboe or “Paradiddle Mixed Stickings” by Dave Tough, now sadly out of print .... largely due to illegal photocopying.
Kill Photocopying .... Not Books
There have been many invaluable books written, published then killed by rampant photocopying; it has been this teacher’s view that the worst possible form of teaching is giving a student a photocopy of a final solo in a book (such as Advanced Funk Studies) without the student first, buying their own copy and second, not playing through the developing exercises to prepare for the final solos.
In an effort to curb this these kinds of second-rate teaching practices, I strive to engender a discipline of “Buy the Book, Sit the Exam” with all my students, most of whom seem to like the idea of eventually making drums their career and then having the skills to write their own books ... so far it seems to be working :)
... Having said that ...
Sheet Music Prices in Australia
I have been appalled recently at the exorbitant prices some of my students have paid for drum, guitar and bass books, in some instances twice the price listed; why are students being ripped off with sheet music? .... no small wonder illegal photocopying is rife .....
A solution is mail order .... I have tried and I now recommend
Sheet Music Plus.
They have the world's largest selection, guaranteed low prices, and
great customer service. I recently purchased 23 books for my teaching practice and even with express airmail postage, still saved around $400 on the deal. I have been an ardent supporter of local music businesses for decades, but the current situation is simply appalling. My best advice is to save up and place an order for 10 books or more to save on postage (perhaps in cahoots with fellow band members) and use the savings to buy a present for your mum!
Try it out .... type in any of the above titles and compare their price to the local music store price.
Chris Quinlan f.dip.a
Go to The CQ Catalogue for a listing of my books and current syllabus.
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