BOOK/CD
LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE
$19.99

Written collectively by Kofi Baker (Cream legend Ginger Baker’s son) and Jordan Hill, The Forgotten Foot shines a light on the hi-hat hoof and its overlooked role in timekeeping and four-way coordination. Various examples of rock, jazz, and shuffle beats and fills are featured, including the hi-hat’s function within each pattern and the specific independence needed. Also covered is double bass drumming and “pedal bridging” (playing the hi-hat and second bass drum simultaneously). But it’s not all about the feet—your hands also need to be together to execute the 16th-note-triplet crashes and 2-3 rumba clave pieces found here. A well-recorded fifty-eight-track CD of Baker demonstrating many of these exercises rounds out a nice package that investigates an uncommon instructional-text topic. (Hal Leonard)

Ilya Stemkovsky