Reviews
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
The Complete Guide to Playing Brushesby Florian Alexandru-Zorn
BOOK/DVD LEVEL: ALL $29.99 Setting the bar for one-stop brush manuals, The Complete Guide to Playing Brushes aims to set your hands free. The typical circle-and-arrow diagrams are here. But, in a brilliant stroke, the focus is not on…
Systems, Book 1 by Ari Hoenig
BOOK LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED $15.99 NYC drummer Ari Hoenig’s new book focuses on coordination systems and different melodic variations to expand your independence and overall musicality. The material isn’t a breeze—even the flam warm-ups require facility and concentration—and…
Groove Alchemy by Stanton Moore
DVD/BOOK/MP3 DISC LEVEL: ALL DVD $29.99, BOOK/DISC $24.99 The DVD of the well-structured, in-depth multimedia package from New Orleans drumming great Stanton Moore reveals a concise chronological history of the rhythmic foundations and evolution of funky drumming, beginning with…
The Breakbeat Bibleby Mike Adamo
BOOK/MP3 CD LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED $19.99 Part encyclopedia and part progressive practice manual, this soon-to-be-classic 180-page book dissects the foundation of hip-hop—the breakbeat—into thirteen essential drumming elements (offbeat 16ths, open hi-hat, syncopation, buzz strokes, etc.), while offering essential…
AC/DC Play Drums with the Best of...
BOOK/CDS (2) LEVEL: ALL $24.99 For decades, legendary Aussie rockers AC/DC have so unapologetically celebrated their lack of creative evolution that it might seem pointless to study drum charts for the band’s greatest (or any) songs. Before MD offices get…
The New Frontier for Drumset by Marko Djordjevic
BOOK LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED $12.99 Serbian drummer/clinician Marko Djordjevic delivers a fascinating guide to understanding and applying subdivisions within drumset improvisation. His method involves several intricate steps, each connected to certain parts of the kit (kick, snare, hats)…
Drumming with Your Hands Featuring Kenny Malone
DVD LEVEL: BEGINNER $33 The jump-in and get-going approach to djembe and conga technique is the winning feature of this instructional DVD. Kenny Malone is a Nashville studio percussionist with years of experience, and his instruction is designed to…
Song Charting Made Easy by Jim Riley
BOOK/MP3 CD LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED $19.99 Although this book/CD package by Rascal Flatts drummer and MD contributor Jim Riley centers on describing the unique number-based nomenclature used in Nashville studios to map out songs, the underlying musical content that’s…
Drum Atlas Series: Brazil by Pete Sweeney
BOOK/CDs LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE $16.95 Brazil is the fifth culture to inspire a book in the Drum Atlas Series, and like its predecessors, this package provides a ground-up approach aimed at understanding each of the country’s rhythmic styles. Focusing especially…
Drum Atlas Series: Jamaica by Pete Sweeney
BOOK/CD LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE $16.95 Jamaican music finally gets full-blown coverage in the fourth book of the Drum Atlas Series. Beginning with traditional Nyabinghi drumming, the book traces Jamaica’s music from mento, through ska, and to rocksteady, reggae, and beyond. The…
The Evolution of Jazz Drumming by Danny Gottlieb
BOOK/CD/DVD LEVEL: ALL $29.99 Educator and renowned player Danny Gottlieb chronicles the history of jazz drumming in an entertaining and educational workbook format that offers a brief background, photos, transcriptions, audio, and video of the featured players. From Baby…
Rock With Hand-Foot Drum Breaksby Joel Rothman
BOOK LEVEL: ADVANCED $14.95 This is a no-nonsense, precisely detailed collection of exercises for advanced drummers looking to expand the scope of their rhythmic approach between the snare and bass drum. The sheer breadth of fills presented, covering everything…
Mel Bay's Modern Drum Method Grade 2 by Steve Fidyk
BOOK LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE $14.99 Picking up where Grade 1 left off, the second volume in MD contributor Steve Fidyk’s series continues to illustrate standard drumset concepts, with an emphasis on dotted notes and rests, multiple beat variations, and fills. In-depth…
Rhythmic Designs by Gavin Harrison & Terry Branam
BOOK/DVD LEVEL: ADVANCED $29.95 Here rhythmic illusionist and musical mathematician Harrison reveals innovative concepts and melodic drumset creations from his highly acclaimed albums with the progressive artist 05ric, Drop, and Circles. The package is very well thought out. Harrison…
