Reddit mentions: The best books about percussion instruments

I agree with the Vic Firth site. Also, after a few weeks of practice or so, get the rudiment you are practicing up to the fastest you can go, with maybe a little sloppiness. Practice at this level for a bit, and think of it as exercise to make you faster. There should be a little burn, and you'll be able to play slightly faster at the same level of control next time you practice. Then, dial it back to the fastest you can play while still remaining in complete control, and practice at this level the most. This is where control and good muscle memory will be built. (EDIT: But if you happen to find yourself getting sloppy at that speed, do not hesitate to slow it down further if you have to. Make sure you're doing every movement correctly and mindfully. When it's perfect at a slow tempo, then you can start taking it up a couple notches at a time until you're able to play it perfectly at a fast tempo. Remember to stay within your limits and watch your form for the most part, but there is benefit to be found in pushing those limits a bit in order to -gradually!!- get faster, as long as you aren't spending all your practice time in a sloppy speed-fest.) You will find that both your control and your speed will improve with each practice session, as long as you are properly applying yourself.

In terms of method books for this sort of thing, I would recommend Edward Freytag's The Rudimental Cookbook and Just Desserts. Both of these books start out simple and the solos get more complex and challenging as you progress, allowing you to expand your vocabulary and abilities along the way. Plus the solos are fun and oh-so-tasty. After a few months of proper practice, you could go from the simple stuff at the beginning to shredding through the crazy stuff at the end. It'll looks scary and intimidating, but once you've played your way through the book, reading even the most advanced solos will become a cinch and playing them will be pure enjoyment.

I would also recommend Scott Johnson's Progressions because, like the others, it starts out easy and the solos get more challenging as the book goes on. The idea is that you start out as a beginner and progress (geddit?) up to the level of a competent, DCI-quality player. And Scott Johnson definitely knows the skill drummers need to succeed at a DCI level.

Oh yeah I almost forgot Bill Bachman's Rudimental Logic. This book has like a zillion exercises, so it can be overwhelming, but it is still a great place to woodshed a rudiment and it actually shows you how to play the rudiment by breaking down the individual strokes involved, rather than just giving you exercises and telling you to "get to it". It shows you a bunch of hybrids as well as the standard 40 rudiments, and is supremely useful for introducing to your system of practice the concept of "the grid", which is itself a supremely useful practice tool for stick control and rudimental proficiency.

I would also recommend starting to youtube various drum corps to find exercises and pieces that interest you. That way you have something fun to work towards. I started with this video of the Concord Blue Devils playing The Ditty. This is what got me hooked. I had no idea that level of coordination and precision was possible. I thought there was no way I would ever be able to play that. However, after only a few months of practice, I was astonished to find out that I could. It's immensely rewarding. Plus, when you get these rams and such up to the proper level, you can play along with the youtube video of the drum corp playing it, which is really fun. The sheet music for most of the exercises you'll see is available from the specific corps for purchase, but if you can't find it or are poor, there are usually a bunch of transcriptions floating around the interwebs for your edification.

A few years ago, I purchased the Santa Clara Vanguard audition packet. I never auditioned, unfortunately, because real life and financial realities got in the way, but it was still one of my best purchases which I still use even today. It even comes with a DVD explaining the exercises (Progressions also has an immensely useful DVD and the Freytag books have an audio CD which is really useful to figure out tricky phrasing and rhythms). Anyway, the exercises in the audition packet are essentially what you need to have down pat in order to make it into whichever corps for which you're hypothetically auditioning, so they are incredibly good for you. Again, most of these exercises can be found in "in the lot" youtube videos, so once you have it memorized and down cold, you can play along with the videos, both for fun and to make sure you can play up to the appropriate tempo, while listening to the rest of the drumline.

I would also highly recommend Jim Chapin's classic Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer. This is a drumset method book, not a rudimental one, and it teaches you the "coordinated independence" necessary for jazz and bop playing. Once you get through this book, you will not only be a competent player in the jazz style, one of the trickiest idioms to learn and master, but your abilities on drumset across the board will increase dramatically. This book will give you the ability to play different, independent rhythms on each hand and foot, both separately and coordinated, and this ability will shine through, no matter which style you're playing. Being able to play with independence is one of the trickiest and most beneficial things to learn, from complicated polyrhythms on double bass to just getting that hi-hat chick on the two and four while your hands and other foot are doing different things.

It's like learning a basic drum beat. Many people tell me they can't even learn a basic beat because they can't do that many things at once. I tell them that the hi-hat pattern is just eighth notes, so just lay that down and forget about it, then you can focus on the rest of your limbs. Later, once you have that down, you can start varying up your hi-hat patterns. Same thing with the left foot in jazz. At first it may seem ridiculously difficult to keep the same pattern with the left foot while your other limbs are going all over the place, but eventually you can just do it without thinking about it, freeing up your brain to focus on your other limbs. Then you can also control and change up the pattern as your creative instincts dictate.

Anyway, I would really highly recommend any of these books. I went from someone with no rudimental chops and absolutely zero jazz vocabulary to someone with, at the very least, fairly good control and a decent vocabulary. The jazz part is especially great because I had no idea how to play jazz and really struggled until I found the Chapin book. Again, even if you don't play jazz, it is a tremendously useful thing to learn, and one of the trickiest. It's really, really useful. Trust me.

Also I just dug up a comment I made a month ago on the question "What rudiment(s) helped you progress most?" where I had a few ideas for stick control exercises and such. It's also really long, but I hope it's useful.

At any rate, I have a ton of useful exercises and tricks I use, some of which I even made up myself. If you're ever looking for ideas, feel free to message me. Hope this helps.


EDIT: Also, just as an aside, learn triple-stroke rolls. I didn't even know these were a thing until like five years after I'd started playing. Hell, I didn't even really know the difference between a crush roll and a double-stroke roll until way later than I should have. But triple strokes provide you with so much more opportunity to creatively vary up your playing and practicing. I would also recommend learning quadruple strokes, although I ended up learning those because a piece I was currently working on had them, so I was "forced" to learn them in order to play the piece. This also brings up the significance of what I said earlier about finding youtube videos and exercises and such that seem fun and that you want to learn. These exercises will contain rudiments and sticking patterns that you are unfamiliar with. While you might shy away from tricky things like this during regular practice, you are "forced" to learn them if you want to be able to play this fun piece, thus expanding your vocabulary further, so that the next time you see that rudiment or whatever in a different piece of music, you've already played it 10,000 times, and you can just sight read it and get to learning the things you haven't seen before.

EDIT 2: Also, 32nd notes seemed really scary to me until I figured out that they were just 16ths, but twice as fast. Fivelets and septuplets also seemed really intimidating at first, but once you start playing your way through them, you learn to feel them and eventually you'll be able to play them without even thinking about it. My point here is: Don't avoid something just because it appears scary. Dive right in and vanquish the beast with your sword of justice. It will be a bloodbath at first, but i guarantee that if you keep practicing it will eventually become second nature. If you avoid it, you'll never learn it, and it's remarkable how the things that seemed impossible a few months ago quickly become so easy, so practiced, so natural that you can do them at will, without effort. Muscle memory is the incredible gift from the gods to our nervous system, and it is a sublimely powerful tool. It would be a massive shame to let something of such awesome potential simply go to waste.

Having a written schedule helps a lot. It lets you focus on the areas you want and keeps me from getting off track. I take weekly lessons as well so I usually develop a practice routine for the week with my instructor, but on occasion I've added to it a bit or worked out my own.

There are two things you should do first: determine how much time you have and what you want to work on. Be honest with the time you have, not just how much you want to have. If you're not going to actually practice for four hours every day it won't help if you work out a schedule for it and then end up skipping most of it. Anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours is typical, I personally tend to aim for 1 hour and allow myself some flexibility to go longer if I want to. If you can't do a single longer session consider trying to play in several shorter ones and break things up between them.

Figuring out what to work on is often the harder part. Having a teacher to work with will definitely help you not only determine where you need to improve, but how best to do it. Otherwise try to have an honest assessment of your skills. If you're working on something new and notice you're having trouble with part of it write it down and add that to the list of things you want to work on. Maybe you're having trouble with triplets, getting a smooth articulation, you need to improve your knowledge of the neck, or want to improvise better. Pick a few of those areas to work on and then begin looking into how you can focus your practice on improving them.

Personally I tend to break a practice routine into a few areas: warm-up, technique, rhythm, ear training, reading, improvisation/composition, and repertoire. Here's a sample routine of mine from May:

1. Modes in all keys, one per day (i.e. Monday - Ionian, Tuesday - Dorian, Wednesday - Phrygian , etc.) at 90 bpm. [10 minutes]
   
   
2. Bass Aerobics #1; play to backing track. [5-10 minutes]
   
   
3. Bellson p. 23, 90 bpm [5-15 minutes]
   
   
4. Black Sabbath - "Electric Funeral". Learn bridge (2:17) by ear.
   
   
5. Improvise over Em riff. [5-10 minutes]
   
   
6. Play for at least 30 minutes.
   
   I like to start off with scales and arpeggios as a warm-up. I'll switch them up over time depending on what I want to work on and to keep from getting bored. In this case I follow a pattern of playing the scale up and down and then the chord tones (i.e. 1-3-5-7-8) up and down as quarter notes. Always to a metronome. Whenever you're playing something and aren't just slowly working it out, play it to a metronome. Don't be a in a rush either, speed comes from precision and you get that by doing it right at a slow tempo. Currently I'm doing the same thing with two octave minor scales in each key which presents a number of other challenges and is giving me a lot of practice on shifting and fretboard knowledge.
   
   Next I move on to cover an exercise I happen to be working on. In this case I was working from a book I'd purchased recently that's nothing but technical exercises. Often I'll work on something that my instructor has given me, for example at the present I'm working on playing ghost notes with better articulation so I'm going over some simple exercises he gave me.
   
   After that I had been doing some rhythm studies. Louis Bellson's "Modern Reading Text in 4/4" is a great book for this and an absolute classic, especially among drummers. It's just pure rhythm without any pitch, but it will help you learn to read better (including things that are written awkwardly in places) and focus on getting your time and rhythm down solidly. Once you have a rhythm down it's also great to then go back and start adding in pitches. Maybe picking a few bars and looping through them exploring what you can do with it and how pitch and rhythm interact.
   
   Ear training is one area where I'm a bit less disciplined. I include it in my weekly routine, but I often won't get to it every day. It can tend to suck up a lot of time and cause you to get distracted from the rest of practice until you've spent an hour on it alone and then don't have more time to finish. I like to put a little bit of time in on it though when I can and once I start getting something down I want to work on it for the rest of the week. That's why it gets listed here. Sometimes I'm learning a new song from notation though and it will go in this slot or I'm doing both. After the drier exercises I like to switch to something more musical, but that's still a bit of work so that's why it tends to show up at this point in the routine as well. You should try to always be learning a new song as well, whether it's by ear or from notation.
   
   In addition to just learning songs by ear I also like to use software to work on my ear training. Personally I use Perfect Ear 2 for Android and would highly recommend it, but there are plenty of other resources out there. Just spending some time every week working on intervals is going to help you out a lot and will make learning songs by ear that much simpler. You won't even realize it when it happens, but you'll listen to a song, start to work it out, and find that you got it perfectly the first time without really thinking about it. It's a great feeling and you get there by working on your intervals.
   
   The improvise step from this week is something that's sort of lost to time. If I recall correctly I'd been noodling around a week or so before and had come up with a simple riff with a couple of different fills. This was simply taking a little time out to play around with that. Often I'll be working on playing a song just from the chord chart so that will take this place. Some weeks I don't do any improvising. But just having something really simple like finding a backing track online, playing over a basic 12 bar blues in the key of your choice, or comping a jazz standard ("Autumn Leaves" is just about everyone's first standard) will let you take some time out to work on this basic skill.
   
   The last part of every practice for me is to just play. I have a playlist on the computer that includes everything I know or have been working on recently. I'll usually try to focus on the most recent songs I've learned since they often need the most work, but after running through each of those (and a second time if needed) I'll flip it over to random and just play along to whatever comes up. I like to keep it on random in particular because it means I need to quickly get into the song and don't have a lot of time to think about it. You have to just hear it and go. If I'm having trouble with a section I'll stop and repeat it or take some time out to work on it specifically. Either going down to the metronome to slow it down or just taking it note by note until I have it down again and can start playing at speed. Then when I have that section I'll work on transitioning into and out of it before I can finally just play through the whole song. I try to put in a minimum of 30 minutes of playing time, but usually I'll go even longer because I'm having fun.
   
   This is actually a key aspect of this sort of schedule to me. Most of these areas have a pretty variable time. Sometimes I'll just play an exercise through once (e.g. scales) and move on, but other times it takes longer because you need to slow things down and work on problems. Or it's short and you play through an exercise several times once you have it down solidly. I prefer to set minimum times that I'll work on something and let myself keep going longer if I want to. When I start to get bored or frustrated I have something else to move on to. If you have less time available to you though it might make more sense to enforce minimum and maximum times so you can be certain you're able to get through everything.
   
   In this case I've included a couple of books I've been using to get exercises from, but that's not the only source. I'll also find stuff online, get them from my instructor, work on reading/practicing pages from a method book (The Hal Leonard Bass Method in particular is very good and well-organized into discrete lessons that break down easily into a practice routine) or any number of other sources. The web has a wealth of resources out there that will give you stuff to work on to improve your playing. Scott's Bass Lessons is particularly well thought of around here and provides things like a weekly riff to work on with notation and a workbook (also included for the regular lessons if you sign up for the paid section).
   
   So, yeah, really, really long, but hopefully this gives you an idea of how to create and organize a practice routine. With each subsequent week I'll move on to another page/exercise in the books I'm working on, the next section in a song I'm learning by ear (or a new song altogether), a new scale to warm-up with, or whatever. Find out the routine that works best for you though and the time you have. Add in more exercises or take some out. Spend five minutes just working on standing in front of the mirror and playing open strings up and down (then skipping) and focus on your right hand technique. Whatever you do, plan the work and then work the plan.

Very basic beginner tips:
You're spot on with picking up sticks and a pad first (I should also mention a metronome because drumming is ALL about keeping time, but this is bare basics so for the sake of my bad typing skills and your wallet I'm going to omit it, but know this HAS TO BE YOUR NEXT PURCHASE (also there's dozens of free metronome apps FYI)).

This is all you will need to begin drumming and it shouldn't cost you more than $30. As far as for what kinds/brands, just buy two matching sticks that feel comfortable in your hands and a pad that's 'bouncy'. (Don't worry about wood types or tips for the drum sticks yet, you're still a far ways away from that being a concern)

Now that you have sticks and a pad, the next move is to learn how to hold them. This is going to be hard without any visuals, so bear with me here lol. Hold your right hand forward as if you were to accept a handshake. With your left hand, place the stick in the center your palm so that the blunt end of the stick is facing the ground. Now close your fingers around it to create a fist. Adjust the height of the stick in your fist so that only 1 inch of the blunt end is protruding(sp?) from the bottom of your fist. At this point, it should seem like your holding the drum stick the same way that you might hold a hammer; you're close but there's two more VERY IMPORTANT steps. Next, adjust your thumb so that it rests on the shaft of the stick. (Imagine that with your fist you're trying to now give someone a thumbs-up and that your stick is just a big extension of that thumbs-up, that what this should all look like) Finally, while maintaining this hand position, turn your wrist 90 degrees so that your palm and stick are both facing the ground.
Now repeat with your left hand.

If done correctly, you should be making a 'V' shape with your sticks. As well, if done correctly, you should be able to hold both stick with only your thumb and fore-finger. (Just to cover all bases, your middle, ring and pinky fingers are simply there for minor support, most grip strength and stick control comes from finding the fulcrum (or balancing sweet spot) of the stick and pinching it with your thumb and fore finger)

Confused yet? Good! Just a few more things and I'll feel like I'm really doing you justice here lol:

Just start off at first by trying to get your sticks to hit the pad and bounce back at you. Don't 'bury' them into the pad; make them work for you, not against you. Don't worry about speed, intensity or consistency just yet, it will all come in time.
Obviously, alternate your hands. You'll find that you have a dominant hand (99.99% chance it's your writing hand) but don't forget that, unless you plan on starting a Def Lepard cover band, your going to need both hands, so give them both the appropriate amounts of attention they deserve!

Once you got both hands hitting with equal confidence, just go back and forth with your right and left hand and try to focus on making them both sound, look, and feel as even as possible.

New drummer LPT's:
-Buy a metronome ASAP.
-Forget about speed, it WILL come naturally.
-Buy, download, torrent, steal, GET this book and go through it. It is the golden standard for pre-drumkit drumming. If you master this book, you have mastered the concept of drumming.
-Hold off on a drumkit. They're big and expensive; you'll really want to make sure that you REALLY want to commit to drumming first.
-Finally, YOUTUBE will teach you all this and more for FREE!

Good luck, sorry for the novel but I really hope this helps.

Sources: drumming 12 years, currently professional touring drummer, tried to teach a friend how-to a while ago and he's... not terrible :P

1. Depending on where you live, you might be able to get through the early stages of your drumming life without a kit (acoustic or otherwise) at all. Try and see if there is any place near you where you can rent a kit for an hour. If you live in a moderately-sized city this shouldn't be hard.
   
   If you can find a place, this is a great option because it is a low cost, low risk (like you said, what if you learn drums aren't for you and lose motivation - you don't want to be stuck with a bunch of expensive drum stuff) way to play on a decent kit. This is what I did for a long time before buying my first kit.
   
   If you can't find a place or if you're insistent on buying you're own, I would look for a cheap used starter kit (high hats, snare drum, bass drum, maybe one tom, and a cymbal - should be able to get a decent kit for <$200) on craigslist or your local music store. I would not recommend a new kit, those will be significantly more expensive and you won't really even know what you're looking for in a kit anyway. I'm not personally a fan of electronic kits, but if you want to, try one out at a music store and if you'd like to learn drums that way, by all means do so.
   
   
2. Rudiments! Rudiments! Rudiments!. The links on the sidebar should help you out too. Also, there are a few big books that all drummers have practiced with, the most important of which is probably Stick Control. There are other ones too but get this. Practice with it. It won't be the most exciting thing you do at your kit, but it will make you a lot, lot better. Trust me. (You don't actually need a kit to practice, buy a practice pad!)
   
   Even with all this, I would still recommend that you get a couple of lessons. Even if it's just 1 or 2 lessons, it will really help you a lot to have someone to help you get started. The first time you sit down at the kit will be the hardest, and having someone to talk to and converse with will do wonders. If you can't get lessons, it will be harder but certainly not impossible. Remember that it's only going to get easier as you play more, so don't get discouraged.
   
   
3. Sometimes it can get really frustrating, I'm not going to lie. Sometimes your brain tells your hands or feet to do something and for some unknown reason, your limbs don't comply. This happens a lot at the beginning and you will get better as long as you practice, even if it doesn't feel like you're getting better. Honestly, all those rudiments and books I mentioned above are great, and will help you get good fast, but for God's sake just sit down and play. Play to a song you like, play random noises, improvise, try to compose a song. Whatever. Just play. If drumming is for you you should be having fun by now. You should never get too frustrated because you should be having a lot of fun while playing. So that's that.

• Drum lessons or stay at home learning from me and a resource?
  
  I definitely recommend drum lessons if you can. Especially since you have no real knowledge of drumming, this will help immensely. Someone to tell him "No, hold the stick like this" will help in the long run and save him from making habits out of bad technique. This doesn't mean that he can't learn by himself, it just means he will learn quicker, and hopefully have good technique.
  
  
• If we go for drum lessons, is there a text book he'd learn from so there'd be daily practice homework? If it's learn at home from us, what book?
  
  Yes. As soon as he starts lessons I'm sure the teacher will recommend a few good books. They aren't really textbooks, though, as much as drumming exercises. I don't know a whole lot about different books, but I have heard good things about Stick Control for the Snare Drummer. Other than that, any basic rudiments book will be fine something like this.
  
  
  
• Drum pad and sticks or hand drums? Or both?
  
  Interesting question. I'm not really sure how to answer this. Does he want to play hand drums or a drumset? I know when I first started I thought hand drums were dumb (My only experience was playing a djembe in a drum circle in 6th grade music class with a bunch of rhythmically challenged idiots). There was something about all the drums and cymbals put together that just made it so powerful and awesome to me. I'd say whatever he likes to play, let him play. If he falls in love with the bongos, so be it.
  
  
• We're moving into a house in 4 months... adult drum kit or kid size stuff? I know there's stuff marketed to kids online, should I stick with the adult size stuff?
  
  This is a tough one too. I've never really messed with kid's drums, but I'd say take him to guitar center and let him play the full size kits. If he can play it comfortably and is able to hit all the cymbals with a little adjusting, I'd say get a full size kit. I just wouldn't be a fan of getting a kid's kit that he'll grow out of in a couple years. If you have the extra cash, though, it'd probably be more beneficial to get the kid size drumset.

In addition to learning songs you like, rudiments are always a good foundation. I've never used Stick Control, but I like these (free) resources:

http://vicfirth.com/40-essential-rudiments/

http://www.snarescience.com/index.php

All good hand exercises, some of them (singles, doubles, paradiddles) are good for your feet as well, although I wouldn't bother doing flams and drags with your feet. Also splitting rudiments between a hand and a foot is good, as is playing rudiments with two limbs and having your other two limbs play a repeating pattern underneath (ostinato).

If, as you say, you "listen to really heavy music, super fast drums" and you wish to be able to keep up, you're certainly going to want to get your single stroke rolls (hands and feet) pretty fast.

Edit: And make sure to use a metronome, especially when you are first starting out.

2nd Edit: I suggest buying a double pedal sooner rather than later if you like / plan to play music that uses a lot of double bass, even though most people on this forum will probably tell you otherwise.

3rd Edit: Every drummer's technique can look a little different and still be "good" (at least imo), but I think this is a good video on hand technique. As are these.

> Is taking on a drum student and saying something like "This means I need to learn to play kit!" really fair to the student?

Maybe not... but I've played kit before in bands (when the drummer takes a break from his throne for a pit stop at the porcelain throne...) and always been complimented on my timing. I just don't have the rudiments across different drums, so I feel like I should learn that. I've no aspirations to become a percussion instructor or put it on my business card, but it is music, and that one has always been on my card :-)

___

 

> How you teach little techniques (holding the stick, hitting cymbals, foot technique) will affect the student for the rest of their playing career.

Yes, and I've seen people learn technique on a variety of instruments that hindered their playing forever. Even (especially?) if they learned from a teacher with a music-ed degree. Seems that's always a risk, particularly when people don't shop around for teachers. But I totally get where you're coming from, esp as a trained musician yourself. I will say a couple of things to that, and I will avoid being defensive. If any of this reads as such, try to find a different voice in it.

First, even to my cello students, I don't just teach cello; I teach music, and I tell them this. For other students I teach music, theory, and composition. For this student, I told his parents that I'm not a kit drummer, but I can teach him music; and if he can play music, he can play music on drums [insert list of self-taught drummers here?]. I have experience with hand percussion (professional, if you count using a cello as a cajon... ¡kek!), but I don't call myself a percussionist or drum teacher. I do say I have a drum student, though, which gets a laugh from some colleagues. I've coached for other instruments and ensembles, all the way up to conservatory level especially for audition prep. I wish I auditioned for Curtis and Julliard when I was a teenager, but no, I had to feel cool and go to Berklee instead. (Big mistake; hindsight is 20/20, right?)

Secondly, this student was taking lessons with a teacher at a store last year and quit. His parents encouraged him to try a different teacher and I'm working on getting him excited about music. I can't force anyone to learn who doesn't want to... but I can show him good music, watch his reaction to find what music actually moves him, then get him to stop "practicing" and start "playing!" I always say that doctors practice for a living; musicians get to play :-) When he started with me he brought Stick Control: For the Snare Drummer and explained why he hated it. Fair. I hate it too! So we work on other stuff. Should I teach him traditional grip or match? French grip? Open handed instead of cross? Open handed traditional so the right hand holds the stick underhanded?? I'm gonna find what works best for me and teach him that way. Gotta be careful because I'm ambidextrous & do some things left handed (golf, soccer, snow and skateboard goofy-footed, use tools in either hand, etc). More likely I'll find a way that works for him and teach him that way. He'll be self-taught with a coach. Does that sit any better with you? ^(this isn't personal, but I genuinely appreciate this feedback, it's useful self-reflection!)

YouTube lessons can be helpful, but almost certainly never as helpful as an instructor. YouTube lessons can't see you making mistakes and can't correct them. You can't talk to YouTube lessons. They're alright for beginners but I would definitely recommend getting some one-on-one advice, even from people who aren't professional teachers.
There's this amazing book called Stick Control: For the Snare Drummer (https://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-George-Lawrence-Stone/dp/1892764040 ) and it's full of great practice exercises that can help both you and your son. It's not a full kit book, but it's meant to strengthen your sense of rhythm and technique, and can help with speed aswell if you use a metronome. If you don't want to buy the book, I'm sure there's a .pdf somewhere, but the book is always better in my opinion.
Don't waste your money on Drumeo and Drumeo Edge. The whole Drumeo program is basically watching somebody else play drums and trying to mimic it. I can't speak for other online drum lesson services as I don't have much experience with them.
Find some music you like on YouTube, and use the speed feature to slow it down and really listen to what the drummer is playing. You can start slow and break it down and slowly increase the speed until you're playing it just as fast as the drummer in the song. It's a great way to teach yourself how to learn songs.
Learning drums takes a lot of patience (and can be quite expensive!) so I'd advise you to take great care in how you hit your drums. Drumsticks aren't very expensive and neither are drum heads, but when you're nailing them so hard you break one a day, it adds up quickly. Same goes for cymbals, but those are quite expensive aswell.
When you buy the second kit, I'd advise you to invest in a mid-range kit, not too great, but not garbage either. When you listen to songs and then your drums sound crappy, it's quite discourage. Get some mid-range cymbals as well, Paiste offers some pretty good beginner's cymbals.

Coordination and timing are big obstacles to overcome, but the more you play, the more naturally it comes. I never took lessons until I could get college credit for them (roughly 5 years after I started playing), and most of that was so I could learn to read music and maybe pick up on a few things. The biggest help for me was the fact that I could learn by ear, so if I heard it enough and tried it enough, I could figure out pretty much any song I wanted to play.

I would definitely invest in Stick Control, even if you can't read music. It's easy enough to read and it's really helpful in breaking habits when you have to think about what hand you're supposed to be striking with.

Really, the most important thing is just keep playing. Tap along to the radio. Tap along to everything. The more you play, the faster you'll break yourself from coordination/timing issues and the better you'll be. /u/crabjuice23 suggested trying different genres of music. I 100% agree. Play along to anything you can. If you hear something you like but can't quite stick it, slow it down in your head and keep playing it until it's comfortable and you'll have it full speed at no time. Patience is huge.

keep it up dude! Seeing as you are a young drummer, I want to offer some advice for you to improve. You seem to lose some stick control throughout the song . I would highly recommend you work on improving your technique by going through books such as Stick Control for the Modern Drummer. You can use this as a warm up and play like 4 lines perfectly multiple times or something similar. This book is only a suggestion, there are many ways to improve technique. You just have to make a conscious effort to work on it. A good mixture of practice vs playing will keep you engaged and feel great about improving at the same time.

When I was your age, I spent a lot of time focusing on different patterns and independence and didn't really work on technique until a bit later, and I can say from experience that even though I was practicing a lot, I wasn't practicing near max efficiency because I didn't make technique a priority early on. Working on your rudiments and having great technique makes basically anything easier to learn and makes it sound 1000 times better.

I hope you find this helpful. I use to teach mainly beginners and intermediate players and if you ever want some advice or guidance feel free to shoot me a pm. Keep drumming!

edit- I looked through some of your other videos. I think your stick control was a lot better in some of them. You definitely have talent and I hope you keep at it and keep improving!

Since this post hasn't gotten any responses, I'll do my best

You've covered a TON of ground in one post, it comes of as a bit scattered, and therefore pretty hard to respond to, but I'll do my best.

>Are there any recommended books with or without accompaniment (I need recordings since he isn't here)? I bought this book, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0769233775/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .

I have no experience with that particular book. There's a frequently referenced book, Klose's 25 daily exercises for saxophone, that I'm fond of and is held in high regard. Also look on the sidebar on that top link for some ideas.

> I think that I've adopted a double lip embrouchre; when I try putting my teeth on the mouthpiece pads the vibrations sometimes kind of hurt my teeth.

Okay. Some people do better with that, I hear, just be sure that you are staying in tune with all your notes and that your tone is good across the range of the horn. I've always found that I sound best with the standard embouchure, and people I've played with tend to have the same experience, but there are people out there that do the double lip embouchure and sound good.

> So right now I'm trying the 2.5 orange box reeds on my Yamaha YAS62. I just recently bought Hemke 2 reeds because I wondered if it was the reed.
I also own a YAS-275 which is sharing this problem.

I'm assuming this is about your lip hurting. A common problem that this sounds related to could be that you are using too much pressure on the lower lip and pushing on the reed. A symptom of this is that your upper range will sound sharp and the lower range comparatively flat. If that's the case, push in your mouthpiece and try to use less pressure from your jaw on the reed.

> When I play the notes don't sound smooth they sound a little bit abrupt. They sound a little bit restricted like the notes are singular or alone with the other notes around. Am I playing too staccato?

I have no idea what you're saying. You could be dampening the reed by pressing on it with your lip like I've mentioned above. Without hearing your sound, I won't know. "playing too staccato" doesn't make sense to me. Typically, you're maintaining air pressure when you're playing, and staccato is tonguing in such a way as to stop your tone put space between your notes. Given that tonguing in such a way is deliberate, I don't think that you're doing that?

> I can play the C Major scale and it sounds fine legato. When I play the arpeggios it sounds really bad at the top going back down. I play the lowest C, E, G, C, E, G, C going up. The problem is going down from the C when you are pressing your middle finger with the octave key then transitioning to the G. It almost sounds like a little bit of vibration or it is going inbetween the notes. I tried looking up online and it says that I should increase the speed of my air stream. I did this and the problem largely went but was still slightly there. It just made this kind of fluctuation shorter and less obvious basically. I think this thread means what I mean: https://www.saxontheweb.net/SOTW_Archive/alto/08-04-02/boardset-saxweb-boardid-alto-thread-83-spec-4558793.html
Also I left it on the stand for like a month last year when I was thinking of getting back into it and my mum hit it off the stand a while ago which I was wondering if that would ever need to be checked again (the other suggested solution to the weird st I found online was taking it to a tech). I'm thinking that I'm just out of practice but I do remember the YAS-62 used to sound really good.

Work on your intervals. If you can hit the note just fine on a scale but you're having issues with arpeggios, then there's a couple of things that can go wrong. Things that could go wrong include:

• your fingers aren't closing all the tone holes at the same time. Try the problem interval with the notes completely separate, then start narrowing the space between the notes gradually, working on moving your fingers together.
  
  
• The sax's mechanisms might not be fully responsive, due to a sticky pad, weak spring, etc. If the step above did not resolve the issue, watch in a mirror to make sure that everything is moving right, and right away when you go between notes.
  
  
• It might be a voicing issue. Get the note in your head. Sing the note, make sure you know what notes you're going from and to. If you have the wrong (or no) note in your head, you may actually disrupt the primary pitch of the note you're playing and that can result in that "in between" sound.
  
  
• Also, keep an eye out for leaky pads. If you're not sealing right, it can cause an issue. You'd have problems with the scale though, too.
  
  > Also if I do have to take it to a tech, I'm in London what is the best value one (not priced, best value)? I really hope I'm just shit and I don't need to take it to a tech but tell me what you think thanks.
  
  Sorry, can't help here.
  
  
  > Also my mum is only paying for half of my lessons since she would only pay for every other week and I think that I probably should have weekly lessons. What is a fair price for lessons (I'm guessing half an hour)? I don't know if I could get a discount since I'm paying for half of it; is that a reasonable reason to ask for less?
  
  Respect the people that are trying to teach you. If you can't afford their rate, then either find someone else or explain that you can't afford their rate. Not sure how old you are, but if you're in middle or early high school, you might be able to get someone a few years ahead of you to give you lessons, and that should be somewhat cheaper.
  
  > Thanks for reading and getting back to me (if you do)
  Not sure if it is the reed hardness since I can play the low Bb and B okay.
  Edit: Oh wow the PDF links for the real book in the FAQ are actually legible Another dumb question, when sheet music has chords like Bb7 or whatever is that transposed? If someone was trying to play guitar accompaniment could they just play those chords?
  
  If the real book does not specify what key it is written in, it's likely C. You'll have to transpose the chord if you want to read it as a saxophone. For instance, a Bb7 would be played as a G7 on alto or a C7 on tenor. A guitar could just play them.
  
  > Also does the dent in the neck matter?
  
  Probably not if it's small. I'm assuming it's small because you didn't mention it till now.

If you can spare the money I most definitely recommend finding a teacher. You will want to start with rudiments (they can be boring, but you'll be glad you did them in the long haul) and while you can pick them up from books, having a teacher giving feedback helps a lot. You don't have to stay with a teacher on the long-term, if you make it clear that you just want a solid base most teachers know what you mean and want.

If you don't have that money, these are three books I highly recommend to anybody who wants to play any percussion instrument:

http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-For-Snare-Drummer/dp/1892764040/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Description: This book is full of rudiments. Like ctrocks said: This book is evil. You will most likely both grow to hate and love it. Hate it for both how boring rudiments can get (to me, at least) and how hard they get. But love it for the results and seeing how all those rudiments advance your playing immensely. I suggest picking this up as soon as possible.



http://www.amazon.com/Accents-Rebounds-For-Snare-Drummer/dp/1892764067/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343162586&sr=8-1&keywords=Accents+and+Rebounds

Description: The 'sequel' to Stick Control. This book adds accents and even more difficult rhythms. I would suggest picking this up at an intermediate level.

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Steps-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer/dp/0882847953/ref=cm_lmf_tit_5

Description: Don't let this book fool you. It all starts out really simple. But this is one of those books that really lays down a foundation you will be very grateful for. And when you're getting to a more advanced level, you will see how you can translate a lot of these syncopated rhythms to the entire drumkit. I suggest picking this up as soon as possible.


http://www.amazon.com/4-Way-Coordination-Development-Complete-Independence/dp/0769233708/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c

Description: This book is very well named. You will want to grab this book after you got the basics down, imo. You want to work on the independence of your limbs as soon as possible, but not too soon. Yet again: rudiments. But now rudiments that require all limbs.


http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Techniques-For-Modern-Drummer/dp/0757995403

Description: We're starting to get into the bigger leagues with this book. I honestly don't quite know how to describe this book except for the word: challenging. Challenging in a very, very good way. I recommend picking this up once you're starting to get into a more advanced stage.


These books are for the basics, imo and in the opinion of many fellow drummers as far as I know. But don't forget: the books are merely tools. You don't want to be only playing rudiments, you'll go crazy. I tended to go for a trade: every half out of rudiments rewards me with a half our of putting on tracks and rocking out. Resulting in one-hour sessions a day. Hope this helps!

Edit: Feeling bored so added more books and descriptions.

1. If the reviews for that pad's good, then get it. I own a Billy Hyde drum pad and a Vic Firth drum pad. Both are good, but I prefer the Billy Hyde pad as it's less bouncy. However, when building stick control it's good to have some bounce.
   
   
2. The one practice pad is fine for now. When you practice, you can play seated and use your left foot (or both) to tap out pulses like you would a hi-hat. For example, tap out quarter notes with your left foot while your hands play eighth notes alternating.
   
   
3. For the Ted Reed book you should be fine for most of it. Another book you should (MUST) get is George Stone's Stick Control.
   
   
4. Ted Reed's book can be played using a practice pad and a drum kit.
   
   
5. Honestly, I'd get a private tutor right away then drop them later if needed. They'll help you save a lot of time with technique and direction. Starting a new instrument can be frustrating, so having some guidance is a huge benefit. Also they'll help prevent you from developing bad habits.
   
   
6. You can tap your feet while practicing seated. However, to learn foot technique you'll need a pedal. You can buy drum kits for cheap second hand online, which are fine for practicing. Check out kijiji. They may not sound like a professional kit, but they operate the same. I still practice on my old starter kit while I have my nicer stuff at my jam space.
   
   Hope this helps somewhat.

Here's my disclaimer: if you don't have access to a drum and at least one other person to practice playing clean with, you're already at a disadvantage. No pad feels exactly like a drum and when it comes down to the wire in an audition, what determines who makes the line is usually who can play clean consistently no matter where he is in the line.

Buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-For-Snare-Drummer/dp/1892764040

No matter where you want to march, it will be your ultimate tool. It will lay the foundation of your playing, and it will give you amazing facility on the drum. Play through all of it. Play through it at every dynamic. Play five lines and crescendo the whole thing. Do whatever you can to essentially turn the thing inside out on itself so that you get as much experience playing things your hands have never felt. The key here is repetition. You want to shed layers so that your hands become so refined that anything you're asked to play is practically second nature.

Once you've played through the entire book ten times, buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Accents-Rebounds-For-Snare-Drummer/dp/1892764067

Repetition, repetition, repetition. Variation, variation, variation. If something sounds disgusting, practice it until it's beautiful. You need to dedicate substantial time to practicing, and you need to always practice with a metronome. I advise against most phone metronomes, because they tend to be inconsistent. I recommend practicing for 90 minutes and then taking a 30 minute break. Practice consistently. Don't do eight hours one day and then take a week off. Two or three hours a day is ample practice time. You've got to be deliberate and take your practice time seriously if you want to make it. If you're unsure about whether or not you want to march, I'd advise against auditioning because the people who really want it are usually the ones who make the line.

Get on YouTube and check out some different lines from the past maybe three seasons. Listen to as many as you can and see which lines really pique your interest. Then get on Google and look for audition materials (either from past years or current materials). A lot of corps require you to buy their audition materials so if that's an issue for you, you could try another corps. Or you could step up your game, get back on YouTube, try to find some videos of the drumline warming up, and figure out their exercises on your own. Be wary though; that's a pretty significant undertaking.

My best advice is to take initiative, and to try harder than you want to. You'll have to do both of those things if you spend a summer with a corps anyway, so it's better to start now. Best of luck to you.

For beginner-level jazz drumming, John Riley's The Art of Bop Drumming is a fantastic resource to get you going. It builds from the basics by starting you with just the hi-hat/ride ostinato, then adds in comping ideas that you can use with the snare or kick, then starts to combine them. Later it has a nice selection of 1-bar phrases and soloing ideas as well as brush techniques. Riley does a good job of explaining his notation and how to play through the exercises.

In between the exercises are high-level descriptions of jazz playing (explaining the framework of a jazz tune, the drummer's role in a jazz combo, how your playing can influence the other musicians). The CD includes some tunes, and there are lead sheets in the back of the book, so you can get a feel for what the musicians are basing the songs on.

For rock/funk drumming, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of Gary Chaffee's Patterns series. I started my formal lessons by working through the Fatback Exercises in his Time Functioning Patterns, and they are incredible. You play a fixed cymbal pattern (eighth notes, for example) and a fixed snare pattern (strictly on 2 & 4), then go through every iteration of bass drum 16th note phrasing that can accompany your snare drum without kicking on 2 & 4. It works out to 128 different patterns (2^7) contained in 3 pages. It took several months before I could play through all of them consecutively, but I was blown away by how much more flexible my playing around that 2 & 4 snare framework became in such a short time.

If your coordination is already good enough to breeze through those exercises, you can change the cymbal ostinato, and then it's a whole new game. You can add in a tricky pattern with your left foot if you're really feeling adventurous. There's a tremendous amount of work to be done with just 3 pages, and there's a lot of other material in the book - his jazz section provides a similar resource for improving your flexibility when playing swing time (triplet-based), and the linear section provides a very cool system for developing fills, solo ideas, or full linear grooves. For a beginner, I think the Fatbacks are where it's at, but here's a video of a guy looking at some of the other exercises (a different 3-page section) in a more advanced context.

There are some cons to the Chaffee book. Notation is weird, and he doesn't do a great job of explaining it himself. To save space, he frequently notes his exercises as single beat or two-beat phrases rather than full measures, so you have to repeat them to get a full measure. He also uses a minimal staff, so a snare-kick exercise like the Fatbacks only gets 1 staff line (two spaces). If I hadn't had a teacher explaining the exercises to me, I would have found them very confusing. Since the ideas here are so flexible, it can be hard to sense how they'd be used in a more musical context. Compared to the Riley book, which has some really nice, musical comping phrases, the Chaffee stuff is broken down into such small blocks that it doesn't flow on its own. That makes it incredibly powerful for building your flexibility as a player, but it can be frustrating sometimes to work through exercises that don't sound good when repeated as a half- or quarter-bar phrase, even if they'll be interesting once you've incorporated them into your arsenal.

TL;DR: Riley's Art of Bop Drumming, Chaffee's Time Functioning Patterns as beginner resources with advanced potential

Hey there! I'd like to consider myself a pretty experienced drummer, so hopefully I can be of some help to get you started.

If you aren't too familiar with reading music, I would highly recommend getting Syncopation for the Modern Drummer . It's a great starting book for reading music and familiarizing yourself with common snare & bass drum patterns that can be applied to the drum set.

If you want to learn more how to play the complete drum set, which I'm guessing you'd like to do, check out The Drumset Musician . It provides a basic intro to coordination and ability to use all your limbs separately. (One of my biggest struggles when starting out was forcing my hands and feet to not do the same thing at the same time on the drum set)

Other than those books, YouTube will definitely be your best friend, so don't be afraid to use it!

Best of luck to you, and I hope you end up enjoying the drums as much as I do!

I think that Jazzology book /u/SP12turbo recommended will have you pretty well covered on music theory, it looks fantastic, though I haven't read it. The Jazz Language by Dan Hearle is pretty good, too (and mercifully short). It usually shows up in Jazz Theory discussions. Helped me out a lot, too. Cheap, too IIRC.

I always recommend some books on fugue and counterpoint since I think horizontal composition is often neglected. Most pop songs are not written by a 4 piece band anymore so I think having a serious command of horizontality is important. If you can't think of a fugue, the theme song from Castlevania is one. It's by Bach and it's awesome. Because Bach is awesome. I like Mann's The Study of Fugue, it has selections (just the good parts) of a lot of classic texts by the masters.

For Percussion, which as I'm sure you know is quite relevant in modern music, check out The Drummer's Bible - it's an encyclopedic reference. It's pretty much amazing. You don't need to play drums to benefit from it, it's really a percussion book. Pretty much every beat from a genre of music ever is in there with at least one representative. I can't oversell the book. Go buy it.

https://www.amazon.com/Drummers-Bible-Every-Afro-Cuban-Zydeco/dp/1937276198

There's a church organist who has a series of books on kindle with a focus on chord theory too, if a bit more basic, that are good if you can get past the English being somewhat broken and needing a bit more proofing. I think you can get all of them for @$3.

USB sends midi information to the computer, hun!

https://www.plogue.com/products/sforzando/

this soundfont player has a nice standalone player!

https://www.plogue.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=7090

there are lots of free soundfonts, but the garritan jazz piano that comes with this is really, really nice and I highly recommend it.

Use the soundcard you have, friend! If you're not recording 1/4" or XLR in, you don't need an external soundcard.

http://www.reaper.fm/

here's a DAW I'd highly recommend! Record your piano in midi clips on there to a metronome (or simple drum loop), you can load sforzando in Reaper as a VST

https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Programming-Complete-Program-Drummer/dp/0931759544

here's a book on drum programming! You can easily find a pdf of it on the internet, download some drum samples, n get going with composition.

Youtube is a really good resource for you also!!! Find yourself piano, theory, and composition lessons n give em your all

Good luck friend

As far as learning to read better, yes you should be counting. You have to learn how to understand how music is subdivided and how rhythms line up vertically.

I'd strongly recommend remediating a bit of your rhythm reading in isolation by just clapping beats while counting out loud.

Check out this book which I'm providing a questionable link to because it's a ridiculously overpriced college text that has been through far too many editions without adding any substance. You can sometimes find older editions very cheap on Amazon and likely at some used book stores so if you can find it for $7 instead $400 or $1000 it doesn't matter which edition. Use it.

It starts with just rhythm exercises essentially for a single hand and will walk you through the fundamentals of counting and reading. The book moves very fast and gets very dense, but it's one of the better resources I know for this material.

Another book I'd recommend is Syncopation. That one is much more reasonably priced. It's a drum book, but that doesn't matter. It essentially has you reading increasingly complex patterns VERY gradually.

Literally it starts with JUST straight quarter notes in both hands. It slowly starts adding rests to both, then rests to only one, more subdivision into 8th notes, triplets, and syncopated rhythms (naturally). It will really help you get a grasp of vertical alignment and the feel of rhythmic composites.

Count out loud while tapping these on opposing knees. You're not going to necessarily get good fast and you're definitely going to find things that are difficult.

If you find a particular rhythm being too much to do both hands in Syncopation, work on tapping the rhythm with just one hand while counting.

I'd also recommend switching the hands on each exercises (right on bottom, left on top) for tapping to to further improve your rhythm.

For the single line stuff in Ottman, count everything out loud. 8th notes, 16ths, all of it... 1 & 2... 3 e & a 4 & a and so on. But with Syncopation, try to count just the note that's getting the beat (generally the quarter note), so just 1 2 3 4 while tapping the rhythms and mentally feeling the &s and such. Eventually graduate to not counting out loud and just internally.

Naturally over time you'll just start reading the rhythms very easily.

Honestly, rhythm reading will come MUCH faster than general sightreading. Once you have the basic math of it, it's very simple. If you were essentially miming songs from recordings before, I suspect you have a passable internal sense of time, so now it's just learning how to read it.

learning jazz is the same as learning pop punk is the same as learning any other style you can think of. Think of how you learned to play stuff like Coheed (not exactly simple music), you can take a similar path to learning jazz. Here's what I would suggest,

Listen to lot's and lot's of jazz. Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, as well as Workin with the Miles Quintet, Steamin' with the Miles Quintet, Cookin with the Miles Quintet and Relaxin with the Miles Quintet are great places to start. (check out the musician's that played on those records and check out their records)

Learn how to write drum music and write down the things you hear on those records. Listen to what the other musicians play and think about how the drummer reacts to those things.

Play lot's and lot's of jazz. Put some head phones on and play the ride cymbal pattern along with your favorite records. Play the things you write down while listening.

These things alone will give you a ton of stuff to work on and will improve your playing a ton.

If you want to work with a book I suggest this one buy John Riley, http://www.amazon.com/Drumming-Book-Manhattan-Music-Publications/dp/089898890X

good luck and have fun!

Advanced Funk Studies: Creative Patterns for the Advanced Drummer by Rick Latham is really good for changing things up. It move things around like the accent and brings in a lot of syncopation. I'm not a funk drummer so don't think of the book like that, it's exercises to move you out of the square if you know what I mean.

Future Sounds: A Book of Contemporary Drumset Concepts by David Garibaldi is also excellent

I get a lot from Mike Johnson and Steven Taylor off youtube. Both of them have extensive and varying levels of fills and grooves. Taylor I think has more available for free, especially a list of drum fills. But I've used Mike's site and paid for a few months and it was worth it to me.

There's also a book that I can find in many places outside of my old hometown of Buffalo, NY called Groovezilla. The concept of the book is pretty neat. It's got hundreds of grooves but all the right hand work (HH/Ride) ostanatos are on transparencies. You then take those transparecncies and lay them over the pages in the book you're working on. So one might be a HH upbeat ostinato and another is a 16th HH ostinato. My former drum teacher was a student of his (Jim Lesner, author) so he helped beta test the book for him on a lot of things. It's a great book and a secret weapon in my learning. He'll ship the book if you order it from the website, I got mine in under a week. Great guy, even put a post it not with his email address in case I had any questions or wanted to chat with him.


Good luck

Check this book out!


As for your left foot, play simple beats like these with your left foot on bass drum instead of your right. Work on getting your left foot up to the level your right foot is at.


Something else you might want to consider is this book. Playing those patterns (e.g. LRRLRLLR) with your feet will be hugely beneficial to your playing.


Don't worry too much about speed just yet. That's something that will improve in time. As your speed increases, you should consider using some sort of technique like the those outlined in this video. You'll find that playing fast double bass is easier when using one of those shortcuts, as it were.

Here's a fairly simple exercise for working on speed: Set a metronome at 100 BPM. Play four measures of single-stroke eighth notes leading with your right foot, followed by four measures of sixteenth notes, then four measures of triplets, repeat leading with your left foot. Once you're comfortable at this tempo, increase the BPM to 120. Repeat. Increase to 140. Repeat.

Again, the most important thing is getting your left foot up to par, so don't focus much on speed until you're comfortable with where you left foot is at.



Most importantly though, have fun!

> I'm teaching myself how to use a drum machine

Check out Hydrogen (I know it says for Linux, but it also works on Windows and OSX), which is the best free computer-based drum machine I know of. LMMS is pretty cool, too, but it's more geared towards techno. Still, if you want to make chiptune punk, worth checking out.

Drum Programming: A Complete Guide to Program and Think Like a Drummer is also an awesome book to program beatboxes (or Hydrogen) to sound natural. I used that, back when I had a guitar.

One of the things that first drew me to computers and music was finding ways of dealing with drummers. All of the jokes and stereotypes about drummers are true!

But seriously folks...

Anyway, this book:
(http://www.amazon.com/Drum-Machine-Patterns-Leonard-Corp/dp/0881888877)

was super helpful for me. It's basic, visual and useful. So my suggestion is finding something like that. Start with the basics. Build on them, and learn about what human drummers do and learn.

Also, just listening was useful as well. It wasn't long before I realized that pretty much all rock beats are the basic boom-tat-boom-boom-tat ride, for example.

And my explorations helped me to have a better appreciation for drummers.

Good luck!

Blue

Stick Control. Most drummers will say it's best to start with this book but I'll be honest- it's not fun. Don't expect to be wowed by drumming with this book. It's meant to build good form/technique and other solid fundamentals that are very important to drumming.

Either way, if you're looking for something a bit more exciting, I'd say search youtube for beginner lessons on the kit and/or your pad.

Good luck!

ahh! I'm sorry. Here are the two books and some general tips.

• Elementary Drum Method-Roy Burns This book will teach you basic theory, how to read rhythm, and some good basic snare practice. I use it whenever I am teaching rhythm to music students either new percussionists, or brass/woodwind/ etc players that don't know rhythm well.
  
  
• Ultimate Realistic Rock-Carmen Appice This book will teach you how to play drum set. If you work your way through this book you can become a pretty decent drum player. Very well organized and thought through.
  
  
• Check out [Vic Firth's 40 Essential Drum Rudiments] (http://www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments.php). Learn them. These are super helpful and the site is great.
  
  
• Play along with other tracks. What I did was grab some cheap earbud headphones, then I bought some nice Vic Firth isolation head phones (good for you to wear while practicing anyway). I'd listen to a song a few times, work out the basic rhythm, then keep the earphones in playing the song, the isolation head phones over them, and play along to the track. If you have huge speakers you can also just black a track and play along with it. Some sites have drum track tabs you can look up, sometimes you can figure out the beat by ear, or you can buy books. I own RHCP Stadium Arcadium for drums. Some good tracks to start out with if you're new are Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes, Come As you Are by Nirvanna, and almost any Beatles track. Play you're way through albums. I can give you more suggestions if you'd like. Even if you aren't matching the drummer perfectly, you'll get better by playing with tracks.
  
  
• Buy a metronome. Seriously. You can get a cheap one from Guitar Center or online, it doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to keep a beat as you begin to learn percussion. Drummers who don't practice with metronomes aren't going to be very talented.
  
  
• Start slow. If you can play a beat slow, you can play it fast. But there are some people who can play rhythms fast, but not slow. Better to do it slow and correct, than fast and incorrect.
  
  
• If you can't play a rhythm 3 times in a row looping it (as in without stopping or breaking), you can't play it. You need repetition and looping.
  
  
• learn to hold stick properly and play with your wrists, not your whole arm.
  
  I can offer more tips about playing set, snare, mallet instruments, hand drums, buying a set, reading music etc. Send me a PM.
  
  Sorry this took so long, I had my drum books stashed away (recently moved) and I needed to remember the names.
  
  edit: formatting
  
  

I've been a drummer since I was 8. Quite rusty right now as a lot of things have kept me from practicing (moving to apartments for years, etc.). Honestly, it's never too late to start. Are you going to be playing Carnegie Hall in a year? Wildly unlikely. But as long as your expectations are grounded in reality, that learning anything takes time and practice, you should be good.

As for practice and sense of tempo/timing: it is imperative that you buy a good metronome and practice with it regularly. You don't necessarily need a Dr. Beat, though I have one, and it is useful at times. But you do need some kind of click to play off of.

Can you read music? If so, there are some really good technique books out there that I'd recommend that are classics. Most people hate grinding technique, but I find it oddly relaxing. Here's some good books:

• Stick Control
  
• Syncopation
  
• Master Studies - (Do wait on this one a bit and start slow. It is possible to injure yourself if you get too carried away. Stone Killer exercises are no joke)
  
• New Breed - This one's actually a full drum set book. Quite challenging. May want to wait on this one a bit or try to just play one or two of the lines together (eg. right and and right foot).
  
  The first two books are probably where you should start. With all of these, start the metronome at molasses level slow - like 60 bpm or maybe even slower if you're not accurate at that speed. Get comfortable with that speed - maybe 15-30 mins at that speed without any mistakes. Then bump the timing up slightly 2-4 bpm and repeat. At no point should you be tensing up. If you are, you need to stop immediately, shake out your arms, and back down the tempo a bit.
  
  Make sure that you're making more use of your fingers than your wrists. Wrists can be good to start the stroke, but your fingers should be doing a lot of the work.
  
  There's a lot of other technique stuff that you can do, but the above alone could take you 5-10 years of solid daily practice if you're being thorough.
  
  Good luck!

Don't mention it! My pleasure. What helps with the feet in keeping swing time is, learning how to feather the bass drum. It's extremely common in jazz, especially with cats like Joe Morello, Max Roach, and Jimmy Cobb. Even at the faster tempos, they feathered the bass drum a lot of times. Feathering, if you're not familiar, is pretty much keeping time on the downbeats very, very quietly. Make the pulse be more "felt, not heard".

They actually have bass drum pedal beaters that are designed for this sort of purpose. Check out the Vater Vintage Bomber beater. Here it is:

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vater-Vintage-Bomber-Bass-Drum-Beater?sku=446667

Also, if you want a couple of GREAT books to check out, I recommend these:

John Riley - The Art of Bop Drumming
http://www.amazon.com/Drumming-Book-Manhattan-Music-Publications/dp/089898890X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1301166520&sr=8-3

Jim Chapin - Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer (basically, this will be your best friend)
http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Techniques-Modern-Drummer-Coordinating/dp/0757995403/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301166610&sr=1-1

Keep swingin', man! Listen, learn, and absorb. The world of jazz is a wonderful one. Just keep loose, relax, and swing your ass off.

Cheers!

• Learn how to NOT RUSH. It is a tendency of every beginner musician I've ever known. The easiest way to force yourself to stay slow is to subdivide in your head (Subdivide AS MANY TIMES as you need to stay slow. You may be physically playing notes slowly, but if you're thinking at the fastest rhythm possible, It will be next to impossible to rush). Use a metronome/click track on the slowest possible setting and play songs you're comfortable with until you can keep a steady beat.
  
  
• Learn about rudiments. These are the building blocks for a lot of different rhythms. I'd highly recommend picking up a good book on rudimental drumming and practice the examples forwards, backwards, and sideways! This book is my number one recommendation for ANYONE serious about learning rhythm.
  
  
• As several people have said, dynamics are incredibly important for percussion. As a quick example, take any rhythmic passage, then practice accenting the downbeats, the upbeats, then alternate, then accent TWO downbeats, two upbeats, three downbeats, three upbeats, etc. Immediately you will get a feel for the importance of dynamics.

How about spending some time working through a book?

• Stick Control is great for getting your hands to do what you want, but might be a bit boring as /u/virusv2 said.
  
• A Funky Primer is pretty good overview of rock patterns, and will get you comfortable with basic independence of your limbs.
  
  I have been working through both and am enjoying them! Another thing that has really helped me is transcribing drum parts and learning to play them that way. I did this with a Tool song and it was unbelievably illuminating. Really makes you think about what the drummer is doing.
  
  PS: Nice username :P
  

Just want to echo that 30 minutes a day is more than enough. Of that time, I would spend 10 minutes on rudiments and the rest on whatever you want.

>What all will I need to get started? Practice pad, sticks, kit, metronome?

If you buy an electronic kit, I wouldn't worry about practice pads. I'd recommend picking up Stick Control, learning the rudiments, and an introductory book such as Fast Track or Tommy Igoe's beginner DVD. Once you feel more comfortable, I'd recommend picking up Groove Essentials and New Breed.

For stick, I generally recommend starting with Vic Firth 5B hickory sticks. Of all the sticks I've tried, those are the most absolutely average. Weight, balance, size, etc. From there you can move into thinner (5A, 7A) or thicker (2B) as you want, but 5B is a good starting place, hickory is the best wood to learn with (and play with forever, imo, but that's debatable), and Vic Firth is fairly consistent.

Vic Firth's stick size comparisons. The standard sizes used by the majority of drummers, from smallest to largest, are 7A, 5A, 5B, 2B. Everything else is just incredibly minor tweaking that some people like.

There are many people here telling you to use the metronome, and they are right. Unfortunately not much advice is given on how to start using one.

Start really simple, start the metronome really slow ( 60 clicks per minute) and just fret play frets 1 then 2 then 3 then 4 on one string all with down strokes. count out loud or in your head "1 2 3 4" as you play those frets in sync with the clicks. You can pluck the "1" harder to remind your self that you are starting a new bar. So go ONE two three four, ONE two three four.

Then try playing 11 22 33 44. Same metronome speed, except now say in your head "One and Two and three and four and One and two, etc. " you will still pluck down on the one two three four, but on the "and"s you will pluck up, going up, down up, down.

This will get you started. to start learning basic rhythms try something like this: Modern reading in 4/4

Also, before you start tapping your foot as you play, try tapping the beat to songs you listen to, as if you are the metronome. the vast majority of songs will easily fall into "One two three four" rhythm. Try the intro to "Sweet child of mine" you can count along with the guitar "One-and-two-and-three-and-four-and" and you will notice it repeats. Then when you go to play these songs your self, you will not only hear the song in your head, but also the "beat", which will tell you exactly when to play the next note, even if the notes are not played one after another.

Go very slowly and evenly and you will get better.

The most challenging thing for me to learn I think was always sight reading. However, my guitar teacher showed me a good methodology for this, basically he split it up into the different skills you needed to sight read. One skill was reading the rhythms, which was covered by http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Reading-Text-All-Instruments/dp/0769233775 this book, Modern Reading text in 4/4 time. Which is basically a book full to the brim with rhythms. The idea is then that you tap your feet in 4/4 time on the floor and clap and vocalise what ever rhythms are written down. I used to do this for hours, and the rhythms contained in that book went from simple to just insane.

Actual note reading was covered by reading studies for guitar...

http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Studies-Guitar-William-Leavitt/dp/0634013351/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311235782&sr=1-3

and advanced reading studies for guitar

http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Studies-Guitar-William-Leavitt/dp/0634013351/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311235782&sr=1-3

The methodology for learning was to start ridiculously slowly, with a click at about 30bpm, and to do one note per click. This may seem insanely slow, but it helps you to become relaxed about sight reading, and also trains you to read ahead because you get bored.

This was part of the sight reading task, then after a while of doing this we moved onto sight reading notation from tunes from real books. I learned a few tips from doing this, I'll list the ones I can remember here.

1. When you first see a piece of music, scan it and find out the information listed here.
   2.Work out the structure for the piece, AABA ABAB etc, this will help you to minimize the amount of other analysis you need to do.
   
2. Check out the key signature, and time signature.
   
3. Look for the lowest and highest notes in the tune, this will help you to start off in a comfortable playing position, so you can do the whole tune without worrying about changing position, or knowing when you have to.
   
4. Look out for any accidental notes, if you know them before hand, they are less likely to throw you off.
   
5. Scan the rhythm and quickly hum the rhythm of the tune to yourself, this will also give you chance to scan through the notes once before you actually play the tune.
   
   If you follow these tips, then sight reading will eventually become easy for you, but it takes quite a lot of work to achieve this.

Rehashing what others said, incorporate their musical interests into what you're trying to teach them. Ask them to bring in some music that they enjoy and then help them work through the songs. If they have that down, play rudiments over them, let them improvise over the tracks, etc. I've found that the more I tried to "instruct" younger students, the less interested they are, so instead I think of myself as more of a guide through their natural creative process.

Edit: If I had to recommend a book, I'd probably use this guy. It's very accessible and immersive, as well as being a great foundation for a budding musician.

Pad, sticks, metronome, a copy of Stick Control.

You'll want to try different sizes of sticks and find what feels best in your hand. Any metronome will do, really. I have the older version of this one and it's good: http://www.tama.com/eu/products/accessories/RW200.html

I like this practice pad: http://vicfirth.com/products/accessories/practice-pads/slimpad/ - it's got a quiet side and a loud side, and it's large enough to put on my snare drum if I want to hear the snares while practicing.

Stick Control looks like this: if it's at the music store, get it! http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-George-Lawrence-Stone/dp/1892764040/

Take your shiny new pad, sticks, and metronome, and work through Stick Control according to the instructions at the beginning of the book. Work on rudiments also, here's the best reference I've found (it's full of videos demonstrating each, plus basics like how to hold the sticks): http://vicfirth.com/40-essential-rudiments/

Read rhythms everyday, it doesn't matter what they are or what book they're from, just read them. Take it slow and sync up with a metronome so you can learn what notes line up and what don't. This a great book by Ted Reed called 'Syncopation' (jazz drummers will know what I'm talking about). There's a section near the back that is considered the bible for learning coordination, but I think it will also help your situation. I think it starts on page thirty-eight or forty and it goes through lessons one until eight. Put a metronome on and shed that stuff everyday and you'll develop some great rhythmic vocabulary as well as better yourself at reading and performing more complex rhythms. Check out this [link]http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Steps-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer/dp/0882847953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410966323&sr=8-1&keywords=Ted+Reed%27s+syncopation) for the book!

Happy shedding!

Edit: Well... the link thing didn't work out, but you get what I mean.

No, it's never too late to start something that you could love doing until the day you die! Drumming is THE BEST, and drummers get the hottest girls anyways haha. If you've always wanted to give it a shot, do it!!

You could actually make a lot of progress being 18 with more focused practice than kids that start "playing" at 6 or so. Don't let age dictate anything regarding music, seriously.

Get a practice pad, some sticks, grab a copy of Stick Control and you're well on your way to drumming.

I'm willing to bet your college has a music program, yes? Students can usually get a discounted rate taking lessons from one of the instructors on campus, and you might be able to get access during off hours to a drum room. We had that at UMass when I went there years ago, so I would bet yours has it to.

Seriously, play the drums. It's one of the greatest decisions I've made in life.

I'm a self taught drummer also, but I think the main thing to remember is you never want to stop learning new stuff. Start with the basics and move up from there. Like others said YouTube has great tuts. Every new drummer wants to play fast, but speed is nothing without control. Your job is to keep time, that's the main thing to remember, I sometimes forget that! This is probably one of the best books to help you: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1892764040/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think he has a fantastic set to learn on as is. Learning on a simpler setup like this will reinforce his understanding of the basics and the roll of the drummer as a time and rhythm keeper, but that's just my opinion, and my opinions are sometimes stupid. As far as upgrades go, if he likes rock and metal, a china cymbal would be fun, and bigger crashes never hurt. He'll eventually want a double pedal, but I recommend getting a single pedal down first. My biggest piece of advice though is to get him a copy of Stick Control for the Snare Drummer. I "taught" myself how to play for 9 years, neglecting the rudiments, and it really, really hampered my progression as a drummer and a musician. Stick Control is a must-have if you're asking me. I hope he has fun playing!

Edit: typo

My advice is don't use more force than you have to and play pick closer to the bridge, there's more tension there and the resistance of strumming the string is more consistent when you start.

I personally recommend starting with pretty thin picks, but try different thicknesses to find if there is a gauge that feels better.

One of the big aspects is that you have get very good at muting strings with your left, or fretting hand when playing since you can't really mute strings while holding a pick.

For dexterity take some exercises from a drumming a booking like this one, but instead of alternating right and left hands alternate down strokes and upstrokes at low speeds and then slowly speed up. Then start to incorporate plucking string next to each doing down strokes on one and up strokes on the other. The best one to start with is paradidle (RLRRLRLL), or Down-Up-Down-Down-Up-Down-Up-Up. The goal when doing this type of practice is to make each stroke even and full.

The Louis Bellson Book

This is for jazz syncopation. Can practice this without the bass. Just tapping your foot and tapping your hand on your knee or whatever.

​

The Applebaum Book

This is for more modern/contemporary pit band / session type of stuff, but still valuable.

​

There are also smartphone apps like "Read Rhythm" and sites like "SightReadingFactory.com" but I prefer the books above for rhythm-only stuff.

​

Best way to learn two-feel is to transcribe a ton of two-feel. Transcribe the all the two-feel choruses Bob Cranshaw plays on this tune. That should add some variety to your lines. Or what Don Bagley does on this tune. (Or anything that Ray Brown, Scott Lafaro and Eddie Gomez ever did in two feel).

​

​

​

1. http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-For-Snare-Drummer/dp/1892764040
   
   rudimentary technique book, one of the standards.
   
   
2. http://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-Studies-Snare-Garwood-Whaley/dp/1617270245/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398263911&sr=1-10&keywords=whaley
   
   another rudimentary book, another one of the standards.
   
   
3. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/microMETROBL?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CM2KgZzr9r0CFchQ7AodyicAQw
   
   first metronome i pulled up under 20$. essential.
   
   
4. http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Weapons-Modern-Drummer-DVD/dp/B000S6TNLI
   
   DVD by Jojo Mayer, who has (imo) one of the best stick techniques in the business. Really great video examples of proper stick grip, and various techniques regarding rebound and bounce.
   
   
5. Have fun!! Never forget about innovation and creativity. You can use the best technique in the world, and still sound absolutely inhuman and arrhythmic. Don't be afraid to just play what you feel.
   
   edit: me not word good. changed #4 around for redundancies.
   
   

The guy who suggested rudiments is absolutely correct.

Proper technique is hugely important, so reading up on or watching some videos about that will help you immensely, if you haven't already.

I would also suggest finding and practicing some stick control exercises. Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone is a great book filled with really helpful exercises.

Listening to, watching, and playing jazz can be a great help as well.

Source: percussionist for ten years

I have a Launchpad S and a Mini, and I use the Launchpad95 script with both. It takes some time to learn; I would recommend going through the documentation and getting used to each of the different modes at a time, instead of trying to do everything at once.

The way I've been working is like this: I use the drum sequencer mode to create a few drum clips that I like, mostly based on what I learned from the book Drum Programming: A Complete Guide to Program and Think Like a Drummer.

For other instruments I use the melodic step sequencer. I usually chose a scale depending on my mood, and then I use the random button to create a few patterns, until I find a few that I like. In addition, I also add some chords using the melodic step sequencer, creating some pads for the song.

Once I have enough clips for drums, bass, pads and leads I record an arrangement by using the Launchpad in session mode to launch clips. And when I have an arrangement that I'm happy with I'll record the automation of volume and filter parameters on top of it, using a Launch Control.

well i assume if you play guitar and keys then you already have a metronome. if not get one, it's the most important thing. also it's good to practice rudiments in the mirror so you can see you're hands. it helps with height consistency.
funky primer is a great book with lots of simple beats to learn that. fun with accents around the drums is also a pretty good one.

Ableton and FL Studio especially have a large following, and YouTube tutorials are plentiful (and often very specific to the style of music you're trying to make), so take advantage of those if you end up going with either of those software packages. Also, it seems a lot of USB midi controllers come with lite versions of Ableton, so it might be a good entry point.

You said below you were a drummer, so I'm not sure if this will be as beneficial to you as it was to me, but there's an excellent book on drum programming that I learned several techniques from which apply to pretty much any DAW or hard/soft drum machine you may choose:

http://www.amazon.com/Drum-Programming-Complete-Program-Drummer/dp/0931759544/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324166524&sr=8-1

It's dated but it's still very applicable to most software you'll end up working with for techno, dubstep, or hip-hop.

If you're into Linux at all, I'd also like to plug one of my favorite compositional tools, the Hydrogen drum machine:
http://www.hydrogen-music.org/hcms/

Polyrhythms are tough stuff. I also like prog alot, but haven't gotten to the point where I can play it very well. Starting off attempting prog would probably be discouraging. If you're looking for a nice starter book that won't be nearly as dry as sitting down with a practice pad and a metronome, I highly recommend the breakbeat bible. Are there any prog grooves in there? No. Will you be able to work on some of the fundamentals of drumming while still enjoying making music? Yeah. You might even find that you appreciate the grooviness and simplicity of some of the funk tunes more than you would've thought.

I've accidentally stumbled on these a few times but i'm glad to know they have a whole growing section devoted to it.

Also, this book is awesome, Well worth $10 --

http://www.amazon.com/Drum-Machine-Patterns-Leonard-Corp/dp/0881888877/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410552037&sr=8-1&keywords=260+drum+patterns

To echo what others have said, I couldn't have played drums to save my life when I first played Rock Band. I would fail songs on medium. Now I'm actually a pretty decent drummer, at least for someone who has never owned an acoustic kit.

The key is not to expect Rock Band to teach you everything, which you seem to have figured out already. Rock Band combined with independent research on actual playing techniques (grip, sticking, the parts of the kit, etc.) will absolutely turn you into a passable drummer, just as it did for me.

A couple suggestions: first, get some new sticks. Even the better Rock Band sticks are okay at best. You're not tearing them up on tour every night; you can splurge on something nicer like these. The dip is really nice if you're prone to dropping them, and the nylon tips won't wear the way wooden ones sometimes do.

Second, get a practice pad. A book on sticking patterns like this one can be valuable too but isn't crucial. A practice pad lets you practice sticking patterns. A few minutes a day playing to a metronome will make a big difference. As you improve, you can gradually raise the BPM of the metronome and train yourself to be faster.

Any reason why your teacher is telling you that you have no chance??

For my audition I just played a few drum set grooves (swing, bossa nova, samba, 3/4 swing, and a ballad), sight read a snare drum solo, and sight read a marimba piece. I had already spent a semester in the percussion ensemble (because I originally wanted to be an English major, but after meeting the faculty of both departments I settled on music) so my teacher already knew me and had a good idea of my skill level.

My first semester was mainly rudiments and solos from Cirone's portraits in rhythm. Pretty much snare drum only focusing on building my technique. My next semester I got started on Frank Malabe's Afro-Cuban book and John Riley's Art of Bop Drumming. Beyond that I worked through Riley's Beyond Bop Drumming, Ed Uribe's book on Afro-Cuban drumming, and his book on Brazilian drumming. After that I spent a lot of time working on solo transcriptions, playing pieces that my instructor and I picked out for drums and vibes, jamming with my instructor on vibes or on drum set, and working on pieces that I was writing. By the end at lot of what I was doing was driven by my interests and what I wanted to work on to improve.

As far as the music department as a whole I took your standard history, theory, aural skills, and piano classes, along with tons and tons of ensembles.

Hi,

I´ll recommend to keep your "main focus" on comping, fills will come out easily & naturally, even those tasty ones, when you have good control over technique .

But to your question. I highly recommend -Future Sounds-
by David Garibaldi. (Tower of Power drummer)

Check these out

https://youtu.be/pGWBqGa44ZU?t=4m5s

https://youtu.be/TsiYKOTmv1I

And here´s the book:
https://www.amazon.com/Future-Sounds-Contemporary-Drumset-Concepts/dp/0739019120

https://www.scribd.com/doc/258774093/PDF-Drum-Book-Drum-Lesson-David-Garibaldi-Future-Sounds



for example those permutation studies most likely challenges even more advanced drummers.


Good Luck!

Firstly, get used to playing swing with the right hand while keeping 2's and 4's steady with your left foot. Once you've got that down, grab a book like Syncopation and practice playing the rhythms on the snare while keeping your right hand and left foot as solid as a rock doing the same thing as before.

I used an Erskine book that does exactly this, but also goes into hand-foot combos, taking it to the next level. It also goes into triplets and such, but that's for when you're good with the basic patterns.

This sets you up for being able to comp using any rhythms you want but keeping your left foot steady on the up beats, essentially the core of jazz drumming.

This is a really condensed explanation, but I hope it helps.

Good Resources to Use

• Drum Concepts and Techniques
  
  
• Syncopation
  
  
• Art of Bop Drumming

my favorite book was "Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer"

It's been probably 10+ years since I bought that book, and I'll still pull it off the shelf and play through pages.

Another really fun thing to do is to go through the Syncopation book and play the quarter note and eighth note pages with just your left hand and kick drum while playing jazz time with your right hand and hi hat

1. Buy a practice pad + a pair of good sticks (Either 2B's or 5B's, personally I would go with the heavier 2B's to start out)
   
   
2. Buy Stick Control
   
   
3. Supplement going through Stick Control with These Rudiments
   
   
4. Find a drum teacher. Seriously. I would put this first but it's nice to have an okay background before going to lessons
   
   
5. Don't practice mistakes. When practicing, make sure your posture is good, i.e. back straight up, hands at the proper position. Don't practice mistakes.

Don't be too worried about it. In 8th grade they're not expecting you to be some kind of master.

If this is something you're serious about, pick up this book: http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Steps-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer/dp/0882847953/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1377065599&sr=8-6&keywords=snare+drumming

It's a fantastic introduction once you get the basics of how to read notes. It starts off fairly simple and gradually moves into more intense exercises but with some imagination and possibly a good teacher's guidance it can take you very far.

Also, get a metronome and use it! Start practicing with good habits now and they won't be a hinderance to change later on. Look up lessons on youtube, check out drumming sites online, it's an amazing time to learn music with so many free resources online.

I guess a great place to start would be the Vic Firth website. For each of the 40 basic rudiment it has a bronze, silver, and gold challenge. Treat it like a game, where you're trying to get that third star for each level.

I like to stick some tunes on and play (for example) 16 bars of paradiddles, then doubles, then singles in time with the music.. It's important you be able to seamlessly move between rudiments while keeping tempo and dynamic constant.

My book of the moment is Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer by Ted Reed. For £1.50 it's a steal, and really can help you get started.

Nice, man! Sounds like you have an affinity for linear playing. Carter Beauford of Dave Matthews Band is a brilliant linear player. If you are interested, check out the advanced funk studies book on amazon. It's got some gold in it! https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Funk-Studies-Creative-Patterns/dp/0825825539/ref=pd_sim_74_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0825825539&pd_rd_r=GPWW0EYHE6PMA739CSF8&pd_rd_w=gugi2&pd_rd_wg=zC3Kr&psc=1&refRID=GPWW0EYHE6PMA739CSF8

That's a pretty clever use of that book, thanks for sharing.
I was doing exercises from Jim Chapin's "Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer" with a similar mentality, rotating which limb got which part. Butch Norton has a similar series of articles on independence and limb rotation. Really really cool stuff.

First you're going to want to start by focusing on your stick grip. Learn how to hold the sticks and whenever you play always pay attention to your form and grip. At least at the start.

Next, go for rudiments. they can help you get your chops up while get you better at reading snare music.

After that, get some snare solos and try them out. Remember to concentrate on your grip and form.

Also this is a great book. One of the best snare books out there:

http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-George-Lawrence-Stone/dp/1892764040

And remember, practice makes permanent, so make sure you're holding your sticks in a way that won't hinder your playing and make you have to relearn it all later on. Have fun!

I'm a newish drummer- been taking lessons and working books for about 3 years now. I still only have an electronic drum kit, I don't gig or anything, but I do jam with some guys from time to time.

My practice routine is as follows- and I do this 3-4 times a week (note, this changes as I master certain lessons):

• Single stroke roll exercise, as spelled out in Drummer's Complete Vocabulary. About 20-30 minutes worth, at the fastest speed I can cleanly do (currently 84bpm, 16ths)
  
• Practice 2-3 rudiments- drags, flams, double stroke roll, whatever, for another 10-15 minutes. I use the same book as the single stroke, above.
  
• Drum Set Warmup excercise, half a page. Drum Set Warm-ups. Great book- I move around the set so much easier. This is a really tough book, keeping everything smooth, but it's paid off so much.
  
• Special weekly lesson. Currently this is practicing 3 different types of paradiddles between hi-hat and snare, opening the hi-hat on the first 16th note. This could also be a couple different beats or something like that. It's slow going right now.
  
  All in all, it lasts about an hour and a half, after which I'll play some, or get on a song, or do some pro-mode Rock Band 3.

The Art Of Bop Drumming is really good to learn some jazz beats and helps alot with independence. I don´t know of any books that are better than others for Tool songs but I would recommend trying to play some of their songs or play with a metronome to odd time signatures. Hope this helps.

Couple things that'll help you overcome some barriers you are facing with moving forward.

Practice by sight reading and playing stick control books, like the infamous SCV Stick Control or the classic George Lawrence Stone's "Stick Control" book.

You can purchase GLSSCB it here, https://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-George-Lawrence-Stone/dp/1892764040/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=George+Lawrence+Stone%C2%B4s+%22Stick+Control%22+book.&qid=1565023832&s=gateway&sr=8-1

The book itself has very basic, to intermediate, to high level rudiments.

Practice with the first few pages of the book. Master the movements, and you will pick up with speed. It's the basic rudiment patterns that will help you succed in playing the rest of the book.

The key is controlling your arm movements, stick, height, as well as tempo and fulcrum placements. Always practice with a metronome.

You will get better, it takes time. Set your frustrations aside and simply just start over.

If you want to lower the tone of the criticism you receive, invest 10 bucks into that book and you'll see praises then.

Happy drumming!

You need to start counting rhythms. You don't need a guitar to do this necessarily. There are a number of books with written out rhythms to practice, such as Louis Bellson's Modern Reading Text in 4/4 For All Instruments, Ted Reed's Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer, and Gary Hess's Encyclopedia of Reading Rhythms. There are numerous ways to practice the rhythms in these books - counting the rhythm while clapping a steady pulse, counting a steady pulse while clapping the rhythm, tapping a steady pulse with your left hand while clapping the rhythm with your right while also counting, and so on. When I say "count" I mean count out loud. Your goal is to learn to keep your place in measures while accurately executing and eventually feeling rhythms.

You can also do these steps with a guitar in your hand. Just pick a chord - maybe one you're trying to work into your repertoire - and play the written rhythm with that chord while you're counting.

This will probably seem awkward and "unmusical" when you first start, but trust me when I tell you this is going to radically improve your rhythmic vocabulary and time feel over the long haul. This is the kind of thing band and orchestra kids learn as a matter of course and most guitarists don't get because we don't learn to read in ensembles.

The Art of Bop Dumming by Jon Riley

Progressive Steps to Syncopation by Ted Reed

Jazz Drum Studio by John Pickering

Buy any or all three of these. Perfect place to start. And start listening to a lot of jazz. Good luck, dude. Jazz is great.

Play through Stick Control ^you ^own ^Stick ^Control ^right?
with your feet. After you get that down try left foot-right hand or left hand-right foot while keeping a quarter (or half or etc...) pulse with the unused hand. Play with a metronome, start slow and have fun.

These for if your school doesn't have gauntlets (whole line will need them).

These are pretty handy if you don't have one, they do everything drumline related.

These are great for practicing, they're heavier than your average sticks.

People say this is the best book ever in terms of learning.

Everyone should use a metronome when practicing.

I think a better book would be Garibaldi's "Future Sounds": https://www.amazon.com/Future-Sounds-Contemporary-Drumset-Concepts/dp/0739019120

​

He shows how you can get some wonderfully funky grooves simply by incorporating what he calls the '2 level technique' which is just varying the velocity by two different levels.

An example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdHFJZo0S5g

I studied this book back when I was wanting to learn to play drums and was delighted at how easily I could sound much more funky than I otherwise could.

If you're able to have a book with your pad; this book is and/or should be a staple in every percussionist's diet. Such a good daily routine for every skill level. It's pretty much accepted as the best option to keep up your chops and versatility!

One half of drumming is the learning to control 4 limbs at once thing. I guess some might call it coordination.

One of my favorite ways to practice or work something out is to sit in a chair and play on my legs with my hands. Pick some songs that have grooves that you like and try to work out the parts for each limb and tap away.

Costs $0 and you can play anywhere all the time...

If you want to build speed and practice rudiments there is no better place to start than Stick Control: For the Snare Drummer. If you can make it through this book, you are well on your way!

I would highly recommend the book "Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer" by Ted Reed. Phenomenal book that can teach you a lot and can be done with just a practice pad and sticks. It's easy to find at any music store and there may be some PDFs on the interwebs somewhere...

If you aren't looking to join a band or take it too seriously browse through some YouTube videos, pick up a book or two and just have fun with it! Once you find out if it's something you really love doing then you can invest in lessons/a drumkit.

https://www.amazon.ca/Progressive-Steps-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer/dp/0882847953

Rudiments, and a metronome are great suggestions.
Id recommend getting going on some sight reading too.


Here are a couple great books I used starting out:
Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer -I still use this one regularly 20 years later. It's a classic.
The Art of Bop Drumming


Here's a great list from Modern Drummer of some other good instructional books. YouTube is great, but don't forget the basics.
https://www.moderndrummer.com/2013/04/25-timeless-drum-books/

There's a pretty ancient book about programming drum machines by one Ray F. Badness called "Drum Programming: A Complete Guide to Program and Think Like a Drummer" http://www.amazon.com/Drum-Programming-Complete-Program-Drummer/dp/0931759544/

While it obviously doesn't go into the specifics of modern EDM genres (it's a little dated), it is a pretty solid grounding on the basics of beat programming which should leave you in a better position to analyze the kinds of beats you're looking to replicate.

I picked this one up recently. I has hundreds of beats from all genres even some outside electronic/dance.

It's geared towards ableton but obviously you could apply the beats to anything. Each beat is literally just a linear representation of how you would see the beat in a DAW or midi file and a short description.

Josh Bess beats

Also the makers of vst Microtonic have a great random beat generator on their site. I believe it's free

Awsome drumming. Like the Bonham tat!

Grab this book and a metronome. You'll be a frekin beast!
http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-For-Snare-Drummer/dp/1892764040/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1374124701&sr=8-6&keywords=modern+snare+drum+techniques

It's not just for snare drumming, but chops over all and it's pretty fun.

Start slowly, and repetitiously.

​

I learned by getting a teacher who recommended a book called A Funky Primer. Start with the most basic exercises as slow as it takes for you to play them right. Once you master that slowly speed it up. Learn new exercises as you master older ones, rinse & repeat (so to speak). It takes patience. Lots and lots of patience. Best of luck to you, slow & steady wins the race here.

Practice hitting these at the same time to build up muscle memory until it registers to you as a single motion:

• bass & hi-hat
  
• snare & hi-hat
  
• bass & crash
  
  ​
  
  For hands (right/left multitasking) learn flam drills.
  
  ​
  
  That should get you started.

Of course you can. I'd highly recommend working with some music that is not written for guitar as well. Try and get copies of some simple violin music (great to play on guitar) and if it helps, maybe also a book of drum rhythms. I have used this book a lot to help me over the years with rhythms: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Reading-Text-All-Instruments/dp/0769233775/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=60016439504&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjvX9_OKT5AIVCLrtCh2vTQroEAAYASAAEgKadfD_BwE&hvadid=259063575552&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1007072&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11601031072553266974&hvtargid=kwd-299782540779&hydadcr=24433_1816114&keywords=modern+reading+text+in+4+4&qid=1566383964&s=books&sr=1-1

i'm a beginner too, self-teaching. do you have a metronome?

i bought this 4 way coordination book. its straight forward and you can do it on or off the kit. these are exercises to get your limbs on time and independent. they are extremely challenging, especially as you build speed.

http://www.vicfirth.com/education/ has some interesting stuff to check out, i am working off "Beginning Snare Video Lessons" to build my actual stick/bounce/finger technique. it's all about perfecting technique slowly if you want to get blinding fast.


i've had experience with music my whole life though (can already read music, understand time signatures, etc), and this is the path that i am sure i want to take to get where i want to be. you might find it very dull and want to just dive into playing along to songs?

Try this publication: http://www.amazon.com/Drumming-Book-Manhattan-Music-Publications/dp/089898890X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1333522711&sr=8-2

Jazz is where it's at, especially when it comes to training your non-dominant hand. In the book, you'll learn keeping time with your dominant hand, and developing independence with your non-dominant hand.. along with jazz beats.

Worked for me. Now able to apply the independence gained from studying the book to all kinds of music that I want to play

Also, rudiments.

That's called traditional grip. By the sounds of it you play matched grip, with both palms facing down. It comes down to personal preference before all else really, both grips have minor disadvantages and advantages but not enough for either to be 'better' (This can start major arguments among drummers, though...). The origins of the two are different, with traditional grip originating with snare drummers (Early snare drums were placed over the shoulder on a sling, necessitating that one hand be higher than the other), and matched grip coming from other forms of percussion ranging from xylophone to timpani.

Just stick with what you're doing but focus on your actual technique. Look into the tutorials online a mentioned and make sure you get a practice pad and a metronome. If you can dedicae even 10-15 minutes a day to sit down and play on the practice pad, staying in time with the metronome and going through the rudiments (Single stroke, double stroke, the various paradiddles and flams, all that). From there look into doing accented patterns from a book like Syncopation and combining these with rudiments.

I would recommend reading.

​

The Dance Music Manual. The producer (Rick Snowman) who wrote it has some solid credentials. Its presents the knowledge in a very approachable format and will give you a whole overview from construction of drums/melody/harmony to mixing to mastering.

​

For drums you'll want Drum Programming by Ray F Badness. This book will teach you how to create drum progressions that catch attention and don't get boring.

​

For synthesis, read SOS's Synth Secrets. Its free, and if you read it and try it out on a synth in your daw, you'll be well on your way to synthetic mastery.

I'm pretty sure this is the book I'm referring to.

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Techniques-Modern-Drummer-Independence/dp/0757995403/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394506238&sr=8-1&keywords=advanced+techniques+for+the+modern+drummer

Thanks for calling that other one out though, I'm going to go check that out! Chapin writes some good stuff.

Jim Chapin's Advanced Technique for the Modern Drummer is a must have for learning independence. Also, learn your rudiments. Get a copy of Alan Dawson's Rudimental Ritual and work the hell out of it. Charley Wilcoxon's Advanced Swing Solos is a great practical application of rudiments as well. These books are tough but if you take them slow at first, little by little you will figure them out and build up your chops. Finally, listen to and watch a lot of jazz drummers. Find your favorites and get your hands on everything they ever recorded. Play with the records to help develop your musical sense.

Lawrence Stone's Stick Control & Master Studies by Joe Morello

Great books to utilize while simultaneously working your sheet music skills. Good luck

Daily practice- never forget it! Also, Syncopation as mentioned below is very good, and I would also recommend this. They're both great books.

That is awesome. I just found this book on 4-way coordination while drumming that sounds like the kind of thing redditors have shown interest in in other threads. I threw it in my Amazon shopping list.

1. Transcribing, as others have mentioned. And listening in general. You don't have to get the entire solo; picking out bits and pieces is fine, especially when parts are really complex.
   
   
2. Books. Of the following, I'd say definitely get the first two, then any one of the other three:
   
   4-Way Coordination, so you can do what you want when you want.
   
   All American Drummer, so you can swing that snare like Philly Joe. Also move around the set.
   
   Modern Reading Text in 4/4, because Louie Bellson knows his big band rhythms. Play them across the entire set and sing along. Use rests and busy rhythms to set up the big hits.
   
   Syncopation for All and Syncopated Big Band Figures. More of the big band rhythm stuffs.
   
   
3. Practice soloing. Start with 4s and 8s. Play time for 4, then solo for 4. If you're using the big band books, improvise a solo, then set up 4 bars. Rinse, repeat.
   
   Get really used to 4s and 8s before moving on to longer solos. Try starting with a simple idea and develop it; don't play a bunch of different, random crap for 4 bars: 2-3 beats of a rhythm, and keep working with it. You'll find you can express yourself much better after some practice.
   
   Also, metronome. Always, always the metronome.
   
   
   

Depends how deep you want to go.

First of all, always use a metronome. Your rudiments will sound exponentially more clean and solid if you develop a solid time feel.

If you really want to create a strong foundation, start with Stick Control. As the book says, practice each line 20 times with a metronome. Play only on the snare drum and make sure all of your strokes are perfectly even. Start practicing at 80bpm, then work you way up to you highest tempo in increments of 5bpm (play each line 20 times for each tempo). If you have any issues with timing or evenness, practice the line another 20 times at the same tempo. This method will give you an incredibly solid sense of rudiments, but it is fairly boring and quite time consuming.

If you just want to jump straight into the kit, then watch the Thomas Pridgen video mentioned by /u/flavenstein. There are tons of Youtube videos out there about applying rudiments, so really just find the ones that sound the coolest to you and learn them.

I started out playing drums and this book is one of the most useful tools I was ever given. Since I started playing guitar I have used it to help build my strumming and picking dexterity. It might help you.

https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer-Publications/dp/0882847953

I see what you mean.
If you find a particular style you are enjoying and want to dive deep in, looking for books on that particular style could be helpful. You'll also find a lot of "[X] world music applied to drum set" books (see below) that you might be able to mine for ideas.

Also, think about taking some percussion lessons! If you post the general area you live in, we could probably point you towards some good teachers to approach for further study.

World Styles on Drumset
Afro-Cuban
Brazilian
West-Africa

This book is great for better stick control http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1892764040/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
You can learn from books if you the type of person that likes to

Music Theory for Dummies is great if you're just starting, and continues to be a good reference, especially if you don't have a musical background. Also, this might help with drums.

You may find this book to be helpful. There is a free PDF of it on the internet as well, I believe.

You may also want to have a look at Renoise, which is what Venetian Snares uses to program his music. Aphex Twin has also used tracker programs for years, and I'm certain that is one of the many secrets to his complex drum patterns.

This is a popular beginner's book, and I like it.

As for drills, go through that book, and once you can play each beat, try it with quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes on the hats. Get good at switching seamlessly between those, and also learn to play hats with either left hand, right hand, or alternating.

Count out loud. One and two and... Continue counting when you go to a fill. Master staying in time as you go between a beat, a fill, then back to a beat: let's say you've got a verse, then some fill, then the chorus - don't change tempos during the fill or hesitate on the way in and out.

Of course you won't master all that right away, but these are some good goals to shoot for, and I'd say they're some of the big differences between a beginner and an intermediate drummer.

Seeing Jeremy Ellis perform on two pad controllers inspired me to go down this route. I'm still new to music production, so you guys won't be seeing stuff from me for a long while. If anyone has resources on performing dubstep & DnB live, please feel free post them <3.

Right now I'm drilling with the exercises in (The Breakbeat Bible)[http://www.amazon.com/Breakbeat-Bible-Mike-Adamo/dp/1423496337], some of Jeremy Ellis's tutorials, and developing freakish hand finger dexterity with Greg Irwin's Finger Fitness exercises.

Breakbeat Bible

This book takes breaks used in popular songs and breaks them down. A lot more in depth than a single sheet drum grid.

Reading rhythm is very simple and doesn't take long to learn. It will let you use drum books easily.

Transcribing takes time but is a valuable skill too. So many ideas have come from being at a show, counting out the beat with my hands and mind and writing it down and using it later on. There are many aural transcription programs available just for rhythm

Cheat sheets are great, writing cheat sheets is better

Ted Reed's Syncopation is a classic book:

https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer-Publications/dp/0882847953/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TMB5JKB4B4EBBBSM4QX7

You can play with your palms on your lap and tap your foot to learn these rhythms and it will help your playing. Download a free metronome for your phone or go to metronome online.

Friend of mine has these, they're pretty interesting and in-depth:

https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Machine-Patterns-Leonard-Corp/dp/0881888877

https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Machine-Patterns-Rene-Pierre-Bardet/dp/0881886327

Have you ever heard of the book - "Realistic Rock"? It's got Carmine Appice's name on it. It's actually a really good book just for getting into reading basic rock grooves. I use it for beginner students, but the book does quickly progress into challenging stuff. There are multiple "ways" you can practice the grooves, so you can really use the book for a while. Here's an Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Realistic-Rock-Book-CDs/dp/0897244869/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506711392&sr=8-1&keywords=realistic+rock+by+carmine+appice

As they told u, start simple and slow. Also, check this book: https://www.amazon.com/4-Way-Coordination-Development-Complete-Independence/dp/0769233708 .
"4-Way Coordination: A Method Book for the Development of Complete Independence on the Drum Set". It sounds overwhelming but the exercises are very simple (think stick control from gls and add left and right feet). Most importantly do each one slow! don't go up on the metronome until you are comfortable with an exercise.

David Garibaldi's Future Sounds is a great groove book. I also like Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials, it's a good introduction to different styles of music, haven't tried Groove Essentials 2.0 so I'm not sure about that one.

Start by learning some basic rudaments and slowly improve your speed doing them. http://www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments.php is pretty good and had videos on each rudament. I also invested in This, and this which I found were really helpfull.

Edit: I invented a book instead of buying one

Don't be surprised if the unis don't respond. You're basically asking them for help without paying the astronomical fees that now come hand in hand with degree level study in england ;)

Here's a few books that I had that are really good:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Reading-Text-All-Instruments/dp/0769233775 - We were told to use this book by clapping the 4 beats, and vocalising the rhythms in the book. It starts off simple but gets hard real fast. Full of deliberately obscure notation that smears beats to prepare you for some bad writing as well!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hearing-Writing-Music-Professional-Training/dp/0962949671/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539085026&sr=1-1&keywords=hearing+and+writing+music

This book is basically the bible of ear training. You could study this book for 5 years standalone, if you wanted to be secure in all the stuff in it.

Aside from that, other stuff was more about production and bass guitar specifically. Those two though, seriously a good combo I think.

http://www.amazon.com/Haskell-Harr-Drum-Method-Orchestra/dp/1423420268
http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Techniques-For-Modern-Drummer/dp/0757995403
http://www.amazon.com/International-Drum-Rudiments-Book-CD/dp/0739013106
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Realistic-Rock-Drum-Method/dp/0897244869

get these books and read them and you will truly learn to beat smith. starts with the hands first then the feet, then the hands and the feet. i live by these books and remember that slower and more accurate practicing is 1000 times more important that fast and sloppy. get solid and have fun swingin.

http://www.amazon.com/Drum-Tuning-comprehensive-guide-tuning/dp/0964465817
this is a stand by too my man

http://www.amazon.com/Mel-Bay-Studio-Jazz-Cookbook/dp/0871666820

I'd recommend this book as well to the other suggestions. This goes through the jazz basics in a very easy to digest form. Starts with 8th note comping on snare, then bass drum, then hit hat and lastly all together. Then it moves to triplet comping. It's very fluid in its presentation. Highly recommended.

I highly recommend Electronic Dance Music Grooves

It touches on many genres, and does a good job of teaching what works in making your own groove. Comes with MIDI and really good sounding Kits.

People who like this might also want to check out this one: https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Dance-Music-Grooves-Hip-Hop/dp/1480393762/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549558817&sr=8-1&keywords=electronic+dance+music+grooves


It covers more modern styles and is basically a TON of example beats that break down exactly why each one "works" or why certain hits are important to the groove. Also comes with a CD with the MIDI files (set up as an Ableton project) so you can follow along and edit the patterns yourself without creating every pattern from scratch. Highly recommend for producers who don't have a background in drumming.

I found my instructor on Craigslist. which meant there was going to be a good chance I was going to find someone shitty. That wasn't the case though, my instructor graduated with his bachelors of music and he has a great curriculum. Perhaps you could look for a local drum instructor for him?


If it helps, the books I use (I started 6 or so months ago) are: Ultimate Realistic Rock: Drum Method, Fundamental Studies for Snare Drum, and Modern Reading Text in 4/4 For All Instruments. My instructor also prints off rudiments and other drills for me.

Another guitarist learning drums here! And yeah, drums are a bit on the physically exhausting side (admittedly I'm out of shape though), wow I knew I was uncoordinated, but I didn't really realize how uncoordinated I was until I started trying to play drums. I bought copies of 4 Way Coordination and The New Breed.

I'd call New Breed a 'difficult but worth it' workbook for actually getting your hands and feet working together. And 4 Way Coordination more of a 'learn to control them separately' (little tip: make sure that your hands are on different drums for the melodic exercises).

Stick control is a great book. another good one for developing Independence in your hands and feet is this one
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Steps-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer/dp/0882847953/ref=sr_1_cc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1293738221&sr=1-3-catcorr

260 Drum Machine Patterns is really dated but sounds more or less what you're looking for. It takes about 20 styles (things like afro-cuban, funk , charleston, disco etc) and gives 5-10 typical patterns, then 5-10 break/fills for each. Cheesy, but genuine helpful.

For drum set books, I really like Mel Bay's Complete Modern Drum Set

It will give you at least a working idea of a wide variety of styles.

If you're looking to build strength and independence in your limbs, 4-way coordination

My old college professor actually studied under Marvin Dahlgren.

And finally, Gavin Harrison's books have been blowing my mind lately:
Rhythmic Illusions

Rhythmic Perspectives

> BTW, that wiki song structure article is a mess

Agreed. I linked to that wiki article without even really looking. Personally, I like the following books that go into a lot more detail in regards to production and EDM:

• Music Theory for Computer Musicians
  
• Composition for Computer Musicians
  
• Harmony for Computer Musicians
  
• Dance Music Manual
  
• The Drummers Bible
  
• Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices, and Tools
  
• Making Music: 74 Creative Strategies for Electronic Music Producers
  
  All the above are solid books.

The biggest thing I can think of is for you is to practice musically and not just straight forward notes. Throw accents in, change up the dynamics.
Here is a prime example from Jojo Mayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTM7khtBeXc
I can also suggest to you some books.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1892764040/temancom
This is possibly the best drum instruction book on the market, it will do wonders for your playing.
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Steps-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer/dp/0882847953
And this book too, work your way through these books and you can do anything.

A Funky Primer for the Rock Drummer (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Funky-Primer-Rock-Drummer/dp/0739006630/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318357665&sr=1-1) is a good one.

Also worth a look are the video lessons on mikeslessons.com I find him very helpful!

Ah memories. Yep I started with How to Play rock'n'roll drums, Syncopation and this book way back in the early 90's. Then later on went to Advanced Techniques, Future Sounds and The New Breed for different permutations and limb independence. And 'trying' to pick apart and play Dave Weckl's Island Magic.

Does anyone else remember those drum solos like calypso eclipsed and aint it rich?

This is all great advice- the Riley book has been open on my music stand for years and I am still a long way from 'finishing' the exercises. I also recommend 4 Way Coordination,playing exercises in that book is very humbling and eye opening.

Louis Bellson's book is pretty fun for sight-reading some syncopated patterns.

A Funky Primer full of great beats/rudiments is a book i highly recommend.

I'm not sure about your skill level so it's hard to make a general suggestion, but I've found that Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer is great set of exercises for all skill levels

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Steps-Syncopation-Modern-Drummer/dp/0882847953

Do you have cymbals? Do you want lessons? Honestly I would go to craigslist and search up a full kit (look for decently kept pearl forums, tama swingstars, pacific x7, yamaha stage custom). If it comes with everything for $500 then great. You might have to spend around $100 for some new heads but that's okay. Then take that extra cash and get some lessons, stick control and a metronome.

I'd say get the book Stick Control, maybe a cheap metronome and do exactly what it says. Buy a good drum pad. These things will improve your playing to a new level, not to mention decrease fatigue. Drumming behind a drumset isn't all there is to playing drums. Dig it.

Definitely something used, don’t buy new. You can get a decent used set with stands/cymbals for probably $300-500 that will be fine for a first kit for someone with little-to-no drumming experience. Maybe even cheaper.

Edit: a good book

I'll second this. This should be at the top of your list of books to get.
You can spend the rest of your life mastering the first few pages only. You will see dramatic improvement if you open a practice session with 20 minutes or more of this every day.
Also don't limit the exercises to just your hands. Turn them into linear exchanges between feet and hands.

I also recommend the book Advanced Funk Studies.

Stick Control is probably the best book for building up chops and, well, stick control. https://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-George-Lawrence-Stone/dp/1892764040

Not OP, but check out Stick Control by George Lawrence and The New Breed by Gary Chester.

These two books helped me get over the hump of knowing what I wanted to play, and actually being able to play it effortlessly and cleanly.

Modern Reading Text in 4/4 for All Instruments by Louis Bellson has been pretty good to me. Starts simple, gets rough.

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Reading-Text-For-Instruments/dp/0769233775

There’s a legendary book about this exact subject, it’s essential for any drummer to spend time with it. What a lot of people like to do is take the rhythms from the book and orchestrate them around the drums for some really fun sounding licks and exercises.

You should buy Stick Control.

It'll help you with the basics. The first page in the book is one of the most useful pages in any drum book ever.

Get lessons if at all possible. You'll progress much more efficiently that way.

Also get Stick Control and practice the patterns to a metronome.

This one right? That's awesome. I may have to invest in this book. Thanks!

Two great Afro-cuban books are Afro-Cuban Rhythms for Drumset by Frank Malabe and Afro-Cuban Coordination for Drumset by Maria Martinez.

Malabe's book is a great place to start as it has lots of explanation and history of what you're doing.

Martinez's book has a lot of ways to expand on the stuff you'll learn in Malabe's book. It has much less commentary but many more exercises and ways to pratice the material.

If you own stick control I would recommend going through that while doing quarter notes with your left foot and hitting 1 with your kick.

There are many ways to do this, but this is how I started and I thought it worked well. You can also just incorporate your left foot into any rudimental stuff you are playing on the snare or around the kit. For example, try playing a paradiddle. If you can do that, then try to keep time with your left foot on 2 and 4 while doing it. Then try hitting all the downbeats with your left foot. Then try eighth notes, etc. . . .


If you practice this enough, eventually you will forget about your left foot entirely and it will just be second nature!

At the very least you should get a practice pad, Stick Control and a metronome to work on rudiments and technique. I've been unable to play real drums since 2007 so I've been playing my RealFeel pad and a bass pedal pad for years now and my drumming has never been better. I recently arranged a series of pads into a practice kit and it's been working great.

Of course you'll have to temper your expectations, playing this way won't seem as fun at first. My point is, don't let your living situation slow you down!

Syncopation for the Modern Drummer

My absolute favorite book. I'd recommend just starting with a practice pad. Learn your rudiments, syncopation, and rhythms before moving to the kit.

The only thing you really need in the beginning is a practice pad like that one, this book and a pair of sticks.

If you can bear practicing like this without giving up because of the boredom that is learning the fundamentals, a second-hand e-drum kit is an inexpensive and space-saving way of getting into playing on a whole set. It also means you won't annoy your neighbors too much.

George Lawrence Stone's Stick Control
I use that book daily, along with a good drum pad like this

that kind of stuff is all feel. the best advice i can give you is to go back and work on some old 70's funk. all this stuff is rooted in that.

also, buy this book and study it every day.
http://www.amazon.com/Funky-Primer-Rock-Drummer-Charles/dp/0739006630

Stick Control and Syncopation for the Modern Drummer

Two of the greatest.

Do you read sheet music? If so, check out this book - http://www.amazon.com/Afro-Cuban-Rhythms-Drumset-Book-CD/dp/0897245741

I worked through it several times and it gave me a great feel for that kind of stuff.

The Art of Bop Drumming is a great place to start http://www.amazon.com/Art-Bop-Drumming-Manhattan-Publications/dp/089898890X