What Books to use for Lessons?

[LukeSnyder]

I'm a drum instructor, and I am currently looking for some good curriculum for complete beginners. It doesn't really have to be completely comprehensive. In fact, basically all I'm looking for is a book of sheet music that starts out at the simplest level and becomes progressively more difficult. Also, I want something lower down in the price range, because I think I'm going to eat all of the costs. Any ideas? What do all of you of you other instructors use for the complete beginners?

[Jeremy Bender]

This pdf of the rudimental progression should be cheap enough to print copies of:

http://www.southernct.edu/music/uploads/textWidget/wysiwyg/documents/Quadrant_A.pdf


Also try to pick up a copy of Stick Control by George Stone.

[LukeSnyder]

This pdf of the rudimental progression should be cheap enough to print copies of:

http://www.southernct.edu/music/uploads/textWidget/wysiwyg/documents/Quadrant_A.pdf


Also try to pick up a copy of Stick Control by George Stone.

Hmm, both of those are definitely good (I actually already give my students copies of the PAS40, and we work through most of that) but its not exactly what I'm looking for. Unless I'm mistaken, Stick Control is a snare drum book. I guess I should have specified further.

I'm looking for something that that gets started immediately on the drum set, basically an encyclopedia of different grooves. I want something that starts out with a bunch of very simple quarter note beats, then starts adding eighth notes, then some triplets, etc.

[toddbishop]

Two of my favorites:
- Elementary Drum Method by Roy Burns. Really great beginning snare drum book, well paced. But, whoops, you're not looking for that.
- The Drumset Musician by Rod Morgenstein. Mostly very simple and practical with good verbiage. Particularly good for adult beginners. Not cheap though.

I also use Funky Primer by Charles Dowd. If you use that with little guidance and no other materials the kid is going to wind up playing a very dense early 70's funk style; I treat it more like Stick Control for funk/rock/pop drums than a source for practical vocabulary.

Joel Rothman's Basic Drumming has basically everything in it. It's also not cheap, but he has about a thousand other books out, so if you root around a little you should be able to find something that fits the bill. Maybe the "Mini-Monster Rock Book"?

[toddbishop]

Here we are:
http://www.steveweissmusic.com/category/s

[Matt]

I use bits and pieces of a bunch of resources and have never really committed to using a single book, but I will second the previously mentioned "Funky Primer" book. It basically does what you asked about, getting progressively harder (more dense) until it reaches 16th note triplets. I usually just use a couple of pages from the book. Once a student can play a page, you can have him or her learn it again with the right hand on ride cymbal and the hi-hat on various beats with the left foot. The other standards, like Syncopation, New Breed, Advanced Techniques, etc., can also be used this way, but Funky Primer is probably easier at first because the student doesn't have to think about playing parts that aren't written out already (except for adding stuff like the hi-hat, like I mentioned).

You're welcome to use whatever you want from my new site - this link will take you to my resources page: http://www.mattflowersmusic.com/resources.html . Of course, my stuff isn't organized like a book, but can be useful if you use some creative guidance with it. There are also a lot of other free resources online, some of which I have found and added to the links section on my site.

Also, if you want an "encyclopedia of different grooves," like you mentioned, check out the Groove Essentials book/package. I'm really impressed, even though I haven't used it much yet for teaching. Wow, it is really put together nicely, though.

I'm pretty sure there are lots of beginner drum books out there, laid out like you mentioned with descriptions and everything. I've actually got one like that called FastTrack Drum Method that I got from a used book store, but I've never used it. My personal preference is to not use books that attempt to do all the teaching, because I'd rather do that my way.

[Spreggy]

I like Keith Copeland's Creative Coordination. Very good foundational book covering the major styles. It could take a student a year or two to get through it, and will come away with a well-rounded vocabulary on the kit.

[Overg]

There is a book that exectly fit your needs it called:
minimonster book
it goes from simple beat in quarter, to more advance and so on
check it out

[Abhishek]

I'd highly recommend Time Functioning Patterns. Has loads of bass/snare combos, that can be played over any hi hat/ride ostinato. You could spend a week doing the first few basic rhythms, then move onto more complex patterns.

[MLdrum]

You should also check out Morris Goldenberg's Modern School For Snare Drum. Great for sight-reading, and there's also different kinds of duets so that you can play together (= I think it really progresses very naturally. And you could use it for drumset also; I try to sight-read duets and play the top voice on snare/pad, and bottom voice on bassdrum/-pad. Or you could say something like: "Play 3 bars of time and in the fourth bar, play this bar (pointing at bar in the book) as a drum fill." If you just think a bit more creative, you can do a lot more than each specific book was "intended" for :p

[Dave_Major]

Make your own....?

Get a copy of sibelius/finale etc and make your own sheets. That way the curriculum could include whatever you want and also you aren't breaking any laws by photocopying books.

For example here is the first thing I give to new beginner students.

Dave

[toddbishop]

Make your own....?

Get a copy of sibelius/finale etc and make your own sheets. That way the curriculum could include whatever you want and also you aren't breaking any laws by photocopying books.


And print it up at lulu.com- it costs maybe 5-6 bucks a copy in any quantity. I'll let you know how the quality is as soon as I finish up my Ted Reed supplement...

[Dave_Major]

I actually used to print loadsof copies but i now just print when required as it saves me a bit of cash and space in my bag!!!


Dave

[LukeSnyder]

I'd like to thank you all very much for your input! I now have some titles to look for. I'm especially interested in the Funky Primer, that appears to be exactly what I had in mind, an inexpensive book filled with progressively difficult beats.

As of right now, I've been notating and printing all of the sheet music for my students. However, I have a tendency to either get ahead of myself or stray off on tangents when content is concerned. I'm basically looking for something to serve as both a guide and a reference. Its just easier and better for me to be able to tell my students to practice the stuff on section 2 of page 3, change accents, play it with fills, modify tempo, etc.

[mg33]

The best book of all time is ... The New Breed by Gary Chester

It can be simple for beginners or complex for pros. I like it for beginners because it gets them started using systems. [see book for detail] Also, once the student knows basic note values you can get them playing drums sooner ... and that's what they want.

hope this helps!


http://playdrumsinaband.com

[LukeSnyder]

The best book of all time is ... The New Breed by Gary Chester

It can be simple for beginners or complex for pros. I like it for beginners because it gets them started using systems. [see book for detail] Also, once the student knows basic note values you can get them playing drums sooner ... and that's what they want.

hope this helps!


http://playdrumsinaband.com

I'll check that one out! I'm actually heading off to my local drum store tomorrow, and they have a ton of material.