Modern Drummer's list of 25 Greatest Drum Books

[whitecatcafe]

LOL, Realistic Rock.


Fox.

Have you even checked that book out? It is extremely well written and laid out. Dave Weckl and Greg Bissonette have worked through that book, and they endorse it. Can't be that bad, right?

 

[Deafmoon]

The list from MD was done along time ago and alot of the drummers, especially that were MD Board Members are gone. Sick Control & Chapin books were essential back then. I went through both years ago. But, today, for hands I would recommend Joe Morello's Master Studies books. Those books are billed as extensions of Stick Control, but actually themselves cover all the ground necessary in hand technique development. Next step would be Dom Famularo's The Weaker Side book. Go through that book to develop better balance of hands along with wrist & finger stroke development so you can phrase accents with one hand while filling in non-accents with the other. Also, go find Bill Bachman's Rudimental Logic book to acquire the shifts you must make in hand movements between Executed Stroke & Moeller. I did go through Colin Bailey's Bass Drum Control Book years ago, so I have a soft spot for that book. When you are moving to integration set study though, I think Gary Chester's book covers the most ground for development. First I studied with Gary 3 years in the 80's and secondly the integration of singing (quarters, off beats, melody & bass line) with the studies solidifies the time within you. There's plenty of reading books out there that you can add to any of Gary's concepts as well. Ultimately though, when you play, forget all the book stuff and LISTEN to everyone else to compliment the musical conversation. NOT DOMINATE... COMPLIMENT.

 

[Deafmoon]

A simple google search yielded this. Can't say I agree with a lot of them.

1. Stick Control by George L. Stone
2. Syncopation by Ted Reed
3. Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer by Jim Chapin
4. Accents and Rebounds by George L. Stone
5. Master Studies by Joe Morello
6. Musician's Guide to Polyrhythms (Vol. 1 & 2) by Peter Magadini
7. The New Breed by Gary Chester
8. Portraits in Rhythm by Anthony Cirone
9. Studio & Big Band Drumming by Steve Houghton
10. Future Sounds by David Garibaldi
11. Realistic Rock by Carmine Appice
12. Afro-Cuban Rhythms for Drumset by Frank Malabe and Bob Weiner
13. Drum Concepts and Techniques by Peter Erskine
14. Modern School for Snare Drum by Morris Goldenberg
15. Double Bass Drumming by Joe Franco
16. The Sound of Brushes by Ed Thigpen
17. Bass Drum Control by Colin Bailey
18. Modern Rudimental Swing Solos by Charlie Wilcoxon
19. Patterns (Vol. 1,2,3,4) by Gary Chaffee
20. Buddy Rich's Modern Interpretation of Snare Drum Rudiments by Buddy Rich & Henry Adler
21. Advanced Funk Studies by Rick Latham
22. Modern Reading Text in 4/4 by Bellson and Breines
23. Drum Wisdom by Bob Moses
24. Even in the Odds by Ralph Humphrey
25. The Drumset with Afro-Caribbean Rhythms (Parts 1 & 2) by Chuck Silverman

I only agree with 5 of them. Having seen the rest, they are all redundant. Simply different roads to arrive at the same destination.

 

[toddbishop]

At some point MD updated that list, and took away some of the best things— Moses, Goldenberg, Houghton. I wrote a blog post giving brief assessments of everything on it.

 

[Seafroggys]

Yeah I think they did an updated list "recently" (could have been back in 2008 for all I know) not sure what would be on it.

I don't have too many modern texts, but I'd have to say Groove Essentials and Art of Bop Drumming should both be on there fo' sure. And Realistic Rock was about the only 'rock' book you could get in the mid 70s, so that's why a lot of drummers have nostalgia for it. But it sucks compared to all the stuff out there nowadays.

 

[Derek]

It seemed to me that in the early 70s every drummer had a copy of The Drummers Cook Book.