Hey guys,

I FINALLY convinced the non-percussion directors I work with to let me cover drumset in the percussion classes. What are some method books you guys use to introduce the instrument (coordination, set up, posture, etc.)? Campbell (UK) used the Ted Reed Syncopation books, but I'm looking for something more spelled out that the kids can read.
Has anyone made their own worksheets that they would want to share? I can pay for them in Starbucks cards (I got like 20 from my kids) or in Karma points:)

FYI, it's for the 6th grade (2nd year players).


Thanks!

Dancing On The Time!

But seriously...

            I just base on tutorials in youtube to learn more about this percussion instrument.



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Hey Ralph,

When I do this with my students I draw from a number of resources. First off, I drew up some very basic patterns and passed them out (I believe a standard rock, swing and bossa nova). I'd be glad to send you (or anyone else for that matter) that sheet if you want it.

The other books I use are:

1. Alfred's Beginning Drumset Method (http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/3536446) -- moves pretty slow, but that's what makes the book so great.

2. Steve Houghton's Essential Styles (http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Styles-Drummer-Bassist-Book/dp/0739013548) -- covers a TON of great stuff from all the rock/shuffle/pop/disco you can handle to a number of swing styles (medium shuffle/Basie/jazz waltz) and a bunch of latin styles (bossa/mambo/songo/samba and everything in between). This is THE BOOK I use as a reference when I get called to play something that I'm unsure of style-wise.

3. Time Functioning Patterns by Gary Chaffee (http://www.garychaffee.com/books.htm) -- this book to me is like the Stone book or ";Developing Dexterity"; book for drumset. It starts with a series of ";fat back"; exercises that takes you through any number of quasi-funk/rock patterns that place the bass drum on every possible sixteenth combination with snare on 'two' and hi-hat using any number of different ostinatos (starting with a quarter note or typical 8th note pattern). By the time you finish the first ten pages of the book you have literally covered every single, conceivable combination of bass drum notes with hi-hat notes while keeping the snare firmly on two. You could even move the snare around if you wanted to (in typical Gadd-fashion).

4. Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials (http://www.tommyigoe.com/store.htm) -- this has just been recommended to me by a former student who just worked through it this year in his college applied lessons. He said that it is very similar to the Houghton book but that it takes the patterns in a busier direction. I have only heard of this book, but definitely need to check it out.

5./6. - Mark Wessels and Kennan Wylie beginning percussion books -- both have introductory material for drumset and would be a great place to start if your students already had one of those books in their hands.

In addition to being the lackey I am where I teach, I also serve as the adjunct percussion guy at the local juCo (which amounts to starting with a few students at the beginning of the year, some of them dropping after they realize that I'm going to actually make them work, then one or two sticking around). This year I had a drumset student all year long and to be honest, he had way better hands on drumset than I do, but couldn't read a lick of music and didn't really have a wide vocabulary of styles. So after we had worked through a lot of the material mentioned above, I made a CD of ten or twelve different pieces in various styles and made him play ";karaoke drums"; with a new track each week. We even got into transcription.

We started with No Doubt's ";hella good"; off their Rock Steady CD. It's about the most basic drumming track I've found yet, but still grooves and introduces basic fills (used and executed wisely by the amazing Adrian Young - no sarcasm intended). If you can get past the title, I think this could be the single best place to start drumset with any student regardless of ability or experience or age.

Well, I hope some of that helped. I don't consider myself much of a drumset guy, but having had that student this year really made me brush up (sorry, no pun intended) on my drumset skills/pedagogy.

Peace!

With my many beginner drumset students, I use various kick drum permutation exercises inspired by the ones in David Garibaldi's book, ";Future Sounds."; The first one is very basic: 8th notes on the hihat, 2 & 4 on  snare, and then run various kick drum patterns in permutations. I start with one note, on count 1. Then on the ";e"; of 1, ";&"; of 1, ";a"; of one, etc. This helps introduce kick drum independence right away and helps combat the ";right hand is connected to the right foot"; problem that so many beginners encounter.

Hope this helps!

I start new drumset students off with the Funky Primer. They are all solo lessons so it may not work the same way in a group setting. I've never taught drumset to a group. How is that going to work logistically?