What drumming method book should you start with?

Today’s topic sort of takes us in a different direction, but it’s a logical next step after last week. Once you’ve gotten motivated by your favorite artists, bands, and musicians to work up your drumming skills…where should you start?

You’ve heard me say before that there are two sides to drumming: the musical side & the technical side. Really the technique has to come first in order to make music on the instrument, but simply by listening to music you can already be working up that "musical" part of your brain before you even start learning how to play the kit.

But as for conquering the “technical side”… Are there good method books out there that you should start with? Absolutely. By the way, before we even get into this, check out the recent video on the channel about how to read musical notation if you haven’t learned this before. I believe this is a crucial skill to gain, even if you consider yourself to be “self taught by ear.” You’ll thank yourself down the road if you take the time to learn how to read music. This will also help you in getting started in any method book you may choose.

A crucial part of my early learning was working through these methods I’m about to tell you about. I went from being kind of clumsy on the kit, able to play basic rock stuff but nothing else… to being totally comfortable playing jazz and even latin. This was great preparation for me getting into college where I joined jazz band and continued to widen my musical repertoire.

So today all I want to do is mention and explain a few of my favorite method books that have really helped me personally in the areas of hand technique, coordination, and even musicality and groove vocabulary.

• The first one is Realistic Rock by Carmine Appice. This book is intended for beginners, though you can quickly work on some pretty advanced stuff before you’re even a few pages in. This is one of those versatile methods that works great for building basic (and even intermediate) coordination in a rock context. Beginners love it because it’s actually fun, and you’ll use what you learn directly in a lot of songs.
• Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone is a true classic that pretty much every great drummer worked through at some point or another. This method focuses on the hands, though you can get creative and practice the exercises with your feet, too (or back and forth with feet & hands!). It’s a legendary method from 1935 that will help you balance out your hands, improve your time & coordination, improve your grip, and ultimately increase your chops a bunch.

When I was in college, a touring jazz group stopping at our school took the time to do a clinic with our jazz band. I asked their drummer “…So if I want to improve my ability to solo and play more fluidly around the kit…what would you recommend practicing?” His answer? “Stick Control.” He went on to explain how that simple method works a lot more than just your hand technique. When practiced well and properly, you grow in a lot of other areas too.

All that to say, any drummer at any level should add Stick Control to his or her daily practice regimen. Lastly, here’s another classic method to check out...

• Syncopation by Ted Reed. This book is another classic from nearly a hundred years ago, and it takes a similar simplistic approach to that of Stick Control. Without going into the lengthy details here… You can work on your jazz playing, latin playing, funk, rock, reggae…you name it - all via the approach that this book takes. Look it up and see for yourself. This method took me from just being able to play rock grooves to having full four-way coordination and the ability to play jazz and latin comfortably and fluently. If you’re at the point where you’re ready to move beyond rock drumming and increase your coordination even more, this is a great tool for doing that.

Now… I’ve definitely left out a bunch of other great resources. These are just my three favorites. But start with these, and go in that order. You could start with both Realistic Rock and Stick Control, actually, but save Syncopation for a little later once you’re feeling really comfortable with the rock stuff.

Let me know if you have any questions! I hope these resources help you out in taking your next steps in growing your technical facility on the drums.

Stay Non Glamorous!

God Bless,

Stephen

P.S. - Some of you drumming education nerds out there might be wondering why I didn't mention "Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer" by Jim Chapin. That method was actually a big part of my practice in high school, and I did use it a ton. However, the 3 big methods mentioned today are the ones I still spend the most time practicing and teaching right now, and I feel like they're the most versatile. The Chapin book is absolutely fantastic as well, but it doesn't make my top 3 simply because it's not as integral a part of my personal practice and teaching these days. Check it out for yourself, though! It's a revolutionary method.