Drum books – Practicing Drummer

Practice Material: Melodic Systems

Drummer Michael D’Angelo recently put out a new book of reading material that I’ve been enjoying for the last couple of weeks. I know Michael through his wonderful YouTube series on how to mic jazz drums. I’ve learned a lot from him and am happy to help spread the word about his book.

Michael’s book builds upon the many drum books designed to develop independence and coordination on the drum set, such as Ted Reed’s Syncopation and Gary Chester’s The New Breed.

Melodic Systems can be used in various ways and is only limited by your imagination, but Michael provides some exercise ideas to get you started.

What I like most about this collection is the thoughtful way that it’s organized. Michael has sections for eighth notes, sixteenths, triplets, and 12/8 rhythms. Each rhythmic study in the book puts the different combinations in a musical context while focusing on limited groupings (1-note, 2-note, 3-note, and 4-note). This is very useful for methodically working up challenging exercises.

After I bought the book (this is not a sponsored post), Michael sent over a promo code for me to share with you all. Use PRACTICINGDRUMMER at checkout for $5 off (digital version only). This code is good through August 2024.

Highly recommend!

Buy the digital version – promo code PRACTICINGDRUMMER (good through August 2024)

Buy the physical version

If you pick it up, let me know what you think!

New Orleans Drumming

On the heels of posting the Geoff Clapp interview, I wanted to share something I just found on YouTube. It’s part of an old DCI Video series about New Orleans drumming that features Johnny Vidacovich and Herlin Riley.

There are a couple of other volumes featuring Earl Palmer and Herman Ernest, which are available from Alfred Music. I was lucky to find all of them on DVD several years ago while visiting New Orleans.

If you haven’t seen this before, do yourself a favor and watch all of it. Great information and great music!

Here’s another great video of Herlin Riley breaking down tambourine playing.

I’ll also take this time to share a wonderful quote by Brian Blade:

“New Orleans is its own country. It’s just where so many cultural crosses meet. That mixing and mingling and that beat on the street is what makes life have that joy. A different influx of spirit comes in and you step into it and you feel it immediately. It changes the way you look at things and feel things in a great way. The time that I spent there was a very special time in my life. I was just supposed to have been there. Now it’s in everything that I play and write.”
– Brian Blade

Wrist Twisters

I posted about the Wrist Twisters book by Elden “Buster” Bailey on Instagram and wanted to share here as well since I don’t see a lot of people talking about this book. It’s a fun one.

Each page is full of two bar phrases in various time signatures. I like using it as my morning warm up by picking a couple of lines and looping them while watching TV or listening to a podcast in the background.

You can buy the book from Steve Weiss Music, which is a great shop for drum books. Here’s a blurb from Steve Weiss, followed by a look inside the book.

After 40 years with the New York Philharmonic and more than twenty years teaching at the Juilliard School, Elden “Buster” Bailey, one of the greatest snare drummers and snare drum teachers of all time, has finally written a snare drum book! It’s called Wrist Twisters, but it’s much more than what the title might suggest. Everyone who has seen it says it is an instant classic. It includes a CD of Buster’s playing and a discography of great snare drum performances with the New York Philharmonic. Scott Stevens of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra worked with Buster for more than three years to compile and organize the materials Buster has been gathering for the last forty years. Percussionists everywhere will be forever grateful to Buster and Scott for their efforts. The Introduction is by Christopher Lamb of the New York Philharmonic and Manhattan School of Music. 132 pages plus CD.

You can buy the book from Steve Weiss Music.