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.