Product Description

You’ve got rhythm…now learn how to use it! Drumming is universal; every musical culture in the world incorporates percussion. From just tapping a straight 4/4 beat with your foot to follow the radio, to the intricate polyrhythms of a West African ensemble, the possibilities of keeping time are limitless. If you just can’t stop yourself from banging on cans with bent twigs, rolling your fingertips on the kitchen table, or twirling an imaginary drumstick in the air when the radio plays “Sweet Home Alabama,” the only question is, how to get started?

Drums For Dummies takes you from the basics of what makes a drum right through how to carry a solo on a full kit. Whether you’re a budding Buddy Rich or a rising Ringo Starr, you’ll benefit from author Jeff Strong’s straight-ahead guidance on:

• Rhythm
• Technique
• Drum sets
• Other drums
• World beats
• Styles
• Grooves Fills

Keeping the musical notation simple for total beginners, this book nonetheless delves into a wide range of music, allowing you to both sample forms of rhythm from across the globe and lay down a foundation in rock, funk, jazz, blues, and latin. At the same time, you’ll find out about the right way to splash a cymbol, kick a bass, slap a conga, scrape an udu, or ring the agogo bells. You’ll also discover:

• How to choose and tune your drums
• Backbeats and syncopations
• Drummers you should know about
• Rattles, bells, and other such percussion instruments
• How to get a feel for pulse and meter
• African, Cuban, and Brazilian polyrhythms

An accompanying CD works closely with the book to bring its exercises straight to your ear, while illustrations show how to hold and strike a huge range of instruments. With a fun, easy-to-understand tone that leaves the standard, dry musical method – speak in the dust, Drums For Dummies will have you shaking, rattling, and rolling in no time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #323644 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-29
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

From the Back Cover
Get down with rock, R&B, jazz, blues, funk, and Latin rhythms!

Groove to the beat — the fun and easy way^™ Whether you're dreaming of starting a band or simply playing a hand drum, this friendly book-and-CD package makes it easy to pick up the basics. From beating the bongos to striking the snares, it delivers just what you need to rock'n' roll! all this on the bonus CD-ROM Various music styles and beats—from jazz and rock to samba and R&B—that you can play along with Rhythms for hand drums from the bongos, congas, and djembe to the ashiko, tar, and udu Solos you can use to amaze the other guys and gals in the band

Discover how to: Bang out basic rhythms — with or without sticks Understand fundamental drumming techniques Explore other percussion instruments Find the perfect drumset Tune and maintain your drums

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About the Author
Jeff Strong, President of the REI Institute, a Music Medicine research organization, has been drumming for more than 30 years. He has released five CDs and leads workshops for beginning and experienced drummers throughout North America.

Customer Reviews

great book
This book was exactly what we expected. It is very informative and my husbands drum instructor is using it for lessons. Good Buy !!

Managed to learn quite a bit even though I have no drumset...
I own several Dummies books. As usual the Dummies series has managed to turn out a book for... Dummies. Even though I have no drumset I still managed to learn the basics. However the author is quite "talkative" but I think that kept me from falling asleep on the book. Good buy!

Decent brisk introduction
It's not reasonable to expect to learn a musical instrument from a book, much less a single book. This is a useful book for anyone just starting out or thinking of starting out, to help explain the lingo, to show the variety of drums one can choose from, to provide some advice on how to choose drums, and how to tap out a few basic rhythms. It would also be useful for music directors, band teachers, or composers who are not drummers but want some basic understanding of what drums can (and can't) do. Beyond that, to be a drummer one needs a teacher and many hours of practice -- there are no shortcuts.

This book, unlike the "Idiots" competition, devotes a lot of space to all sorts of drums, not simply rock kits. It also covers basic drumming patterns for a number of different styles. A demo CD is included. If you can't read music, you should plan on supplementing this book with enough study to be able to.