Product Description

This guide to popular drum styles offers approximately 400 musical examples in standard drum notation showing grooves and practical variations, and provides overviews of the history and development of almost all popular music styles. Among the many styles and subsidiary styles covered are blues, rock, jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, klezmer, zydeco, funk, bossa nova, polka, Dixieland, surf, and disco. While this resource and two-CD set can serve as a simple encyclopedia for those who need to know how to play a particular style, suggestions on varying the beat patterns for those who want to explore further and create their own patterns are also included. In addition, the two CDs contain performances of the musical examples in the book, which is designed with a lay-flat binding for easy use.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59213 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 181 pages

Modern Drummer, May 2004
"[Q]uite an undertaking, researched and written with care."

About the Author
Mick Berry has been playing drums for over 30 years, having studied with such legends as New Orleans drummers James Black and John Vidacovich, and Afro-Cuban drummer Walfredo Reyes, Sr. He has accompanied such renown artists/groups as Henry Butler, Eddie Henderson, Michael Wolff, E.C. Scott, The Spiral Starecase, The New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, The San Francisco Mime Troupe and The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. He currently resides in San Francisco where he performs and records with numerous bands playing a wide range of styles: jazz, blues, Latin jazz, R&B, orchestra pit, rock, and country. Jason Gianni has been a session drummer, teacher and performer in the Bay Area for close to a decade. His work can be heard on a wide variety of TV and radio commercials, and most notably, the theme song for the popular children's cartoon, SpongeBob Squarepants. Jason is the featured drummer on the fall 2003 release of the progressive rock band Magellan's new recording entitled Impossible Figures on InsideOut records. As a writer, his work has appeared in Modern Drummer magazine as well as the West coast "Jazz" Steps newsletter.

Customer Reviews

The most comprehensive book available
The Drummer's Bible is the most informative, directive and comprehensive book on drumming styles I have ever found. Mick Berry and Jason Gianni have painstakingly researched every style; they explain each beat clearly and provide excellent examples. The price of this book is negligible when you consider the alternative cost of hours of private instruction. If you are happy being the average head-banger, no need to buy this book, but if you really want to be a drummer who can handle anything, this book is for you.

Excellent introduction to the history of rhythms and drumming
I've been drumming for about a year, taking lessons from Mick ,the author of this excellent book. I use this book every time I practice either as a reference, to learn new stuff, or to get new ideas. I love the background information on each section and feel the book helps to understand rhythm and drumming from a worldwide historical perspective. Each section teaches solid basics and some intermediate and advanced intermediate techniques. The real pearls are the included transcriptions of some famous drum grooves (e.g. James Brown, etc.) and the references to bands and players and styles. The notation, fonts, spacing, and general organization are outstanding, making the book very easy to read and use while playing. The accompanying CD's are excellent and crucial to be able to learn new techniques. I'll be using this book for years.

This has many things wrong
I am sorry to say this, usually I rate dvs and books 4-5 stars cause I have bought very nice, fun and instructive items until I bought this book. I am not a professional drummer, but I am advanced, and there were many subjects I already knew about this. Anyway, it has many WRONG things!!! What made me buy this was the pretty neat title: The Drummer's Bible. Play from afr-cuban to Zydeco... screw this... thats the name of the book just to sell... but is not worth since this guys are wrong in many stuff.. DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY IN THIS BOOK... Many concepts are wrong!