On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock, The Drummers Guide to the Genre and the Legends Who Defined It (Book & CD) [Paperback]

Rich Lackowski (Author)

Book Description

Series: On the Beaten Path | Publication Date: October 17, 2008

This must-have guide for drummers provides insight into the history and development of the Progressive Rock genre, and explores a dozen legendary drummers that impacted it most. The book will lead you through the beats, licks, solos, and grooves that made each artist famous, with insight into their approaches, the gear they used, the bands they played in, and the drummers who influenced them. The easy-to-follow lessons delve into authentic transcriptions of 36 infamous beats and solos from songs by Porcupine Tree, The Mars Volta, Tool, Dream Theater, Rush, Frank Zappa, Yes, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, and others. Amazing photos are featured as well as a listing of essential recordings. All the beats and solos that are presented in the book are performed on the accompanying CD.

Drummers include:
* Barriemore Barlow
* Terry Bozzio
* Bill Bruford
* Danny Carey
* Vinnie Colaiuta
* Phil Collins
* Michael Giles
* Gavin Harrison
* Carl Palmer
* Neil Peart
* Mike Portnoy
* Jon Theodore
...and more!

On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock is a much-anticipated extension to the highly acclaimed, award-winning book On the Beaten Path: The Drummer s Guide to Musical Styles and the Legends Who Defined Them, voted No. 1 Educational Book in the 2008 Modern Drummer Reader's Poll!, and voted No. 1 Book in the 2008 DRUM! Reader's Poll!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Again, like the first book, I really enjoyed this; I like the different concept in presenting this material with its good insight into the track before giving two bar transcriptions of grooves. If you liked the first book then you are going to like this one." --Mike Dolbear: Co-founder, mikedolbear.com

"Capturing the essence of prog drumming in an educational book isn't easy, but Lackowski does a fine job. Lackowski proves himself a true aficionado and a trusted source. 4-stars!" --Modern Drummer Magazine

"This is where Lackowski shines! He has a gift that enables him to break down the core elements of a musical piece and translate those ideas into easily understandable written notation. On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock is a must for anybody who wants to get on the inside track to understanding their heroes." --Drum.com

"This is where Lackowski shines! He has a gift that enables him to break down the core elements of a musical piece and translate those ideas into easily understandable written notation. On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock is a must for anybody who wants to get on the inside track to understanding their heroes." --Drum.com

"Again, like the first book, I really enjoyed this; I like the different concept in presenting this material with its good insight into the track before giving two bar transcriptions of grooves. If you liked the first book then you are going to like this one." --Mike Dolbear: Co-founder, mikedolbear.com

About the Author

Rich Lackowski is the author of the award-winning series of On the Beaten Path music instruction books. The first book in the series, On the Beaten Path: The Drummer's Guide to Musical Styles and the Legends Who Defined Them (2007) is highly acclaimed by teachers, students, and drumming enthusiasts alike, and has earned Lackowski accolades from around the world. The book was voted No. 1 Educational Book in Modern Drummer's 2008 Reader's Poll, and voted No. 1 Book in DRUM! magazine's 2008 Reader's Poll. Drumscene magazine (Australia) called it "the future groove and reference bible for a huge part of the modern drum set." Drummerworld.com (Switzerland) called it "the best book I've seen a masterpiece." MikeDolbear.com (UK) called it "a must for any serious drummer." Drumheads!! Schlagzeugmagazin (Germany) called it "An extraordinary book." Percussioni magazine (Italy) called it "A great method for students who want to teach themselves, and for teachers looking for materials to help them expose students to a variety of drumming styles." Bob Gatzen (USA), a highly respected teacher, author and inventor, called it "A major breakthrough for drum set method books" and went on to say "No doubt, you're re-inventing the standard."

The success of the book prompted Lackowski to author his next two books, On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock (2008) and On the Beaten Path: Metal (2009), expanding his best-selling book into a series that further addressed drummers interests. Both books have been well received by the drumming community and have received praise similar to that of the pioneer book. In fact, On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock was voted as one of the Top 2 Educational Books in Modern Drummer's 2009 Reader's Poll.

In addition to authoring these three successful music instruction books, Lackowski has written articles and features for TRAPS magazine and How to Play Drums magazine, and has performed in various locations around the United States since 1985.

Lackowski was born and raised in Chicago, IL, lived in West Lafayette, IN and Detroit, MI until he moved to Los Angeles, CA where he has resided since 2001. He's played the drums since age 10.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.; Pap/Com edition (October 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739056719
• ISBN-13: 978-0739056714
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #592,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rich Lackowski is the author of the award-winning series of On the Beaten Path music instruction books. The first book in the series, On the Beaten Path: The Drummer's Guide to Musical Styles and the Legends Who Defined Them (Alfred Music Publishing, 2007) was highly acclaimed by teachers, students, and drumming enthusiasts alike, and has earned Lackowski accolades from around the world. The book was voted "No. 1 Educational Book" in Modern Drummer's 2008 Reader's Poll, and voted "No. 1 Book" in DRUM! magazine's 2008 Reader's Poll. Drumscene magazine (Australia) called it the "future groove and reference bible for a huge part of the modern drum set." Drummerworld.com (Switzerland) called it "the best book I've seen - a masterpiece." MikeDolbear.com (UK) called it "a must for any serious drummer." Drumheads!! Schlagzeugmagazin (Germany) called it "An extraordinary book." Percussioni magazine (Italy) called it "A great method for students who want to teach themselves, and for teachers looking for materials to help them expose students to a variety of drumming styles." Bob Gatzen (USA), a highly respected teacher, author and inventor, called it "A major breakthrough for drum set method books" and went on to say "No doubt, you're re-inventing the standard."

The success of the book prompted Lackowski to author his next two books, On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock (Alfred Music Publishing, 2008) and On the Beaten Path: Metal (Alfred Music Publishing, 2009), expanding his best-selling book into a series that further addressed drummers' interests. Both books have been well received by the drumming community and have received praise similar to that of the pioneer book. In fact, On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock was voted among the winners of the "Educational Books" category in both Modern Drummer and DRUM! magazines' 2009 Reader's Polls, and On the Beaten Path: Metal was voted among the winners in DRUM! magazine's 2010 Reader's Poll.

The global success of the series spawned a translation of Lackowski's original book On the Beaten Path into German and was released in Europe under the title Drum Masterclass (Alfred Publishing Verlags GmbH, 2009). Italian translations for On the Beaten Path and On the Beaten Path: Metal were also released in 2009 and 2010 respectively (Volontè & Co).

Lackowski's passion for helping more people learn how to play the drums led him to write and release his next three-volume installment in the series, On the Beaten Path: Beginning Drumset Course, levels 1, 2, and 3 (Alfred Music Publishing, 2010). The course is the culmination of years of teaching and refining his method for learning to play using carefully selected legendary beats from songs that shaped modern music.

In addition to authoring the On the Beaten Path series of successful music instruction books, Lackowski is an international clinician, and endorsed artist and member of the Vic Firth Education Team, and an endorsed artist with Evans Drumheads and member of their Education Team. Lackowski has also written articles and features for DRUM!, Drumscene, TRAPS, and How to Play Drums magazines, and he's performed in various locations around the world since 1985, including Australia's prestigious Ultimate Drummer's Weekend in Melbourne, Australia in 2010.

Lackowski was born and raised in Chicago, IL, lived in West Lafayette, IN and Detroit, MI until he moved to Los Angeles, CA where he has resided since 2001. He's played the drums since age 10 and is currently playing the drums in the Nikki O'Neill Band.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As great as the first book with special prog-focus, October 24, 2008

By 

Born2Funk (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock, The Drummers Guide to the Genre and the Legends Who Defined It (Book & CD) (Paperback)

Earlier this year, Los Angeles-based drummer Rich Lackowski wowed a worldwide drum community with his debut book "On The Beaten Path."

With a brilliant, entertaining writing style and a killer concept - taking some of the greatest contemporary drummers in different genres and then going back to those who influenced them - he won readers poll awards for "Best Drum Education Book of 2008" in both Modern Drummer and Drum. Professional reviewers gave overall top-notch ratings, and drummers like Jason Bittner, Danny Carey and Chad Smith have given very positive comments, either in person or on their official sites.

So here comes comes the awaited follow-up: On The Beaten Path for Progressive Rock.

For all drummer fans of Rush, Tool, Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theatre, King Crimson and more - this is a must-have.
You'll not only learn to play stuff by your fave drummers, you'll really deepen your understanding of progressive rock drumming on a historic and contemporary level.

The concept is just like the first book, but now Lackowski zooms in on the prog genre AND he adds more drummers.

He portrays the prog heros with a chapter dedicated to each one, starting with the new stars, going back to those who came just before them, and then the forefathers.

The drum kit schematics are there for every drummer too, as well as the beginner, intermediate and advanced lessons of seminal licks/grooves/fills, "prog-ographies" with must-have albums, history time line of the genre, and a CD with all the examples to complement the notated examples in the book.

With his great writing, Rich Lackowski is clearly a very welcome new voice in the drum community and in the world of drum instruction books. Prog drummers: this book is your ultimate holiday present.
Now, it'll be really interesting to see which genre he chooses to focus on in book #3...

5.0 out of 5 stars Some difficult stuff to learn, but well worth the time invested, January 16, 2012

By 

Andrew Chapman "Author & Publishing Entrepreneur" (Metro Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On the Beaten Path: Progressive Rock, The Drummers Guide to the Genre and the Legends Who Defined It (Book & CD) (Paperback)

If you're ready to venture into prog-rock drumming, this is the book to get. But be warned that you'll almost *have to* be able to read drum sheet music -- the patterns featured in this book are, for most drummers, hard to learn by ear only. The good news, though, is the book gives you a good basic lesson on reading drum music, which should be enough for most of you to follow the book. The range of drummers and songs featured is excellent, and you'll have the option of learning "simpler" prog-rock rhythms before tackling the crazy stuff. Best of all, you get two audio versions of each song -- one that's slowed down and another at full speed. This is excellent (and necessary in some cases) for dissecting some of the more complicated patterns. Lastly, for any of you who only know Phil Collins for his '80s songs... check out his work in this book and discover why he was considered one of the best rock drummers of the '70s before he got behind the microphone.