The Rhythm Book : The Complete Guide to Pop Rhythm, Percussion and the New Generation of Electric Drums [Paperback]

Steve Savage (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

This book is great for drummers and even better for non-drummers! It covers the basics and the history of rhythm, drums, percussion and popular musical styles, and provides lots of examples of rhythms in different styles to practice and play. The Rhythm Book is also a complete guide to drum programming and the world of sequencers, samplers and drum loops used in pop music, with info on the latest trends in computer-based music, electronic drums and percussion. This is a must-have for any type of recording musician!

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: EM Books (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872887294
• ISBN-13: 978-0872887299
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,370,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an active producer and recording engineer and have been the primary engineer on 7 records that received Grammy nominations, including CD's for Robert Cray, John Hammond, The Gospel Hummingbirds and Elvin Bishop (2009). I have two books being published in 2011 that frame my work as a practitioner and as a researcher. For more information about my work and my research please visit my website at www.stevesavage.net.

I teach musicology in the Humanities department at San Francisco State University and production in the Recording Arts Department at Los Medanos College.

My research encompasses musicological and ethnomusicological work in the evolution and status of musical genre and the effects of music technologies. My creative work includes repurposed compositional projects and ethnographic explorations within African folk music, rock, jazz and Western music.

THE ART OF DIGITAL AUDIO PRODUCTION Oxford University Press
This book is the result of 10 years of teaching recording and 20 years of making records.

BYTES & BACKBEATS: Repurposing Audio in the Digital Age The University of Michigan Press
This book grew out of my Ph.D. dissertation and uses personal experience and recording projects to reflect and comment on the evolution and cultural status of a variety of musical genres and technologies.

Through all this work I am inspired and motivated by my love of music and my belief in it as a force for good in the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remedial rhythm and help for my songs and recordings, January 13, 2003

By 

Bruce Irving "Flying Singer" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rhythm Book : The Complete Guide to Pop Rhythm, Percussion and the New Generation of Electric Drums (Paperback)

Very helpful book. It explains a lot about how and why the rhythms in different music styles work, and how accents and syncopation help to create grooves and add flavors. It gives some history, explains drum kits and basic drumming concepts (including the basic truth that drummers have just four limbs, even though electronic drums can play any number of parts). It also describes the basics of drum programming (in sequencers such as Cakewalk Home Studio as well as with drum machines, etc.)

I'm a singer/songwriter and home recordist. Although I have a good ear, I never learned to read music fluently, so all the examples in music notation put me off at first. Of course music notation is a standardized and compact way to express rhythm, so it's worth working through the explanation so you can tap out and follow the examples. Note that these are percussion staffs, where the "pitch" of the note represents a different drum (e.g. snare vs. kick), not a note (C, F, etc.)

...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent, complete guide to rhythm for modern music, September 2, 2010

By 

ted r (Boston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rhythm Book : The Complete Guide to Pop Rhythm, Percussion and the New Generation of Electric Drums (Paperback)

I'm a guitarist wanting to program drums. This book was very helpful to understand drumming and rhythm. It gives the basic rhythm of each musical style but more important than just showing the typical pattern it gave me an understanding of what is happening, why it works, etc. It seems that there are very few books in this niche. This book is also interesting as a history of the evolution of rhythms and drumming.
If it had many more examples of drum patterns I would have given it 5 stars. On the other hand, armed with a basic understanding of a rhythm, I can find drum tabs on the internet. This book is excellent in every other respect.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For any drummer or musician who has to understand drumming, March 16, 2010

By 

Tom Parmenter "Ortolan88" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rhythm Book : The Complete Guide to Pop Rhythm, Percussion and the New Generation of Electric Drums (Paperback)

There are lots of books with hundreds of drum parts. This book has drum parts only by the dozens, but they are all well thought out and explained, giving the logic of creating the beats in plain clear language, such as why dropping the 3 beat makes the back beats and the 1 beat much stronger. Similar treatments are given across the range of popular music, country, reggae, jazz. Any drummer whose still learning will get a lot out of this book. This book was originally published as The Billboard Book of Rhythm in 1989 and includes a history of rhythm and percussion in music. The edition has updated (to 2000) info on drum programming in all its aspects. Even without an interest in drum programming, this book is a treasure trove for any musician who wants to understand rhythm and percussion.