Customer Reviews

Ultimate Beginner Drum Basics: Steps One & Two, Book & CD [With CD]

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I had absolutely no musical background, but I learned basic rock drumming by using this book together with the video guide Drum Basics Step One and Two by Sandy Gennaro. The authors' instructions are easy to understand and follow, and you don't have to know how to read music to start playing. I would strongly recommend using these materials with a Yamaha DTXpress, and practice, practice, practice.

I started drumming about 2 months ago with a basic set, Tommy Igoe's 'Getting Started on the drums' dvd and this book. The book is endless pages of exercises that gradually builds in difficulty. It's great. Each new pattern gets you using all four limbs, and are easy to modify for more practice (open/closed hi hats, crash vs hi hats, etc). It's got sycophated patterns, drum fills, and stuff on establishing a 'groove' with a band/bass player. Not the end-all of drum books, but perfect for beginners.

This is an excellent beginners and improvers book for budding drummers and percussionists, providing a comprehensive introduction to rock and blues drums. Written by Sandy Gennaro, an experienced session musician, and accompanied by a most useful practice CD, it will provide knowledge and confidence for all tomorrows drummers.

I actually bought this back in 1995 after I had played in a garage band for about a year. I had "played by ear" and never learned to read music. I picked this up with intentions of expanding our band and then put it aside as life got in the way and the drums went in storage. So, fast forward to 2008 and the kit is out of storage and set up with some new hardware. THIS BOOK IS AWESOME! It lays down the basics in an easy-to-follow format and then converts that to sheet music... I CAN READ MUSIC NOW! I was able to get through the entire book in less than 2 weeks and am proficient at fills and grooves, I never did that after 3 years of playing by ear. The CD tracks are great and easy to follow. The lead-out counting gets the beat in your head before the sticks even move. The ONLY suggestion I'd make with this book is to get a good quality metronome to play along with. I'd couple this with another book, "picture yourself drumming" which is a bit more extensive in the descriptions and methodology. Another great choice would be "All about drums", again, great teaching method and some real sheet music and examples of popular songs in that. No complaints here, just order the book and get practicing!