No Drum Kit Required
by
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INTRODUCTION
The original title of this book was “Learn to Play Drums Without Having to Learn Drum Music, or Even Having a Drum Kit!” A little too wordy, but totally true! This book is not a typical “introductory” text that only teaches a few rhythms and catapults a student into reading sheet music. This book contains dozens of rhythms, in logical progression, which, when combined with all the Ride and Crash variations, will produce hundreds of unique patterns.
1. Why Paws?
First, let me explain why I refer to your hands and feet as “paws”. It is because there is really no need to distinguish between a foot or a hand to do the following exercises. All four appendages will become equally skilled, which in turn will help you develop true coordination.
Another reason I use the term “paw” is to simplify things a bit. Re-read the previous paragraph, substituting the term “paws” for each of the underlined words and you will see what I mean!
2. No Drums Required
Even if you do not have a drum set (yet) you can still do all the exercises in this book. All you need is a pair of drumsticks, a place to sit, and something to hit (preferably a practice pad). Personally, I set my pad on a cushioned chair so I can play on the cushion as well as the pad. When you do get a drum kit you should still have a practice pad set-up so you can practice and play without bothering anyone.
3. Get a Grip
Hold the sticks in a matched grip: palms facing down, with the butt end of the stick aligned with the heel of your palm. The thumb and forefinger do all the gripping; the other fingers steady the stick but do not grip it tightly. The stic
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
This book presents a revolutionary new method of Drum Kit instruction. The simplified notation makes the music charts easily understandable, especially to those who are not familiar with traditional music notation, and to younger students. The language of the text is simple, clear, and concise. You will not find an easier self-teaching method! As the title "No Drum Kit Required" suggests, the exercises can be learned with only a practice pad and a pair of drum sticks, as opposed to needing a full kit. The focus is on counting, timing, and developing coordination, which forms the building blocks for all drum rhythms. The book culminates with charts of dozens of rhythms, that, when combined with a variety of cymbal rides, yields vitually hundreds of rhythmic variations.
About the Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raven taught himself to play drums after his parents were persuaded to get him a drum kit in 1973. He was influenced by the immense talent of drummers on the scene at that time: John Bonham, Keith Moon, Carl Palmer, Bill Bruford, Phil Collins, Billy Cobham, and Neil Peart, just to name a few.
He spent years playing in garage bands, jamming one-on-one with different guitarists, listening to great tunes, and trying to learn all the drumming styles, from punk to odd-time jazz.
He began playing with gigging bands that included the genres’ of punk, heavy metal, classic and alternative rock, country, blues, and some R&B and folk music, also. Some of those bands did mostly original material, while others did mainly covers. Throughout those years of gigging he expanded his understanding of the various nuances of each musical style, and was able to incorporate that understanding into his playing, which in turn, garnered him much respect from his various band mates for being able to create the right “feel” for each song.
After the introduction of children to his life, there was not a lot of time for gigging, so he turned his attention to providing drum instruction. He soon realized that, in his words “the planet is devoid of any decent instructional texts”, so he set about the business of developing one.
Raven and his family reside in the beautiful region of