In 2019, I released my landmark book Encyclopedia Rudimentia with Hudson Music, compiling over 850 drum rudiments for study. This book has been, so far, my best selling publication. Good as it is on its own, I have partnered with fellow drummer and app developer Scott Gardner to produce a Rudimentia app as an extension of the book that allows for guided practice through a customizable open-closed-open sequence.

Choose your own tempos and practice with notation, a metronome click, and play-along audio. You will not find another app like this. Its like having an expert drummer to play with at any time.

The initial release (April of 2024) features 60 rudiments including all 26 NARD rudiments, the further 14 rudiments that complete the PAS 40, and 20 hybrid rudiments to expand your skills past the basic level. Further rudiments will be added in the near future to keep the practicing fresh and highlight more content from the book.

The simple design allows for efficient practice and you can log sessions to keep track of which rudiments you have practiced and how each one is going. Great for students and teachers to keep track of rudiment practice time outside of lessons!

The Rudimentia app is perfect for users of the book who want a guided way to practice, drum kit players who want to increase their chops in a systematic way, students who are looking to practice at home and stop the backslide between each lesson, drum line members (or perspective members) hoping to build up the skills required for modern marching music, percussionists trying to stay on top of their game, teachers who want their students to truly understand and advance in rudimental drumming, or just anyone who loves playing percussion instruments.

Available for iOS devices such as iPhone and iPad through the app store.

I’m offering the Moeller Book for sale.

Sanford Augustus Moeller is the namesake for the eponymous Moeller Technique or Moeller Stroke and his 1925 book is a gold standard among rudimental references. My Unabridged and Annotated edition is based on the original printing and is THE Moeller book everyone should be working from.

In 1929, revisions and cuts were made to the book, removing 83 pages! No subsequent edition has ever had more than 96 pages at best case, but my edition has ALL 174 original pages of masterful Moeller instruction.

The “other” Moeller Book currently in print is one of the heavily cut editions, missing 79 of the pages featured in the original (and my reissue). Mine has more rudiments, more solos, more band and orchestra excerpts, more quicksteps and Camp Duty signals, more discussions and tips, sections on the fife and bugle, and my annotations for background and fact checking. There is no logical comparison. If you’re going to buy a Moeller Book, it might as well be the whole thing. You can either painstakingly hunt for an antique from the 1920s, pay more, and then worry about damaging it, OR just order this reproduction and feel free to use it, write in it, and abuse it if necessary.

All original pages are present, with the original formatting and numbering. This is the real deal. The whole hog, if you will. Your drumming library isn’t complete without a Moeller book and no edition since the 1920s is as complete as this one!

While waiting for the release of my wide ranging exploration of world rudimental drumming Rudimental Grand Tour, I occupied myself translating the 1885 Méthode de Tambour by N. Pita from French to English. The notation is still original but all of the instructions and other information have been translated for the benefit of English speaking drummers everywhere. This is one of the few places where authentic French military drumming practices and rudiments can be learned without the ability to read or speak the French language. It contains rudiments, battle signals, camp duty calls, marches, and pieces for the drum and bugle together.

Progress is being made on my new book, as evidenced by the updated cover design seen here, but unfortunately Mel Bay hasn’t hit the projected release window of November 2022. As of January 2023, the projected release date has been moved to April. I apologize for the unforeseen delay.

I’m excited to announce that my next book Rudimental Grand Tour will be coming out in November of 2022 with publisher Mel Bay!

This is my largest project to date, exceeding even the monstrous Encyclopedia Rudimentia in scope and size. Rudimental Grand Tour is a book like no other, documenting the rudiments of 22 Old World and New World rudimental cultures over a span of 600+ years. Many people know about the standard 40 American rudiments and, perhaps, have heard of some selections from the Basel, French, or pipe band traditions, but the grand tour within also features rudimental systems most modern drummers never knew existed. Along with all the major world traditions, learn about such obscure corners of the art form as Norwgian Trommeslåtter, Mexican Banda de Guerra, and the drumming of the Carnivale de Ivrea. Some of these 22 traditions have never been discussed in any book or academic paper in the English language and others have been generally misrepresented outside of their home regions. This will be one of the definitive explorations of rudimental drumming as a whole.

Each of the 22 systems on the tour will have a dedicated section offering region-specific rudiments with rhythmic interpretation, a bit of history and some discussion of the historic manuals and notation styles, one or more example pieces from the standard military or solo repertoire, and a list of primary and secondary sources from which the information was derived. The tour includes Ancient American Drumming, Scotch Pipe Band Drumming, British Drumming, French Drumming, Basel Fastnacht Drumming, Swiss Drumming, Spanish Drumming, Mexican Banda de Guerra Drumming, Argentine Drumming, Belgian Drumming of the Sambre-et-Meuse, Danish Drumming, German/Prussian Drumming, Austro-Hungarian Drumming, Bavarian Drumming, Norwegian Trommeslåtter Drumming, Swedish Drumming, Dutch Drumming, Russian Drumming, Italian Drumming, Sicilian Drumming, Colombian Drumming, and Eporedian Drumming from the Carnivale de Ivrea. This isn’t every rudimental tradition to ever exist, but it’s close.

This book differs from my Encyclopedia in several notable ways, despite some surface similarity in the goals of the two books:

-The Encyclopedia has a huge collection (540+) of modern Hybrid drum corps style rudiments and some foreign or older traditional American rudiments.

The Tour focuses heavily on foreign and older traditional rudiments and has almost no Hybrid content.

-The Encyclopedia is organized like a giant rudiment sheet, grouping similar rudiments together in categories based on the PAS 40.

The Tour is organized by region and groups together rudiments from the same tradition.

-The Encylcopedia is made up only of rudiments (850+).

The Tour has rudiments and musical examples drawn from military signaling or classic solo rep. There is something to actually play from each region.

-The Encyclopedia focuses on rudiments from just 7 rudimental traditions.

The Tour features 22 diverse traditions, including Europe and the Americas.

-The Encyclopedia uses only modern American style notation for clarity.

The Tour has examples of alternative regional or historic rudimental notation styles, though American notation is used to clarify in cases where the notation style inhibits easy reading.

Each book has a unique set of features that make them completely different and useful in their own ways. There is some overlap, they are both rudimental books, after all, but there is enough unique content to each book to warrant picking up both for the most complete picture of modern, historic, and foreign rudiments.

I will have more details closer to the release date, please stay tuned!

Now available on Amazon, my new original translation of Tambour-Ordonnanz für die Schweizerische Infanterie 1917 is the ONLY book available in English that covers the Swiss military rudimental drumming system.

Includes music reading basics, Swiss rudiments, rhythmic exercises, general camp duty and battle signals, marches, and drum maintenance tips with side-by-side English and German text.

In contrast to my editions of Ashworth and Potter, for which I transcribed the ancient music into modern notation,Tambour-Ordonnanz features the original Swiss style musical notation. It is quite good and easy to read. In this case I have translated the titles, descriptions, labels, and instructions from French and German to English so that they may be easily understood by the modern English-speaking drummer who is looking for authentic instruction in Swiss rudimental drumming.

Lots of people throw around the term “Swiss rudiments” but rarely does anyone take the time to study what that actually means. Here, the authentic World War I Swiss military drumming system is clearly laid out and easily available to the non-Swiss drummer. Never before has it been this easy to obtain. See more at the book’s page, or at Amazon.

Greetings and salutations! This post is an update on, and overview of, what is happening in my drumming, teaching, and writing in these strangest of times. If you are just landing here from YouTube, Facebook, or a Google search, please feel free to browse the rest of the website for relevant information about lessons, books, or my other drumming endeavors.

Books:

As you may know, I have just released my newest collaborative book with Robert W. Miller called Subdivide and Conquer, which is explained in detail in the previous post, probably available right below this one. Long story short, its a method book for counting and reading rhythms and it is applicable to drums as well as other instruments and can be used individually or with groups and ensembles. It is available from Hudson Music and Amazon.

My previously published original books are all still available: Thrash Metal Drumming, Encyclopedia Rudimentia, Live Drum & Bass, and The Complete Double Bass Drumming Explained.

Both translations/transcriptions of older rudimental works are also still available: The Art of Beating the Drum and A New Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating.

I have another original book in the works, which is coming along nicely. This one is a rudiment-focused book but goes in a slightly different direction than my Encyclopedia. It will be longer, wider reaching, organized in a totally contrasting way, and not at all the same book… even though it will definitely involve some (many…very many) obscure or forgotten rudiments along the way. There is no timeline for release but I am working on making that happen.

Also in the works is a translation (a translation of the words this time, the notes are already readable) of another older rudimental drum book. It was originally published in French and German, but never in English. Should be out sometime next year on Amazon as usual. More details will come later.

Lessons and Teaching:

I am still teaching private lessons and my schedule is 100% full to capacity right now. “Capacity” at this point is slightly lower than normal due to the relatively recent arrival of my second child. I am maintaining a waiting list of students should any spots open up. Don’t be discouraged if you were hoping for lessons, people are coming off the list periodically. I have had students move, graduate, quit, go on hiatus for another activity/sport, etc. since I started the list. This type of thing always happens. You’ll get a spot if you want one, eventually.

Marching band just wrapped up at LAHS and the band put on a good show at the Zia Marching Fiesta. Due to the aforementioned children I am not currently working with percussionists at the schools, however I will be back as soon as the nap schedule permits… babies are difficult creatures. I should resume middle and high school concert sectionals sometime in the next year I think. I will definitely be back for marching season 2022 to continue working with the drum line. Auditions should be in April, music will go out sometime in February or so…?

Music:

There has been a little bit of movement on the actual ‘playing of the drums’ front… some old friends have tossed around the idea of recording some new material. More on that later, if and when we get our act together. Literally and metaphorically. But there is a chance of me drumming on an actual musical project sometime in the near future.

The Website:

I have been adding content to the Rudimental Articles section actively. I would appreciate help with my Rudimental Timeline article. The idea is to catalog exactly when each of the PAS 40 rudiments appeared in print, on purpose, in a rudimental context, in the USA. I’m sort of there, I think, but the last few rudiments to be added in the 20th century are still not totally exactly nailed down… maybe. I’m fairly confident about the 18th and 19th century additions, in that I have seen pretty much every relevant book that was published and is not currently “unlocated” and lost to history. Once the 20th century hit there was an explosion of instructional material, especially in the 1930s-1960s, and I have certainly not seen it all. If you happen to know anything about rudiments, and/or have some old drum books from the 1960s or 1970s around, I could use a hand in double checking.

YouTube:

Yes, I have a Youtube Channel. Thanks again to childcare obligations, I have not always been able to post regularly, nor am I able to make many videos with actual playing content lately. I’ll try to put out some here and there. I’ve got some ideas in the works for some gear videos, some rudimental videos (that everyone hates but me), and of course I will be discussing upcoming books and other projects. Actual drum lessons may take a back seat though.

Thanks for visiting the website! Email or Facebook message me with any questions or concerns you might have, or if you have ideas or anything else you think I would be interested in. Happy drumming.

I am pleased to announce that I have partnered with experienced band director and percussion teacher Robert W. Miller on a book called Subdivide and Conquer.

Available now on Hudson Music or Amazon.

Unlike any of my other books, Subdivide and Conquer is not JUST a drum method, though it does contain a beginning snare drum primer section. The majority of the book is intended to enable rhythmic reading and the development of solid independent counting for individuals AND/OR ensembles of any size. It will be equally useful for private percussion teachers, teachers of winds, strings, or voice, and directors of ensembles including band, choir, orchestra, percussion ensemble, or any other educational musical group.

As odd as this may seem, the flexibility stems from the fact that the book contains only rhythmic information that can be clapped, counted aloud, or played on any instrument to facilitate reading and accurate counting. It not only has rhythms for practice, it actually teaches users HOW to count.

Unlike most other books on the market, Subdivide and Conquer uses counting syllables (numbers and other standard counting devices “1e+a”) to measure the distance between longer notes, as well as label smaller ones. Most other reading and rhythm books fail to do this. As the name suggests, Miller and I are not just teaching how to count numbers, but how to SUBDIVIDE rhythms such that duration and placement within a musical measure is correct, consistent, and repeatable.

Players who know and use subdivision are able to more accurately sight read, play more difficult rhythms, and learn new rhythmic material faster. This is a foundational skill for literally any instrument or voice type. It doesn’t matter if you can play all the notes if they are not in time. Subdivision is a key that opens the door to easily playing rhythms so easily that pitch, intonation, phrasing, technique, posture, etc. can be at the forefront of any practice session. The rhythms will be locked in and correct because they are so obvious.

This book was developed specifically with educational ensembles in mind by myself, a percussion teacher and drum line instructor, and a career band director, Robert Miller, with decades of experience teaching young wind bands. He has used this method with his students successfully and he has shared it with many of his teaching colleagues who have found similar success. Using this book with a band, orchestra, choir, or other ensemble will eliminate guesswork, imitation, and confusion over rhythmic reading, so you can focus on playing music. Bonus: it will teach any percussionists in your ensemble to play snare drum synchronously. The snare exercises match the rest of the book, but with percussion specific information!

Whether you are a student looking to enhance your rhythm reading and counting ability, a private teacher hoping to do the same for your students, or an ensemble director trying to enhance the sound of many players at once, Subdivide and Conquer is the book for you!

In a rare turn of events, editing was really quick and the submission and review process at Amazon took almost no time at all. My interpretive transcription/translation of Samuel Potter’s The Art of Beating the Drum is now available in paperback or Kindle ebook format.

Arguably the most important work in the history of British rudimental drumming, Potter’s masterwork is not to be missed by serious students and practitioners of the snare drum. Includes 17 Duty signals, such as the Roast Beef, Grenadiers, and Three Camps, plus 21 rudiments and an explanation of early 19th century grip and technique. All page numbers and formatting correspond directly to the original so a 1:1 comparison can be made.

Get a copy today!