Many people read my website or see my social media posts about rudimental drumming and ask “how do you know that?” or “what are your sources?” In response, the *asterisked books are ones I have examined and the rest are manuals or methods known to exist that I have not been able to locate (yet). The list does contain a few books intended for the drum kit or for orchestral/concert snare with a large proportion of rudimental content. Of course, this list is not exhaustive and does not include every rudimental book ever published, BUT does represent a majority of Anglo-American rudimental drum books from the 1600s through 1981. This would be the “traditional” era and some of the early transitional period, intentionally stopping short of the point where the PAS 40 and hybrid rudiments took over.

*= I have seen it, += British, (unlocated)=no known copies exist to examine

*+1642 – Warlike Directions or the Soldier’s Practice – Thomas Fischer

*+c.1600-1650 – “The Grounds of Beating the Drum” – Francis Douce

*+1688 – The Academy of Armory – Randall Holme

+1760 – The Drummers Instructor – R. Spencer (unlocated)

*+1780 – The Young Drummers Assistant – Longman and Broderip

*+c.1770-1790 – Drum Beatings – Shaw Hellier Collection 287

*c.1797-1800 – Benjamin Clark Drum Book – Benjamin Clark

*1797 – Isaac Day First Book – Isaac Day

*c.1804 – Drummers Book of Music or Revolutionary War Drummer’s Book – Possibly Levi Lovering

*1810 – Instructor in Martial Musick – David Hazeltine

1811 – The Drummer’s Assistant – Herman Mann (unlocated)

*1812 – The Drum and Fife Instructor – Charles Robbins

1815 – The Martial Musician’s Companion – Rufus Porter (unlocated)

1815 – The Young Drummer’s Assistant – Nathan Weston (unlocated)

*1812 – A New Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating – Charles Stewart Ashworth

*+1817 – The Art of Beating the Drum – Samuel L. Potter

*1817 – The Drummer’s Instructor or Martial Musician – J.L. Rumrille and H. Holton

*1818 – Massachusetts Collection: Martial Musick – Alvan Robinson

*1819 – The Drummers Assistant or the Art of Drumming Made Easy – Levi Lovering

*+c.1850-1880 – The Drum-Major – Giuseppe Tamplini

*1853 – The Manual of Instruction for Drummers – George Klinehanse

+1860 – The Drum Tutor (unlocated)

*1861 – The Army Drum and Fife Book – Keach, Burditt, and Cassidy

*1861 – Howe’s United States Regulation Drum and Fife Instructor – Elias Howe

*1862 – The Drummers’ and Fifers’ Guide – George Barrett Bruce and Dan D. Emmett

*1862 – Union Drum & Fife Book – Henry Simpson and Ira Canterbury

*1862 – H.C. Hart’s New and Improved Instructor for the Drum – Colonel H.C. Hart

*1864 – Army Regulations for Drum, Fife, and Bugle – William Nevins

*c.1865 – Side Drum – US Army Massachusetts 25th Regiment

*+1865 – Schotts’s Handbook for Fife and Drum Bands

*1869 – Drum and Fife Instructor – Gardiner Strube

*1872 – Ryan’s True Drum Instructor – Sydney Ryan

+1879 – The Side Drum – A New and Complete Method – V.A. Chaine

+c.1880?- The Drummer’s Manual – V.A. Chaine

*1886 – The Trumpet and the Drum – John Philip Sousa

+1886 – Metzler & Co.’s Tutor for Side Drum, Bass Drum, and Kettle Drum – H.M. Higgs

+1886 – The Sergeant Drummer’s Manual – Samuel Potter

*1887 – Bugle, Fife, and Drum Signals and Calls

*+1887 – Drum and Flute Duty for the Infantry Branch of the Army

*1897 – Instructions for the Trumpet and Drum – Walter Smith and F.H. Greissinger

*1898 – Imperial Method for the Drum – Harry A. Bower

1898 – Jean Whites’s Edition of Flockton’s New Method for the Side Drum, Xylophone, and Tympani – John M. Flockton

+1901 – Instruction for the Bugle, Drum, and Flute for Use in the Royal Navy

*+1904 – The Drums – Timpani, Side and Bass

1905 – The Eclipse Instructor for Snare Drum – Paul de Ville

+1905 – Wright and Round’s Drum and Fife Band Primer – H. Round

*1906 – Rollinson’s Modern School for the Drum – T.H. Rollinson

*+c.1908 – Henry Potter Side Drum Tutor – Fred H. Poole

*+1909 – Tutor for Side Drum – Otto Langey

*+c.1910 – Henry Potter’s Side Drum Beatings – Joseph Winter

*+c.1910 – Henry Potter’s Drum-Major Manual

1914 – National Self Teacher for Drum

*+1914 – Dallas Drum Tutor – Joseph Winter

*+1914 – Tutor for the Side Drum and Bugle

*1916 – Complete Instructive Manual for Bugle, Trumpet, and Drum – V.F. Safranek

*1917 – Edward B. Straight’s improved pocket edition of The American drummer – Edward B. Straight

*1918 – The Military Drummer – Carl E. Gardner

1920 – The Yankee Doodle Method – Robert E. McGeary

*1922 – United States Army Training Manual No. 6

*1923 – Noble and Cooley EZ Method How to Play the Drums

*1925 – Instructor in the Art of Snare Drumming – Sanford A. Moeller

*1928 – Training Manual No. 2000-5

1929 – The Wright Drum Tutor – Eddie Lincoln

*1930 – Ludwig Drum and Bugle Manual

*1930 – Ludwig Drum and Bugle Elementary Instructor

*1930 – Ludwig Drum Corps Guide

1930 –  Leedy Beginner Drum Method – Harr?

*1931 – Fifty Years a Drummer – Arthur Rackett

*1931 – Slingerland Drum Corps Handbook – Sam C. Rowland

*1931 – Military Drum Beats for School and Drum Corps – George Lawrence Stone

*1932 – The Rominger Drum Method – O.F. Rominger

1932 – Martial Music – Vincent L. Mott and James J. Donnelly

*+1933 – Premier Drum Corps Guide

*1933 – Edward B. Straight’s Drum Corps Method – Edward B. Straight

*1935 – Rubank Elementary Method – Paul Yoder

*1935 – Stick Control – George Lawrence Stone

*+1937 – Premier Modern Tutor For Drums, Cymbals & Accessories – Eric Little

*1937 – The Art of Drumming – J. Burns Moore

*1937 – NARD Drum Solos

*1938 – Drum Method – Gene Krupa

*1938 – Haskell W. Harr Drum Method – Haskell W. Harr

*1940 – Podemski’s Standard Drum Method – Benjamin Podemski

*1940 – Technical Manual – Field Music: TM 20-250

1940 – Universal’s Fundamental Method – Henry Melnik

*1940 – The Legionnaire Drummer – Eugene V. Clark

*1940 – Rubank Intermediate Method – Robert W. Buggert

1940 – Drumology – Andrew V. Scott

*1941 – Buggert Method for Snare Drum 1 – Robert W. Buggert

*1941 – The School Drummers’ Manual – John P. Noonan, Joe Berryman, and Clark Hammitt

*1941 – Modern Rudimental Swing Solos – Charles Wilcoxon

*1942 – Buggert Method for Snare Drum 2 – Robert W. Buggert

*1942 – Complete Drum Instructor – William F. Ludwig

*1942 – Modern Interpretation of Snare Drum Rudiments – Buddy Rich and Henry Adler

*1943 – Drill and Evolutions of the Band – Russel B. Reynolds

*1944 – Drum Method – Charles Wilcoxon

*1945 – The All American Drummer 150 Rudimental Solos – Charles Wilcoxon

*1946 – The Science of Drumming – Gene Krupa

*1946 – Reviewing the Rudiments – Harvey S. Whistler

*1948 – The Drummer’s Rudimental Guide – Sam Ulano

*1949 – Modern Contest Solos – John S. Pratt

*+1950 – C.C.F. Drum and Bugle March Book – W.R. Patrick

*1950 – All American Drummer – Phil Grant

1952 – March and Drum – Myron D. Collins

*1955 – The Sturtze Drum Instructor – Earl Sturtze

*1955 – Belwin Fife and Drum Corps Builder – Acton Ostling

*1956 – The Drummer’s Heritage – Frederick Fennell

*1956 – Evolution of Drumming – Vincent L. Mott

1959 – Ancient Rudimental Snare And Bass Drum Solos – John S. Pratt

*1960 – Teaching Techniques for the Percussions – Robert Buggert

*1960 – The 26 Traditional American Drumming Rudiments – John S. Pratt

*1962 – Elementary Drum Method – Roy Burns

1964 – Guide to Teaching Percussion – Harry R. Bartlett

1964 – Marching Drums – Vic Firth

*+1966 – Modern Techniques for the Progressive Drummer – Max Abrams

*1967 – Intermediate Drum Method – Roy Burns and Sandy Feldstein

*1967 – Snare Drum Method – Vic Firth

*1967 – Rudimental Jazz – Joe Morello

*1968 – Snare Drum Method Book II – Vic Firth

1974 – Intermediate Drum Book – William Schinstine and Fred Hoey

1976 – Musick of the Fifes and Drums – John C. Moon

*1980 – Corps Style Drumming – Roger B. Willis

*1980 – Snare Drum Rudiment Dictionary – Sandy Feldstein

*1980 – The Logical Approach to Rudimental Snare Drum – Phil Perkins

*1981 – An Instructor for the Drum – John C. Moon