Alfred’s Beginning Drumset Method

Sandy Feldstein; Dave Black

General Info

Year: 1990
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Alfred Publishing Co.
Cost: Book Cost - $17.99   |   Supplemental Books - $0.00

Chapters

Chapter I:
Chapter II:
Chapter III:
Chapter IV:
Chapter V:
Chapter VI:

Reviews

Student Reviews

Organization: A foreword along with pictures and information about the authors precedes the table of contents which is organized into these major sections: Arranging Your Drumset, The Drumset, Getting Ready to Play, Elements of Music, Playing Rock, Playing Jazz, and Appendix.

Contents: The first section grazes over what sizes of heads and cymbals to use on a drumset, along with some minor tips on playing position, with the second section only containing two diagrams of a four-piece and five-piece drumset, with only some parts listed, and explanation of notation squeezed in at the bottom. The third section covers matched and traditional grip, and how to properly strike each drum with photographs included. The fourth section covers notation in general, such as note values, bar lines, time signatures, and tempo. The fifth and sixth sections cover rock and jazz beats, embellishments, fills, and drum charts, respectively. The last section only has two pages of tuning drums, drumhead selection, muffling, and maintenance of the drums. A practice record for the student is on the back page.

Uses: The foreword mentions the use of another book, Alfred’s Drum Method, Book 1 and a cassette tape which contains recordings of beats and fills available in the book for the student to play along with. With this in mind, I would say that a middle school student, with the possibility of a high school student, is the best audience for this book. An instructor will hopefully know much more information about drumset than this book provides, so this information will only benefit students which have a very basic understanding of drumset.

Rating: While the written music may be valuable, most other information is much too short or not descriptive enough to warrant being mentioned. All the technical aspects of this book aim to do is allow a student to make a noise on the drumset, not necessarily a good one. Granted, many drumset books are like that and this book claims it should be used in conjunction with another method book, so that aspect is not as important as the beats and fills in the book. As far as playing material goes, this book will give a student something to play and become comfortable around the drumset. 3/5. User:Hondogracias

Works for Percussion by this Author

Vic Firth Percussion Series

Vic Firth/Sandy Feldstein Percussion Series - Accessory Percussion
Vic Firth/Sandy Feldstein Percussion Series - Keyboard Percussion
Vic Firth/Sandy Feldstein Percussion Series - Snare Drum
Vic Firth/Sandy Feldstein Percussion Series - Timpani

Belwin Student Instrumental Course

Drum Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 1)
Drum Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 2)
Drum Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 3)
Timpani Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 1)
Timpani Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 2)
Timpani Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 3)
Mallet Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 1)
Mallet Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 2)
Mallet Student (Student Instrumental Course, Level 3)
Studies and Etudes for Timpani
Timpani Soloist
Mallet Soloist
Drum Soloist

Yamaha Band Student

Percussion---Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Accessories Book(Yamaha Band Student, Book 1)
Percussion---Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Accessories Book(Yamaha Band Student, Book 2)
Keyboard Percussion (Yamaha Band Student, Book 1)
Keyboard Percussion (Yamaha Band Student, Book 2)

Learn to Play Series

Learn to Play Keyboard Percussion!
Learn to Play the Snare and Bass Drum!

Alfred’s Beginning Drumset Method

• Bellson, Louie; Bellson, Henry; Black, Dave. Contemporary Brush Technique. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co., 2006.
  
• Bernotas, Chris; Black, Dave. Sound Percussion: An Intermediate Method for Individual or Group Instruction. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co.
  
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