Overview

Modeled on the brilliant approach first formulated by distinguished professor of music and master clarinetist Michele Gingras in Clarinet Secrets and More Clarinet Secrets (both available from Scarecrow Press), the Music Secrets for the Advanced Musician series is designed for instrumentalists, singers, conductors, composers, and other instructors and professionals seeking quick pointers to improve their work as performers and producers of music. Easy to use and intended for the advanced musician, contributions to Music Secrets fill a niche for those who have moved beyond what beginners and intermediate practitioners need. Drum Kit Secrets: 52 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Drummer is an indispensable guide for any drum kit player. Drummer and historian Matt Dean covers a broad range of drum kit–related subjects to assist drummers already well versed in the instrument to advance and polish their skills for both live and studio performance. Drum Kit Secrets includes topics and tips on how and what to practice; how to develop one’s timing and master the metronome; how to prepare for auditions and overcome stage fright; how to stay healthy as a drummer through proper eating, tried-and-true warm-up routines, and correct drum kit set up; how to select and maintain drum equipment; and how to create drum solos and improvise with ease. He also includes tips and tricks for mastering the studio setting, getting the most from one’s drum kit, writing quick and easy drum charts, preparing for gigs, marketing oneself as a drummer, and much more. Drum Kit Secrets is the perfect resource for intermediate-level amateurs to working professionals. Dean draws on his many years as teacher and drum professional in this unique compilation of tips and performance strategies for advanced and expert players.

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9780810886957

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Reviews

A professional drummer, Dean offers a practical, succinct guide for drummers and other instrumentalists, and also for educators, composers, arrangers, and recording/production professionals. This book is part of the 'Music Secrets for the Advanced Musician' series, which has also dealt with clarinet, oboe, and saxophone. In the present volume, most of the 52 'secrets' (a chapter is devoted to each) pertain to drumset-specific concepts: practicing, techniques, accuracy, equipment, recording strategies, and soloing. Other chapters will be helpful for non-drummers as well (though the author approaches the subject through a percussive lens). Topics here include timing strategies, health strategies (posture, hearing protection, relaxed playing), career planning and preparation (finances, audition tips), marketability and entrepreneurship (self-promotion, versatility), and various performance-related issues (e.g., stage fright). Dean has a knack for explaining techniques, concepts, and methods in a style that is accessible, concise, and to the point. For example, he describes effective practice methods in terms of 'SMART' goals, i.e., goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. Other helpful topics include chart-writing skills and fluency, techniques for balancing/aligning the hands and feet ('locked limbs'), and concepts/methods for creative metronome usage and inspired phrasing. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. CHOICE To give it its full title, 52 Performance Strategies For the Modern Player. However, 'Advanced' drummers can always learn something, but actually the book has a much wider reach to intermediate or even beginner drummers...Dean touches on a surprisingly wide range of subjects from grips, strokes and technique to good time and taste, from choosing gear, writing charts and auditioning to business and self-promotion, from health and well-being to psychological issues, finishing up with strategies for effective soloing. Rhythm Magazine

Author Information

Matt Dean is a professional drummer who records and tours with artists in numerous genres, as well as writing for music publications around the world. He is author of The Drum: A History (Scarecrow Press, 2011) and publishes a blog through his website, www.mattdeanworld.co.uk.

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