[stinkfishpot]

What is a good book to get for a sorta beginner, sorta intermediate drummer with no formal training, but can keep a beat pretty well? I'm looking to improve my skills by learning rudiments and stuff like that, without having to go through the basics like simple beats. I'm wanting to eventually start working on advanced grooves and the like. Any advice or suggestions would be great, thanks.

[drumtech]

Don't know if this is too advanced for your current abilities, but one of the mid-level books I teach out of is Funky Thesaurus for the Rock Drummer by Charles Dowd - Features Afro-Cuban Rhythms & Odd-Meter Rock Beats.

Let me know more about your level and musical interests, and I'll suggest others.

[blevinspercussion]

Funky Thesaurus is a good on. You may also want to check out "Advanced Funk Studies" by Rick Latham for a good introduction to linear funk drumming. Also, "Future Sounds" by David Garibaldi. "Future Sounds" is one of my favorite books as it has some great groove ideas in it which are very usable. It starts out simple/intermediate, but gets advanced pretty quickly. And then there's always "A New Breed" which, as far as I'm concerned, is the bible of drum set and a book that every drummer needs to have in their library.

You mentioned specifically that you wanted to learn more about rudiments. I would suggest using the online resources at vicfirth.com to learn the basics. I can't think of any books off the top of my head that show how to apply rudiments to the drum set, although I know that they are out there. I can suggest a couple of videos, however, that have some cool rudimental groove/fill ideas. Check out the Steve Gadd video "Up Close" and the Gregg Bissonette video "Musical Drumming In Different Styles". They both have some great rudimental ideas that I keep in my arsenal and use on a regular basis.

[ddrummachine]

I am a fan of "Crash Course: Drumming Manual" by Adam Cartwright. Its a an exhaustive book that covered snare drum, drumset, reading, good tuning, what to buy, what not to buy, rudiments, everything.

Though it contains some more advanced stuff, this book starts from the beginning. Its the one book you would need for a long time.

Best of luck!

[J.J.]

yea thanks i've also been curious about a good book. any others?