Strike One – Percussion guide for beginners by Aidan Geary

This book has been put together to give percussion students a clear approach to the art of drumming, firstly, in a classical sense to teach clearly the concept of reading music; secondly, in the contemporary style of improvising at the drum kit.

The book purposefully does not cover some of the technical areas in drumming. We believe it should be left to the tutor to advise on their own definition of posture and grip. However, we firmly believe that these elements of playing should be gradually introduced over a number of lessons not in one go, which can often result in confusion and frustration for the pupil. There are also no tempo markings on the exercises. All should be played slowly at first, then the speed may be increased taking care not to lose the quality of the sound produced.

When working on the Drum Kit, many of the groove sheets follow the same format. Students should be encouraged to play each groove individually in its own four bar phrase, as well as in a pattern with similar grooves to understand the relationship of the different hi-hat note values.

More importantly, this book covers the gap between complete novice and the London College of Music Grade 1 standard on both snare drum and drum kit. Also included are “Quiz Times”, with questions for the student, requiring them to go away from the lessons and have to find out certain things about percussion in general.