Recommended Drum Education Books

Vic Firth’s Snare Drum Method, Book 1 The goal of this book is to develop a “musical” snare drummer. It’s a must have for students that want to focus on snare drum.

Understanding Rhythm (Manhattan Music Publications – Drummers Collective) This book’s focus is 100 percent reading. Beginning with simple whole-note, half note and quarter-note combinations, this book also covers eighths, sixteenths and thirty-second-notes, syncopated eighth note figures, ties, dots and triplets.

Breeze Easy Drums, Book 1 One of the first snare drum books that I worked through when I started. It’s well written and intended for a young beginner.

Brook Double Drum Studies Great “old school” find for learning rudimental playing.

America’s N.A.R.D. Drum Solos Great for Reading and Rudimental Etudes-for intermediate to advanced drummers.

Rockin’ Bass Drum Great book for beginners and advanced beginners. Allows you to focus on coordinating the bass drum off the eighth-note ride.

Rockin’ Bass Drum Book 2 Book two of this series gets into two and four beat patterns with kick and snare 16th note subdivisions.

Alfred’s Beginners Drumset Method The book is divided into two sections: Rock and Jazz. Students learn the use of the hi-hat, ride cymbal, snare drum and bass drum in their respective styles.

Drum Techniques of Led Zeppelin This book contains 23 of Bonham’s most famous drum transcriptions from his work with Led Zeppelin. Also included are editor’s notes from each record.

Bass Drum Control Awesome book to develop the necessary bass drum coordination for all styles of music.

Recommended Drum Sticks

Vic Firth MS5 Corpsmaster Snare Stick Great sticks for playing in marching bands, snare drum, and for learning stick control. The heavy weight of the sticks makes it easy to feel the rebound and builds up the necessary muscles that need to be developed for stick technique.

Vic Firth Corpmaster Signature Ralph Hardimon Same as above but with a slightly thicker diameter.

Vic Firth Drumsticks with Vic Grip 5A The Vic Grip does make a difference!

Vic Firth American Custom SD 10 Swinger Great sticks for both rock and jazz!

Vic Firth 5a Great all around stick!

Vic Firth Custom SD1 Jr. Great stick for the young beginner to learn their rudiments.

HingeStix Amazing training stick designed to help you understand proper grip as well as obtaining a natural rebound. Highly recommended for all levels but especially for young beginners.

Recommended Practice Pads

KIBAGA Double Sided Practice Pad 12 Inch Very Affordable drumming practice pad that feels great!

RealFeel by Evans 2-Sided Practice Pad 6 inch Very affordable 6 inch double sided practice pad by Evans.

RealFeel by Evans 1-Sided Practice Pad 12 Inch Evans products are all good quality and I particularly like the rubber they use on this pad.

RealFeel by Evans 2-Sided Practice Pad, 12 Inch Two-sided practice pads are great for developing stick technique on different types of surfaces.

Vic Firth Heavy Hitter Slim Pad, 12 Inch This 12 inch practice pad fits nicely on top of any 14 inch snare drum.

Vic Firth 2-Sided Practice Pad 12 inch This double sided practice pad by Vic Firth is also a great choice!

Recommended Isolation Headphones

Alesis DRP 100 Ultra isolation headphones created specifically for drum monitoring at very competitive price.

Kat Percussion Ultra isolation headphones that sound very good and have good comfort.

OneOdio Stereo Headset With two inputs (1/4 inch and 1/8 inch) this is a great choice for drummers to hook up into their electronic set and also hook up another device for playalong.

MOVSSOU Wifi noise cancelation headphones Active noise cancelation headphones with Bluetooth capability.

Vic Firth Bluetooth Isolation Headphones Best sound isolation bluetooth headphones currently on the market.

Recommended Metronomes

Tama Rhythm Watch Portable Tama metronome with tap tempo and 9 beat variations

Boss Dr. Beat Includes tap tempo and 24 beat variations

Other Products

New Grip Wrist Supports for Drummers
These wrist supports really help alleviate pain from chronic injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis.

Stagg MUS-ARM 1 Attacheable Small Music Stand Great compact stand for smaller spaces.

Alexis Drums Nitro – Affordable beginner electronic drum kit with mesh heads.

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