Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer (Ted Reed Publications)

It's a shame really that this book is titled "for the modern drummer". Any musician that plays different rhythmic patterns (which is pretty much all of them) will benefit greatly from this book. All the lines are in 4/4 time with steady quarter notes shown marking the "beat". So the exercises really consist of all the patterns shown on the top. It's a simple enough concept, but he had the good sense to write it all out for the rest of us. All your basic patterns: quarter notes, dotted eighths, 16th's, 16's mixed with 8's and all varied in order and with different rests so they come on different beats each time. As you progress through the book, the lines get more complicated and intricate until you get to the syncopated section. I remember this book from when I was a drummer in high school almost 30 years ago. Now I play rhythm guitar, and am looking to get away from the "standard" strumming patterns and get more creative. This book will help me do that. It will also help immensely with learning and playing leads and solos. It really doesn't matter if you play drums, guitar, sax, keyboard, bass, or mandolin this book will help teach you to recognize and play rhythms - and that is a key part of sight-reading. I guess the TL:DR version would be: If you play a musical instrument, get this book. It will be the some of the best use of money and time you'll ever spend.

If only i had found out about this book sooner! As a drum teacher for the past 12 years, i can easily say Syncopation by Ted Reed is the best most effective book to get beginners started with learning to read rhythms. Some of my students who at first had zero reading ability managed to sight read quarter notes all the way through different 16th note rhythms by the end of class, identifying all the different rests along the way while keeping a steady kick pulse underneath. All this thanks to how systematically the exercises are written out, getting more challenging as you progress through the pages. One step at a time, slowly but surely. Not just for beginner or intermediate drummers; i come back to this book just to brush up on my sight reading every once in awhile, or i'd pick some of the exercises out and use it as double pedal exercises or independence stuff like left foot clave, right/left hand ostinatos etc. A thousand different ways to use this wonderful book!

Exactamente a lo ofertado

A must have for drummers

El libro que todo baterista/percusionista debe tener

I started using this book when I first took lessons about 45 years ago and after 2 years of lessons I got tired of reading and just wanted to play by ear which I have done on and off ever since. About a year or so ago I decided to start learning how to read again and started taking lessons to do so. We use a variety of different books and when I am having trouble playing something I find that I will constantly come back to this book to practice the exercises that pertain to the problems I am having. I probably refer back to this book more than any other book I have and I think it is great for any level of skill or ability that you have. I regret not keeping up on reading like I should have years ago but it's never too late to continue to learn and I highly recommend this book to anyone just beginning or who has been playing for years. It's only 8 bucks!

Reminds me of over-xeroxed pages. On p. 54 --59 I had to whiteout the unnecessary '3' over the repeated triplets due to continual confusion with the accent marks. That was a lot of work. Should give it 3 stars but it really is a great book. Wish Alfred would clean up the copy.

I am surprised to see comments about how this book isn't for beginners. I'm very much a beginner (have only been playing a few months) and have loved it. There are a couple of things in here that are too hard for my current level, but don't we all want to stretch? It has a decent range from very easy to quite a bit harder and plenty for the beginner. I wouldn't buy it as a first drum book - but I did in fact buy it as my second. And, it's great. t love that it challenges me and that there are things I will have to come back to when I become more knowledgeable. Additionally, the rhythms are more interesting and not as straight forward as most books that are appropriate for beginners. That's a big plus in my book and it makes me want to practice more and longer. I agree that some of the handwritten notes are a little sloppy and inconsistent. This may sound weird, but I find that charming and an additional challenge. And, it adds to the beauty. It's like the difference between hearing a live drummer and a drum machine.

This is a standard and a must have for every serious drummer. Unfortunately I did receive a copy with a print which was grey instead of black. But AMAZON dealt with this situation as usually in a very helpful and understanding way. So actually I would give 4 stars to the book because of the poor print but 6 stars to AMAZON for handling the problem, :-).

De los estándares para los percusionistas. Entrena bien la primera vista.

I have used this to train myself and also teach my students. Great book.

My drum teacher recommended this book and I know it's a little dated but the lessons are invaluable. Great for novice and intermediate's.

Love this book. For beginners and advanced - essential to play in time.