Treasures from the Web

In my recent post, My Approach to Tuning, I cited some tuning tips by Mike James. Among the other treasures on his site are a series of articles on recording, the art and science of arranging, transcribing and composing, and some excellent tips on tuning and technique.

The real treasure, however, is a free book that you can download titled, Drumming for Life, that is a compendium of tips on dynamics, playing and more on Mr. James' philosophy on tuning. This is, in my opinion, essential reading for any drummer at any playing level.

One other resource that I recommend is Hal Howland's The Human Drummer: Thoughts on the Life Percussive, which at one time was available for free download from Hal's web page. The book is almost a modern day admixture of Homer's Odyssey and the collected works of Plato - applied to drumming and drummers. The list of accolades from famous drummers for this book is impressive.