Mel Bay

Author: Ryan Alexander Bloom
Format: Book with Audio Online
Instrumentation: Snare Drum
Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Rudimental Grand Tour is a compendium of drumming cultures and traditions from twenty-two distinct regions throughout Europe and the Americas, designed to expand rudimental knowledge and develop international percussive skills. Each of the rudimental systems on the Grand Tour is broken down with a short history, an explanation of the notation styles and rhythmic quirks, a region-specific rudiment list with rhythmic interpretation, musical excerpts for context, an online recorded example, and a list of sources for further study.

All twenty-two of the regions have contributed to the current state of the percussive arts and studying their rudimental drumming can help achieve higher levels of control, finesse, flexibility, creativity, and pure chops. Rudimental Grand Tour incorporates over 600 years of history and hundreds of unique rudiments that are not found on the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) 40 list.

American fife and drum, Basler trommeln, Scottish pipe band, Mexican banda de guerra, Norwegian trommeslatter, Swiss tambour-ordonnanz and sixteen more cultures are represented--both well-known and obscure. Whether you are a marching specialist, kit drummer, world percussionist, or classical artist, a world of rudimental possibility awaits.

The author includes definitive online recordings of examples of each of the twenty-two drumming traditions explored in the book.

"[Rudimental Grand Tour] is the most thorough, in-depth presentation of the topic that I've ever seen, with an incredible amount of information ... I'm sorry I didn't write it myself!" - Joel Rothman

"This is a serious collection of rudimental info! ... I really checked your book out and find it to be a stellar text." - Edward Freytag