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

This is my second copy of this book, the one I misplaced the one I bough 30 years ago. This book will never be outdated. It’s a must have for drummer’s. There are endless things you can play using this book, snare , toms, cymbals and hi-hat can be incorporated in the exercises allowing you to grow in your coordination and timing. Worth every dollar.

There is a short list of drum method books that almost every teacher uses with their students. Stone’s Stick Control, Chapin’s Advanced Technique for the Modern Drummer, Chester’s New Breed, to name just a few. Ted Reed’s Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer, better known simply as Syncopation, is always on that list. Written in 1958, it remains on of the best texts for developing a student’s ability to read and understand music. The ideas are simple enough to work with the most beginner students and have been developed into some of the most demanding exercises in drumming (check out the late, great Alan Dawson’s exercises based on the book for example). I have owned at least a dozen copies of the book in my 40 year career, each one used to the point they simply fell apart. While the text can be used independently, it is best to study with a teacher who knows how to utilize it completely for the greatest benefit. It is not perfect, and does have some holes, but those are minor and do not diminish the efficacy of the exercises. If you don’t own it, you should, period.

As a teacher I find this essential for all styles of drumming. I use this along with Stone's Stick Control when teaching. I have also used these pages as a band director on the middle and high school levels.

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.

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 not a "so you want to rock" book you find at the music store chain, this is to drumming what sanding and joinery is to a woodworker. Anybody that calls themselves a drummer has this hurdle to climb, a must for a serious drummer. My 1st teacher gave me this and "Stick Control" in the 1981 when I started taking drum lessons. I wasn't sure why I was learning to swing when the trend was rock, but I soon found myself deconstructing every song into these patterns. This book is written in jazz notation, meaning that it does not include the ride cymbal and hi-hat patterns in every bar. You should be able to play all of these patterns with a swing ride (dotted eight note) and the hit-hat on 2 and four. It sounds easy, but playing straight 8th or 16th notes on the left hand while swinging in triplet time on the right can really be frustrating. Make sure to reverse your hands after you've mastered your dominant technique, this breaks the limb dependance. My teacher told me that I should be relaxed enough to be able to play all of these patterns and recite the gettysburg address at the same time. This book unravels rhythm in a way that has been duplicated, but never matched over the years.

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.

Muy bien todo, entrega, estado etc.

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.

good book

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.