Contemporary Drummer 1

Heh! I remember this the first time round when it was on cassettes...! Might be considered a bit 'old skool' now in the grand scheme of 'modern jazz fusion' drumming tutorial books... but there's a lot here and it's all still so very useful. Hard not to recommend (along with his same-era instructional DVDs) if you want to add some technicality and musicality to your playing.

Excellent service and product

Brilliant play a long, excellent package.

As far as drum instructional material is concerned, this was and remains (in my opinion) the best. You can't help wondering if Mr Weckl was a bit green when he wrote and released this; he writes out all of his fills for you, explains in detail his feelings and shortcomings on following a click, gives vital and priceless information regarding band membership and general musicianship, and basically lets go all the secrets! Did he not want to hold some of this information back for his next book? Well, whether he did or not, it's all there for the taking!That having been said, it's a detailed and intense read. There's a lot of information packed into a relatively short publication. I have frequently persuaded my drumming students to buy this package, but as soon as they've got it I've swiped it from them and gone through the entire text with a highlighter pen, to pick out the REALLY relevant parts, before giving it back to them. I think that helps. I'm not saying the rest of it isn't relevant; just that there's so much information contained in it, it could be a bit of a jungle for younger, less experienced drummers.For me, the most joyous part of it is seeing Dave's fills all written out for us - including handling! That is the sort of thing that I'd eat for breakfast... a fantastic drummer showing us exactly how he plays his fills and licks! But you have to be ready to put in the work yourself; you have to decode the writing on sometimes TWO staves, figure out the handling and then go and practise the stuff on your own kit. It's no passport to stardom - you have to utilise for yourself the information given. But WHAT you're given is utterly priceless. I've been using and delighted by this product for twenty years now. Both me and my students have found it utterly invaluable. Congratulations Mr Weckl! A lid on brilliance well and truly lifted!Highly recommended for drummers and drum teachers! :-)