Last year I really stepped up my drum curriculum. I went from one outdated lesson book and supplementing with Groove Essentials for a few advanced students to a more thorough and modern lesson book, lots of great supplemental material, videos, and weekly playalongs. We've focussed on rudimental studies and relied heavily on technique. The focus hasn't been as much on WHAT you play, but HOW you play it. 

This is natural and healthy for a teacher. As I grow as a player and educator, my methods and curriculum may change. As new books are made available, they will be worked into the curriculum. Please do not read that I am flip-flopping methods and ditching everything for something new and shiny. 

For drum students, it all comes down to rudiments, technique, and coordination. From the most simple task to the most complex, everything relies on the above three things. 

Which brings me to guitar...For some reason, there is a real lack of resources for guitar education. Don't get me wrong, there are TONS of method books and songbooks. But most of these are pretty awful. They focus on strange methodologies, are overly simplified or overly difficult, and there aren't many that focus on technique. I'm not sure why this is as there is a wealth of resources available for other private instrument lessons (piano and drums, for instance). 

For years, I have been using Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method for beginners and I still think it is the best place for beginners to learn the fundamentals of music, gain finger dexterity, and learn the basics of the instrument. I have supplemented with other books for different genres when students reach a certain level of mastery (for example, Christopher Parkening's Classical Guitar books for those interested in classical/fingerstyle guitar). 

I think that variety is the key but, especially with my teenage students, I need to have something systematic and methodical to work through. Teaching random songs and techniques is fun, but it leaves a lot of holes in one's playing and is difficult with the attention span of most teens. I need something concrete that we can work through and accomplish. 

So, I've been researching for a few weeks and have narrowed down the list to a few books that I'll be trying out this semester. I'm fairly confident that one of them (Total Rock Guitar) will become the new lesson book for my intermediate students interested in rock guitar, while the others will be great supplemental material. 

So, here is the list of books that I'll be working through for the first few weeks until lessons begin. You can expect to see brief reviews of my initial thoughts on each book soon. 

In no particular order...
Guitar Fretboard Workbook 
Guitar Aerobics 
Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar 
Total Rock Guitar 
Chord Tone Soloing 
Rhythmic Lead Guitar The Advancing Guitarist

Feel free to check these out on Amazon and let me know what you think. Reviews coming soon! 

I LOVE this book. Vic Firth sent me a bunch of books, sticks, and other fun goodies last week and this was in the pack. To be honest, this book has been on my radar for a while and I'm really glad that Vic Firth sent a copy over for me to check out. I've been looking for a new general lesson book for my drum students for that past year or so. I've been using Andy Griffith's Progressive Rock Drumming since I started teaching drums. It is a great text, but it is a little dated (1986) and therefore some of it's subject material doesn't apply as much as it did when it was written and they miss out on some more modern examples and techniques. As much as I love massive 80s rock drum fills, it's time to bid this book adieu. 

So, what's so great about Wessels' book? Here's a quick breakdown of a few points that I like thus far:

1. Diversity. Many styles are covered in an easy to use, overview-style format. 
2. Backing Tracks. There are over 40 songs to play along with in this book!
3. Stick Control. The attention to rudiments and stick control is a great addition to a lesson book. 
4. Layout. The layout of the book is visually appealing, and makes for a fun play along. 
5. Modern. Published a couple of years ago, this book contains pertinent examples to modern drumming. 

Let me elaborate on a few. Books with backing tracks (songs without drum parts) are nothing new. But the tracks here are great! Not cheesy, elevator music but good, solid tracks for each genre. I am going to enjoy playing these and I know my students will too. One of the downsides of learning grooves in the Progressive Rock Drumming book is that after you learn the groove, what do you do next? This book takes almost every groove and example and gives a play along track to let the student play the groove with a band. Great concept! The tracks are perfect and never boring. You know it is a great track when the student plays and sounds better on a groove just by getting the chance to play with the track. These tracks take exercises and turn them into music!

Most lesson books give a lesson or two on basic stick control and examples at the beginning of the book and then move on to 'practical matters'. If you don't continually revisit and build upon your sticking, you won't be able to play more complex material later. I really like this about Wessels' book. Not only does he give some great sticking exercises and rudiments early in the book (including singles, double strokes, and paradiddles in THE FIRST LESSON in an example that reminds me of this awesome Joe Morello exercise), but he continues to build on these throughout the book by introducing more sticking exercises and rudiments! Great concept that is easily overlooked by most drum lesson books.

There also some small patterns, grooves, and fills that I haven't seen very often in other books. There's an entire section on upbeat ride cymbal patterns. This is a (somewhat) simple concept that can add a lot of diversity to a groove and give the student lots of ideas to play with, but this is the first time I have seen it laid out this well in a lesson book. The approach to jazz and world styles is also fantastic. They are easy enough to play (with some dedicated practice), but still approachable for the novice. 

There is something in here for everyone, from the earliest beginner through the advanced intermediate. I will be sure to post a more thorough review once I've used the book for a semester or two with some students, but I look forward to seeing what my students will do with this book and hopefully using some of the playalong tracks for the recital this year! 

You can buy this book and/or download a FREE sample with over 20 pages of the book and 7 play along samples here.