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 trommeslåtter, 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

With over 850 rudimental patterns, Encyclopedia Rudimentia is the largest and most comprehensive resource on rudimental drumming ever compiled. There are hundreds more historical, international, and hybrid rudiments in this book than in any other percussive resource to date. Use the Encyclopedia to reference rudiments from all 4 of the world's leading rudimental cultures, Ancient Anglo-American Fife and Drum, Swiss Basler Trommeln, Scotch Pipe Band Drumming, and DCI Hybrid Drumming plus learn unique examples from the German, Dutch, and French military styles. Learn from the 19th century masters on both sides of the Atlantic, including Hazeltine, Ashworth, Potter, Hart, Strube, Bruce & Emmett, Sousa, and Rumrille & Holton. Then, see how interpretations changed in the 20th Century with master teachers like Wilcoxon and Moeller. Go further beyond the normal rudiments with nearly 550 DCI Hybrid Rudiments that stretch right into the 21st century. This is the largest single collection of Hybrids in print today. Finally, compare the Anglo-American experience with that of 5 other European countries with exotic rudiments rarely seen in the USA (and never all in one place). Inform your orchestral interpretations, enhance your chops, broaden your international and historical drumming context, and load up on new and exciting rhythms for fills, grooves, and solos on the drum set with a nearly endless supply of practice material. Encyclopedia Rudimentia will stay in your practice routine for years to come.

Military drummers have played a crucial role in warfare throughout history. Soldiers marched to battle to the sound of the drums and used the beat to regulate the loading and re-loading of their weapons during the battle. Drummers were also used to raise morale during the fight. This is the first work to chart the rise of drums in military use and how they came to be used on the battlefield as a means of signalling. This use was to last for almost 4,000 years when modern warfare with communications rendered them obsolete. Even so, drummers continued to serve in the armies of the world and performed many acts of heroism as the served as stretcher bearers to rescue the wounded from the battlefield. From ancient China, Egypt and the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan the drum was used on the battlefield. The 12th century Crusaders helped re-introduce the drum to Europe and during the Napoleonic Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries the drum was to be heard resonating across Europe. Drummers had to flog their comrades and beat their drums on drill parade. Today they are ceremonial but this work tells how they had to face enemies across the battlefield with only their drum.

The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta (1854) is a novel by John Rollin Ridge. Published under his birth name Yellow Bird, from Cheesquatalawny in Cherokee, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta was the first novel from a Native American author. Despite its popular success worldwide—the novel was translated into French and Spanish—Ridge’s work was a financial failure due to bootleg copies and widespread plagiarism. Recognized today as a groundbreaking work of nineteenth century fiction, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta is a powerful novel that investigates American racism, illustrates the struggle for financial independence among marginalized communities, and dramatizes the lives of outlaws seeking fame, fortune, and vigilante justice. Born in Mexico, Joaquin Murieta came to California in search of gold. Despite his belief in the American Dream, he soon faces violence and racism from white settlers who see his success as a miner as a personal affront. When his wife is raped by a mob of white men and after Joaquin is beaten by a group of horse thieves, he loses all hope of living alongside Americans and turns to a life of vigilantism. Joined by a posse of similarly enraged Mexican-American men, Joaquin becomes a fearsome bandit with a reputation for brutality and stealth. Based on the life of Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo, also known as The Robin Hood of the West, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta would serve as inspiration for Johnston McCulley’s beloved pulp novel hero Zorro. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of John Rollin Ridge’s The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta is a classic work of Native American literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Ancient Art of Modern Drumming is a coffee table book for people who keep a practice pad and a pair of drumsticks at their coffee table. It is a snare drum method book interwoven with a historical context of how the American snare drum style originated and evolved. Contained within, the curious drummer will find many practical skills-building exercises and etudes accompanied by thorough narrative explanations of techniques and their theory. This book results from a lifetime of drumming combined with a keen interest in history and in-depth research of source documents dating back to the Revolutionary War.