Modern Drummer Presents: Advanced Funk Drumming

Written and produced by funk drumming specialist Jim Payne and recommended by drumming greats Peter Erskine, Stanton Moore, Steve Smith, Zoro, and Bill Stewart, this multimedia package combines a wealth of practical ideas with modern technology to make it easier and more intuitive for drummers to learn new grooves and an essential drumming style.

It includes a book with fully notated transcriptions and tips plus two DVDs with more than 200 QuickTime video and MP3 audio clips. In creating this package, Payne composed and video-recorded the grooves before transcribing them. The first half of the book, Sections 1 through 14, is organized in a sequential manner; moving from simple grooves to more advanced permutations. Sections 15 through 21 present additional patterns in a more organic and sometimes random progression.

To further facilitate the "multi-sensory" learning process, many of the beats are shown in both slow and fast versions. The speed of video loops can be further reduced using the standard software in QuickTime, which is very helpful for teachers and students.

Although Payne has included beats that support the development of specific techniques that are required to correctly and comfortably perform contemporary funk drumming patterns, another progressive aspect of the project is its relative lack of purely technical exercises.