I am delighted to announce the publication of my new book, The Ancient Art of Modern Drumming.
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 drummer will find many practical skills-building exercises and etudes accompanied by thorough narrative explanations of techniques and their theory.
The Ancient Art of Modern Drumming is now available in paperback from Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing.
Excerpts from the book.
PREFACE:
Heritage is experiences, knowledge, and culture, given meaning and value by past generations and inherited by those in the present. Tradition is the way heritage is honored, practiced, and preserved. Traditions are malleable and fluid. Every new generation or group of enthusiasts who celebrate a tradition will imprint on it their unique interpretation. Traditions evolve and change, but as long as they are observed and practiced, the heritage survives.
Our present-day snare drumming traditions originated from Swiss Mercenary Regiments during the late medieval age. Through their successful service to many foreign states, Swiss fighters popularized the fife & drum’s military use throughout Europe. America’s snare drum heritage is from Europe (broadly) and Britain (predominantly.) The first United States Colonial Army copied much of its fife & drum repertoire directly from the British military. Since Independence, traditional American drumming has undergone many changes to make it modern and unique. The tradition evolves, but its heritage remains strong.
Ed Flack, 2021
Sample Pages
