BOOK/CD
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$19.99

With Drum Aerobics, author Andy Ziker looks at drumming from a physical perspective—a concept that all heavy players can understand and benefit from. The package doesn’t focus on metal, thrash, and punk at the exclusion of other styles, however. Rather, the 120-page book features a fifty-two-week series of assorted genre-specific daily practice routines designed to develop coordination, grooves, solos and fills, and “drumnastics” (big ending licks). It opens with a series of drummer-specific yoga-style stretching exercises, which leads into daily drumming workouts. Each workout includes a description, a transcription, and tips for optimum results, along with a track listing for the brief audio examples (including play-along grooves) found on the accompanying CDs. Wisely, the user-friendly, real-world exercises gradually increase in difficulty, making them easy to approach for beginners. (Hal Leonard)

Mike Haid