The Drum - by Matt Dean (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Drum: A History highlights the different uses and customs associated with drumming and examines how the drum developed across many cultures and over thousands of years before they became the instruments we know today. Bringing its history to the present, Dean considers the...

Book Synopsis

In The Drum: A History, drummer, instructor, and blogger Matt Dean details the earliest evidence of the drum from all regions of the planet, looking at cave paintings, statues, temple reliefs, and burial remains before finding existing relics of actual drums, which have survived thousands of years. Highlighting the different uses and customs associated with drumming, Dean examines how the drum developed across many cultures and over thousands of years before they became the instruments we know today.

A celebration of this remarkable instrument, The Drum: A History explores how war, politics, trade routes, and religion have influenced the drum. Bringing its history to the present, Dean considers the modern cultural and commercial face of the drum, detailing its role in military settings and the development of the "modern drum kit." This study charts the evolution of the recording studio environment, as well as specific analysis of the development of drum heads, sticks, and the often overlooked role of women on the drum kit. In addition, there is a look at the continuing evolution of the drum and its role through surveys of main manufacturers and the increased dependence on electronic drums, sampling machines, and drum recorders.

As the first book to detail the entire development of the drum, The Drum: A History will appeal to every drummer, regardless of genre or style, as well as any reader with a general interest in the evolution of this universal instrument.

Review Quotes

"This is certainly an ambitious work--it contains more than 400 pages of text, an extensive bibliography, and a helpful index (which includes albums, bands/ensembles, drums, drum-product manufacturers, people, pieces, places, and general information). A professional drummer (and also a music journalist), Dean reveals that he wrote the book to satisfy his personal curiosity, to "find out how the modern drums that [he] play[s] today evolved and from where they came." He also suggests that acquiring such knowledge can help make one a better drummer/musician and consumer of music. To that end, this book would be useful as a basic resource for locating additional materials. Dean's writing style and organizational format make for a memoir-type narrative--a book reminiscent of Encyclopedia of Percussion, ed. by John Beck (2nd ed., 2007, CH, Jan'98, 45-2347) but infused with anecdotes (some of them intensely personal). The result is a hybrid work containing threads of scholarship, biography, and personal memoir. It might encourage readers to reflect on their own lives and careers in similar fashion. Summing Up: Recommended." --Choice Reviews

"[The Drum: A History] is a detailed look at the development of our favorite instrument from the ancient times to the modern drum kit. The book begins with an exhaustive cataloging of drums from across the globe, divided into geographical region. . . . The breadth of material is impressive." --Rhythm Magazine

"In this...book...[Matt dean]...provide[s] a comprehensive history of drums and drumming from ancient times right up to the latest innovations in both popular and concert music....this book can be highly recommended...for the chapter on the history of the drum set." --Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association

"For those who work at universities and other music centers, this book is an outstanding publication and would be a great addition to your library." --Percussive Notes

About the Author

Matt Dean is a professional drummer both in live performance and studio recording sessions across all styles of contemporary music around London and Europe. In addition, Dean is a music journalist and an instructor.