Go Get Igoe's Groove Essentials

This week I had to prep for an audition.  The prerequisites called for a versatile drummer whom could play various styles of music.  Now I had just gotten off the road and didn’t have the comforts of home, a place to practice, or access to my library of drumming books.  I needed to figure something out so I got to work.  I found a friend with a spot to practice so I could get some wood shedding in, but I still needed something to motivate me to practice. 

Now when I am at home in the comforts of my own studio with access to my own library of materials I often find myself working with a great multi-style play along series by legendary drummer Tommy Igoe called Groove Essentials.  I have purchased series 1.0 on DVD and followed up with series 2.0’s play along set and have been quite impressed by this master drummer’s methodology so I made my way to a local music store to find Groove Essentials 1.0 play along series and was amazed that the drum department employee had no idea about this book or this amazing drummer.

For all of you who don’t know Tommy Igoe was a child drumming phenom who toured with The Glenn Miller Orchestra at the age of 18.  From there he landed in New York were his career really took off becoming an in demand session drummer and hitting the road with a roster of legendary artists from Blood Sweat and Tears to Stanley Jordan and Art Garfunkel.

In 1997 Igoe was asked to create the drum book for the Broadway musical version of Disney’s The Lion King.  His charts converted world and African Rhythms into a pop style for the drum set and have become the standard workbook for a slue of drummer who play the show in New York and around the world.  Soon after that success Igoe teamed up with Vic Firth to create a study manual that opens up drummers to the various styles of world music and to adapt those styles to the drum set.  Together they created Groove Essentials 1.0 that teaches drummers how to play a number of core rhythms on the drum set from rock to funk, to jazz, salsa, calypso, reggae, samba, bossa nova, and so much more.  According to Igoe’s website “This groundbreaking work has been credited with influencing more teachers and educators than any educational publication of the last 50 years.”  The book has won numerous awards in publications such as Modern Drummer Magazine and has become a staple in drum set instruction practices and universities across the U.S.  The book was so successful that a follow was introduced quickly after entitled Groove Essentials 2.0 and itself became it’s own drum set education success.

The included poster that outlines 47 various styles of music.

The packages include a great poster, DVD, play along CD and workbook full of charts.

What is unique about Igoe series is the various packages the lessons come in.  There is a DVD that includes a beautiful poster with the transcribed rhythm notations of the various styles.  On the DVD students can watch as Igoe picks apart each style and demonstrates each rhythm at varying tempos.  The more courageous can purchase the DVD and Play along package that includes written charts for each style minus the drums so the student can attempt to play along to a number of different songs in each style.  

All together this set includes six hours of play along material, and printed charts that represent what a drummer should expect in the real world, minus the bad notations by previous drummers that haven’t been erased.  The charts help you understand how to read music while you work through the demanding selection of rhythms with the play along real band.

Groove Essentials 2.0 goes deeper into various drumming styles and offers the same packages for the student.

Groove Essentials 2.0 is offered in the same packages, but goes deeper into the drum set style dictionary with 53 brand new grooves including jazz brush work, interesting rock and funk styles, less known world rhythms, a section on odd meters such as 5/4, 7/8, and 9/8, and it’s own selection of “World Tour” charts (Groove 1.0 has these also) that are a commanding workout in which the drummer must play to music that changes through various styles. 

For the advanced drummer the “World Tours” found in both the 1.0 and 2.0 version is a unique challenge.  The pieces range from 15 to twenty plus minutes and require the drummer to read and interpret the accompanying charts as the student plays along to a killer band without the drums.  During the music the drummer must change tempos and styles while leading the band on fills, accents, and changing genres of music.  They test your ability to stay focused, move from one style to another, read and interpret charts, and keep great time throughout the process.   

I strongly suggest that any serious drummer look into adding both of these systems to your learning library.  They are available at any brick and mortar or online music store as well as directly through Tommy’s site at http://www.tommyigoe.com/store.htm.  They have helped me elevate my playing and my understanding of the world of music and I am sure they can do the same for you.