Groove Essentials 1.0The Play-Along: The Groove Encyclopedia for the 21st Century Drummer by null

Groove Essentials 1.0The Play-Along: The Groove Encyclopedia for the 21st Century Drummer Reviews

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  Casper Paludan

  I worked out of Groove Essentials 2.0 for a long time and found it amazing. Then I started taking lessons with Tommy and he started me on 1.0 and it's surprisingly challenging. So I highly recommend it to all you snooty advanced players ( like me). Sain to try to play a simple rock groove 100% with the band. Much much harder than I thought. But most of all I find it a ton of fun to use. It's very appetizing. For example, Mr Igoe talks about the track and discusses the style, gives interesting frames of reference and drummers and bands to study.
  
  And if you have ANY chance, I HIGHLY recommend studying with Tommy. It is life changing.
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  Nathan B.

  I bought this along with the Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials DVD (something you should also purchase).
  
  
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  Mute Bard

  A big purpose of the book is to train your ears. The goal of the book is to teach you to play what fits the music. The drums are the background for the other instruments. You can learn to get a feel for when to signal changes, when to match the band, etc. based on what the song dictates and that is what makes a great musician. If you just want to learn new fills or work on your chops, then I'd recommend you look for a different tool to fit that goal.
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  Smurf

  Vol. 1 & 2 of Groove Essentials is a MUST HAVE for ANY drummer that wants to learn a lot of useful, basic, but most important ATHUNTIC grooves in a ton of styles.
  
  These two collections are what kept me working for years in various bands over most other drummers in the area. NOT because is was better, there are a LOT of drummers that kick my butt in technique, but because I could play most any groove called upon, and play it with confidence.
  
  One of the BEST investments a drummer can make besides a great throne!
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  Steve

  Way better than expected better than paying for lessons.
  
  I'm learning to play everything from rock to waltz to swing to shuffle and .
  
  I wish I had gotten this book 30 years ago
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  Thomas Knierim

  If this was merely an encyclopedia of drum grooves/licks, it would already be a great book, because the selection of grooves is as the name says essential, something that every drummer should add to his/her repertoire. But it is even better than that because of the playalong tunes. Each of the 47 grooves comes with four variations and two accompanying high quality MP3 tunes in slow and fast tempos. The slow ones are for practice and improvisation, whereas the fast ones contain additional challenges, such as room for breaks, fills, rhythmic figures and sophisticated arrangements. Thus, in addition to learning rock, funk, jazz, latin and world music grooves, the playalong tunes also help to develop musical skills, listening, creativity, and improvisation. If you can read music, you might not need the DVD, although the latter helps to understand the phrasing of the grooves better. This is not really a beginner's book, but I wish I had this when I started playing drums many years ago. Highly recommended five stars aren't enough!
• 
  TheGnz

  One of the best books I've ever purchased. The tracks are great and I specially enjoyed the Jazz tunes as I always wanted to play Jazz with a band and the tunes made me feel part of one :)
  
  The variations to the main groove are fun and very educative as some of them are not easy and makes you think and practice and try for a while, but after you realize how to play it, then it feels like a reward!
  
  The click less tracks are a very good idea as I've found that it improves one's sense of time.
  
  I hope to see a Drum Fills Essentials sometime soon
  
  Thanks Tommy for your great work!
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  Richard M. Cole

  I've been a drummer since junior high school and actively play in a couple of bands, but my music reading skills and speed and control diminished because I didn't continue sight reading and practicing all of the rudiments. This book and accompanying DVDs are GREAT and have helped me to learn and improve my playing of various styles (rock, swing, Afro/Cuban, etc.), but, importantly, have helped me relearn to read music, improve my independence, speed, and control. Igoe is a great teacher and this book and DVD package is worth it for just the chart of styles that accompanies it and makes a great practice tool! Recommended!
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  Ross Walker

  I'm sure this is a great resource, however, be warned: you may need to have a reliable cable broadband internet to download the online material. Even though the file is zipped it's still quite large. I only have mobile broadband which is not up to the task. I only wish that the online material came on a disc rather than download. So I can rate any higher until such time I can access the online files.
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  Barry A. Hudson

  This is the play along CD and chart for you to accompany the first Grove Essentials course. No drum part on a full length song for each of Tommy Igoer's grooves. If you can play all these charts well, you are well on your way in drums. In fact, if you can play all these well, you are probably better than 90% of the "garage band", self taught guys out there. You should get Groove Essentials before you buy this.