Band Today, Part 2: Drum Book

Ployhar's Band Today series succeeds because it respects the intermediate student's growing musicianship while building genuine percussion literacy. The drum book moves beyond simple time-keeping exercises to develop real coordination, dynamic control, and ensemble awareness. Drummers emerge from this method with the confidence and skills to anchor your band's rhythm section, not just keep time.

Band Today, Part 2 for drums balances technical development with musicality. Exercises feel purposeful rather than rote, building toward authentic rhythmic patterns that students hear in actual band arrangements.

Drumset players who have completed beginner fundamentals and are ready to tackle the coordination and musical demands of intermediate concert band literature. These students have functional grip and basic reading skills and are ready to explore how drums support and enhance the full ensemble sound.

• Work through the stick control exercises systematically before moving to musical passages. Consistent grip and hand position now prevent bad habits that become difficult to break later.
• Connect snare drum dynamics to melodic expression. When the band swells, the drum should respond with proportional intensity without overpowering the ensemble sound.
• Practice bass drum and snare independence separately, then gradually layer them together. Isolating each hand builds the muscle memory needed for coordinated independence.
• Listen for the band's pulse in rehearsal and lock your kick pattern to the bass line, not the other way around. This centering technique ensures the rhythm section sits as a unit.

Pair this book with your standard concert band literature so students apply new drum techniques immediately in rehearsal. The 32-page length fits naturally into a year-long intermediate curriculum, allowing room for ensemble pieces while drums advance at their own pace.

• Bass drum and snare drum independence and coordination
• Dynamic control across the drumset
• Reading rhythmic notation in multiple meters
• Stick control and grip consistency
• Ensemble listening and pulse awareness
• Cymbal control and crash technique