The Best of Big and Easy, Volume 2: Drum Book

This collection gives your drumset players a chance to anchor genuine crowd-pleasers without drowning in complex rhythmic notation. Story's voicings for drum book parts respect the level while keeping the parts musical and engaging, so your drummers feel like they're playing real jazz and pop standards, not simplified exercises.

This book delivers the joy of playing hits everyone knows: the tight, driving rhythm of "Bad to the Bone," the swagger of "Funkytown," the groove of "What'd I Say." Your drummers get to experience what it feels like to anchor a band playing genuine popular music, not transcribed educational material.

Marching bands and jazz ensembles at Grade 2 (Easy) level looking for authentic, recognizable tunes without overwhelming their percussionists. Particularly valuable for groups that want to perform real songs with keyboard, bass, and drums but don't have the reading level or rehearsal time for complex drum writing.

• Listen closely to the recordings of these tunes before rehearsal so your drummers hear the pocket and feel of each style. Big Band swing grooves, blues shuffles, and funk patterns each demand different approaches to time and dynamics.
• Work the kick drum and snare together as a unit early on. Many of these charts depend on tight coordination between bass drum and snare to lock the feel, especially in the swing and funk tunes.
• Pay attention to dynamics marked in the drum part. These charts are designed to sit comfortably in an ensemble, which means your drummer needs to resist the urge to play everything at full volume.

These charts work especially well as standalone features for pep band performances, concert band programs that want to include a popular music set, or jazz ensemble matinees. They pair naturally with the full Big and Easy instrumentation, so you can program several tunes back-to-back without shifting musicians or charts between numbers.

• Reading simple kick drum and snare patterns in swing, funk, and blues feels
• Maintaining steady time through repeated phrases and grooves
• Coordinating bass drum and snare as an integrated rhythmic unit
• Playing with dynamics control in an ensemble context
• Understanding stylistic differences in groove and articulation across jazz standards and popular songs