The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Percussion: Percussion Book & CD

This book cuts through the overwhelm of percussion by treating every instrument family with equal respect and clarity. Rather than assuming prior knowledge, Miller gives conductors and composers the practical grounding they need to make informed choices about instrumentation and technique across classical, marching, and world music contexts.

Approachable and methodical. This is a resource that demystifies percussion without condescension, covering everything from basic grip and stroke to the distinctions between orchestral and marching contexts.

Conductors seeking a quick reference on percussion capabilities, composers working across multiple percussion styles, and percussionists expanding their understanding of instruments beyond their primary focus. Music students and non-percussion specialists will find it especially valuable for building foundational knowledge without jargon.

• Use the demonstrative CD to hear each instrument's characteristic sound before assigning parts or making orchestration decisions.
• Reference the instrument descriptions when coaching percussionists through passages that demand unfamiliar techniques or less common implements.
• Consult the guide's style-specific sections when programming works that blend classical, marching, or world percussion idioms.

Keep it in the rehearsal library as a shared reference when your ensemble encounters unfamiliar percussion writing or when you're building a percussion section from scratch. It's equally useful for composers preparing instrumental scores and for percussionists curious about instruments outside their usual rotation.

• Understanding instrument families and their characteristic sounds
• Recognizing differences between percussion techniques across musical styles
• Learning proper grip, stroke, and handling for multiple instruments
• Building knowledge of which instruments work best in classical, marching, and world music contexts