“20 Modern Snare Drum Solos” is the brand new book from drummer Daniel Bédard. You’ll find 20 challenging snare drum solos covering different rhythmic topics including rudiments, polyrhythms, odd times, odd phrasings, slow and fast tempos, space between the notes and much more. All the solos have been written with the kit in mind which is why there is a drumset applications section where the author explains how to apply those ideas on the drums. Audio for all the solos and applications is included.

Practice tips from the author:

When you first start working on those pieces, take your time and learn the stickings and rhythms as slowly as needed. You don’t need to use the click right away, start by getting comfortable with the ideas presented and then add the metronome. The solos can be pretty challenging so take your time and be patient with the material.

I think one of the best things you can do when you practice is to record yourself to see if you’re playing the rhythms accurately. When you listen back, you can hear what you played wrong and and correct it if needed.

I suggested tempos for all the solos and those are the ones that seemed right to me. Feel free to play the material much slower when it is needed. Also, you can play those slower pieces with an eight note click instead of a quarter note click so that the space between the notes is a bit more comfortable.

Almost all the solos have been written with accents in the musical phrases. Those accents are meant to be played loud with the stick perpendicular to the floor and the soft notes should be played with the stick parallel to the floor. Make sure those accented notes are obvious and that there is a good difference in volume between the loud and soft notes. You should record yourself and see if you can hear the dynamics. Also, there are a few solos with no accents, those are meant to be played with an even volume with a focus on the rhythms. Feel free to add your own dynamics to the pieces.

Testimonials to come