Every drummer has heard of Joel Rothman, one of the most prolific (and for a while mysterious) drum authors in history, who certainly has the biggest catalogue available of any author currently. While I have yet to talk about Joel at length, I have a few dozen of his books, with, as always, many more I would like to nab. He currently has 104 listed on his website (117 counting his “Music Fun Books”), and he’s still writing in his late 80s; fifteen books have been written just in the last five years, and I believe a new book is due to be released any day now, to be titled Take Ten — Drum Grooves for Waltzing in 10/4 Time.

Joel’s first book was Phrasing Drum Solos from the early 60s, an obscure book that’s long out of print, and while he estimates that he has written around 150 books over the years, I think the number is even larger. My Joel Rothman collection has at least a couple of books from each decade, and nearly every book has a catalogue. With extra help from Joel’s website, Google Books, and copyright archives, I thought it would be fun to create a compendium.

So, here I present what I consider to be the most comprehensive Joel Rothman drum book bibliography on the internet, current as of November 2025, with a total of 195(!) titles: 

• Phrasing Drum Solos (1961, 29 pages)†
• Swingin’ in 3/4 Time (1961, 32 pages)†
• Big Band Breaks (1963, 28 pages)†
• Reading Can Be Odd (1963, 61 pages)†
• Let’s Warm-Up (1964, 31 pages)†
• Mixing Meters (1964, 32 pages)†
• Modern Drum Solos with Bass Kicks (1964, 15 pages)†
• Reading with Jazz Interpretation: For All Drummers (1964, 16 pages)†
• Drum Arrangements (1965, 30 pages)
• Left Hand Solos (1965, 16 pages)†
• Reading with Jazz Interpretation for Trumpet (1965, 24 pages)†
• Rock-N-Roll-N-Latin Breaks (1965, 16 pages)†
• I & Thou (1966, 24 pages)
• Independent Thinking (1966, 50 pages)†
• Pure Coordination for All Musicians (1967, 48 pages)†
• Reading & Rolling in 6/8 Time (1967, 47 pages)†
• Reading, Rudiments, and Rolls (1967, 97 pages)†
• Rolls, Rolls, Rolls (1967, 36 pages)
• Teaching Rhythm (1967, 80 pages)
• Cut-Time Parts (1968, 15 pages)
• Fun with Triplets (1968, 44 pages)†
• Play Drums in 3 Easy Lessons: A Self-Teaching Method (1968, 28 pages)†
• Rock & Roll Bible of Coordination (1968, 80 pages)
• Show Drumming (1968, 48 pages)§
• Show Primer (1968, 16 pages)†
• Sock It to Me (1968, 27 pages)†
• Coordination Solos (1969, 28 pages)†
• Man, It’s Rough! (1969, 15 pages)†
• Quarter-Note Accents Around the Drums (1969, 32 pages)†
• Rock Breaks with a 12/8 Feel (1969, 15 pages)
• Rudiments Around the Drums (1969, 48 pages)
• Show Problems (1969, 26 pages)
• The End; Fill-Ins for Drum Endings (1969, 16 pages)†
• The Hand Foot Reader (1969, 32 pages)†
• The New Rudiments (1969, 32 pages)†
• The New Testament of Technique (1969, 16 pages)†
• Triplet Control (1969, 14 pages)†
• Coordination Patterns with 1/16th Note Triplets (1970, 32 pages)
• Coordination Patterns with 1/16th Notes (1970, 32 pages)†
• Coordination Patterns with 1/8th Note Triplets (1970, 32 pages)†
• Easy Rock and Easy Jazz Coordination (1970, 45 pages)†
• Hey Diddle Diddle (1970, 32 pages)†
• Oddly Enough (1970, 16 pages)†
• Rock Beats in 3/4 Time (1970, 23 pages)†
• Soul on Bass (1970, 44 pages)†
• The Rock Reader (1970, 30 pages)†
• “Chapin Book, Volume Two” (1971, 102 pages)†
• Accents, Accents, Accents (1971, 64 pages)†
• Basic Rock Beats (1971, 16 pages)
• Joel Rothman’s Double Bass (1971, 48 pages)†
• Musical Studies for Intermediate Snare Drummer (1971, 32 pages)§
• Perpetual Motion Around the Drums (1971, 64 pages)†
• Rock Breaks with 1/16th Note Triplets (1971 pages N/A)†
• Beats and Variations for Dance Band Drummers (1972, 64 pages)
• Coordination Patterns with Hi-Hat and Bass Drum (1972, 32 pages)†
• Left Hand Control (1972, 45 pages)†
• Musical Studies for the Intermediate Timpanist (1972, 47 pages)§
• Phrasing Rock Beats (1972, 32 pages)†
• Pre-Primer for Show Drumming (1972, 16 pages)†
• Rock Breaks with 32nd Notes (1972, 16 pages)
• Shuffle Rock (1972, 32 pages)†
• Take a Break (1972, 27 pages)
• Three Is to Two as Two Is to Three (1972, 16 pages)†
• 3, 5, 7, 9 Rock (1973, 32 pages)§
• Beyond the Rockin’ Bass (1973, 31 pages)†§
• Coordinated Rock Breaks Phrased in Three (1973, 16 pages)
• Coordination Patterns with 1/8th Notes (1973, 15 pages)†
• Coordination Patterns with a 12/8 Feel (1973, 48 pages)†
• Fundamental Studies for Snare Drum (1973, 48 pages)§
• Fundamental Studies for Timpani (1973, 62 pages)§
• Jazz Coordination with a 12/8 Feel (1973, 28 pages)†
• Left Hand Rock Breaks (1973, 16 pages)†
• Modern Rock Beats with Bass Kicks (1973, 30 pages)†
• Quarter Note Technique (1973, 16 pages)†
• Reading & Rolling in Cut Time (1973, 32 pages)†
• Rhythmic Technique (1973, 32 pages)†
• The Compleat Rock Drummer (1973, 536 pages)
• Compleat Drum Technique (1974, 256 pages)†
• Coordination Patterns with a Dotted 1/8th Cymbal Beat (1974, 16 pages)
• Cymbal Variations for Jazz Drumming (1974, 30 pages)†
• Fundamental Studies for Mallets (1974, 46 pages)§
• Intermediate Duets for Snare (1974, 31 pages)§
• Joel Rothman’s (Extraordinary, Phenomenal, Undeniably Great, Unbelievably Sensational, Superbly Magnificent, Incredibly Fantastic) Jazz Drum Book (1974, 48 pages)
• Recipes with Doubles Around the Drums (1974, 30 pages)†
• Recipes with Paradiddles Around the Drums (1974, 32 pages)†
• Recipes with Singles Around the Drums (1974, 38 pages)†
• Recipes with Special Stickings Around the Drums (1974, 31 pages)†
• Rhythmic Patterns of Contemporary Music (1974, 78 pages)†§
• Rock N Rolls (1974, 31 pages)†
• Rudiments Revisited (1974, 29 pages)†
• Simple Jazz Breaks Around the Drums (1974, 30 pages)†
• Son of Independent Thinking (1974, 15 pages)†
• The Compleat Jazz Drummer (1974, 508 pages)
• Two-Measure Jazz Drum Solos Phrased in Three (1974, 32 pages)
• Four Mallet Technical Studies (1975, 16 pages)†§
• The Compleat Show Drummer (1975, 360 pages)
• 3, 5, 7, 9 Jazz (1976, 62 pages)
• A Quartet of Recipes Around the Drums (1976, 96 pages)†
• Around the Drums Compleatly (1976, 370 pages)
• Artificial Technique (1976, 24 pages)†
• Big Band Drum Charts (1976, 94 pages)
• Coordinated Jazz Patterns Phrased in Three (1976, 23 pages)†
• Cross Sticking Around the Drums (1976, pages N/A)†
• Dynamic Control (1976, 64 pages)†
• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Drum Technique (but Were Afraid to Try) (1976, 160 pages)†
• Four-Way Independence for Jazz Drumming (1976, 16 pages)
• Four-Way Independence for Rock Drumming (1976, 16 pages)
• Hand-Foot Solo Patterns (1976, 48 pages)
• Jazz Bible of Coordination (1976, 80 pages)
• Quintuplets for Jazz Drumming (1976, 32 pages)
• Rock Breaks in a Nutshell (1976, 19 pages)
• Roll Control (1976, 32 pages)
• The Compleat Drum Reader (1976, 504 pages)
• The Jazz Bible of Coordination (1976, 80 pages)
• Disco Drumming (1977, 47 pages)†
• How to Play Drums (1977, 48 pages)†
• Jazz Breaks in a Nutshell (1977, 160 pages)
• The Monster Book of Rock Drumming (1977, 192 pages)†
• Basic Drumming (1980, 180 pages)
• Clap Your Hands (1980, 449 pages)
• Picture Guide to Rock ’N’ Roll Drums (1980, 34 pages)†¶
• Play Rock ’N’ Roll Drums (1980, 56 pages)†¶
• Recital Pieces for Mallets (1980, 48 pages)†§
• Easy Drum Solos for Jazz Coordination (1981, 32 pages)
• Easy Drum Solos to Develop Technique (1981, 33 pages)
• The Mini Monster Book of Rock Drumming (1981, 96 pages)
• Rock Drum Solos to Develop Coordination (1983, 49 pages)
• Country Drumming (1984, 31 pages)†§
• Paradiddle Rock (1984, 48 pages)
• Rock Drumming with Quintuplets (1984, 17 pages)
• Rock & Rolls Featuring the Inside Story (1990, 16 pages)
• The Hardest Drum Book Ever Written (1990, 16 pages)
• The Turtle Factor (1996, 30 pages)
• Play Rock Drums (1999, 49 pages)†¶
• Accents and Solos For Rock and Jazz Drumming (2000, 32 pages)
• Basic Drum Technique and Beyond (2001, 129 pages)
• A Quintet of Coordination Patterns (2002, 81 pages)
• Basic Drumming Made Easy (2002, 80 pages)
• Fun with Accents Around the Drums (2002, 65 pages)
• Reading, Rudiments, and Rock Drumming (2003, 70 pages)
• Rock Breaks Around the Drums (2003, 32 pages)
• Drumming and All That Jazz (2005, 48 pages)
• Reading, Rudiments, and Marching Cadences (2005, 96 pages)
• Blood, Sweat, and Rudiments (2008, 60 pages)
• Duet Yourself, Book One (2010, 96 pages)
• Reading Syncopation, & Beyond (2010, 92 pages)
• Rock with Hand-Foot Drum Breaks (2010, 81 pages)
• Sticking Patterns (2010, 72 pages)
• Duet Yourself, Book Two (2011, 96 pages)
• Son of the Mini Monster for Rock Drumming (2011, 64 pages)
• Drum Set Etudes (2012, 65 pages)
• Rock Etudes for Drum Set (2012, 52 pages)
• Splashdown (2012, 48 pages)
• Jazz Etudes for Drum Set (2013, 49 pages)
• 45 Minutes, 33 Seconds — Concerto for Drum Set (2014, 36 pages)
• Orchestral Snare Drumming: Short Musical Etudes (2014, 121 pages)
• Roll Etudes for Snare Drum (2014, 56 pages)
• Crazy Mixed-Up Meters (2015, 52 pages)
• Drummin’ in the Rhythm of Rock with Linear Patterns (2015, 49 pages)
• Rudiment Etudes for Snare Drum (2015, 56 pages)
• Cloudy, with a Chance of Linear Thunder ’Round the Drums (2016, 41 pages)
• Linear Jazz Drumming (2016, 40 pages)
• The New Rudiments of Drumming (2015, 40 pages)
• Rudiment Duets (2016, 37 pages)
• Close Encounters of the 4th Kind (2017, 48 pages)
• Drum Trek — The Final Frontier of Rock (2017, 68 pages)
• The Bible of Linear Drumming (2017, 48 pages)
• Drumming Outside of the Box (2018, 39 pages)
• Syncopation Etudes for Snare Drum (2018, 56 pages)
• Bassics, Featuring Bass Drum Kicks for Rock and Jazz (2019, 56 pages)
• New Directions in Jazz & Rock Drumming (2019, pages N/A)
• Ambidexterity (2020, 41 pages)
• Just Rhythm in Eighth Time for All Instruments (2020, 88 pages)
• Just Rhythm in Quarter Time for All Instruments (2020, pages N/A)
• Rock And Jazz Drumming in Strange and Unusual Time Signatures (2021, 37 pages)
• Snare Drum Etudes in Strange and Unusual Time Signatures (2021, 32 pages)
• Rock ’N Jazz Drumming in 3/4 Time and Beyond (2022, 56 pages)
• The Paradiddle Bible (2022, 69 pages)
• Wham Bam Flam (2022, 48 pages)
• Get Your Kicks (2023, 40 pages)
• Jive with Five (2023, 40 pages)
• Snare Drum Etudes in Cut Time (2023, 32 pages)
• Rock Grooves in Odd Times (2024, 64 pages)
• We’re Livin’ in Odd Times (2024, 48 pages)
• Groovin’ in 4/4, Time (2025, 48 pages)
• Groovin’ in Five (2025, 49 pages)
• Take Ten: Drum Grooves for Waltzing in 10/4 Time (2025, 40 pages)
• Drum Manuscript (year N/A, pages N/A)†
• Jazz Around the Drums (year N/A, pages N/A)†
• Jazz Coordination & Breaks with a Double Time Feel (year N/A, pages N/A)
• Jazz Coordination Phrased in Three (year N/A, pages N/A)†
• Reading with Jazz Interpretation: For All Instruments (year N/A, pages N/A)†
• Rock Drum Parts (year N/A, pages N/A)†
• Just Another Rock Book (year N/A, pages N/A)†

† Out of print
§ Joel is not a credited author
¶ Third-party publisher

This list includes the strictly music education books — either sheet music method books, or the more prose-focused books, some of which are not drum set specific, such as the timpani and mallet books. Joel has his humor books and at least one non-musical title (such as one about golf), none of which I included in this list.

While a little more than half of these books are out of print, some of them remain available — Swingin’ in 3/4 Time is the second book Joel published, and it can still be had on Steve Weiss. If a book is not listed on Joel’s website, I consider it to be out of print. 

I must advise that the copyright years and page numbers might be incorrect. I verified all the ones I physically own, but I have discovered that the copyright years on things like Google Books are not always accurate. Some of these page numbers may or may not include the pages of ads at the end. 

Several of Joel’s books have also been revised, and there’s no telling when that happened. The revisions caused me confusion — there are two “Joel Rothman Jazz Books” from 1974, with different page numbers (32 vs 48), which leads me to believe that they are the same book that’s been expanded at some point. However, there is almost certainly both a Monster and Mini Monster Book of Rock Drumming.

I tried my best to track down all the info I could about all of these books, but some of them have become very obscure and are essentially lost to time. For instance, aside from the old catalogs, the only reference I can find to Jazz Around The Drums comes from the October 1982 issue of Modern Drummer. Meanwhile, Drum Manuscript doesn’t appear anywhere online.

Laying out Joel’s chronology has made me even more fascinated with him, and over half of his books (63% to be exact) were written before 1980, which is honestly astonishing considering what an ordeal music printing has long been. His most prolific year was 1974, with 21 books published. His oldest book still available is Drum Arrangements, which is not too popular. His oldest book still in print that’s widely used is probably Rolls, Rolls, Rolls.

It’s very interesting to see the books that don’t have Joel as a credited author — I wonder if he was used as a publisher, or if he was some sort of ghostwriter. Seeing stuff like Beyond the Rockin’ Bass Drum* was curious, but “Chapin Book 2” really got my attention. I presume this is meant to be Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer Vol II, which already has a phantasmal status, as it was only printed in small quantities; compared to the popularity of its predecessor, it is a very difficult book to get hold of. I’m really curious as to what extent Joel was involved.

I am vaguely aware that some of the material from the older books has been included in newer ones; for example, the jazz sections from Basic Drumming are apparently reused in Drumming and All That Jazz. I think the Compleat series of lengthy (and expensive) hardcover books has a lot of content from the older, out-of-print books, but I can’t confirm as I don’t have any of those titles… yet. If I can find more information about a book’s content being reused in later titles, I will try to update this page accordingly.

Anyway… hopefully someone finds this helpful!

* ^ This book is the sequel to The Rockin’ Bass Drum, and while it’s out of print, The Rockin’ Bass Drum Book 2 is still available, and I don’t know if this is the same book under two different names.