Review - Benjamin Waterson

Review: Rudimental Primer by Mitchell Peters

December 14, 2025

Here’s another rudiment review: Rudimental Primer by Mitchell Peters. Mitchell Peters was a percussionist for the LA Philharmonic and was a pretty prolific author, having written at least 18 method books, including nine snare drum-centric ones with neat color-coded covers. Peters’ first was Odd Meter Rudimental Etudes from 1967, but Rudimental Primer is fairly recent,…
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Review: Rudimental Patterns by Joe Cusatis

October 19, 2025

Here’s a book review that’s way overdue: Rudimental Patterns by Joe Cusatis, from 1968. It’s somewhat of a companion piece to Joe’s earlier Rhythmic Patterns, from 1963, which I wrote about back in 2023. I wasn’t too keen on Rhythmic Patterns, which is why I haven’t had much motivation to dissect the rudimental follow-up. Rudimental…
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Review(s): Ryan Bloom’s Rudimental Resources

April 2, 2025

I want to share and review two rudiment books I’ve brought up in the past: Rudimental Grand Tour and Encyclopedia Rudimentia, both written by my fellow CU alum Ryan Alexander Bloom. I’ve linked to Ryan’s website a couple dozen times at least — he’s a great resource and knows probably more than anyone on the…
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Review: Drumset Independence and Syncopation by David Black

December 17, 2024

It’s time for the continuation (and perhaps conclusion) of the Syncopation saga with David Black’s Drumset Independence and Syncopation. Even if you don’t recognize this book by name, you have probably seen it without realizing — as far as I know, every copy of Syncopation that’s been printed in the last ~25 years has this…
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Review(s): The Other Ted Reed Drum Books

September 18, 2024

Ted Reed is an author who needs no introduction, even though, much like GL Stone, he’s best known for just one of his books: Syncopation, a book you can spend years taking in different directions. But just like GL Stone, Ted Reed has a lot of other work to his name. I picked up a…
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