For former drummers who miss jamming on the kit, its time to dust off the old sticks and revisit those good times with I Used to Play Drums: An Innovative Method for Adults Returning to Play. This book will reacquaint people with their instrument by providing them with the kind of music they want to play in a variety of styles, from rock, to jazz, and more! Starting with a review of the basics of music theory and continuing with a wealth of exercises to get players back in shape, I Used to Play Drums will get people drumming away again in no time. Plus, the enclosed CD contains audio MP3s of full-band performances for each song, with and without drumset, allowing players to learn from demo tracks and play along with the band like no time has passed at all!
REVIEW 
I Used to Play Drums, by Liberty DeVitto and Sean J. Kennedy, is a book/CD package designed to reacquaint former drumset players with their musical instrument by providing some basic music theory, warm-up / sticking exercises, and a plethora of play-along tracks, in a variety of styles, to songs most (if not all) would enjoy playing.
The book is 46-pages — predominantly drum charts for the 19 play-along tracks on the CD — includes a drum notation key, a brief rhythmic notation (music theory) review, a chart of the Top-10 Sticking Patterns with some creative ideas on how to practice them, several pages of dexterity exercises and warm-ups, and the 40 PAS Drum Rudiments.
The CD contains MP3 files of full-band performances of each song, with and without drums. Song titles include:
- Candy Apple Strut
- Cat Nap
- Dancin' with Mr. Boomer
- Datizda Mayor of Drunk Town
- Escape from Skull Island
- I'll Always Love You
- Joshua Fought the Battle of Jerico
- La Bamba
- Mr. Tambourine Man
- New York Underground
- Rotten Little Kid
- Scrappers
- Sunday Mambo
- Tea for Three
- Tide is High, The
- Tuxedo Junction
- Two Tickets to Paradise
- Wooly Bully
- Zonk
A diverse collection of music styles are represented on the I Used to Play Drums CD — Rock, Funk, Blues, Pop, Jazz, Punk, Reggae — straight and swung feels in a variety of tempos. There is a mix of classic "radio" tunes, originals written by DeVitto and Kennedy, and exclusive tunes from The Fun[k] Club.
As far as content, I Used to Play Drums is more of a play-along CD package, with charts, than a method book. Although it's not for beginners and is marketed to adults returning to play the drums, intermediate to advanced players would be amiss to pass I Used to Play Drums by. With no click-track pounding away on the drum-less tracks, this play-along package is perfect for recording oneself for educational or demonstration purposes. The recorded percussion parts (eg. bongos) are mixed a little too "hot" on some of the songs, which may be a distraction for some looking to establish their own pocket and groove.
