Modern Drummer
Date: February 2005
Groove Essentials DVD
[FOUR "DRUM KITS" RATING]
Throughout Groove Essentials’ three hours, Tommy Igoe’s teaching style is right on. Beyond explicitly dictating what a drummer should do in any given situation, Igoe inspires one to think, play, and explore the instrument in its totality. From rock, jazz, and hip-hop to world-music beats, this DVD literally and figuratively illustrates the New York powerhouse drummer’s philosophy. With a common-sense approach, Igoe emphasizes the “connective tissue” of grooves and how they can be applied or permutated in a given setting. If forced to be critical, I’d wish that more of this material was aimed at advanced students. But Tommy provides such a great doorway to what can be done, it’s really up to a player’s imagination how far his tutelage can take you.
Sean Enright
Modern Drummer
Date: June 2006
Groove Essentials: The Play-Along
[FIVE STARS]
This 126-page play-along book/CD completes a perfect drumset instructional trifecta when combined with “Igoe’s Groove Essentials” DVD from 2004 (sold separately). This is the most professional, comprehensive, well-written, user-friendly, and common-sense instructional for real world applications that I’ve seen. Igoe is an entertaining, effective, dynamic instructor, and here he stresses the importance of learning basic grooves from the musical styles (rock, jazz, funk, world) that working drummers most often encounter. Eighty-eight easy-to-follow charts with helpful commentary fill the book, while the six-hour play-along CD contains MP3 music files of all the charts, recorded by real musicians in real time, minus drums. A world-class package. (Hudson Music)
Mike Haid
Drum!
Date: August 2005
Page: 158
In 2003, drummer/educator Tommy Igoe and Vic Firth created a poster entitled “Groove Essentials,” which features 47 drum set grooves culled from rock, funk, R&B, jazz, and world genres. After distributing more than 50,000 posters, the drummer/manufacturer duo decided to collaborate on a DVD that comprehensively dissects and exhibits each of the 47 patterns. Igoe performs all grooves, which progressively increase in difficulty and complexity, at both slow and fast tempos with a rhythm track recorded by a team of first-call studio musicians. The three-hour and 40-minute DVD offers great camera angles, impassioned encouragement from its host, and a copy of the poster to hang on the wall of your rehearsal space. This is recommended for everyone -- beginners to advanced players alike -- because we all know, one’s groove can always improve.
Tigerbill.com
When I was starting out on the drums, I had the opportunity to play at all of my school dances and Battles of the Bands. I also played countless weddings and club dates where I was expected to know how to play many of the styles that are covered on this DVD. Thanks to the quality of instruction provided by my first drumset instructor, I had no problem cutting any of the styles. But things are different today. Since the advent of the DJ, live music has taken a back seat and many drummers don't have the same opportunities to learn and use various drumming styles in live situations. If you are unfamiliar with the majority of the drumming styles listed above, then this DVD is for you.
Tommy does a great teaching job on it, offering valuable tips to help you learn play each style in an authentic manner. And by following his recommendations, you'll soon feel right at home playing any of the forty-seven included drumming styles.
I highly recommend it for any DrumHead, beginner or pro, who is looking to expand his or her stylistic horizons.
User Reviews:
Dear Tommy
Just to say many, many thanks for the Groove Essentials DVD which has moved
me further on in the first few lessons what has taken me on my own over 20
years to do. Can't wait to get your new playalong DVD as I learn so much
from this method (I get Rhythm mag and also love their playalong tracks).
Hope you come to the UK soon!!!
Best wishes,
Dusty Hoff.
Hi Tommy
How u doing, greetings from the North East of England. Just want to say how much 'Groove Essentials' has changed my outlook and
overall approach to learning new things, (having been stuck in the same
routine for years) I never really thought there was a complete package out
there that I could learn so much from and explore futher.
NICE WORK MATE!!Having never really been into jazz ( i play rock covers in a function type band ). It just seemed too hard to play, but the way you introduce the basics and the copping elements im like wow!!! i can really do some of this stuff (not yet at your fast tempos haha!!) Im so hooked on developing this style and hopefully getting together with like minded musicans in my area I just cant thank you enough im totally hooked. Would be great to see you in clinic (or on tour) in the UK one day. Again many thanks mate you're a real inspiration and demon player. I bet you inbox is rammed with mails like this.
best wishes, Andy
Tommy,
Thanks for the info on your Groove Essentials book and play along cd. Great job. I bought it right away and was definitely impressed. The music is fantastic and makes it fun to play along with, and being able to use the DVD in conjunction with it was ingenious. I really enjoy learning with these tools. You did a great job on these projects.
Thanks again.
Geno in Reno
Hi Tommy,
Got a copy of your book from Vic Firth this past weekend, and I gotta tell you how much I enjoy it. Great idea, great tracks, great everything.
Apart from the supreme egoless act of */not/* having your playing on the tracks- ("notice the 32nd note clave pattern with my left foot on the 17/16 part of the chorus"), your book /does/ give non- reading players inspiration to do just that- learn to read.
I've already have my students ordering the book, and I'm having a blast playing with the stuff myself.
This has to be the most practical, fun, and well conceived drumset book in a long time.
Thanks again for the hard work, you did a good thang, as they are fond of saying here.
Chris Bennett, Austin, Texas
Hey Tommy, I hope you are doing well.
I recently picked up a copy of the "Grooves Essentials" book and DVD, as did my brother. Yeah I know, 2 in one family, no competition...right. haha
I have been studying this book for weeks. I think its the best book I have seen in years, and definitely the best for working on reading.
Take care Tommy, thanks for all of your inspiration. In the short time I have had your book, I can already see results in my playing.
Thanks again,
Craig Reagor
Tommy,
I would just like to thank you very much for putting out such a great package as "Groove Essentials". I am a teacher in the Rhode Island area for Vic Firth and use your package any time I can with my students. I use it as background to play all the reading exercised from Syncopation with my students and it makes it so much more fun for them (and me) to play along with. I would like to ask if you charted the exact tempo for each track. I can go through them all with tap tempo but I thought you may already have the tempos listed somewhere. Anyway, thanks for all your great work. I listened to alot of your father when I was starting out. Now I listen to you.
All the best.
Paul Marcil
Hello Tommy................
First off, can I congratulate you for producing the wonderful and inspiring "Groove Essentials" dvd/book which has got me so hooked it is hard to cope with the daylight when I have to be dragged outside of my practice room by my wife and kids!!. It's been three weeks now since I purchased G. E. and such an improvement in my playing is very evident, thank you!
Cheers and all the best to you........ Martin Pyke. Gravesend, Kent (U.K)
Dear Mr Igoe:
Have just purchased from Amazon your Groove essentials DVD, Book & CD package. have sat glued to my screen watching the DVD since it arrived.
My money has not been wasted, congratulations on putting together a drum instruction and information package that is just so good.
It is a no nonsense clearly explained road map to usable and playable grooves that will work on the job thank you so much. You have stripped away every thing that may confuse or distract a student of groove patterns to get into the heart and soul of each grooves core structure and shown just how the nuances that make the groove come alive can be attained.
Have recently returned to playing & teaching after many years owning and running a Graphic Arts company that made even weekend warrior gigging impractical.
The way you have shown visually aurally and conceptually the way to play the chosen 47 grooves plus the notation is just inspiring, I'll lay awake tonight with an auto replay of what I have seen on the DVD.
So well done, and I have often wondered if you were related to Sonny Igoe now my curiosity is answered. I will be telling any serious or inquisitive drum student I meet to dash out and get this package ASAP.Take a bow you are one special person.
Regards
Kevin Sinnott Sydney Australia
Hi Tommy,
The book, cd, & dvd are fantastic! I can't stop playing them. You are simply amazing at drumming and teaching , such monster grooves, inspiring to watch, and your drums sound great by the way. Your teaching style would put anyone at ease, while filling them with knowledge.
Thanks for you effort, Orv.
Hey Tommy, My names Matt, im 18 years old from from Gloucester county NJ. Ive been involved with music for about 7 years, starting on guitar. I started playing drumset about 2 and a half years ago. Recently, I got the groove essentials DVD as a gift and ill tell ya what.... nothing has ever helped me, or expanded my knowledge on the drumset more than your DVD has. I have practiced with it everyday since i got it and it hasnt left my DVD player. I really like the way everything is broken down and how you disect every aspect of each Groove. About a week ago i was asked to play set for Gloucester Catholic Highschools version of Disneys "A High School Musical" I accepted the offer with confidence knowing that the material from the Groove Essentials DVD will help me be a better player for this musical. Whether im playing a songo, a samba, a jazz shuffle or just a simple rock pattern, I can play these grooves with confidence, i can play them accuratley, and most important of all, give a life a to the groove and help it propel like you always say. In Closing, I want to thank you for creating such an outstanding product that has brought my love and interest for the drum set up to a whole new level that i never though i would reach. Thank you again and i hope to hear from you.
-Matt
Hello Mr. Igoe
I would like to start by saying thank you so much for making the groove essentials package before this i struggled so much with learning other styles because the instruction I felt was very impersonal and not indept but after studying G.E.(Groove Essentials) you have made it alot easier to understand and comprehend the feel of a Samba and the gracefuleness of a bolero I know this is sounding cheesy but it really touched me I also share the same strong passion of music like you do I want to make a career out of it and you not only inspire but give me hope in an extremely pessimistic and competitive field. I just wanted to say thanks so much for G.E. and if you wouldnt mind maybe lending me insight or tips into surviving as a musician I would be eternally thankful any and everything i could possibly use would be great Thanks again Mr. Igoe and keep up the great work.
-Chad
this email isn't really about lessons its about how great your books and dvd's are! I have never experienced such a thing in my entire life... I was listening to the chart talkdown and you said to let you know about how we like everything. And i am telling you so you know, its the best thing i have done with drumming....Its great to be an all around good player and know different styles and genra's . Thank you so much and i hope to see you play one of these days! Who knows maybe i will get my parents to take me to New York to see you play in Birdland.
Hello Tommy-
I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving Day. I recently purchased your Groove Essentials DVD and book and have to congratulate you in putting (in my opinion) on of the best and practical educational materials out there. I'm a drummer/teacher (actually went to the same school as your buddy Rolando in PR) and plan to use it with my students as well as for myself.
Thank you for putting such a great material out there. Also, any plans in coming to Atlanta, GA any time soon? Keep up the good work.
Thanks
Carlos
Hey Tommy!
I sure hope you read these emails once in a while, especially with a schedule as busy as I imagine you have! I have been playing the drums for about 2 years now and and really just wanted to thank you for the DVD's you put out through Hudson Music (I think...) a few years ago. Both the beginning drum set dvd and "Groove Essentials" really helped me get started on the set and get a good idea of what it is to play the drums. Finding out how to get started playing drums is actually rather difficult since most of the information available, either on the net or otherwise, is really designed for drummers who already have a clue - I didn't!
I have since adanced to some more new techniques, time signatures, ect., but still like to watch you dvd's since I really think there's always something new to learn EVERY TIME I watch! A+ job, seriously.
After checking out your website I was so pissed that you have been in NYC with the Birdland Jazz Group for so long and I missed you - I'm only in Northeast Philly! I am just getting into jazz, so I would have really dug hearing you throw down some jazz.
If you have time, I actually do have two questions for you...First, do you find that you play your bass drum pedal heel UP or heel DOWN more? Which method did you find you used most for Lion King? Would you say playing heel UP allows you more power, heel DOWN more control?
Second question (and this is an odd one) what kind of drum throne do you use?
Tommy, thank you so much for reading this and THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT INFLUENCE AND DRUMMER! Keep swingin' and rockin'!
-Matt
I'm a 57 year old guy returning to the drumset after a brief 40 year
interlude. What I remember from my teen drumming years is Ted Reed
Syncopation and George Stone Stick Control and Jim Chapin, all great books
and methods. And I believe your DVD and book will find its place among the
classics. I'm playing grooves I can't believe. I can't wait for my chops to
catch up !
And what I absolutely love about the play-along are the variations. There is enough stuff there to keep me learning and growing for years. And the charts look like the ones my drum teacher has for his broadway show - no hand-holding, they look like the real thing.
I imagine you put a ton of time and effort into this project, and I want to thank you. It's a wonderful teaching method.
Jim Martocci
Mahwah, NJ
Dear Tommy,
I just wanted to tell you how much I'm enjoying your Groove Essentials book & dvd. I discovered your talents while browsing vicfirth.com. You know even as I'm writing this words can't begin to express how GREAT your material is! It has truly re-sparked my passion for drums & drumming! I find myself waiting for my day at work to end so I can get back to the drums:)
Thank you Tommy for your inspiration!
Sincerely,
Graham Gee
Vancouver, Canada
Dear Tommy:
I recently attended a Vic Firth Private Drum Teachers Seminar, presented by Dom Famularo and sponsored by Vic Firth. I have been studying with Dom over the last year or so - what an amazing person!! Vic Firth was very generous (he was in attendance) and besides providing the presentation for free, he also fed us all day (free coffee, sandwiches, salads, pop, fruit....) and gave us a lot of educational material. Two of the things that were given out were your book, Groove Essentials, and your DVD. I have been a professional drummer, clinician and teacher for many years and I am totally thrilled with your book and cd.... it is really fun for me to work on, actually I am surprised at how many new things I am discovering about my playing, but also my students love working out of it, and it will become a staple in my lessons from now on!! I have taught "second line New Orleans" beats to my kids in the past, but without a musical example it doesn't mean that much to them. Having them play along is HUGE!!
I am sure that Vic Firth and Hudson Music gave away these books in hopes of teachers using them and then getting their students to buy the books- well that is EXACTLY what will happen in my case!!!
Thank you for this book and cd!! I realize what an immense amount of work must have gone in to producing it, but for me- it is the answer!!
Take care, and best of luck with your drumming career!!
Sincerely, Dale Anne Brendon