I Drum, Therefore I Am—Being and Becoming a Drummer

Part of a series on the psychology of music sponsored by SEMPRE (the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research), this work by Smith (Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, England), an academic, but also a drummer himself, investigates issues of drummers' identities and how they learn to drum. These issues were addressed through seven sub-questions that guided the gathering of data among a group of teenage drummers (taking steady lessons or playing frequently) and a group of experienced adult drummers (over 30, with ten years playing). The questions address how big a part of life is the identity of "drummer," the situations and ways in which drummers feel included or excluded as drummers, drummers' understandings of how others perceive them, drummers' self-perceptions of their place in the historical and cultural musical landscape, how they learn their art and craft, how they engage with the Internet, and how the roles of gender and ethnicity influence the identity of drummers as drummers. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Gareth Dylan Smith is a drummer, teacher and scholar based in London, England. He plays mostly rock, punk, folk, blues and musical theatre, and has performed, taught and presented his research on four continents. Gareth writes for DrDrumsBlog.com and is Editor at SUS Music. In his 41-year career, Bill Bruford, who has generously provided the Foreword to this volume, has played with Yes, King Crimson and Genesis, as well has his own groups, Bruford and Earthwords. Bruford retired from public performance in 2009, but he continues to be active as a speaker and lecturer.