Jeff Strong graduated from the Percussion Institute of Technology at the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles in 1983, where he studied with Joe Porcaro, Ralph Humphrey, Efrain Toro, and Alex Acuna. A drummer for more than 35 years, Jeff began his professional career at the age of 14. His professional experience ranges from live performance to studio drumming to music research. Jeff has performed or recorded with artists as diverse as '60's crooner Gene Pitney, R&B singer Cynthia Johnson (Lipps, Inc.), the countryrock Daisy Dillman Band, and the reggae band Macumba, to name a few. He has released a dozen solo CDs, including Calming Rhythms 3 - a therapeutic tool currently used by thousands of institutions and schools worldwide. Jeff is currently President of the REI Institute, a Music Medicine research organization and therapy provider. His pioneering work using drumming for children with autism has been featured in many publications, including many scientific journals and several books. Jeff has spoken at dozens of professional conferences and has been called upon as an expert on music and sound healing, appearing on numerous radio programs and in two documentaries. The REI Institute's therapy program for people with neurological disorders, of which Jeff is the creator, is available through hundreds of Authorized REI Providers located around the world. Jeff is a sought-after drum clinician focusing on world rhythm techniques and is the author of eight books. You can find out more about Jeff at www.jeffstrong.com and www.reiinstitute.com.

Introduction. Part I: Setting a Solid Foundation. Chapter 1: Drum Basics. Chapter 2: I've Got Rhythm ... Chapter 3: Tapping into Drumming Techniques. Chapter 4: Getting a Handle on Hand Drumming Techniques. Part II: Digging into the Drumset. Chapter 5: Settling In Behind the Drumset. Chapter 6: Rolling into Rock Drumming. Chapter 7: Beating the Blues. Chapter 8: Rallying Around R&B and Funk. Chapter 9: Swinging into Jazz. Chapter 10: Looking at Latin and Caribbean Styles. Chapter 11: Ratcheting up Your Rock Drumming. Part III: Dressing up Your Drumset Skills. Chapter 12: Getting Into the Groove. Chapter 13: Expressing Yourself with Fills and Licks. Chapter 14: Flying Solo. Part IV: Pounding Out the Beat: Traditional Drums and Percussion. Chapter 15: Handling Hand Drums. Chapter 16: Singling Out Stick-Played Drums. Chapter 17: Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Exploring Other Percussion Instruments. Chapter 18: Jamming with World Rhythms. Part V: Choosing, Tuning, and Caring for Your Drums. Chapter 19: Decision Time: Selecting a Drum of Your Own. Chapter 20: Tuning and Maintaining Your Drums. Part VI: The Part of Tens. Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Expand Your Drumming Horizons. Chapter 22: Ten Tips for Finding a Drum Instructor. Appendix: How to Use the CD. Index.