Brennan, Matt - Kick It

A groundbreaking social history of the drum kit, Matt Brennan's Kick It makes a compelling case for the instrument as one of most important and transformative musical inventions of the modern era.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Hanging around with musicians
Chapter 1: Clever drummers, primitivism, entrepreneurialism, and the invention of the trap drummer's outfit
DT The transatlantic slave trade
DT The snare drum, bass drum, and cymbals come together
DT The birth of highbrow and lowbrow music
DT Being a drummer in nineteenth century America
DT Tinkerers, inventors, and entrepreneurs
DT The trap drummer's outfit
Chapter 2: Noisy drummers, ragtime, jazz, and the avant-garde
DT Ragged time
DT Instruments of a lower order
DT Trap drummers, sound effects, and moving pictures
DT Noisy women, immigrant cultures, and Tin Pan Alley
DT The birth of jazz
DT Quiet in the studio!
DT Drums and noise conquer the classical world
Chapter 3: Studious drummers, selling drum outfits, standardization, and stardom
DT Fakers versus readers
DT Selling the drum kit
DT The drum outfit travels the world
DT Cymbal making and the invention of the hi-hat
DT Swing bands and star drummers
DT Slingerland and the standardization of the drum outfit
Chapter 4: Creative drummers, artistry, virtuosity, and playing time
DT Prodigies and showmen
DT Bebop and the melody of the drum kit
DT Drummers and drum makers in dialogue
DT The rise of the backbeat
DT The drum kit in Britain and the birth of beat groups
DT The recruitment of Ringo
DT Theorizing creativity on the drum kit
Chapter 5: Working drummers, musical labour, role playing, and authorship
DT The job of a session drummer
DT The job of a rock star drummer
DT The globalization of drum kit production
DT Credit where credit is due
DT Song authorship and getting paid
Chapter 6: Indispensable drummers, drum machines, and record production
DT The drum kit on record
DT The multi-track recording studio
DT Diasporic drumming practices and dance records
DT Rise of the machines
DT From the margins to the centre of the mix
DT Drummers as producers
DT Augmenting the drum kit and drumming without drummers
Conclusion: The tyranny of the snare drum
Endnotes
References
Index