Author Description
The drum kit has provided the pulse of popular music from before the dawn of jazz up to the present day pop charts. Kick It, a provocative social history of the instrument, looks closely at key innovators in the development of the drum kit: inventors and manufacturers like the Ludwig and Zildjian dynasties, jazz icons like Gene Krupa and Max Roach, rock stars from Ringo Starr to Keith Moon, and popular artists who haven't always got their dues as drummers, such as Karen Carpenter and J Dilla. Tackling the history of race relations, global migration, and the changing tension between high and low culture, author Matt Brennan makes the case for the drum kit's role as one of the most transformative musical inventions of the modern era. Kick It shows how the drum kit and drummers helped change modern music--and society as a whole--from the bottom up.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
How did the drum kit evolve from a collection of disparate percussion instruments into a central, transformative force in modern popular music and society? Author Matt Brennan, a musicologist and musician, utilizes a blend of historical research, technological analysis, and cultural critique to argue that the drum kit is a primary driver of musical innovation. He examines the intersection of manufacturing history, labor, and social dynamics to demonstrate how the instrument reflects broader shifts in race, class, and global migration patterns throughout the twentieth century.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Historical analysis of drum kit manufacturing dynasties like Ludwig and Zildjian.
- Biographies of influential percussionists ranging from jazz icons to rock stars and hip-hop producers.
- Examination of the drum kit as a symbol of social and cultural change.
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide a technical manual or instructional guide for learning to play the instrument.
- It focuses primarily on the Western popular music tradition rather than a comprehensive global history of all percussion instruments.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts and music historians frequently cite this work as a significant contribution to the study of popular music instrumentation and its social implications. Readers often note the accessible yet scholarly tone, which bridges the gap between technical musicology and broader cultural history.
Page Count:
384
Publication Date:
2020-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190683864
ISBN-13:
9780190683863
Music
Non-Fiction
Criticism history
Musicology
Social History