Date

12-4-2025

Department

School of Music

Degree

Master of Arts in Music Education (MA)

Chair

Thomas Paul Goddard

Keywords

rudiments, fills, intricate timing, improvisational soloing quality, rote learners, formally trained, music education

Disciplines

Education | Music

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative historical study is to determine whether rote-learned drummers perform better than formally trained drummers. The issue is that some drummers may excel by watching and developing aural skills exclusively, while others perform well by only reading sheet music. The goal is to decide if drummers with strong aural skills or those who rely on note-reading performed better. The rationale explained how the applicability of rudiments, complex timing, creative fills, and improvisational soloing skills influences the performances of both rote-learned and note-approach drummers. Data collection methods for this research included oral history traditions and analyzing secondary sources, such as past historical reviews from other historians. For a more in-depth analysis of first-hand experiences with past historical documents, data is collected through examinations and synthesis of historical literature based on past events. Additionally, the collected data will be analyzed and then organized chronologically in accordance with the historical timeline of oral historical traditions. Upon completing the analysis of historical documents, common themes are synthesized, and the implications of these themes are explained. This qualitative historical study argues that rote learned drummers perform better than note-approach drummers through various key aspects of music. Although this study may favor one side over the other, the researcher has a non-biased opinion.

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