I Drum, Therefore I Am

Despite their central role in many forms of music-making, drummers have been largely neglected in the scholarly literature on music and education. Drawing on data collected from in-depth interviews and questionnaires, Gareth Dylan Smith explores the identities, practices and learning of teenage and adult kit drummers in and around London. As a London-based drummer and teacher of drummers, Smith uses his own identity as participant-researcher to inform and interpret other drummers' accounts of their experiences. Drummers drum; therefore they are, they do, and they learn - in a rich tapestry of means and contexts.