Mike Mangini releases volume 4 of his acclaimed book series titled Mike Mangini’s Rhythm Knowledge 4: Expanded Coordination. This is Mike’s world-renowned drumming book, which uses his trademark rhythm learning and practice systems. Volume IV contains his revolutionary coordination system expanding to 6 Limbs. This trains a person to learn basic coordination very quickly but also allows them to use any combination in any way.
Rhythm Knowledge is about how to improve any perspective and/or training skills by understanding how people work, how the mechanics of what we want to learn work and how the components in each of the environments we aim to be a part of work. This goes way beyond drums. R.K. is for ALL instruments and ALL levels and absolutely can be applied to learning any hand-eye motion and many non-music disciplines.
Volume One details the workings of the brain, inner mind, body, techniques, time management and the mechanics of the environments we exist. It is the “how things work” of the system. Then comes Volume Two which contains FIVE full systems that are the fundamental building blocks, or the “what to do” of Rhythm Knowledge.
Volume III is an exercise book combining stickings and the first step in Mike’s “Microwave” Practice Method. This book teaches the wiring of at least 6-limb coordination by making the mind and voice “limbs” as well.
All four volumes comprise a treasure trove of information that serves as a great testament to the technical expertise of Mike Mangini and the wealth of knowledge he passes on to his readers through his masterclasses and determination to educate and empower musicians through his books as well.
Mike Mangini became a private drum teacher and developed a learning system called “Rhythm Knowledge” and it contains three volumes to date. It is a cognitive and computer science based learning system that also relies on his documented observations as both a student and teacher. Eventually, Mike and his philosophies got world wide attention in international drum magazines. Mike headlines international drum festivals embarks on solo drum clinic tours sponsored by his equipment endorsement companies each year demonstrating how his systems work.
As a teacher, he stared his own private instruction business and eventually taught at the Berklee College of Music for eleven years and was eventually appointed as the Percussion Department’s Student Advisor. He surpassed being just a top sought after teacher at Berklee.
In 2013, he released an award winning instructional DVD called “The Grid,” that turns musical improvisation into a science. This system can also be applied to improvising anything. Mike invented it because neither Berklee or the World had yet defined and broken down what ‘improvisation’ actually is and how it works. He showed just how correct the approach is not just by winning the Dream Theater audition, but to use it to help less skilled players improvise decently.