FastTrack Bateria 1 by Blake Neely is a beginner drum method book designed specifically for Spanish-speaking learners who want a clear, engaging introduction to playing drums. As a Level 1 guide in the FastTrack Music Instruction series, it provides a structured starting point for self-taught players, students, or anyone beginning from scratch-even without access to a full drum set, making it especially accessible and practical for new learners at home or in lessons.
This method teaches essential fundamentals through over 75 songs and musical examples, covering music notation, basic beats, fills, syncopation, and early improvisation. Each concept is introduced in a practical, easy-to-follow way, helping learners build confidence while developing timing and coordination through real playing situations. The gradual progression ensures that new skills feel manageable and clearly connected to actual music, reinforcing both understanding and consistency.
The included online audio allows you to hear every example performed, making it easier to understand feel, timing, and accuracy before playing along. With playback features such as tempo adjustment and looping, you can slow down passages, repeat sections, and practice at your own pace, supporting steady skill development and more effective, focused practice sessions over time.
The method emphasizes popular styles like rock, blues, and funk, helping you connect technique to real musical expression. Lessons are designed to feel approachable while reinforcing core concepts, keeping practice engaging, motivating, and manageable for beginners at every stage of early development while encouraging steady improvement.
As part of a broader instructional series, this book also supports group learning, with shared material that allows musicians to play together across instruments, making it a flexible option for both individual practice and collaborative music-making.
Mattingly's articles on jazz drummers have appeared in Modern Drummer, Percussive Notes, Drummer, Down Beat, Jazziz and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. He is a freelance editor for Hal Leonard Corporation.
Blake Neely has been playing piano since he was about 4 years old, although it took a while before real audible music could be detected. His fascination with music led him to other instruments, such as the French horn, guitar, and drums, but the keyboard remains his baby.
Upon graduation from the University of Texas in 1991, he moved to Los Angeles to experience the music business. He licensed music for Hollywood Records and later worked for Disney Music Publishing as editor of all printed music publications.
An award-winning composer and author, he has written symphonies, a piano concerto, and numerous orchestral and chamber works. He is co-author of the acclaimed FastTrack series, published by Hal Leonard Corporation.
Blake has worked as a composer, orchestrator, arranger, copyist, engraver, musicologist, and consultant for such prominent figures as Disney, Hal Leonard Corporation, Decca Records, Hyperion Books, composers Michael Kamen and Alan Menken, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
Currently living in Austin, Texas, Blake spends his free time tuning into his family: wife Elizabeth, daughter Jordan, and son Jacob. Blake is the proud owner of a Kawai grand piano and Kurzweil, Ensoniq, and E-Mu synths and samplers. You can reach Blake via e-mail at BlakeNeely@aol.com.
