Call for Chapters
Drums, Drummers and Drumming
Gareth Dylan Smith and Virginia Davis are excited to share the following call for chapters for a forthcoming book about drums, drummers and drumming. We hope you will consider submitting a chapter proposal. Also, please feel free to share far and wide!
Drums, Drummers and Drumming:
Research Companion to Drum Kit Studies
This book will build on a growing interest and momentum in the area of drum kit studies, evidenced by the groundbreaking 2021 publication, The Cambridge Companion to Drum Kit, the drum kit special issue of the Journal of Popular Music Education (2021), and drum kit conferences at Case Western Reserve University (2014), University of Glasgow (2016), and Boston University (2022).
The book is intended as a scholarly repository and resource; as such it will include research chapters alongside writing from drummers and other practitioners.
We encourage submissions for chapters encompassing all aspects of drum kit-related topics, from shorter perspective pieces to full-length explorations and everything in between, ranging from 1500 - 7000 words. We particularly welcome the contributions of international scholars and marginalized voices in the drumming community: BIPOC, female, LGBTQA+, international and other historically excluded performers and scholars. Topics could include but should not be limited to:
Overlooked, local, regional, and marginalized drumming biographies/histories
Drumming, education, and outreach initiatives
Drumming, health, and well-being
Personal stories and descriptions of practice
Counterstories
Perspectives from and about drummers of all genders
Masculinity and gender diversity in drumming and drum kit culture
Research papers regarding all aspects of drumming and drummers
Drum kit pedagogy at all levels
Drum kit and diasporas
Scientific, sociological, and ethnographic investigations of drumming and drummers
Intersections of drumming, time, groove, feel, and other rhythmic phenomena
Technological innovations for drum kit
Philosophies of drum kit performance, education, and experience
Innovative research methods around drumming, drum kit and drums
Drumming practices or traditions relevant to drum kit
Criticisms of drum kit practice and paradigms
This book project is under discussion with Intellect Books, who approached the editors, expressing interest in publishing the volume.
Project Timeline
February 1, 2023 – 250-word proposals due
March 1, 2023 – notification of acceptance and feedback from editors
September 1, 2023 – full chapters submitted
December 1, 2023 – feedback to authors
June 1, 2024 – final versions of papers due
Spring 2025 – Publication
For consideration, please submit the following by February, 2023:
Title (up to 15 words)
Abstract (250 words)
Author Bio (up to 50 words)
Writing in third-person (“the author”), highlight your background and biography, experience, including your experience with drum kit, drummers and drumming. Please include institutional affiliation and location (city, state, country). This bio may be used as part of our proposal to the publisher.
Proposals can be submitted at
this link: https://forms.gle/2ApH7J9thsGbQeDK6
Correspondence related to this project should be directed to Gareth Dylan Smith (gdsmith@bu.edu) and/or Virginia Davis (virginia.davis@utrgv.edu).