The renowned drummer Christian Dierstein, along with a research group from the Basel University of Music, has explored drumming techniques from a novel perspective. The focus is not on the percussion instruments themselves, but on their actuators: mallets, hammers, bows, specific hand techniques, and even electronic impulse generators. All of these are described in detail in the book, and their application spectrum is illustrated through carefully selected and commented literary examples. Numerous essays by guest authors such as Nicolaus A. Huber, Steven Schick, Fritz Hauser, and Bernhard Wulff anchor the technical descriptions in contemporary aesthetic discourse. They highlight that in current composition and its expanded concept of material and performance, the question of stimulation and interaction with sound objects is coming to the forefront.