Resources

Stick Control

Like many percussionists, one of the first really important workbooks to which I was introduced as an undergraduate was George Lawrence Stone's "Stick Control for the Snare Drummer". This phenomenal book has now been an important part of my technical and musical development as well as a focal part of my teaching for almost two decades. I know I'm not alone in my love for this book!

More specifically, I've continued to invest in the set of variations on the first three pages (Single Beat Combinations #1-72) that originated with Joe Morello, a student of George Stone's, and were taught to me by Dr. Jill Ball at the University of Western Ontario. Over the years, I've learned new variations from other colleagues and students, and developed my own application of these to the drum set. I teach these variations to all of my students, and am regularly asked to remind former students and colleagues how these variations worked. So here they are! I've organized the first eight variations into individual pdf's, and they are available below. Don't skip the introduction - it's worth a quick read to make sure you're getting the most out of these exercises!

Additionally, I'm excited to announce that I've recorded video demos of these variations for Vic Firth, and they will be released in the near future. I'll post videos here as the series becomes available! For now, I have the basic variations explained below. I'll explain how I apply these to the drum set in a following entry.

Here's to efficient practicing (and read that introduction!),

GF

Introduction
File Size:	52 kb
File Type:	pdf