Customer Reviews

Stick Control: For the Snare Drummer

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had been playing about 15 years before I discovered this book and it's companion book "Accents and Rebounds". I had been gigging heavily, practicing hours and hours a day (mainly rock/fusion/funk), owned 20+ books, 15 or so videos, but somehow never owned a copy of these two books. These books are full of simple exercises I truly think anyone can do. After practicing just the few first pages of both books at different tempos and at different volume levels for a few weeks I noticed a drastic improvement in my playing skills. I mean it when I say drastic. I could play much faster than ever before, but more importantly I could play cleanly and effortlessly. By this I mean, that when I later improvised on the drum kit I could certainly play many things I couldn't just a month prior. This is after playing and practicing hard for 15 years! Studying these two books took me up a whole "notch" in just a month! Also things that gave me trouble before or were just played sloppily were now clean, tight, precise, with a much broader range of dynamics and accesnts and I could play them much faster if I wanted or needed to. While on paper these are basically exercises for just your hands, you can certainly do these patterns as written but with your feet. Or do the exercises as written with your hands but make up simple foot patterns to play at the same time (i.e. qtr note kicks with hat on 2 and 4, or play the hat on the "and's", etc. your imagination is the only limit). These two books are essential and I recommend them to any drummer at any level. They won't teach you how or what to play, but they will take your technique to higher and higher levels. It has allowed me to play what I hear in my mind on the spot, just the way I want it. This was roughly 5 years ago and I'm still incredibly thankful for Mr. Stone and these two books. Every drummer I meet I try to spread the word.

Best of luck, relax, and have fun!

This book reads as though it has hardly been changed from its original publication (I think in the 1930s); nonetheless it remains an invaluable tool for the drummer of any style and skill level. The exercises are isolated into short (four or eight measure) patterns so that each may be repeated to perfection. There are no ungainly "etudes", no corny written solos, and the exercises focus solely on control and sticking, not on style; therefore they may be applied to anything from orchestral percussion to jazz to rock.

Furthermore, the introduction is a dryly wonderful piece of writing; pragmatic, no-nonsense, economical prose imparting essential advice on practice. This book makes an ideal "workout" (emphasizing that "control" is the gateway to strength, endurance, coordination, and all else that drummers crave). Practice Stick Control daily, and meditate on the craft of drumming.

Stick Control is one of the must have fundimental texts for the aquisition of superior drumming technique. All of the exercizes are simple in concept, but very challenging in terms of speed and control. No drummer with asperations to superior control and excellance of musical expression should be with out Stone's Stick Control.

i have been playing drums for quite a while now and untill last year i had never heard about Stick Control by Gorge Stone.... Now i havent really paid to much attention to it untill recently. Now this book will make you have a technique like Dave Weckl, Horicio "el negro" hernadez, Dennis Chambers, Greg Bisonette, Antionio Sanchez, Steve Gadd, and many more Drum Giants.. This book For me is the best book out there right now. 1 hour a day thats all you need to do with this book one hour every day.

I am a beginning drummer and this text was suggested to me by several professional musicians. I borrowed a snare drum & stand from a drummer friend of mine, bought a couple of sticks and this book. After just a few practice sessions, I am already benefiting from the repetitive exercises, and building stamina for playing the snare. Using a metronome as the author suggests is very helpful in building coordination and learning the timing of the rhythms. The author also suggests that each exercise should be repeated 20 times before moving on. The exercises increase in complexity and give an equal workout to both hands (which builds skill in your weaker hand).

Note to beginners - this book is not an overview of how to begin playing the snare drum. There are no diagrams, or detailed information about the snare or drumming style. It is mainly an exercise book reminiscent of those used by school bands to increase skill and technique. To get the most benefit, a basic understanding of how to read music (rythmically) is needed. But it truly is geared toward students as well as the professional drummer. The theme of this book is practice makes perfect.

I am a professional player, and have taught. Murray Speveck; who was Louise Bellson's teacher is the one who turned me on to this book. What a difference in my playing after studying this book. After working your hands on the excercises, try using your feet. Try it you will notice a difference, trust me. Bill Marcus

This book is very good for the beginner and for the advanced player. It makes you gain stamina. Also it gives you better stick control which means it makes your hands more indepedent when playing(which is essential for playing the drums). It does not teach how to play the drums but improves your technique. Use this book for daily excersise and you'll see the effects. No matter what kind of music you like to play (jazz, rock, classical) this book is a must. Also helps A LOT in managing to play open and closed rolls.

The first page alone keeps me humble. It doesn't matter what style of music you play--classical percussion, hip hop, jazz, whatever--your hands will need this training for as long as you play drums. In a weird way, this book embodies everything great about playing drums: who would have thought R's and L's would be this tough or this fun.

If you want to tear it up on the kit, practice these exercises. Also try his Accents and Rebounds, and Joe Morello's Master Studies.

The BEST drum instruction book. Period. I am 46 years old now. It is as easy as you make it starting out on drums, and those same pages can be as challenging as any set of exercizes. The first set of exercizes on page one is worth book price.