Stick Control: For the Snare Drummer (Paperback)

by George Lawrence Stone (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
George Lawrence Stone's Stick Control is the original classic, often called the bible of drumming. In 1993, Modern Drummer magazine named the book one of the top 25 books of all-time. In the words of the author, it is the ideal book for improving ""control, speed, flexibility, touch, rhythm, lightness, delicacy, power, endurance, preciseness of execution and muscular coordination,"" with extra attention given to the development of the weak hand. This indispensable book for drummers of all types includes hundreds of basic to advanced-level rhythms, moving through categories of single-beat combinations, triplets, short roll combinations, flam beats, flam triplets and dotted notes, and short roll progressions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Alfred Publishing (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892764040
• ISBN-13: 978-1892764041
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,882 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any drummer...., October 12, 2006

By	TheBassGuy - See all my reviews

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!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Classic Drum Book for All Types of Drummers, May 15, 2002

By	J. Christmas "joshua-one" (New Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews

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.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The complete source for hand development excersizes, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

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.