Hi All, This is kind of a long post, but bear with me because I’ve gotten a lot of questions and feedback over the Stick Control Exercises posts that have been a huge part of the growth of the DrumChops.Com Drum School And Shop FB Page. Stick Control is an integral part of any drummers practice routine. The Stone Book has been a staple for drummers for so many years, and still in print. The first part of the book centers around 8th notes played on the snare with various stickings. I often use these exercises for my students who are having difficulty with their technique. The exercises are easy to memorize, and that gives the student a chance to watch their hands and wrists to make sure they repeat these patterns with proper technique. As the student progresses the muscle memory of the technique takes over and they are able to go quickly from exercise to exercise no matter how odd the sticking combinations are. Having that kind of control with proper technique is a powerful tool for a drummer. The Stick Control book as great as it is does not incorporate accents into the patterns. That next stage was covered in Master Studies by Joe Morello. In 2013, a new form of Stick Control book was introduced. It’s called “Drum Wheels” and was written by Nick Forte. The concept is simple yet innovative. It provides a simple 8th note pattern just as the Stone Book does, but then incorporates “Wheels” for each of the possible sticking and accent combinations. By moving the wheels the student can make up their own patterns. You can use it as a step-by-step tool, or be completely random. I find the random exercises often provide the most challenging combinations of sticking and accents and often find that these creative exercise are not ones that I’ve seen in other books. As a bonus, there is a second page to “Drum Wheels” that works the same way only with triple rhythms. Using these exercises in combination with a proper stick/stroke control technique is a great way to build dynamic flexibility to your playing. For my “Stick Control Exercise of the Day”, I’ll randomly spin up an exercise and write it out to post. I’ve done this for the 8th note and triplet patterns, 16th note patterns and Double-Bass patterns over a triplet shuffle groove. The point is not to take each one of the exercises and try to analyze it too much. Some will be simple, and others will be very difficult. It is the cumulative effect of working on all of these types of exercises over time that will transform you into a very dynamic and versatile drummer, where different sticking combinations and dynamics are second nature. The idea is not to learn these patterns and instantly try to stick them in whatever song the band is learning! The concept is to have the ABILITY to listen to the song and be able to play whatever pattern fits it best. The more combinations we practice, the more prepared we are for whatever the music calls for! I suggest keeping the bass drum in 4 and counting out lout for all of these to make sure the tempo stays solid. If you are looking for ways to work on double-bass, you can simply substitute the bass drums for the sticking. These are great spring boards for all kinds of fills and grooves.. look beyond just the snare drum exercise and be creative and if you are looking for more advanced challenges in Stick/Stroke Control, look into “Extreme Stick/Stroke Control” by Nick Forte. In the meantime, I’ll keep posting these random exercises in different formats and will occasionally put together a photo album of “stacks” of them. All I ask is that you click the Like button so the posts don’t die a quick death, and please share them with your friends. If you dig the posts, please “Like” my DrumChops Drum School & Shop page, so you have a better chance of seeing the posts. I’m also happy to answer any questions regarding the exercises or the books, so keep working at it and please send in any questions or comments. I’ll address all of them as time allows!
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 19:44:28 +0000
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