Stick Control: For the Snare Drummer

great book to learn and practice with

A must-have training manual for every serious drummer!

Love the exercises, but as someone who uses just practice pads and basically is learning sticks as a supplement to add another dimension in my drum circle, need to have someone show me closed, short rolls, etc as I can't figure out a number of exercises and how they are played. However, what I have learned has given me some sound fundamentals, my hands getting faster as I couple this with some videos and other material. In essence get an instructor, and when up to speed, tackle this book and you will find it effective. Legendary writing in drumming as the preface and the quotes from many of one's idols indicates. Well its now 2 years later since I wrote my review, and am taking half hour lessons via Zoom with an instructor for the last 8 months or so with stick and pad. Would have studio space for a kit but the pandemic has zapped that for now. He has clarified much for me and my technique continues to improve. A reviewer didn't like that the book does not have accented exercises. For this my instructor has me working with the Ted Reed book one on Syncopation. There are wonderful accented exercises that can be quite challenging. Stick Control is still the core which should be in everyone's collection.

Considered the “bible for beginning drummers”, this book guides you to practice sessions to get your drumming hands in check. I’m right handed so it was initially awkward to start drumming with both hands. With repetition, I am slowly getting more and more strength and rhythm in my left hand… about 59% there but much improved. The print is small though (and I am old) so may have to photocopy sections for enlargement. Highly recommend this and the 100 lessons book!

Excellent source for practice.

I'm a beginner, unfortunately without hours a day to dedicate to practice. I do like to sit down with my pad and some sticks whenever I get a chance though. That being said, this book is very easy to understand, with no super-technical text or music notation. It's something anyone can pick up and start using right away. Coupled with my Korg MA-30 metronome, this book has helped me improve so much that I decided to keep a log of metronome speeds over the last few weeks. Every time I sit down to practice, I write down the metronome speed for each exercise that I can play at with no mistakes. I have gone up 10 beats per minute (as high as 14 on some simpler ones) over a few weeks, in just a few minutes a day! Well, it's a lot for me :) The funny thing is, I haven't even made it past the first page of exercises yet. For a beginner like me, they are difficult enough for now. When I get good enough at the first page, I'll move on to the second, and so forth. This further cements the book's value, there is enough material in here for a lifetime of learning, and if you're already a pro, enough material to keep you conditioned. I'm still very slow but I can see benefit every day in both speed and timing. If you get this book and stay with it, I bet you will too. I recommend keeping a log so you can track your progress! Positive reinforcement will only make you want to practice more!

Good for beginners.

I own about 7 different drumming books and this one is by far the best I've ever owned. The author presents a system for training the muscles that is second to none. Drumming technique is all about muscle memory and comprehensive muscle memory training is all about teaching your brain patterns and mastering them one at a time. This book is immediately accessible for beginners. The exercises are deceptively simple and progress in a perfectly hierarchical manner. Each new exercise builds and expands upon the previous exercise which just enough of a twist to cause your brain to note and learn the distinction. This makes practice easy and progress quick. I don't know whether it's good or bad, but you can spend months (as I have) working on just the first page! Not because the exercises are tough, but because even the simplest of exercises takes time and devotion to master. I can think of no more important skills for a drummer to develop than timing accuracy and independence of limbs. If you purchase only one drumming book, and Stick Control is it, you'll still have an extraordinary tool at your disposal. Follow the directions exactly - how you practice is as important as what you practice

Il primo testo da acquistare se si vuol capire come usare le bacchette per il rullante, la batteria e ogni qualsiasi percussione. Non se ne può prescindere. Consigliato a ragione da tutti i maggiori batteristi del mondo. Sono una serie di esercizi da ripetere e ripetere, anche solo per riscaldarsi. Da avere.

Great Way to build chops. Metronome a must. Good for both, rudimentary excercise and also useful warm ups before actually playing. Tip: try and do the same excercises on your feet for double bass control.

Excellent book for any drummer of any level.

Me gustó que es buen libro de buena calidad

Een goede leraar zegt je niet dat je honderden uren moet oefenen voor basistechniek. Een goede leraar legt het je uit waar je op moet letten, zodat je na vier weken goed op alle kernpunten gelet te hebben in ieder geval een goede basistechniek hebt. Hoe houd je je stokken vast voor, afzonderlijk uitleggen voor met accent en zonder accent, een tap, full-stroke, down-stroke en up-stroke? Hoe voelt het? Hoeveel ruimte is er voor interpretatie van techniek aan de hand van hoe je fysiek gebouwd bent? Waar let je nog meer op in termen van houding? Wat op zich correct is, is dat je ontspannen moet drummen, maar „ontspan” is niet het antwoord. Welke basistechniek je toestaat te ontspannen, dat is het goede antwoord. En puur qua definitie: een rudiment is de meest basale atomaire eenheid die je kan omschrijven. In het geval van drummen is dat de enkele slag of in het Engels single stroke. Deze wordt niet correct omschreven, mede doordat de meest voorkomende basiscombinaties uit het Amerikaanse drummen als "rudiment" worden omschreven. Dit is dus incorrect. Dit boek leert je niet te drummen. Net zoals Arban voor de trompet, waaruit pijnlijk duidelijk wordt dat Arban zelf niet eens wist hoe je een trompet het makkelijkst bespeelt, is dit een gortdroge verzameling van noten zonder enige affiniteit met creativiteit of kunst.