STICK CONTROL (George L Stone) Your experiences and suggestions

Re: STICK CONTROL (george L stone) your experiences and suggestions

I am doing half a page (12 exercises) a day on double bass from Stick Control - at a slow tempo, only 60 bpm. After 3 weeks the improvement in my control at all speeds is pretty amazing. I am convinced that slow, perfect, controlled practice yields results. For me this means focusing on the time, technique and tone - getting each beater to sound the same, right on time, each time. It's pretty rewarding to be able to objectively gauge the improvement and also find yourself doing things with your left foot that you couldn't do only two weeks earlier.
 
I started this the way jazzsnob suggested, really slow (100bpm, eighths)
two questions:

at that speed should I do doubles with finger snapping? or just wrist motions?
and
I've always played matched but I kinda wanna learn traditional too. right now I'm doing 10 repetitions with matched and 10 with traditional. I assume they don't benefit each other much, so won't my right hand get much better than the left one if I keep doing it like this?
 
Hey guys!

I haven't taken the time to read everybody's replies but if somebody is interested in seeing one version of the original stickings, I uploaded a clip of myself playing them at 120 bpm. I find that it helps a lot with hand eveness and since I pretty much memorized the whole thing, I can then apply those stickings over some foot ostinatos like samba, baiao and more. Hope you'll enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra3Uimct7KU

Happy practicing!
 
Hey Everyone Happy New Year's!

I started a pretty intensive stick control routine based on the information in this thread. I'm told that Buddy Rich and some other greats bragged that they could do double stroke rolls on a dime. So my question is: When you're practicing stick control do you attempt to have the tip of the sticks hit the exact same spot on the head or do they come down just adjacent of each other, or something else? I'd love to know what everyone thinks because this is driving me crazy as I practice.
 
Just focus on playing the center of the drum, and get a good sound. So long as you do the exercises, and the sticks are basically going straight up and down, with no slicing motion, I don't think you need to worry about it. For reference, on my Remo pad there's a 1" spot in the center where the coating is totally worn away, and a <3" spot discolored from being hit.
 
Alan Dawson came up with THE definitive ways to use Stick Control, as well as Ted Reed's Syncopation. I'd recommend purchasing the book 'The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary as Taught by Alan Dawson' by John Ramsay, which will layout his masterful use of these legendary texts. If used faithfully, never again will you question how you should be spending your o-so-valuable practice time.

Also, there are some wonderful videos of John Ramsay on YouTube explaining/demonstrating how to use Stick Control to solo over an AABA song form. It's probably the most valuable drum footage online that I've ever witnessed.
 
Last edited:
GBaslDrums said:
Alan Dawson came up with THE definitive ways to use Stick Control, as well as Ted Reed's Syncopation. I'd recommend purchasing the book 'The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary as Taught by Alan Dawson' by John Ramsay, which will layout his masterful use of these legendary texts. If used faithfully, never again will you question how you should be spending your o-so-valuable practice time.

Also, there are some wonderful videos of John Ramsay on YouTube explaining/demonstrating how to use Stick Control to solo over an AABA song form. It's probably the most valuable drum footage online that I've every witnessed.
Click to expand...

I bought that book when I was looking for some guidance on stick control. I just watched the videos. Great quality and some pretty heavy stuff. Thanks
 
I just began incorporating a slight variation of Billy Gladstone's Stick Control Method (as was posted by Jazzsnob) into my current practice routine. Here's how it breaks down:

Instructions
1. Use page 5 only
2. Set metronome to 72 bpm or less = whole notes (play four strokes for every click as quarter notes)
3. Start from your maximum comfort zone (in this case, mine is 72 bpm)
4. Play each exercise for 5 minutes without stopping, each lesson = 30 minutes/day
5. Play evenly and as written; no accents and no change in stick height
6. Tap your feet in perfect unison on each click of the metronome; think 'four on the floor' jazz foot pattern
7. After week twenty, repeat the entire process at 4 bpm + previous tempo
8. Remain on your current tempo for an additional week if the next tempo cannot be played with absolute 100% relaxation and precision
9. Keep a journal of your progress and always make up for lost time; no cheating or shortcuts
10. Your goal is to reach and maintain 124 bpm

Schedule
Week 1 & 2: Ex. 1-4, 5 & 6
Week 3 & 4: Ex. 1-4, 7 & 8
Week 5 & 6: Ex. 1-4, 9 & 10
Week 7 & 8: Ex. 1-4, 11 & 12
Week 9 & 10: Ex. 1-4, 13 & 14
Week 11 & 12: Ex. 1-4, 15 & 16
Week 13 & 14: Ex. 1-4, 17 & 18
Week 15 & 16: Ex. 1-4, 19 & 20
Week 17 & 18: Ex. 1-4, 21 & 22
Week 19 & 20: Ex. 1-4, 23 & 24

If done properly and faithfully, it will take me 5.4 years to complete this method if I stop after 124 bpm. This is also barring the fact that I may have to spend extra time on the higher tempos. By the way, I'm using whole notes as opposed to half notes so that I have more space to hear if my time is consistent. If you prefer to use half notes, multiply the bpm by two and play two notes for every click as opposed to four notes. Your goal will be to reach and maintain 248 bpm as opposed to 124 bpm.

I'll keep you guys posted on how this goes for me. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
 
Last edited:
Has anyone done the entire book twice?

I have done the book once where i played everything slow and controlled and it helped me correct my grip,posture and redefine my technique.

I have also done accents and rebounds and also both master studies.

I'm thinking of going back to stick control but I'm unsure of how to use it.

I have plenty of exercises that work on my speed and endurance.


What did you do second and third time round?

D
 
Dave_Major said:
Has anyone done the entire book twice?

I have done the book once where i played everything slow and controlled and it helped me correct my grip,posture and redefine my technique.

I have also done accents and rebounds and also both master studies.

I'm thinking of going back to stick control but I'm unsure of how to use it.

I have plenty of exercises that work on my speed and endurance.


What did you do second and third time round?

D
Click to expand...

Do the exercises with your feet! This is what I'm working on right now.

By the way, thank you for the bass drum exercise. I think it will be helpful in aiding my progress.
 
Yet another silly question.

Time Signatures. Unless specified, exercises are played in 4/4?

Reason I'm asking:
examples:
1. p. 8 triplets. The 8th note triplets are beamed. I was thinking of 3/4. If 4/4 why would they be tied?
2. p. 10 short roll combos. Again, 8th notes beamed as sixteenths?
 
eeeew wait a minute. Are we playing in cut time 2/4 if the time signature is not indicated?

this would make more sense.
 
ronyd said:
Yet another silly question.

Time Signatures. Unless specified, exercises are played in 4/4?

Reason I'm asking:
examples:
1. p. 8 triplets. The 8th note triplets are beamed. I was thinking of 3/4. If 4/4 why would they be tied?
2. p. 10 short roll combos. Again, 8th notes beamed as sixteenths?
Click to expand...

There's nothing musically incorrect about beaming the triplets on page 8. You still have 4 quarter notes in the measure (or two half notes in cut-time). The author (or engraver) just chose to write them out as such (probably to infer groupings more deliberately).

Page 10, I see four eighth notes and groups of sixteenth notes in my version.
 
vxla said:
There's nothing musically incorrect about beaming the triplets on page 8. You still have 4 quarter notes in the measure (or two half notes in cut-time). The author (or engraver) just chose to write them out as such (probably to infer groupings more deliberately).

Page 10, I see four eighth notes and groups of sixteenth notes in my version.
Click to expand...

yes vxla you are correct for p10. I meant to say a beam tieing them together. Makes sense what you are saying about grouping. thankx for clarifying.
 
Whoa! My first post here, since the profile I made for myself back in 2004 refuses to work...

Anyway, Stick Control is maybe the only no-nonsense tech-heavy book that I have relentlessly grinded through when I was a kid. Then, during my formative years I was made to play the stickings in a jazz setting to get my jazz chops up. Having meddled with the exercises now and then over the years I thought I'd share some. Most of the ideas are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9Ayjberd9M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnhy3wHIbfM


Yes, I am advertising my drum pages as well :D

Since I just browsed the thread very briskly these most likely have been mentioned before. And there's great stuff at Modern Drummer's video feed by Steve Fidyk, some of them veeeeeery advanced. Check them out.
 
Pedro Benecol,
thanks for sharing! Those are fantastic examples of how to utilize Stick Control exercises.
And welcome (back) to the forum!
 
Having a proper grip on the stick helps allot in making your drumming good. I hold the stick loose such that there is a bit of free movement of the stick and there is a space between my palm and sticks. While playing the drums I try to control the drum sound by just moving my wrist. I have posted some more of my experiences in my blog

http://themusicco.blogspot.in
 
Wow, this is a popular one. Hope it's OK guys-givin' this a bump so I can find it.
 
Re: Applying Stick Control on the drumset

h3r3tic said:
Hey there! :)

I just got a copy of Stick Control, and I've been wondering about something.
Since I'm a drumset player and not a snare percussionist... do I HAVE TO leran every single exercise of the book?
Well, I'm LOVING THE BOOK!! I really am and I find it so much fun!;)

But still... do I have to learn every single exercise as a drumset player?
Because I believe that some pages could be skipped...

What pages you'de suggest that should be learnt by a drumset player?
Please let me hear from you soon and thank you so much! :)
Click to expand...

You don't have to do anything....no effort is required to be mediocre.

That said, if you believe some pages can be skipped... skip them. But each page in the book has a specific intent and goal. How you use them is up to you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top