by Steve Fidyk

Welcome to the fourth and final installment in our series on Stick Control drumset applications. This month we’ll explore ways of interpreting author George Lawrence Stone’s exercises while playing up-tempo swing rhythms.

As you practice the applications, it’s important to remain as relaxed as possible, allowing the sticks to rebound naturally. Try working them in front of a mirror to ensure that your wrists, forearms, and fingers are moving together in a natural way. Practicing with a metronome is also strongly suggested. The  variations explained in the article can be applied to any of the “72 Single Beat Combinations” found on pages 5–7. Once you’ve worked through the ideas in thh article, use your imagination to come up with your own up-tempo applications of the various exercises in Stick Control.

Be sure to check out the complete article in the March 2014 issue of Modern Drummer for notation, exercises, and additional insight.

Steve Fidyk has performed with Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Dick Oatts, Doc Severinsen, Wayne Bergeron, Phil Wilson, and Maureen McGovern, and he’s a member of the jazz studies faculty at Temple University in Philadelphia. For more info, visit stevefidyk.com. Advertisement