G. L. Stone Stick Control PDF?

Haven't looked, but the obvious downside is that once a few PDFs get out there - and get traded - the publisher would never be able to sell any more files or hard copies.

Bermuda
 
almost off-topic, but I love how pages like Amazon etc give samples of the first few pages of a book, so that you "know" what you're buying.
for Stick Control, those sample pages are usually 5-7.
dihihihihi
 
It exists as a free download somewhere in PDF if you want to go that route.
 
MrPockets said:
It exists as a free download somewhere in PDF if you want to go that route.
Click to expand...

Yes, and that would be stealing. The publishers or anyone from the G.L. Stone estate for that matter did not put it up "as a free download", that was just somebody being irresponsible. Just buy it. $9.99 on Kindle Books and iBooks Store. It doesn't cost that much.
 
I own two copies; one to take with me and one in my practice room. And I used to have two other copies; one of which was bound together with fiberglass tape after it fell apart. Notes all over it.

I believe my first one cost $3.50 in 1981. The last one I got a year or two ago was $9.00. You can play it straight up or treat it as a code book. Short money for the amount of work it goes through.
 
JohnW said:
I own two copies; one to take with me and one in my practice room. And I used to have two other copies; one of which was bound together with fiberglass tape after it fell apart. Notes all over it.

I believe my first one cost $3.50 in 1981. The last one I got a year or two ago was $9.00. You can play it straight up or treat it as a code book. Short money for the amount of work it goes through.
Click to expand...

That's fantastic...I bought mine from Amazon and had it in two days for under $11.00. This was just two weeks ago.

Given your experience, I would humbly love to know any insights you can impart to a beginner with SC. If you don't want to add anything here, if you are so inclined, you could PM.
 
shemp said:
That's fantastic...I bought mine from Amazon and had it in two days for under $11.00. This was just two weeks ago.

Given your experience, I would humbly love to know any insights you can impart to a beginner with SC. If you don't want to add anything here, if you are so inclined, you could PM.
Click to expand...

While waiting for the PM, read this: http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17751
 
$10 for a lifetime of learning ain't much. If people cannot afford it, see if your local library has and you can borrow it.
 
shemp said:
That's fantastic...I bought mine from Amazon and had it in two days for under $11.00. This was just two weeks ago.

Given your experience, I would humbly love to know any insights you can impart to a beginner with SC. If you don't want to add anything here, if you are so inclined, you could PM.
Click to expand...

Hi Shemp,

Sorry for the delay- lot's of last minute stuff to take care of...

This thread is making me want to delve into Stick Control even further. I play a variation of it every day, though I’ve been known to lapse at times.
Anyway, I don't know if I have much to offer in the way of unique insight, but here's my take on it:

Read the PREFACE and HOW TO PRACTISE "STICK CONTROL" (pages 3 & 4). Especially important are the sections on page 4 that say A WORD TO THE ORCHESTRAL DRUMMER and LIKEWISE, A WORD TO THE RUDIMENTAL DRUMMER. You don't have to be either of these; just know that high handed, endurance playing compliments light playing and visa-verse. Of course a teacher will help immensely in this area.

The book has an elegant simplicity that implies technique by targeting sound rather than the mechanics of grip and stick motion. Basically, make each line sound like the one before it on that page. How you do it is your business! Keep in mind, there are 42 pages of exercises, 2 columns on each page and each column has 12 lines, making a total of 1008 exercises. However each exercise can be played countless ways. Many people just play pages 5-7. Others only play the first column of page 5 for years (me included). Of course you could spend a lifetime on a handful of exercises or even one! But there’s a point of diminishing returns in doing so. Realize that even though you could spend a tremendous amount of time on one column or even one exercise, the skills you develop in one area will transfer over to the next. A lot of thought went into creating these exercises and arranging them in this order. And the success of this order of progression can be gauged by the number of successful drummers who use this as part of their daily regimen. You may be surprised when some the “unique” variations you come up with involving say, flams and triplets end up somewhere in the book! So have patience and play through the entire book. I’ve only done it 3 or 4 times since 1981 because I usually end up on some page and weave in my own variations. It’s not wasted time by any means, but one of my New Year’s resolutions is to stay on track for the entire book. And to do it consistently!
There are countless ways to play the book, but if you’re starting out you can’t go wrong with the original instructions of the author. In lieu of a teacher, practice maybe one column for an hour a day, playing each line 20 times before going onto the next. After a few pages (and a few days), review them on that day, straight through over the course of an hour. Again, play each line 20 times. After a couple of months you get through the entire book. And with some pretty decent hands. It’s not the only facet of technique you should work on, but it is an important one.

Some things to think about:
Play quarter notes on your bass drum, or tap on the floor while you’re playing. At the same time, play the hi-hat on 2 and 4 (or heel toe on the floor). Pretty soon, your hands are going to take off and it’s good to have them locked in time, especially as you work through different permutations of stickings.
Try the same exercises with different weight sticks and/or different surfaces (pad/snare, floor tom/moon-gel pad, pillow, etc.). Stick to one pair and one surface for each day. I don't think extremely heavy or extremely light sticks are that helpful, but maybe 3 different pairs of sticks in a range that feels comfortable to you.
At its heart, it is a callisthenic book, so you can approach it the same way, you might use a chart for physical fitness. Of course it’s much more than that and you will quickly find your own variations. But keep them simple! And keep a log of what you’re practicing. Include tempos, time played, dynamics you played at, how you felt, etc. Write comments of short and long term goals and after a couple of weeks, review them. See how realistic they are against they were against your progress. Adjust accordingly.
The main goal of the book (although there are others) is to have both hands even. In doing so, you want to have the right tools. Some other things to think about:

Make sure your sticks are straight. I roll them through my fingers and flip them in the air while looking at the tips. If the tip wobbles, I put it back. I'll only roll them on a glass table or a surface known to be almost perfectly flat. Most sticks don't have this problem nowadays but still, double check them.

Stick weights should be within 1/2 gram or less of each other. Again, this isn't a problem with say, Vic Firth.

For pitch, tap the shoulder (the tapered area between the tip and body of the stick) against the side of your head. They should be pitch paired within a semi-tone (imo).

Make sure they feel right. Some sticks can be very close in pitch and weight, yet feel and sound uneven. Some of it could be your imagination or due to a lack of even technique in both hands (so use the same hand to check them). But sometimes it might be a lack of consistency in the wood. One stick may be slightly denser in one area than the other. And sticks may lose moisture over time. It could be very subtle, but newer sticks sounding different from older sticks of the same make may not be entirely in your imagination. Also, the sticks may be identical in pitch but have some tonal or difference or variation in timbre. Something you can't pinpoint, but you know it's there. Follow your instincts. At almost every break in my practice, I switch the sticks in my hands (Right to Left), just out of habit. Even if they seem perfectly matched.

If you're on a on a table, make sure you're not playing with one part of the pad over a leg and the other further out. You will hear two different tones no matter how even your hands are. Also, make sure the pad you play on is glued evenly to its backing.

As heavy handed as it might appear, paying attention to all of these things will make your life easier in the long run.

Again, it’s not the only book you should use in your practice and technique itself should not be the only goal in your practice. But it certainly should be a cornerstone.
 
You are never going to read a better response than the one below! Buy the book, read the intro, listen to the author and do just what he suggests, and it will benefit you beyond measure.
 
JohnW said:
Hi Shemp,

Sorry for the delay- lot's of last minute stuff to take care of...

This thread is making me want to delve into Stick Control even further. I play a variation of it every day, though I’ve been known to lapse at times.
Anyway, I don't know if I have much to offer in the way of unique insight, but here's my take on it:

Read the PREFACE and HOW TO PRACTISE "STICK CONTROL" (pages 3 & 4). Especially important are the sections on page 4 that say A WORD TO THE ORCHESTRAL DRUMMER and LIKEWISE, A WORD TO THE RUDIMENTAL DRUMMER. You don't have to be either of these; just know that high handed, endurance playing compliments light playing and visa-verse. Of course a teacher will help immensely in this area.

The book has an elegant simplicity that implies technique by targeting sound rather than the mechanics of grip and stick motion. Basically, make each line sound like the one before it on that page. How you do it is your business! Keep in mind, there are 42 pages of exercises, 2 columns on each page and each column has 12 lines, making a total of 1008 exercises. However each exercise can be played countless ways. Many people just play pages 5-7. Others only play the first column of page 5 for years (me included). Of course you could spend a lifetime on a handful of exercises or even one! But there’s a point of diminishing returns in doing so. Realize that even though you could spend a tremendous amount of time on one column or even one exercise, the skills you develop in one area will transfer over to the next. A lot of thought went into creating these exercises and arranging them in this order. And the success of this order of progression can be gauged by the number of successful drummers who use this as part of their daily regimen. You may be surprised when some the “unique” variations you come up with involving say, flams and triplets end up somewhere in the book! So have patience and play through the entire book. I’ve only done it 3 or 4 times since 1981 because I usually end up on some page and weave in my own variations. It’s not wasted time by any means, but one of my New Year’s resolutions is to stay on track for the entire book. And to do it consistently!
There are countless ways to play the book, but if you’re starting out you can’t go wrong with the original instructions of the author. In lieu of a teacher, practice maybe one column for an hour a day, playing each line 20 times before going onto the next. After a few pages (and a few days), review them on that day, straight through over the course of an hour. Again, play each line 20 times. After a couple of months you get through the entire book. And with some pretty decent hands. It’s not the only facet of technique you should work on, but it is an important one.

Some things to think about:
Play quarter notes on your bass drum, or tap on the floor while you’re playing. At the same time, play the hi-hat on 2 and 4 (or heel toe on the floor). Pretty soon, your hands are going to take off and it’s good to have them locked in time, especially as you work through different permutations of stickings.
Try the same exercises with different weight sticks and/or different surfaces (pad/snare, floor tom/moon-gel pad, pillow, etc.). Stick to one pair and one surface for each day. I don't think extremely heavy or extremely light sticks are that helpful, but maybe 3 different pairs of sticks in a range that feels comfortable to you.
At its heart, it is a callisthenic book, so you can approach it the same way, you might use a chart for physical fitness. Of course it’s much more than that and you will quickly find your own variations. But keep them simple! And keep a log of what you’re practicing. Include tempos, time played, dynamics you played at, how you felt, etc. Write comments of short and long term goals and after a couple of weeks, review them. See how realistic they are against they were against your progress. Adjust accordingly.
The main goal of the book (although there are others) is to have both hands even. In doing so, you want to have the right tools. Some other things to think about:

Make sure your sticks are straight. I roll them through my fingers and flip them in the air while looking at the tips. If the tip wobbles, I put it back. I'll only roll them on a glass table or a surface known to be almost perfectly flat. Most sticks don't have this problem nowadays but still, double check them.

Stick weights should be within 1/2 gram or less of each other. Again, this isn't a problem with say, Vic Firth.

For pitch, tap the shoulder (the tapered area between the tip and body of the stick) against the side of your head. They should be pitch paired within a semi-tone (imo).

Make sure they feel right. Some sticks can be very close in pitch and weight, yet feel and sound uneven. Some of it could be your imagination or due to a lack of even technique in both hands (so use the same hand to check them). But sometimes it might be a lack of consistency in the wood. One stick may be slightly denser in one area than the other. And sticks may lose moisture over time. It could be very subtle, but newer sticks sounding different from older sticks of the same make may not be entirely in your imagination. Also, the sticks may be identical in pitch but have some tonal or difference or variation in timbre. Something you can't pinpoint, but you know it's there. Follow your instincts. At almost every break in my practice, I switch the sticks in my hands (Right to Left), just out of habit. Even if they seem perfectly matched.

If you're on a on a table, make sure you're not playing with one part of the pad over a leg and the other further out. You will hear two different tones no matter how even your hands are. Also, make sure the pad you play on is glued evenly to its backing.

As heavy handed as it might appear, paying attention to all of these things will make your life easier in the long run.

Again, it’s not the only book you should use in your practice and technique itself should not be the only goal in your practice. But it certainly should be a cornerstone.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for this fantastic advice! Very much appreciated. I find myself enjoying working page 5 and I do have a measure counter on my metro and play each pattern 20 times. In the last week the progress transferred to the snare and kit is almost overwhelming.

I like the idea of staying on page 5 for all of 2014....exercise 6 and 8 are the trouble spots at the moment, but I'm breaking them down.

Again, thank you!
 
No problem, Shemp!

Although when I looked at my response this morning, I got a massive headache!

But if I may suggest, try to work through the whole book for 2014, rather than just page 5. Once you get through page 5 with some reasonable control, just move on to the next page. After a going through a few pages this way, go back and review them straight through. Once that batch of pages is reasonable, go on to the next group of pages. Don't worry about getting rusty on page 5! Those skills you pick up through the book will transfer to whatever page you're working on at the moment.

You've got a lifetime to work with the book. But I think the first time you use it, it should be done in one thorough pass. Again thorough, but not exceptionally deep on each page. You can always go back later.
 
JohnW said:
No problem, Shemp!

Although when I looked at my response this morning, I got a massive headache!

But if I may suggest, try to work through the whole book for 2014, rather than just page 5. Once you get through page 5 with some reasonable control, just move on to the next page. After a going through a few pages this way, go back and review them straight through. Once that batch of pages is reasonable, go on to the next group of pages. Don't worry about getting rusty on page 5! Those skills you pick up through the book will transfer to whatever page you're working on at the moment.

You've got a lifetime to work with the book. But I think the first time you use it, it should be done in one thorough pass. Again thorough, but not exceptionally deep on each page. You can always go back later.
Click to expand...

more great advice....you are right on....i was or am worried about falling off on my page 5 skills. I was wondering how I would ever get through the book.

I will take your advice and go through the whole book in 2014. Thanks again
 
One more thing- I highly recommend your taking lessons, especially as you get closer to the flam pages. Technique lessons right from the beginning are ideal, but it comes much more apparent as you approach flams. Being able to execute flams without wrestling your stick motion will make your life a whole lot easier. Several people on this board (like Bill Bachman) give Skype lessons.
 
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