Mel Bay has been a major force in music education ever since Mel
published his first guitar instruction book in 1947. The company
recently released two titles by veteran player and teacher Mat Marucci,
and both are worthy of consideration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mat_marucci
Essential Snare Drum Exercise
Author Mat Marucci freely acknowledges Stick Control as the inspiration
for the book, which is no surprise. The material picks up where Stick Control
leaves off, the author having kept notes over the years of exercises that seemed to have
been missed. In fact many of the exercises are derived in part from the
'essential' stickings found in Stick Control, and are meant to modernize
the material by incorporating figures that were not commonly used in
Stone's day. The final result is a like a fusion of stick control and
Joe Morello's Master Studies.
“I used only those eight [Stick Control] stickings, combining them with
each other. To do otherwise would have produced a thesaurus of sticking
that would have made the book hundreds of pages long.”
While the majority of exercise are in 4/4, other time signatures are
adopted when appropriate. There's a challenging mix of triplets, flams,
open and closed rolls, and gobs of hand-to-hand work. The exercises are
laid out in a nicely graduated manner, making it easy to progress
through the material and the various levels of difficulty with a minimum
of frustration.
If you're looking for novel stickings or just want to trek further down
the 'Stick Control path', then this book is definitely worth a look.
Essential Snare Drum Exercises, by Mat Marucci
Mel Bay Publications, 2018
72 pages
ISBN-10: 1513460900
ISBN-13: 978-1513460901
Print: $17.99 US
Kindle: $12.99 US
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Mastering the Snare Drum
The first thing that struck me about Mastering the Snare Drum was the
sheer weight of the thing. In a little over 100 pages, the book covers
just about everything a snare drummer would need.
The book is divided into three sections. The first is truly introductory
as it presents music theory, notation, stroke dynamics, and snare drum
tuning. Important concepts are introduced early, such as 3/4 time,
measure and section repeats, first & second endings, practice tips, and
more (stuff that I often wasn't' taught until after I needed them!) A
nice touch is that sticking techniques are covered as needed. For
example, the bounce stroke is explained when double strokes are
introduced. What I find interesting is that 'the rudiments' are
presented (summarized, actually) on the second to last page.
“A cruel reality of drumming is that you play the drum set [only] as
well as you play the snare drum” - Ed Soph
The book is aimed at a wide audience. Field and classical players will
find plenty to work with, as will set drummers. It's comprehensive
without going overboard, and the material never overreaches and never
pushes the student too hard, making it very accessible to even the most
timid reader. Examples of the exercises are available for download at
Melbay.com.
Mastering the Snare Drum by Mat Marruci
Mel Bay Publications, Inc. 2018
118 pages
ISBN: 1-5134-6233-4
ISBN13: 978-15134-6233-2
Print: $22.99
Kindle: $17.99
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https://www.melbay.com/