I just HATE this book...

...or, at least I hated it when I was a kid. But, I have to tell you, after Gene Smith (HS Band Director) corrected my sloppy flamacue counting technique, he recommended this book and boy, what a revelation it was! After several hours of poring over this book (several hours that grew into hundreds of hours), my rudimental technique began to improve and even I could hear it. Just learning how rebound and accent work together and not in conflict (as some beginners, including me, saw them) was a revelation to me. I had great tutoring in JHS and further instruction in HS, but never had a private teacher...with the exception of where Stone took me. By college, these techniques were firmly ingrained in my mind and more than one percussion teacher took note of it. I can't believe this book is still around, after all these years, but if it is, you need it...and you need to pore over these exercises until you are playing them in your sleep.

rpb :: Jan 23 2010, 22:59 PM