In our further celebration of Joe Morello’s legendary book Master Studies; in the next few months Modern Drummer will be bringing you one of the best and most beneficial sections of the book and Joe’s teaching, the Control Studies. The part we are looking at this month talks about the velocity in which we strike the instrument. Remember relaxation one of the keys to control! Control Studies: Velocity The faster you play, the looser and more relaxed you have to be. In these exercises, you just need to drop the stick and then keep it going. Try to get your hand to follow the motion of the stick. To do this, basically, the first note is struck using the wrist, and the other notes are controlled by the fingers. The important thing is to free yourself from tension, because any tension will break the flow of energy. Practice each line […]

November 2022 Issue