Where to Start with George Lawrence Stone
George Lawrence Stone (1886-1967) was an American percussionist, teacher, and author who shaped how drums are taught worldwide. Born in South Boston, he spent his career as a performer and educator, running a private teaching studio that produced generations of accomplished drummers, including Joe Morello (the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s legendary drummer). Stone published Stick Control for the Snare Drummer in 1935, and it has never gone out of print. In 1993, Modern Drummer magazine named it the number one drum book of all time. His other works include Accents and Rebounds (1961), which extends the concepts from Stick Control into more advanced territory.
Start here
Stick Control
George Lawrence Stone · 48 pages · 1935 · Easy
Themes: rudiments, sticking patterns, hand technique, coordination, snare drum
Often called the bible of drumming, Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone has been the standard reference for hand technique since 1935. Modern Drummer magazine ranked it first on its list of the 25 greatest drum books of all time, and it remains the single most recommended resource for anyone picking up sticks for the first time.
Why Start Here
Most drumming books try to teach you beats, fills, and songs all at once. Stick Control does something more fundamental: it trains your hands. The book contains hundreds of sticking patterns organized in a logical progression, starting with simple alternating strokes and building toward complex combinations of singles, doubles, and paradiddles. Each exercise is short, usually just one or two lines, which makes it easy to pick up during a five-minute practice session.
The genius of this approach is that it works for every level. A beginner uses these exercises to develop basic control and evenness between hands. An advanced player uses the same pages to build speed, refine dynamics, or warm up before a gig. The exercises are written for snare drum, so all you need is a practice pad and a pair of sticks. No drum kit required.
George Lawrence Stone designed the book to address control, speed, flexibility, touch, rhythm, lightness, power, endurance, and muscular coordination, with special attention to developing the weaker hand. It covers single-beat combinations, triplets, short roll combinations, flam beats, flam triplets with dotted notes, and short roll progressions.
What to Expect
A slim 48-page book packed with sticking exercises. There are no photos, no lengthy explanations, and no play-along tracks. Just patterns on the page that you work through with a metronome. Start slow, focus on evenness and control, and gradually increase the tempo. The simplicity is the point: this book gives you a lifetime of material in a format you can open to any page and start practicing immediately.