Sticking
Brain.
Compound stickings as a technical and mental trainer.
"At home I could do it." I hear it from students all the time, and I believe you. But if you cannot do it here and now, you do not own it yet. It is not in your vocabulary, and even less in your mental and muscular memory.
Sticking Brain is a 133-page method in 9 chapters, built on compound stickings: combinations of single and double strokes, practised until they turn into phrases you can actually play.
This is not a list of new stickings
Plenty of excellent books already do that job very well. And most of you already know these patterns: they are variations of the Paradiddle-Diddle-Diddle, the Triple Paradiddle, the Paradiddle-Diddle and the Double Paradiddle.
True. The point is to look at them from a different angle, one that puts you at the centre of the creative process, instead of reading a page or repeating a phrase somebody else wrote before you.
The book closes in on two groupings: stickings of eight, played as 16th notes in 2/4, and stickings of six, played as 8th notes in 6/8. Moving the accents inside them alone gives you a huge variety of melodies, while keeping a good balance between accented and unaccented notes. They sit naturally in the most common subdivisions, and they point you at figures that are simple rhythmically and strong melodically.
The chop of the day
Many drummers sit at the kit and play at random for hours, hunting for the chop of the day, something musical to take home from the session. It is one way. In my opinion it is too casual, and it wastes a lot of time.
Picture a painter who starts every day with no idea of the picture, throwing paint at a blank canvas and waiting for magic. One time in a hundred, it happens. And even then: is it what he wanted to say?
I have seen it thousands of times, in students and in myself: exercises played perfectly while reading the book, and little or nothing of it used when it was time to play. So I looked for a way of practising that shortens the distance between what we study and what we play. I built it for myself first. Now I want to share it with you.
Technical efficiency matters, of course. So does the ability to process what you are playing in real time. Sticking Brain uses a small number of combinations as technical and mental trainers, so you build the analytic habits and quick processing you need out of the practice room.
9 chapters, 133 pages
The free lesson you received is the opening of this book: the groups of eight and six and their most common accent variations. The full book carries on through all 9 chapters.
You can be a student or already a pro looking for the next step. Sticking Brain is a starting point: a direction for your practice, so you are fully present while you learn. The main actor, not a spectator.
What format is it?
A 133-page PDF book. No videos.
How long do I have access?
For life. Buy once and it stays in your account.
Can I get a refund?
No. You get the full book the moment you buy, so all sales are final.