BY “TIGER” BILL MELIGARI
In the last lesson we applied 4-way coordination to the first eight exercises from the book Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone. This time we increase the level of difficulty by adding eighth-note triplets into the ostinato part as we continue to apply jazz interpretation to the straight eighth-notes.
If you have the book, you can apply all of these 4-way drills to each of the 72 exercises on the first three pages. If you missed the first lesson, I suggest you work on it now. It will make this one much easier.
PRACTICE TIPS
If you are having trouble playing these patterns with all four limbs at the same time, start by practicing only two limbs at a time. Don’t use a metronome at first—just work on developing the coordination necessary to play the 4-way patterns
VARIATIONS ON A THEME
If you practice the three ostinato variations and apply them to all eight of the exercises I borrowed from the first page of Stick Control, you will have 24 patterns to practice—but that’s just the beginning! If you switch the ostinatos from the left to the right hand, as shown in the video, you will have another 24 patterns to practice.
STICK CONTROL BOOK BONUS!
If you own Stick Control, you can apply these three ostinato patterns to the first three pages, which contain 72 exercises, for a total of 216 4-way coordination patterns to practice. If you switch the ostinato part to your right hand, you’ll get another 216 4-way patterns. That should keep you plenty busy until next time. Until then, have fun and stay loose!
Lesson: Jazzin’ Up ‘Stick Control’ With 4-Way Coordination (Part 1)