Accents and Rebounds (Revised & Updated): Snare Drum Book

This book picks up exactly where Stick Control leaves off, moving from fundamental grip and bounce into the nuances that separate adequate players from expressive ones. The addition of Joe Morello's arrow notation transforms an already effective method into a modern teaching tool that clarifies the Moeller technique without requiring a teacher to interpret Stone's original text. Your students get clarity about not just what to play but how their hands should move to play it.

Methodical and deliberate. Stone doesn't offer shortcuts or tricks; every exercise builds on the previous one with quiet insistence. The work feels demanding but fair, with visible progress available to anyone willing to practice the material with genuine attention. It's less about playing faster and more about playing with intention.

Snare drummers who have mastered the foundational exercises in Stick Control and are ready to develop articulation, dynamic control, and rebound finesse. High school concert percussion students, intermediate drum line members, and anyone preparing for drum auditions will find this book essential. Private percussion students working toward technical independence benefit from the structured progression and concrete exercises.

• Separate the accent from the rebound. Stone's exercises isolate these motions deliberately; don't rush through them expecting musicality to emerge on its own. The accuracy comes first, musicality follows.
• Use a mirror during rebound work. Watching hand height and motion consistency reveals habits that your ears alone might miss, especially in the dotted note and triplet sections.
• Establish a tempo baseline and stick with it. These exercises demand precision at specific speeds; jumping tempos trains inconsistency. Lock in one speed until the pattern is clean, then increment gradually.
• Return to Stick Control passages when you plateau. Stone designed both books to reinforce each other. Revisiting earlier exercises often unlocks technical breakthroughs in the newer material.

Assign this as the primary snare drum method for advancing players in your percussion studio or school program. The book's progression works well over a full school year, with students completing different sections by winter and spring concert season. You can program these exercises as warm-ups before rehearsals or as demonstration pieces in ensemble settings to highlight your program's technical standards.

• Accented eighths with consistent rebound
• Dynamic control between accented and unaccented notes
• Dotted note rhythms with precision
• Triplet patterns under accents
• Moeller technique application through arrow notation
• Grip consistency across varied rhythmic contexts
• Endurance in technical passages