SYLLABUS

Basically, this is what I teach. It went from a pedagogy to a book to a course back to a pedagogy, hence the branding. It won’t make a ton of sense without explanation, it’s more placed here upon my students’ request - & I already had it written down so why not. It’s more for reference for my students to come back to and brush up on what I already taught them. Don’t expect to learn anything from this. It’s purely what the name of the page implies, a syllabus.

Step 1 - VOCABULARY: rudiments, tambours, & tricks

bounce toss

how to hold the sticks

Knowing Your Stick & Basic Positions

Parts of the stick

Set position

Sticks in

Sticks down

Sticks up

Rudiments

Singles

Doubles

Threes

Fours

Multiple bounce (5+ strokes)

Double stops

Flams

Blams

Malfs

Hand to hand flams

Floppies

Flam accents

Cheeses

Flam drags

Flam fives

Chu-tuh-chuhs

Cheese chu-tuh-chuhs

Tuh-chuh-duhs

Tuh-cheeses

Tuh-fives

Flam-flams

Pataflaflas

Patty with cheese

Patty drags

Patty fives

Swisses

Swiss drags

Flam taps

Double stroke roll

Inverted roll

Inverted flam taps (inverts)

Cheese inverts

Paradiddles

Inverted paradiddles

Mills

Cuplinks

Flam-a-diddle

Drag-a-diddle

Cheese-a-diddle

Flam drag-a-diddle

Five-a-diddle

Flam five-a-diddle

Book reports

Paradiddlediddles

Paradiddlediddlediddles

Pare-rolls (4+ diddles on a paradiddle)

Double paradiddles

Triple paradiddles

Puh-duh-duhs

Candy Apples

Duh-duh-puhs

Shirley murpheys

Fubars

Cheese fubars

Hertas

Grandmas

Drills

Stutters

Splashes

Ruffs

Blue cheeses

Egg beaters

Vegas

Tambours

Press

Press roll

Buzz

Buzz roll

Diddle (AKA drag)

Roll

Shoulder shot

Ping shot

Full shot

Stick shot

Cross stick

Rim click

Stick click

Edge Zones

Front edge

Gut edge (stacked beads)

Auxiliary zones

On-Hand Tricks

Pancake

Left pancake

Windshield wiper

Crossover

Backstick

Hi-mom

Stepdad (hi-mom backstick)

Butt click

Fluid flow

Spider sticking

Off-Hand Tricks

Backward toss

Forward flip

Half flip

Forward half flip

Inward tre

Outward tre

Hospital flip

Pillar flip

Offhand pillar

Thumb roll

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Step 2 - RHYTHM THEORY: timing, audiation, & sheets

Base-4 Basics

Audiation

Quarter notes

Measures

Bar lines

Staff

Time signature

Marking Time

How to mark time

Marking time & clapping

Marking time & left / right hand drumming

marking time & left / right stick drumming

Tempo & Met

Tempo

Metronome

Standard Procedure

Natural sticking

Attack & release

Duple Note Values

8th notes

16th notes

Dots, Independence & Tuplets

Dots

Polyrhythms

4:3

Quarter note triplets

8th note triplets

Sextuplets

Odd Tuplets

Ninelets (9:8)

Fivelets (5:4)

Sevenlets (7:4)

Fringe Figures

32nd notes

64th notes

Half notes

Whole notes

Tempo Modifiers

Accelerando

Ritardando

Feathering

Odd Time Signatures

7/8

11/16

Ratio Revelations

Ratio Rhythms

4:3

5:3

5:6

Nested ratio rhythms

Matt’s Microrhythm Modalities

Nested time signatures

Microrhythm prerequisite: extraneous density figures (128th note+)

Rhythm theory postulate

Checkpointing

Dovetailing

Time sharing

Base jumping

Dynamics

Dynamic markings (mp, m, mf, f, ff, fff)

Dynamic marking modifiers: + / - (mp+, mf-)

Staccato & legato

FOR YOUR REFERENCE: SNARE ANNOTATION KEY

Dynamic Notehead Modifiers

Accent markings

Tenuto markings

Marcato markings

Buzz Length Modifiers

Staccato markings

Open circle

Shot Noteheads

Shoulder shot notehead

Ping shot notehead

Full shot notehead

Tambour Markings

Appogiatura (Flam)

Tremolo (Diddle)

Buzz marking (Z on stem)

Miscellaneous Tambour Noteheads and Annotations

Stick shot notehead

Cross-stick notehead & annotation

Rim click notehead

Stick click notehead

Trick Noteheads & Annotations

Backstick notehead & annotation

Crossover marking & annotation

Hi-mom marking & annotation

Edge Zone Annotations

Front edge

Gut edge

Title & Composer Text

Title & subtitle

Default composer text

Transcribed by 

Arranged by

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Step 3 - TECHNIQUE: chops, mechanics, & native intuition

Know the Difference

Chops: the strength to move - enables mechanics

Mechanics: how you move

Native intuition: when to use which mechanic

Chops:

Active Training for Passive Benefits

Dailies - 5 S’s: stick seating, strength, speed, stamina, & style

Contact training

Accessory work

Mechanics:

Joints

Fingers - triggering

Wrist - rotation

Elbow - arm support

Shoulder - taiko

Stroke Type

Backstroke (fast & slow) - upstroke & inverted stroke

Rebound stroke (fast & slow) - legato & twitch stroke

Absorbed stroke (fast, slow, & modified) - downstroke, deadwood, modified downstroke

Shoulder stroke (taiko)

Moeller stroke

Push-pull

Finger tug stroke

Energy Type

Speed - “if you’re slow, hit the gas by moving fast”

Space - “if you’re fast, hit the brakes by taking up space”

Native Intuition:

How do the notes want to be played?

Mechanical pre-loading

Mechanical shifting: gradient or switch

How to Practice:

What to Play

Packet

Any show music you come across, transcribe it

Grids

Primers

How to Learn New Music

Foot to foot

Hand to hand break downs

All accents out // one dynamic high or low

Shots / flams / diddles out

Singing / counting while playing

40 click method

Guts off

How to Improve on Your Own

VOD reviews

Slow mos

Light sticks / heavy sticks / rubber tips