Squint on July 1st, 2009

snare drum grooves“You have waited for it and everything is in the book. So get your hands together now. (smile) KEEP THE GROOVE ALIVE!” - PROF. Lane

This dynamic guide is a creative and methodical array of hot, grooving, dexterity-building, rudimental exercises. Each series of grooves is divided into seven sections that are one-hand, single-stroke, diddle, flam, drag, roll, and rudiment combinations. Rudimental Snare Drum Grooves is intended to serve as a bridge between beginning and more advanced player methods. This method enables you to approach each rudiment as a rhythmic study, allowing for a more groove-driven sound while performing rudiments. The accompanying CD provides professionally performed demonstrations of all the grooves shown in the book.

Purchase the book from Hal Leonard Online

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Squint on November 28th, 2011

Hey folks… sorry for the delay with part 2. At least I got a new article in before the 3 year mark.

As promised, here are some Latin independence exercises interpreted from some of the teaching of drummers Dafnis Prieto and Antonio Sanchez. The idea of this initial series was to create practice exercises using just Stick Control and Syncopation. Today we’ll just focus on Stick Control.

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Squint on August 8th, 2011

by Sam Denov
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Retired)

Whoever came up with the idea that playing hand cymbals without pads was a good idea apparently didn’t know much about how cymbals vibrate. I have always used pads when playing hand cymbals ever since the first time I ever picked up a pair of cymbals in my sophomore year in high school.

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Justin Truitt

Justin Truitt

By Justin Truitt

Las Vegas is considered by many to be the entertainment capital of the World, so it is no wonder that many of the best musicians and performers call Las Vegas home. Teaching percussion in Las Vegas involves a lot of patience and focus. Students come from various backgrounds and ability levels, making for an interesting pedagogical experience. Las Vegas’s demographic includes many cultures that make the city a new cultural hub in the western United States. It is this melting pot of cultures that keep the percussion instructor on their toes and offer up a unique teaching and learning environment in elementary, secondary & post-secondary education. Read the rest of this entry »

Squint on May 17th, 2010

A new drumset exercise on shuffle studies has been submitted by Darren Scorza. Check it out!

Download the exercise.

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Boston, MA  October 2008 - Vic Firth Inc., the world’s largest and leading manufacturer of drumsticks and mallets, is proud to announce the new

“Groove Series” Johnny Lee Lane Signature Groove Stick!

click image to enlarge

As one of the nation’s foremost college percussion educators, Johnny Lee Lane has taught and inspired percussion students for over 33 years and has been a leader within the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) marching band activity. Read the rest of this entry »

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Squint on August 13th, 2008

Hey folks, Darren Scorza here. This is the first of a series of articles featuring a common theme. I’m calling it “The Frugal Drummer”. Throughout these articles, I’ll show you some of the ideas that I’ve developed using just “Syncopation” and “Stick Control”.

I still remember the day that Prof Lane started showing me the Alan Dawson method of using Syncopation to develop jazz independence. Ever since then I’ve been trying different ideas, and trying to come up with other challenges using these methods. Of course, Stick Control can also be used at the drumset. And this is nothing new, all kinds of drummers have come up with cool exercises using these books. Gary Chester’s New Breed takes these concepts even further.

Books with very specific applications are very useful, but I don’t seem to find a lot of uses for what’s in them, beyond a purely technical proficiency. However, many of the exercises I’m gonna display were created to fix a certain technical problem I was having. One day’s new exercise was yesterday’s screw-up on the bandstand. I hope you enjoy working through them, and please contact me with an comments or questions.

Please go along with me on these titles. My third favorite book is Charles Wilcoxon’s “Modern Rudimental Swing Solos” book. I always loved the weird titles. Enjoy!!

So here we go with part one of “the Frugal Drummer.”

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Squint on November 24th, 2007

Johnny Lee Lane (l) accepting the Lifetime Achievement in Education Award from PAS Vice President Lisa Rogers at the PASIC 2007 Hall of Fame Banquet.

November 2, 2007
Columbus, OH

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Squint on August 27th, 2007

EIU Mid-West Funk Factory DrumlineThe infamous Mid-West Funk Factory drum line recording is once again available for purchase.

Want to hear how Prof’s cadences are meant to be played? Here’s your chance!

Purchase the Mid-West Funk Factory CD via PayPal:

Or to send a check/money order, contact:

Squint Essentials
Quint Campbell

quintcampbell@gmail.com

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Squint on September 21st, 2006

Here is an very interesting article for the website from one of my students of my first five years at Eastern. Prof.


Ladies and Gentlemen, at the request of the “Prof”, my mentor, my hero, Johnny Lee Lane, I am sharing some thoughts on my experiences teaching overseas. This August I will begin my twenty-second year of working overseas. Add to that my three year tour in Germany while in the United States Air Force and I have spent nearly half my life living on continents other than North America. Read the rest of this entry »