Get on Track

“When they’re playing the snare, I tell the kids to imagine that their sticks are on railroad tracks. They go forward to tap the drumhead and return along the same path in a “V” formation with the drumstick tips one inch above the drumhead and one inch apart – it’s the one-inch rule. This helps to develop good playing habits from the start, so that in later years they can play quick passages and with economy of movement.”

Chris McAvoy
Mann Middle School
Lakewood, Wash.