Among the very few truly iconic drum method books, legendary drummer Joe Morello's Master Studies is, according to Morello's own preface, not a “how-to” book, but rather a workbook of material to use in developing the hands for accenting and controlling the different pressures used in single strokes, double strokes, and closed rolls. “You can go through the book using any technique you've been taught,” Morello states, “and you can apply the ideas in this book to any style of music you want.” Chapters are broken down into subjects of accents, buzz rolls, stroke combinations, control studies, fill-ins, ostinatos, and flams. Volume II is a logical extension of the original book. “Like Master Studies,” offered Morello, “it's a workbook of material to use in developing the hands. It's not a drumset or coordination book, although several of the exercises can be played on the drumset. The book can be used by the classical, jazz, rock or even rudimental drummer.”
