Stop Treating Rudiments Like Homework

Most drummers I meet have a complicated relationship with rudiments.

They know they should have done the work. They feel a little guilty about it. And they’ve convinced themselves that rudiments are boring exercises with little connection to the music they actually want to play.

I want to change that, in person, over three hands-on days.

Because rudiments aren’t homework.

They’re vocabulary.

The New Orleans street beats, second-line phrasing, grooves, fills and musical ideas I’m known for all come from applying rudimental language to the drum kit.

At this camp, you won’t simply practice rudiments on a pad. You’ll learn how to transform them into grooves, fills, phrases and ideas that sound and feel like music.

You’re not coming here to memorize drills.

You’re coming to understand where the music comes from.

This Camp Has to Happen in Person

I could have made this a course. I’ve made courses.

This one doesn’t work that way.

A video can demonstrate a sticking pattern, but it can’t see what your hands are doing.

It can’t adjust your grip, correct your stroke height or show you how to let the stick rebound. It can’t sit down at your kit and help you understand why something doesn’t feel or sound the way you want it to.

Every drummer’s hands work a little differently—and every drummer’s challenges are different.

That’s why this camp is deliberately small.

I’ll be walking the room, watching you play, sitting at your kit and working directly with you. You’ll receive personal feedback and practical adjustments you can feel immediately.

This isn’t a passive clinic where you sit in the audience and take notes.

You’ll be playing.

What We’ll Work On

Over the course of three days, we’ll explore how to:

• Improve your grip, stroke, rebound and overall hand technique
• Recognize and correct habits that may be holding you back
• Build greater control, consistency and confidence
• Understand the musical purpose behind essential rudiments
• Move rudimental ideas from the practice pad to the drum kit
• Turn sticking patterns into grooves, fills and musical phrases
• Apply rudiments to New Orleans, funk, rock and other musical settings
• Develop your own ideas instead of relying on memorized patterns
• Create a practice system you can continue using long after camp ends

The goal isn’t to see how many rudiments we can cram into three days.

The goal is to help you understand how to work with them—and how to make them part of your playing.

Three Days of Hands-On Work

Day One: Your Hands and Your Foundation

We’ll begin by looking at how you currently play.

You’ll receive an individual assessment of your grip, stroke, rebound and movement. We’ll identify the specific habits affecting your control, sound and comfort, then establish a more efficient physical foundation.

This gives us a shared starting point for the rest of the weekend.

Day Two: Turning Rudiments Into Music

Once the physical foundation is in place, we’ll start moving rudimental language around the drum kit.

You’ll hear and feel how a familiar sticking pattern can become a groove, a fill, a second-line phrase or an entirely new musical idea.

We’ll play together, experiment with orchestration and work on making the transition from “exercise” to music.

Day Three: Building Your Personal Practice System

On the final day, we’ll connect everything we’ve covered and focus on how to continue the work at home.

You’ll leave with a practical system for developing your hands, expanding your vocabulary and applying new ideas to the music you actually play.

This won’t be three days of notes that end up sitting in a folder.

You’ll leave knowing what to practice, how to practice it and how to keep progressing over the next year.

More Than a Series of Lessons

The real value of an in-person camp comes from being in the room together.

In addition to the instructional sessions, there will be time for individual feedback, questions, shared meals, informal conversations and playing together.

You’ll have opportunities to learn not only from me, but also from hearing other drummers work through their own challenges and discoveries.

What You’ll Leave With

By the end of the camp, you’ll have:

• A clearer understanding of your current technique
• Personal adjustments for your hands and playing
• A stronger connection between rudiments and musical application
• New grooves, fills and phrases to explore
• A repeatable method for turning sticking patterns into music
• A structured practice system you can use throughout the coming year
• Greater confidence in your ability to develop your own vocabulary

Most importantly, you’ll stop feeling like rudiments are a step you somehow missed, and start using them as tools for becoming a more expressive drummer.

Who This Camp Is For?

This camp is for drummers who already have some basic playing experience and are comfortable playing fundamental beats and simple sticking patterns.

You do not need to be fast.

You do not need to have all 40 rudiments memorized.

You do not need advanced technique.

You simply need enough experience to play basic patterns and the willingness to participate, receive feedback and put in the work.

This camp is especially valuable if:

• You’ve avoided rudiments because they felt boring or disconnected from music
• You learned rudiments but never understood how to use them
• You feel like there is a gap in your technical foundation
• You struggle to move ideas from the practice pad to the drum kit
• You want more control, vocabulary and freedom behind the drums
• You want direct, personal feedback that a video course can’t provide

Who Should Skip It

This probably isn’t the right camp for complete beginners who have never played drums before.

It also isn’t designed for anyone looking for a passive clinic experience. You’ll be asked to play, experiment, make adjustments and participate throughout the weekend.

Why Attendance Is Limited

The camp is limited to 20 drummers, and that number is deliberate.

With more people in the room, I wouldn’t be able to spend meaningful time at everyone’s kit or provide the individual attention this work requires.

The small group allows me to see how each person plays, offer specific corrections and make sure no one disappears into the back of the room.

This is not manufactured scarcity.

It’s what makes the camp work.

Camp Details

Dates: January 8–10, 2027
Location: New Orleans Jazz Museum - 400 Esplanade Ave New Orleans LA 70116
Capacity: 20 drummers

Your Registration Includes

• Three days of hands-on instruction with Stanton Moore
• Individual technique assessment and feedback
• One-on-one time at your kit
• Small-group playing and application sessions
• A take-home practice system

Come Fix the Step You Feel Like You Skipped

If you’ve been carrying around the feeling that you skipped a step, come spend three days with me and let’s go fix it together.

I’d love to see you there.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all in New Orleans. This will be an immersive experience where we'll be able to hear and see some great music as well as eat some great food!
Stay Funky,
Stanton