Skeleton sheet. This chapter has the metadata block and Core / Rotation / Reference tables but has not yet been rewritten to the shape of chapter-01.md and chapter-02.md—no first-session walkthrough, no worked advancement example, no per-exercise rationale. See chapter-template.md for the shape this sheet will take when filled, and DEVELOPMENT.md “Things to do later” for the outstanding propagation work.
Session role: focus block.
Every session opens with warm-up on the current R&L Ch. 1 exercises before you work this chapter. Baseline 30-min session: ~7–8 min warm-up (Ch. 1) → ~15 min focus (this chapter) → ~5–6 min application → ~2 min cool-down. Full detail in approach.md §6.
Third chapter of Stage 6 (approach.md §5), and the densest of the Rondinelli additions—65 beats and 39 fills across seven pages. Do not attempt to work this chapter exhaustively. The material is a library of binary (straight-16th-feel) grooves and fills to draw from; pick a handful per session and rotate.
R&L makes three specific coaching points that carry through the whole chapter. First, do not flam the snare with the bass drum—the snare should land exactly with the bass drum stroke, not before or after. Second, in the early going, lighten the snare hit so the bass drum is audible under it; that is the way to actually hear whether snare and bass are landing together. Third, get the weak foot to sound as loud as the strong foot; even volume matters more than bpm.
R&L also notes that most beats are printed strong-foot lead but some players lead with the opposite foot for a given pattern—the printed footing is a default, not a rule.
The bpm defaults come from the 16th-note beats row of approach.md §4 (start 50 bpm, target ~110 bpm).
| Ex. | Section | Role | Start | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beats | First binary beat (1-bar entry point) | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 5 | Beats | 1-bar binary beat, second placement | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 27 | Beats | 2-bar binary beat (entry point) | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 1 | Fills | First binary fill | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 5 | Fills | Binary fill variant | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| Ex. | Section | Role | Start | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Beats | 1-bar beat variant | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 33 | Beats | 2-bar beat variant | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 43 | Beats | 4-bar beat (entry point) | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 11 | Fills | Binary fill variant | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 21 | Fills | Longer binary fill | 50 bpm | 110 bpm |
Everything not in the core or rotation lists—Beats 2–4, 6–12, 14–22, 28–32, 34–42, 44–65 and Fills 2–4, 6–10, 12–20, 22–39—is reference material. R&L’s own point is that this chapter is a library to draw from. Sample when your ear points at a specific groove or when you need a fill for another chapter’s application block. Do not treat it as a checklist.
Log this chapter’s work with the exercise number prefixed by 17. and the section identifier—for example 17.b1 76 bpm 5 min pass unison for Beats exercise 1, or 17.f1 70 bpm 5 min near weak-foot for Fills exercise 1. See approach.md §8.