I was making my snare drumming comeback with Etude 1 of Anthony Cirone’s book, Portraits in Rhythm. With daily practice, I could enjoy its syncopation, themes, and tricky passages.

But glancing further ahead, many of the 50 snare drum studies in Cirone’s book seemed intimidating. I put down my sticks and took the book away for a closer read.

Its first half focuses on musical elements such as tempo, development of musical themes, and dynamics. The second half explores a variety of classical musical forms, interpreting them for the snare drum. Hmm.

I flipped through the book until I found four consecutive studies channelling an 18th century dance suite. This series of Etudes 27 to 30 takes the drummer through German, French and Spanish dance structures:

— the Allemande, with its accented upbeat, and 4/4 time power and precision

— the Courante, in 3/2 time with its swooping phrases

— the Sarabande, with its stern and dramatic chorus, in 3/4 time

— and a lively Gigue in 3/2 to conclude the dance suite.

As I hacked my way through a sight-reading of the suite, I felt like I was fighting the music. But some neat parts started to jump out — like the syncopated rolls and power of the Allemande’s finale. There was also the Sarabande’s forceful chorus, made even more so as a counterpoint to the study’s fast passages.

My forearms tingled — I had hope. I decided to do a deeper dive starting with the Allemande, Etude 27.

Next door, the neighbours had moved out temporarily during a home reno, so I could drum unabashedly. Our older daughter’s former third-floor bedroom was my new drum studio. Nadine gave me some encouragement: “I thought I heard thunder but it was your snare drumming — sounds good.”

Composer Anthony Cirone was teaching me to dance.