I’ll give you the very skinny: Start with 2 levels. Just 2 levels. And stick to them for awhile. One of those levels will be with the sticks at 1/2 an inch above the drum head, the other level is the stick up 10 inches above the drum head. Get yourself a page of accent (Did I mention I know a really good drum teacher?) and put this method to good use. All accents at 10 inches above, all soft stroke no higher than 1/2 an inch.
You can also extend that to orchestration. For example, a Moeller technique on the hi-hat could be a soft stroke with the tip of the stick on top of the hi hat and the loud stroke with the shoulder of the stick on the edge of the hi hat. If you were to try a shuffle with that, that will be a real strong shuffle!
Another great way would be a paradiddle between the snare and hi hat. Whispering ghost-notes, feathering hi-hat and a rim-shot on 2 and 4 (Again, if you’re lost, Help is not far away!). Should you add a few solid bass drums, that groove will be 3 feet deep.
Hope that helps!