My Top Dozen (or so) Drum Set Exercises

The material on my music stand changes from time to time, but certain exercises remain and get a regular top-up. Below are the exercises I keep on my practice schedule and which I revisit regularly. Note that while slow practice yields better progress, you should also work toward playing at working tempo as you gain control. The exercises assume right handedness, but  feel free to reverse the stickings.

Note: I have prepared a summary of these exercises in standard and Berger notation. Email me if  you’d like to receive a PDF copy.

1-Minute Maintenance
Singles, doubles and buzz rolls all deteriorate fairly quickly, so add them to your schedule. Basic beats can also do with frequent review. I do a quick 1-minute review of at least one of the ‘basics’ every day. (In fact, I do most exercises for 1 minute and that seems to work for me.)

Left-Hand Lead Inverted Doubles
There are a number of forms that double strokes can take, but this one has a secondary benefit. Lead with your ‘weaker’ hand and accent the down beat “double forte” to help build a better relationship with your non-dominant side.

L R R L / L R R L / L R R L / L R R L

Speed Builder
Play single strokes on the snare but play 1 & 3 on a cymbal. The feet play in Cut Time
Target the down beats (1 & 3) by throwing the stick against the cymbal. Also practice leading with each hand.

Accents on Toms
This exercise helps with getting the limbs moving in a natural and relaxed manner, plus the rhythms are good fodder for fills and soloing. I use Ted Reed’s “Syncopation”, but any book that has similar exercises will work, and put the accents on the ‘nearest’ tom: R=FT, L=ST.

Buddy’s 3's
Buddy used this pattern a lot during solos and it’s a great exercise for developing single stroke speed and for nailing the relationship between 16th notes and 16th note triplets.

3-way Combinations

I picked up this trick from Claude Ranger and have expanded it by applying the concept to G.L. Stone’s “Stick Control”. Right hand strokes are played with the bass drum and ‘L’ strokes are played with  both hands, on the snare and floor tom, HH on 2 & 4.

More about Claude Ranger:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ranger-claude-emc
https://youtu.be/5HOSCWCwAHA

Doubles Between Snare & Bass vs. Ride Rhythm
These are good muscle builders and they also produce some pretty useful rhythms. Play the diddle variations between the bass drum and snare while keeping a steady ride, 2 & 4 on the hi-hat.

Paradiddles Between Snare & Toms
Place one of the single strokes of a paradiddle on the ‘nearest’ tom (i.e. right hand strokes on the floor tom, left hand strokes on the mounted tom) and the remainder on the snare. Also apply two strokes on toms. Finally, put the doubles on toms.

Tony’s Warm-Up
Play single stroke 16th notes and switch to double strokes, also 16th notes. And repeat. Be sure to lead with either hand.

RLRL RLRL RLRL RLRL |  RRLL RRLL RRLL RRLL  | etc.

Diddles a la Billy Cobham
This is a good way to refine your double strokes. Using a book such as Ted Reed’s Syncopation, take the accented exercises and play a diddle for each accented note. This helps develop speed, dexterity and control ... and they sound pretty cool.

Half Diddles
This idea was inspired by David Garibaldi. The figures are actually the four Single Paradiddle forms, but with one stroke missing, and played between the snare and bass drum against a ride rhythm. The figures can be played with either a rock or a swing feel.

Quads
These are great for developing a better relationship with your limbs. The exercise consists of one stroke with each limb in various sequences: LH RH RF LF /  LH LF RH RF / RH LF LH RF  etc.

Tony’s Fusion Tom Work-out
Best done on a “fusion kit” (2 up, 1 down), these exercises are great for getting around the set and also for developing a more musical palate. Play a short figure (e.g. 2 8th notes) on each drum and go around the set playing the figure once on each drum. The principle can be applied to any sort of pattern. 

Bonus Tip: I like to practice stickings with a Cut Time foot pattern. That is, play “1” on the bass drum and “3” on the  hi-hat. You can then use your feet as targets for your hands.


Picture Credit: 1371580 © William Berry,  Dreamstime.com