One Handed Doubles
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This is a great way to practice doubles and improve your articulation. Make sure you use wrist strokes and get a big range of motion for each stroke.
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This is a great way to practice doubles and improve your articulation. Make sure you use wrist strokes and get a big range of motion for each stroke.
4 Comments. Leave new
Hi, Louie. First want to say thanks for the quality lessons on the Play Better Drums website. I haven’t seen contents like these anywhere in the web, and I am improving a ton everyday!
I have a question regarding the tempo of these technique exercises. In the transcriptions of the exercises, it is often written that I should start at a pretty fast tempo and then push e.g) 120-220. I just wanted to ask about your opinion on tempo ranges during practice. Is it actually a “must” to start slow (maybe 30-50 BPM) with every exercise and then build up, or is it better to go straight to the point and start at a tempo I can handle right away? I am aware that in most cases starting slow is the answer (this is what I have been doing), but if it is not necessary for some situations, I would like to be flexible.
Thanks!
Hi David! Thanks for the comment…glad you’re enjoying the lessons!
I think if it’s a relatively simple exercise like this one you’ve commented on (one handed doubles) then it’s fine to go straight in at a medium tempo that you can handle. Unless you are really concentrating on a motion or technique, why waste time at 50bpm if you’re brain can already deal with it at 80bpm, for example. It does depend on the purpose – if it’s endurance, then pushing tempos and challenging yourself is key. If you’re working on hand technique and motions and trying to teach yourself something brand new, then there is value in doing this very slowly. Just go with what is comfortable. If you feel a tempo I start demonstrating something is too fast then modify it and bring all the tempos down a notch.
Hope that helps! Feel free to ask away if you have any further questions.
Lately I have been a little too structured about practice routines and tempos, but now I see how everything really depends on the purpose. Thanks for the reply. That answered my question!
Great! Yes, purpose is key. Sometimes too much structure can be bad. I see that in some students – they are too structured and are trying to get too much done at each practice session. They do end up getting a lot of it done and manage to progress through a bunch of different books but they don’t sound any good on the drums! The end product isn’t there. Sometimes it’s good to just play. Ultimately, you have to be able to just ‘play’ and be happy with how you sound when you just ‘play’. Always compare music to language, i.e speaking. What good would it be reading the dictionary ten times and studying grammar but not being able to hold a conversation? And with regard to your question, it’s definitely ok to jump into an exercise and a brisk tempo if you understand the exercise and can play it at that tempo.