Practice Blog - Independence

Post date: Feb 06, 2016 1:30:23 PM

Hi everyone, I thought I'd share an exercise this afternoon which I've used with my students after being inspired by watching the incredible Jojo Mayer in Glasgow a couple of years ago. Take a look at this simple pattern below:

Play this pattern over and over again using RLRL. When you feel ready, put an accent only  on the floor tom. This can be more difficult than it appears at first. In turn, try putting an accent only on the snare drum, or only on the second tom, or only on the first tom. Try to pick up the pace too; it will be come more difficult.

This is a good exercise to practise your independence between your limbs. One of the hardest things about being a drummer is that you are actually playing several instruments at one time. And you have to be able to absolutely control the sound that's coming from all of these drums.

Once you're comfortable with accenting one drum, try some of these combinations

Accent on:

• • Floor tom and second tom

  • Snare drum and first tom

  • Floor tom and first tom

  • Snare drum and second tom

  • Floor tom, snare drum and first tom

The combinations are endless, but make sure that you accent only the drums you mean to. It's easy to lose control of the sound you create from your drum kit if you lose focus. 

We'll look at a slightly more complex version of this exercise next week, so keep your eyes peeled!