Heavy paradiddle unit happening here lately. Here are some ways of playing the paradiddle-diddle section of my Ultimate Paradiddle Builder on the drum set. The formula is pretty simple, you can easily apply this to […]
Category: rudiments
Ultimate paradiddle builder – 01
Ultimate until I need it in some other form. I already see some other things I could have included. Don’t believe everything you read. This expands on an approach taken in Mitchell Peters’s Rudimental Primer, […]
What to do with Stick Control
Kind of a big one. Blow this up and make a poster out of it… actually I should probably do that, and sell it along with my other merch… …BUT these are some things to […]
More six stroke rolls
Lots of snare drum stuff right now. Here are some more six stroke roll combinations, going a couple of steps beyond the last batch. Some patterns are helper patterns for the others, so watch out […]
Left handed rudiments
Collection of rudimental and quasi-rudimental patterns, starting and repeating with the left hand, that a student and I workshopped in a lesson recently. Good for strengthening your left hand, obviously; I find this orientation to […]
Developing a Weckl lick – 01
Hot on the heels of the six stroke roll post, here is a related thing, a flashy fusion lick by Dave Weckl. I pulled it off of a Paquito d’Rivera album in about 1987, and […]
Six stroke roll combinations
No big deal, just a page of six stroke roll combinations and phrases, in 16th notes and 16th triplets. I call them that under duress, it just happens to be the common name for this […]
Ruffs, drags, and general correctness in snare drumming
The correct way to play ruffs (or drags if you prefer) on the snare drum is an extremely attractive topic for repeated, endless debate. Evidently. I’ve seen it again and again, people going nuts for the topic. The […]
Chop busters: syncopated flammed 16ths
More rooting around in my archives, with a stealth from the zone item. I found this in one of my notebooks from high school, and it’s worth playing, with some mixed 16th note rhythms with […]
Nothing to do with drumming?
Dave Elitch (L) with Rational Funk’s Dave King There was a fascinating exchange on Instagram, starting with the drummer Dave Elitch (formerly of the band Mars Volta, done a bunch of big gigs), who gave […]
It’s suspect: nothing but singles, doubles, and flams
New recurring (maybe) feature, inspired by Modern Drummer’s It’s Questionable column. I’ll call it It’s Suspect, and say a few words about an annoyingly wrong but persistent drumming myth. This question was asked on a […]
Dodge Drum Chart
An interesting item: the Dodge Drum Chart, by Frank Dodge, edited and published by George Lawrence Stone. It was advertised on the back cover of my first copy of Stick Control, so it’s one of […]