Re: Doubles
Originally Posted by
itchie
(dont hate me) i picked up doubles really fast and could do a double stoke buzz roll with in 6 months of learning drums
and now I will give you the Easter egg ....start very slow
Exactly. It's also a common mistake for a lot of people, whether as rank beginners, or even those with a number of years playing, to go through an exercise a couple of times slowly, and then to all of a sudden speed it up but with diminished control. Slow exercising helps to develop muscle memory....something that can't be done overnight, as I tell people time and time again. Unfortunately we live in an age of everything being instant, done fast and done now. If you're not a superstar drummer within a few weeks of picking up the sticks, then you're nothing. Any wonder why there's a bunch of drumkits on the second hand market due to people giving up too easily.
But I digress. Rick nailed the thing on the head there about leading with the left hand when doing exercises. It's definitely something I work with as much as possible, with singles, doubles and so on. Also, try doing double strokes with hands as a percussionist, whether playing djembe, conga or doumbek, you'll be surprised how much that works you. One thing that got me working on left hand lead more was the fact that years back I injured my right thumb and had it wrapped up (then in a cast) for a while....which meant I had to stop playing with it for a period of time. It also meant that virtually everyday tasks that I took for granted with my right hand had to be relearned with the left....from buttoning shirts, to opening doors, brushing teeth etc (had to get people to write for me though.....I haven't become that ambidextrous as yet!). So I also used to get my practice pad out and just kept hitting doubles with my left, start doing accent exercises and so forth. Then once the right thumb was slowly 'getting there' I started working with left hand lead on the hi-hat which, when you come to think of it, is keeping time with a series of left hand doubles (1+ 2+, etc).So doing that, warming up with exercises such as triplets phrased as RLL RLL, going through the first few pages of "Stick Control", doing all manner of musical and physical exercises, even practicing in front of a large full-length mirror has helped me.
And remember, most if not all of us drummers all started off playing with control problems as rank beginners.
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