Option A: Rudiments
If I only have a small amount of time to practice drums, and I don't want to practice a particular song, this is the program that I follow. This is also an excellent warm up before a gig. I hope it helps some of the other drummers out there.
Single Hand Four Stroke Roll
This little exercise is great for limbering up the forearm muscles. It's also a great practice exercise for developing arm and hand strength and speed! The idea is simple: play quarter notes only with the right hand. When you have finished with the right hand, move to the left hand. When you have finished with the left, go back to the right. Do twenty (20) reps of this pattern, keeping the speed and stroke weight consistent (ie. no accents).
Paradiddle
It's our 'old friend' the Paradiddle. The object of this one is to maintain a consistent tempo through the various speeds. Again, start slow, then speed up; first leading with the right, then with the left. Do twenty (20) reps at 5 different tempos.
Triplet
With triplets, each quarter note gets three beats, instead of just one. Again, twenty (20) reps at 5 tempos.
Flams
A flam variant that works through those little, fast, intricate doublets and triplets. Work at a steady speed. As usual, twenty (20) reps at the same tempo.
Double Stroke Roll
Start this one slow and work up to speed, hold, then slow down, taking roughly 1 minute per repetition. Pause for 20 seconds, then repeat. Perform this for 5 reps.
Accents
Example one will help with dynamics while working on doubles and triples. Work through it as previous routines. The second example is the Paradiddle but with accented strokes on the ONE.
Example One
Example Two
Paradiddle Rhythm
In Rhythm 1, the paradiddle is played between the snare and the bass drum. This is probably the simplest application. "Pattern 1" above starts the paradiddle with the snare; "Pattern 2" starts it with the feet.
Option B: Songs To Play Along With
Sometimes, when you only have 20 minutes spare to play drums and you don't feel like rudiment work, you might prefer playing along to some songs instead. I have specifically created a CD for my practice needs and the first six songs on the CD are songs that are challenging yet offer you fun when playing them. At the risk of getting flamed, here are those six songs:
- Toto: Hold The Line - Drummer: Jeff Porcaro
- Stone Temple Pilots: Plush - Drummer: Erik Kretz
- KISS: Detroit Rock City - Drummer: Peter Criss
- Boom Crash Opera: The Best Thing - Drummer: Peter Maslen
- Beyonce: Crazy In Love - Drummer: Gerald Heyward
- Jamie Cullum: Singin' In The Rain - Drummer: Sebastiaan de Krom
So you can see, they are a fairly varied bunch of songs covering a couple of popular music styles. I wonder what six songs other drummers would choose?
