Lesson Of The Week: How low can you go? Or shall I say stay? |

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How low can you go? Or shall I say stay? Simple exercise consisting of one measure of alternating 16th's (RLRL) and one measure of doubles (RRLL) played as low as you can go while trying to stay clean. Try it out! Shout out to @loscabosdrumsticks for making a great practice pad and their Jazz model stick in Maple 👊💥⚡️💯 #drums #drumming #drummer #drummers #drumlesson #drumfam #drumcommunity #rudiments #practice #practicepad #loscabosdrumsticks #ipad #tempo #tempoapp #mattdudleydrumming

A post shared by Matt Dudley (@mattdudleydrumming) on Aug 17, 2016 at 12:15pm PDT

This is an exercise I tried about a month ago that I am now seeing results from. The idea is simple!

One measure of alternating 16th notes
One measure of doubles
Keep all of the stick heights as low as possible

Playing singles and doubles doesn’t pose too much of a challenge besides the fact of keeping them even so I wanted to figure out a way to take it a step farther for myself… Why not work on playing this exercise super low at faster tempos? How low can you go before you start to lose control?

Tip

Start this exercise at 100 BPM and work your way up by increments of 5 or 10 after holding it for at least one minute. Stay focused on the heights and the amount of pressure you are applying and releasing between the singles and doubles. I used a mirror to keep an eye on my heights and made adjustments visually and in my touch. Once you reach a faster tempo you’ll notice that it’s all about the applied and released pressure from the fulcrum and fingers with minimal wrist movement.

Have fun!