Welcome to the course, tenor drummer! I am very excited to have you here and honored to be a part of your tenor drumming journey. I sincerely feel that with hard work, we can make you the best player you can be!
Before we get started, I would like go over the structure of this course and how to benefit the most from it.
Each lesson covers a different section of an exercise. There are two videos, one with instruction and the other with run throughs at various tempos. A text summary of the lesson and practice recommendations also accompany the videos.
It is very important that you take your time on each lesson. The benefit you get from these lessons is entirely up to you and how much you put in. Playing slowly and correctly is crucial to establishing muscle memory. Once your hands learn the “correct” way to play, speeding things up will not be an issue.
I thinks that’s enough from me, now let’s get drumming!
Download the music here: Eights Over Easy
We begin things with an eights exercise. It’s always a good idea to begin any practice session with a few minutes of eights. Warming up your hands and getting the blood flowing is very important. Before every lesson (even one on an eights exercise), play at least 3-5 minutes of eights (or double-stops) on one drum at various heights and tempos.
Now that we’re warmed up, onto the exercise.
The focus of Eights Over Easy is to make sure your playing hand’s wrist rotation stays the same the entire time. It should feel identical whether you are crossed or not.
Eights Over Easy Section A
Play right-hand eights uncrossed and crossed on Drum 2, keeping your left hand on Drum 2 and then move it to Drum 1. Your sticks should cross just in front of the thumbs.
At this time, don’t worry about playing with a metronome, the focus is making sure your wrist rotation feels exactly the same.
Watch your playing positions and keep the crossing hand as low as possible.
Gradually increase the speed and rotate through different heights (3”, 6”, 9”, and 12”) until you get very comfortable with how this feels.
Now move to Drum 4.
Play right-hand eights uncrossed and then crossed (left on Drum 1), keeping your right hand rotating consistently. When crossed, your right first knuckle should be over your left thumb.
Gradually increase the speed and rotate through different heights (3”, 6”, 9”, and 12”) until you get very comfortable with how this feels.
Be sure to keep your right hand as low as possible when crossing.
When both crosses are comfortable, lets combine them. Repeat this measure to lock in the movement.
Shift your focus from your right hand (wrist rotation, heights, playing positions) to your left hand.
Make sure that your left hand (tacet, non-playing hand) does not move or shake around while the right hand is playing. It should stay in the Drum 1 playing position the entire time.
We are now ready to play the entire right hand section. Play through it slowly to lock in the around pattern, then turn on your metronome to about 80 bpm.
We are not looking to play this as fast as we can, we are aiming for a steady, consistent approach to all of our wrist strokes and low crosses.
After you play a couple good reps in a row, increase the metronome by 8 bpm.
Time to switch over to the LEFT HAND.
Play left-hand eights on Drum 1, uncrossed and crossed (right on Drum 2). Cross just in front of the thumbs.
Make sure your left hand wrist rotation stays the same the entire time. It should feel identical regardless of whether you are crossing or not. Be sure to keep the left hand low when crossing.
Gradually increase the speed and rotate through different heights (3”, 6”, 9”, and 12”) until you get very comfortable with how this feels.
Now move to Drum 3.
Play uncrossed and crossed, moving your right hand to Drum 2. When crossed, your left first knuckle will be over your right thumb.
Gradually increase the speed and rotate through different heights (3”, 6”, 9”, and 12”) until you get very comfortable with how this feels.
Keep an eye on playing positions, they shouldn’t change when crossing. Keep left hand as low as possible when crossing.
When both crosses are comfortable, lets combine them. Repeat this measure to lock in the movement.
Shift your focus from your left hand (wrist rotation, heights, playing positions) to your right hand.
Make sure that your right hand (tacet hand) does not move or shake around while the left hand is playing. It should stay in the Drum 2 playing position the entire time.
We are now ready to play the entire left hand section. Play through it slowly to lock in the around pattern, then turn on your metronome to about 80 bpm.
We are not looking to play this as fast as we can, we are aiming for a steady, consistent approach to all of our wrist strokes. Also make sure to keep the crosses as low as possible and in the correct locations.
After you play a couple good reps in a row, increase the metronome by 8 bpm.
Now that we’ve broken down the section and taught our hands what correct crosses feel like, it is time to put it all together.
If you get tripped up, isolate those trouble spots and repeat them until they feel comfortable, slowly adding counts before and after.
When the pattern is in your hands, turn on the metronome to 80 bpm and begin playing reps in front of a mirror.
As you play, shift your focus every few reps between the following:
-Play on one drum and around, making sure wrist rotation feels the same for both
-Keep crossing hand low -Stay perfectly in time with the metronome
-Keep heights consistent -Rotate through 3”, 6”, 9”, and 12” heights
-Tacet (non-playing) hand is still -Watch playing positions
As you get comfortable and are achieving the goals above, slowly increase the metronome by intervals of 8-10 bpm. Spend at least 30-45 minutes playing continuous reps.
Here are some of my reps at a few different tempos and heights. As you watch, critique my playing (no one is perfect!). Make note of anything you think I could do better. Keep these things in mind as you watch yourself in your mirror.