Section B of Eights Over Easy gets the arms rotating a little more. You only spend one beat hovering over a single drum rather than two. Despite the extra forearm rotation, the wrist stroke should remain the same.
Be sure to attack the drum straight down and not develop a slice.
Practice these crosses with your right hand keeping your left hand on Drum 1 until they start to feel comfortable. Rotate between 3”, 6”, 9”, and 12” heights.
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 these with your left hand keeping your right hand on Drum 2 until they start to feel comfortable. Rotate between 3”, 6”, 9”, and 12” heights.
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.