FINGER CONTROL HELP

[Chrispb7]

ssuup guys.
So im thinking that i really wanna get finger control mastered, and i'm not very fast at it,
at all. At best i can do finger control single stroke rolls as fast as i can with my wrists.
Is there any exercises you guys can help me out with that will help me develop finger
control? Any other ways to develop and speed it up? Also any tips regarding finger
control and speed would be awesome!

Thanks in advance guys.

[Lachrymologist]

You could do Jojo Mayer's finger exercise. Take the stick in french grip and balance it at the fulcrum between your thumb and index finger...Do a set amount of single strokes using only your index finger (you can start with 8) make sure you are not using your wrist or any other fingers. Keep the stick in this fulcrum point and move on to your middle finger, then your ring, then pinky, back to ring, back to middle, and so on. Hopefully this makes sense, if not I suggest picking up his DVD 'Secret Weapons of the Modern Drummer' it will help you focus in on all your gears and help you refine your technique.

[Monica McCoy]

Play a measure of 8th notes with your right hand using a full wrist bounce then for the 2nd measure play 16th notes with all fingers. Use a mirror so you can see yourself isolating the wrist and making the fingers play on the 16th notes.

Do that for like 10 minutes then switch to the other hand. Use a metronome.

[Boomka]

You could do Jojo Mayer's finger exercise. Take the stick in french grip and balance it at the fulcrum between your thumb and index finger...Do a set amount of single strokes using only your index finger (you can start with 8) make sure you are not using your wrist or any other fingers. Keep the stick in this fulcrum point and move on to your middle finger, then your ring, then pinky, back to ring, back to middle, and so on. Hopefully this makes sense, if not I suggest picking up his DVD 'Secret Weapons of the Modern Drummer' it will help you focus in on all your gears and help you refine your technique.

Gary Chaffee first published a version of that exercise - and several others like it - in Technique Patterns. In Gary's presentation the you expand the exercise to include shifting rhythms from 8ths to 8th-note-triplets to 16ths, etc.

[Unevil]

Okay, not sure if this would apply to single-stroke finger speed, but I would think it would.
You are going to be playing diddles alternating on hands (2 strokes) and make sure that they are two seperate strokes played with the fingers. It goes as such...
(lower-cast sixteenth notes, upper-case is eighth)(eighth note rest between diddles)


rr rr rr rr RR ll ll ll LL rr ll rr ll RLR

so the exercise is counted out like: 1e(&a) 2e (&a) etc.
hope I helped, gl.

[Casper "DrPowerStroke" Paludan]

Whenever someone asks about finger control in a very general way, I always assume they don't have wrist control. If they did, they would not be asking about fingers.

The reason is, quoting joe Morello, you need good wrists in order to get good fingers.

Good wrists means learning the free stroke, practicing it every day for a year or so. This means taking lessons with a teacher who can correct small, otherwise invisible issues, to help you move forward. Amazingly, by concentrating on your wrists this way, you will get GERAT finger control automatically. Then, you can begin to practice it in earnest....

Hope this helps.

Casper

[Chrispb7]

Hey thanks guys. That exercise from JoJo Mayer helped out a ton. Ive been working on it
for about a half hour a day for the last few days and i've already seen a ton of improvement
and coordination. Thanks a lot guys.