singles, building speed.....

[drumbumLEE]

im stuk at singles, i want to know how to develop more speed and one day play them like buddy rich did or as fast as possible, your advice will be much appreciated........

is the moeller stroke the way forward to bring this to realization or is there anything else?

[Lachrymologist]

Hmm........................................
You could try playing to a metronome really slowly and focus on your technique (especially fingers...if your fingers aren't coordinated work on your wrists)
I'm sure learning the moeller stroke would help in general, but it's more useful for accents than speed.
Both of which you will need to accomplish your last goal. Plus much studying Buddy Rich and every other great musician you can to gain inspiration from and create your own unique playing style.

[larryace]

Whichever technique (a whole nother subject) personally fits you there is no shortcut. It takes many billions of drumstrokes to get them smooth and even. Find the technique that suits you personally and get to it man.

[larryace]

Also the gateway to speed is control. It's better to play slower perfectly than faster and sloppier. Gotta crawl before you can walk blah blah blah

[Boomka]

I'm sure some of the competition-level speed demons will be around to comment soon enough, but one of the keys to speed is endurance. Your muscles need to be able to quickly contract and relax many, many times without getting fatigued. Endurance is best built at tempos which are below your maximum. So, for instance, if your maximum controlled speed is 16th notes at 180 BPM, then set your metronome to 164 (or even lower) and see if you can play for several minutes. If you can't, back down to a tempo where you can. Work your way up to your "maximum" slowly until you can play it for an extended period. Then you will likely be able to push to a new maximum (short burst) speed.

[Chris Oyens]

Ok. You want to build up speed (and control) with your singles, I'll give you the exercise and the plan to do it, but you MUST promise you will stick exactly to what I tell you to do. If you run into problems you can always post here your progress (or lack of) and I'll be happy to help you. This is the Murray Spivack exercise to execute fast and clean singles. But it is a gradual exercise, so you CANNOT think that you will accelerate your progress by doing it YOUR WAY.

The thing to remember here is that your metronome click will equal a 16th note, ok? NOT a quarter note but a 16th note. Rememeber that. Another thing is you want to start and end your strokes as near to the head as possible, anywhere between 1/2 an inch, to 1 inch from the striking surface.

Turn your metronome at 50 = 16th note (yes you WILL have to start VERY slow, that's how you build up speed the right way). Now play 32nd notes to your click (remember again your click equals a 16th note!! So you are simply doubling the speed of your click with your singles), play them for 8 clicks then (double the speed again) play 64th notes, play them for 8 clicks and come back down to the 32nd notes, play them for 8 clicks, then 64th notes for 8 clicks... Keep repeating this for a long time. Since we are starting the exercise at a slow speed, in the beginning you will mainly be using your wrists, but you will see that gradually as you build up speed there will be a need the aid of your fingers. But don't worry about it, it will come naturally as you raise the metronome.

That's it! The important this is how you will bring the click up all the way to 208, playing the very same exercise!! So here is the plan on how to do it.

First week maximum speed on the metronome = 50 -- 60

Second week = 63 -- 76

Third week = 63 -- 104

Fourth week = 63 -- 126

Fifth week = 63 -- 152

Sixth week = 63 -- 168

Seventh week = 63 -- 192

Eighth week = 63 -- 208

As you can see, it's very important that you start slow everytime and build up speed slowly, if you start feeling tension, bring the mertonome back down and start again. You will find that the very short break you have to manually bring up the metronome speed helps you to relax as well. After a year of doing this, I found that I could play my singles at 208 (64th notes) without needing to bring the speed down since my muscles had been conditioned and stretched to do this. That is the goal of this great exercise! By alternating between the 32nds and 64ths you are streching and relaxing your muscles constantly for them to develop and relax. It's much more efficient that trying to simply play fast singles non stop, doing that just seems to tighten you up and give you cramps.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[Sinsyk17]

Whichever technique (a whole nother subject) personally fits you there is no shortcut. It takes many billions of drumstrokes to get them smooth and even. Find the technique that suits you personally and get to it man.


Billion's? You have to be 32 years old before you have even lived one billion seconds. So I hightly doubt he will need that long to learn this technique. Maybe so. I don't know.

[larryace]

Billion's? You have to be 32 years old before you have even lived one billion seconds. So I hightly doubt he will need that long to learn this technique. Maybe so. I don't know.

Ooops I meant trillions

[Crazy+Hands]

Watch derrick pope's videos about the jojo myer open/close technique over and over again. Pay close attention. When you have the basic concept down, start working each hand individually starting with your dominant hand. WATCH and analyze what you are doing carefully, and keep telling yourself "wrist, finger." for the upstroke and downstroke, respectively. You don't want to play exclusively with either of them, as many drummers do. Proper coordination will take YEARS of consistent practice to develop.

****You must hold the sticks as loosely as you can...if they start flying around, that is good! A good way to find the right grip pressure is to hold your stick vertically in the air, find that minimal amount of pressure needed to hold it without it sliding out of your hand. TigerBill's website has some good explanations of this and "the gladstone technique" which is basically the same thing as the open/close technique but divides it into "full strokes, half stokes, and low strokes"

I'd recommend using heavy marching sticks and the side of your practice pad with less rebound to develop your finger muscles quicker than using just the high rebound side. To develop your wrists, play against a couch cushion. This will make playing on your kit much easier and your regular sticks will feel like twigs!

I WOULD NOT recommend starting with out a metronome! it can be very annoying and tedious and discouraging to use one before you have proper technique nailed down!

[Chris Oyens]

I WOULD NOT recommend starting with out a metronome! it can be very annoying and tedious and discouraging to use one before you have proper technique nailed down!

The difficult part of posing such a difficult question in a forum such as this one is the myriad of opposing opinions you will get. So that in the end you MAY become more confused than you were when posting your question!! :-)) Such is life!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. So I'll just say I disagree 100% with the quote above. I gave you a study plan for eight weeks to get your sinlges to an impressive speed, but IT DOES require the use of a metronome, otherwise you will not have a starting point in order to play softly, slowly and in control of your speed. Forget any mention of Up Strokes for now!! You wrote here seeking to play Singles, so for now focus on Single Strokes! Eight weeks is a short term investment to develop great singles, try my execise and see the wonders it will do to your wrist and finger control. We'll worry about your up and down strokes later.

[Crazy+Hands]

The difficult part of posing such a difficult question in a forum such as this one is the myriad of opposing opinions you will get. So that in the end you MAY become more confused than you were when posting your question!! :-)) Such is life!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. So I'll just say I disagree 100% with the quote above. I gave you a study plan for eight weeks to get your sinlges to an impressive speed, but IT DOES require the use of a metronome, otherwise you will not have a starting point in order to play softly, slowly and in control of your speed. Forget any mention of Up Strokes for now!! You wrote here seeking to play Singles, so for now focus on Single Strokes! Eight weeks is a short term investment to develop great singles, try my execise and see the wonders it will do to your wrist and finger control. We'll worry about your up and down strokes later.

Do you really expect him to follow exactly what you say without you being there to coach him along the way in person??? 8 WEEKS? are you kidding? you really cant expect that kind of time frame to produce the results he is looking for, unless you have a very patient teacher to closely guide you.

The only way to build speed is to play FAST! Derrick Roddy always says that...you have to force those tempos out the best you can...gradually working your way up is helpful, but the only way your going to play as fast as you want is to watch how other drummers do it and mimic...like i said derrick pope's videos are very helpful, but they are on the advanced side of things...

Metronomes are very helpful, yes, but if you have a basic understanding of the principles of wrist/finger coordination from the start, you wont have to rely entirely upon "nature" to develop it (relying on nature = survival of the fittest, i.e. if you don't naturally develop it, you might as well quit...haha)...the most important thing is listening, you will know when your playing evenly and when your not...and again, knowing that sound comes from watching other drummers, not using a metronome, at least when your starting out.

instead of taking baby steps, try playing along to songs that require fast singles and do the best you can...it is much more enjoyable in this way than sitting and listening to a click track for hours...this will give you the baseline you need before starting with working with a metronome.

There is no right or wrong method for developing speed...find your own way. This is just based upon my experience, and i'm no drum teacher yet but i have developed some good speed, just watch some of my videos if you want.

[Boomka]

The only way to build speed is to play FAST! Derrick Roddy always says that...you have to force those tempos out the best you can...gradually working your way up is helpful, but the only way your going to play as fast as you want is to watch how other drummers do it and mimic...

That's a awfully cock-sure opinion. And yet later in the same post you say,

"There is no right or wrong method for developing speed...find your own way".

So which is it? With all due respect to Derek Roddy, there are a host of great (and also very fast) players and teachers who would disagree with your impression of his opinion vehemently. Are you really going to question the methods of - for instance - Joe Morello? I.e. a teacher whose own speed is well known, and who has produced countless students with incredibly fast hands using - you guessed it - a gradual, relaxed approach to developing speed. Funny, too, that in a previous post you mention Gladstone who helped Joe develop his incredible technique. I'm positive that Gladstone would disagree with Mr. Roddy, too. Ditto Murray Spivak, and yet you see fit to question his methods presented here by his long-time student based on "your experience" and something you think Derek Roddy said.

Tell me, have you ever TRIED any of the aforementioned methods? Perhaps you should do what Chris Oyens has suggested and see what happens before coming out against it? What do you have to lose?

[FunkyJazzer]

Alan Dawson

2020202020

[BillBachman]

I have an article in the "Strictly Technique" section of the new Modern Drummer on rudiments and starting with the single stroke roll. There are a couple exercises included which will surely help build singles speed. It's good to practice fast, but only as fast as you can play comfortably with smooth relaxed technique. Get tons of reps at the top comfortable speed and your top comfortable speed will gradually become faster and faster.

Whatever you do, don't practice faster than you can play with relaxed control because then you're just programming and re-enforcing bad habits.

Enjoy, Bill

[The Big Beat]

do the killer exercise, joe morellos, i think its at the drumclinic section on drummerworld, it really helps i try to in crease my speed a little bit each week doing that each night continuously for at least 15 min, take a break and start up again.
killer exercise is, two measure of singles(4/4 time, 16th notes) followed by two measures of doubles, rr ll rr ll, followed by two measures of paradiddles rlrr lrll rlrr lrll, then back to singles. your speed will increase dramaticall y in no time

[diosdude]

Mike mangini, the fastest drummer alive (1241 single strokes in a minute) says he builds speed by doing low tempo repition for HOURS. He says he does MINIMUM 90 minutes per day on a single pattern but typically, between 3 and 6 hours. ON A SINGLE PATTERN! His theory is that it builds finite muscle memory.

[Anne Beeche]

Practice by working a nice, slow roll, then slowly bring it up.

I also recommend slowly bringing the speed down again, helps you learn how to control your speed both ways.

[Crazy+Hands]

Tell me, have you ever TRIED any of the aforementioned methods? Perhaps you should do what Chris Oyens has suggested and see what happens before coming out against it? What do you have to lose?

I'm sure chris's method does work...everything about drumming is gradual...it just seems overly concerned with following an exact schedule, which is hard for most drummers to maintain in our complicated lives. I just find the aforementioned time frame to be sort of a gimmick, telling you what you want to hear. Most of us do not have the luxuries that the old jazz guys had, such as being able to practice for hours on end each day...relying on the classic methods entirely is not necessarily the best way of going about things. I don't doubt their effectiveness at all. Its just that times have changed, and so should our methods, depending on your own goals

No i have not tried any of these methods, and i can do 250 or 260 just fine, double kick and hands...that comes from playing in a speed metal band. I never sought out to become a fast drummer, the situation brought it upon me to learn and I wanted to improve, so I watched some videos and played as often as possible. When i was ready to move up on the speed level, i stopped using metronome and just learned the mechanics of the up and down stroke, because for many years i had played with bad technique...i was using too much of my wrist and my grip was too tight. I figure that unless you start out with teacher who shows you Morello's method, etc , your probably in the same boat...so why is it wrong to take a step back and really figure out what your doing and address your problems before beginning a regimen? Either way, the improvement is made when your playing fast, that is the point i'm trying to make, not that you should just start playing erratically and awkwardly fast and expect to get anywhere. You have to push yourself to play fast no matter what method or lack of method your going with.

[Therma lobsterdore]

I'm gonna have to agree with Boomka, Derek Roddy always says push yourself and whatnot but there are plenty of speedy greats that didn't do that, slow measured practice with a metronome over long periods of time has worked best for me. However I do supplement it by playing to fast music and playing outside of my comfort zone when I just jam on my own. Drumming is about learning motions remember, not building strength or 'burning' things in, your just ingraining motions into your nervous system essentially.

You should spend most of your time playing in a relaxed fashion, you might hurt yourself and develop bad habits otherwise! I'd never stop using a metronome completely, no matter what your doing you still want to keep it in time, otherwise you won't be able to fulfill the most basic requirement of drumming...timekeeping. Keep it simple, just keep practicing those rudiments.

[mrchattr]

If you start slow and work up to fast speeds, you learn the proper techniques to play at all speeds. If you start fast and force it, you are at higher risk of a stress injury, and also of finding "shortcuts" to playing fast that will hurt your slower playing. A lot of the guys I know that just stress the speed playing rush like crazy when they are playing a slower tune, because they don't have the control, and their shortcuts only lead to them playing faster. There are certainly exceptions, as there always are, but that's how it works for the vast majority of players out there.

[Crazy+Hands]

Ok, im not trying to be argumentative here at all...we all can agree that endurance exercises at slower tempos will help you out. I have found that doing long intervals (15mins and up) at a comfortable tempo is beneficial for your control, but while your in those stretches try doing 8 bars or 16 bars of your max comfortable speed and then go back into your slower tempo. Also try mix in your rudiments (doubles, diddles, triplets, etc). This is roughly what I along with Roddy mean when we say 'pushing yourself.' All improvements in life have require this extra effort to some degree...am i wrong?

Torture does not even begin to describe Mangini's method, doing 3-6 hrs on a single pattern at slow tempos, at that point you are no longer human. I'm trying to work in this fashion the best I can, it absolutely works but you'd have to be crazy to not consider that pushing yourself.

[Chris Oyens]

Most of us do not have the luxuries that the old jazz guys had, such as being able to practice for hours on end each day...relying on the classic methods entirely is not necessarily the best way of going about things. I don't doubt their effectiveness at all. Its just that times have changed, and so should our methods, depending on your own goals

So the modern method is that you don't need to practice?? Only it it is to use ProTools to fix your drumming! The exercise I posted requires and investment of 20 to 30 minutes 5 or 6 days a week, if you're not willing to do this you're just wasting your time (and mine, if you're my student I will flatly tell you to look for another teacher) trying to pretend you will ever be an accomplished player!

From what I gather, "modern" thinking implies quite the opposite. Malcom Gladwell's best selling book "Blink" states that talent is definitely overrated and through his research he found out that most accomplished professionals break the 10.000 hours mark. That means that the people that practiced their craft for more than 10.000 hours were more successful than those who didn't as a rule.

[druid]

Alot of it too has to do with not only how much you practice but how often. If you only have 1/2 hour a day it is much more effective to do that rather than 3 hours once a week for example. Everyone has to work within their own schedules but when players say they practice '8 hours a day' you better believe they are and are not taking short cuts. Using a metronome to stuff like this also helps and is something I have gotten back to (although my time is pretty good ) so that I can focus on how to manipulate the sticks while just l'ocking in' rather than feeling like I have to 'keep the time'. it's a small differnce but one that helps me to focus on the actual physical event occuring (for example push pull techinique gradually increasing the tempo)- without consciously *thinking* about keeping it steady. I was just experimenting with this idea last night.

[Sprock]

So the modern method is that you don't need to practice?? Only it it is to use ProTools to fix your drumming! The exercise I posted requires and investment of 20 to 30 minutes 5 or 6 days a week, if you're not willing to do this you're just wasting your time (and mine, if you're my student I will flatly tell you to look for another teacher) trying to pretend you will ever be an accomplished player!

From what I gather, "modern" thinking implies quite the opposite. Malcom Gladwell's best selling book "Blink" states that talent is definitely overrated and through his research he found out that most accomplished professionals break the 10.000 hours mark. That means that the people that practiced their craft for more than 10.000 hours were more successful than those who didn't as a rule.

Well there are times when some people dont have time to practice even 30minutes, some people might be working long shifts to get the money in, so they're either to tired to practice or got other stuff to do before they got to bed.

That being said i do agree you need to practice as often as possible to get to where you want to be.

Now i've got my electric kit i can practice hours a day again around university and work which is great!

But on subject, i agree about alot of peoples methods to a certain extent.. but its entirely up to the person to choose which method to use.. personally i mix mine up so my muscles get worked more.

i.e 1-2 weeks 100 bpm just 16s doing singles doubles paradiddles.
Then another 2 weeks at 210bpm.
Aswell as playing along with fast songs trying to keep up.

Another way i used to practice was sit infront of tv with pad a metronome and headphone in left ear. Played 4 bars with right hand 4 bars with left hand then 8 bars 16 with both hands found this was a good way to work independence, endurance and speed.

Its entirely your choice on how you do it!

[jonescrusher]

No i have not tried any of these methods, and i can do 250 or 260 just fine, double kick and hands...that comes from playing in a speed metal band. I never sought out to become a fast drummer, the situation brought it upon me to learn and I wanted to improve, so I watched some videos and played as often as possible. When i was ready to move up on the speed level, i stopped using metronome and just learned the mechanics of the up and down stroke, because for many years i had played with bad technique...i was using too much of my wrist and my grip was too tight. I figure that unless you start out with teacher who shows you Morello's method, etc , your probably in the same boat...so why is it wrong to take a step back and really figure out what your doing and address your problems before beginning a regimen? Either way, the improvement is made when your playing fast, that is the point i'm trying to make, not that you should just start playing erratically and awkwardly fast and expect to get anywhere. You have to push yourself to play fast no matter what method or lack of method your going with.

Judging by your vids, your hand technique requires further work at high speeds (not bagging you, just some advice), especially your left hand. A stronger, less 'open' hand position will allow you a more efficient action and a more articulated stroke from the drum, and lower the risk of a strain injury. Chris' method is good as it is goal oriented. I'd also add that the open-close method, without metronome, is excellent for developing accurate note spacing, stamina and control.

[Crazy+Hands]

So the modern method is that you don't need to practice?? Only it it is to use ProTools to fix your drumming! The exercise I posted requires and investment of 20 to 30 minutes 5 or 6 days a week, if you're not willing to do this you're just wasting your time (and mine, if you're my student I will flatly tell you to look for another teacher) trying to pretend you will ever be an accomplished player!

From what I gather, "modern" thinking implies quite the opposite. Malcom Gladwell's best selling book "Blink" states that talent is definitely overrated and through his research he found out that most accomplished professionals break the 10.000 hours mark. That means that the people that practiced their craft for more than 10.000 hours were more successful than those who didn't as a rule.

Where did you hear me say not to practice? Yes, your right if you can't dedicate a half hour a day then you are wasting your time...I practice everyday for hours, but i am very lucky to have a practice room, a nice drumset, a band, a supportive family, and i'm in college so there is some downtime...I absolutely try my best to invest as much as i can into my "modern drumming," I would be letting all of those things go to waste if i didn't...
how can you say talent is overrated or even measurable? Of course the amount of time effects how far you go with your drumming, that's indisputable.

There is no formula for greatness in anything. Lets see, 10,000 hours/24 hours in a day=416.6 days of practicing/52 weeks in a year=8 hours per week for x number of years. It takes much more time than that to progress to the professional level, there is great deal of luck and financial freedom needed to get there. People learn at different rates, its not how much time you spend but what you choose to be the focus of your effort.

you brought up pro-tools, that is completely besides the point here. It is only a tool that speeds up the process of recording through digital technology, it can be used honestly or not! In stead of taking days to do drum replacement which is now the norm for any professional quality recording, it can be done in a few hours or minutes allowing you to concentrate on more important aspects of production...All im trying to say is that drumming is supposed to be fun and so should your practice methods!

[Crazy+Hands]

Judging by your vids, your hand technique requires further work at high speeds (not bagging you, just some advice), especially your left hand. A stronger, less 'open' hand position will allow you a more efficient action and a more articulated stroke from the drum, and lower the risk of a strain injury. Chris' method is good as it is goal oriented. I'd also add that the open-close method, without metronome, is excellent for developing accurate note spacing, stamina and control.

Haha, im guessing you watched the belphegor video...i had run three miles that day and i was not playing very well and i had already been on the kit for about an hour...thought you would say my right hand, that's my weaker side! Ive thought about moving the hihat back so i can use my right more by crossing my hands, i guess that is what you mean by a less open handed position. I use my left so much as it is, i would think that trying to improve my off hand would be better. i'm working on the mangini type method right now and it has helped out quite a bit so far. Could you clarify what you you think i should do?

[jonescrusher]

There is no formula for greatness in anything. Lets see, 10,000 hours/24 hours in a day=416.6 days of practicing/52 weeks in a year=8 hours per week for x number of years. It takes much more time than that to progress to the professional level, there is great deal of luck and financial freedom needed to get there. People learn at different rates, its not how much time you spend but what you choose to be the focus of your effort.



That 10000 hour figure was formulated by neuroscientists a while back, who claim that that is the required amount to turn a person into a virtuoso ie. top of the game pro. Given that it works out to roughly 3 hours a day every day for 10 years that sounds about right - an enormous undertaking. Financial freedom would be a boon, but getting that amount of study in would leave little room for luck, or indeed natural 'talent'.

[jonescrusher]

Haha, im guessing you watched the belphegor video...i had run three miles that day and i was not playing very well and i had already been on the kit for about an hour...thought you would say my right hand, that's my weaker side! Ive thought about moving the hihat back so i can use my right more by crossing my hands, i guess that is what you mean by a less open handed position. I use my left so much as it is, i would think that trying to improve my off hand would be better. i'm working on the mangini type method right now and it has helped out quite a bit so far. Could you clarify what you you think i should do?

The main issue seems to be the angle that is formed at your wrists ie. almost right-angled. To get a powerful, efficient stroke the arms, wrists and fingers need to be used, wrists and fingers only at top speeds. Aim not to drop the fingers, keep them close to the palm, but not clamping the stick. A combination of wrist movement and fingers controlling the rebound will provide speed and power. The angle of movement in the wrist should be slight. Try to avoid a 'pumping' movement with the arm if you're relying on this to keep stamina. HIgh speed should see no up-down motion of the arm.
Definitely check out guys like Mangini, Chambers and Cobham for good example of quick singles.

[Crazy+Hands]

The main issue seems to be the angle that is formed at your wrists ie. almost right-angled. To get a powerful, efficient stroke the arms, wrists and fingers need to be used, wrists and fingers only at top speeds. Aim not to drop the fingers, keep them close to the palm, but not clamping the stick. A combination of wrist movement and fingers controlling the rebound will provide speed and power. The angle of movement in the wrist should be slight. Try to avoid a 'pumping' movement with the arm if you're relying on this to keep stamina. HIgh speed should see no up-down motion of the arm.
Definitely check out guys like Mangini, Chambers and Cobham for good example of quick singles.

Does the snare drum height have anything to do with this? I have been experimenting with slightly different levels around belt buckle height. I know your elbows should be at 90 degrees or less, so would a lower height ease the angle of my wrists? Thanks for your advice.

[Crazy+Hands]

I have been really paying attention to the angle of my wrists and I'm also having to re-think my left as my dominant hand on the kit! I developed the arm pumping as a bad habit from riding 15" hihats...really trying to fix this and further improve my single stroke technique overall.

The last thing i'll say about developing speed gradually is that you will get to a certain speed where the motion needed to properly maintain the tempo completely changes, somewhere around 220 bpm...your fingers start taking over more of the stroke and your wrist motion becomes more condensed...The same thing goes for double bass, you have to start using your ankles/hip flexors instead of just your full leg motion. This is when a gradual approach will likely reach a plateau and you have to re-address technique. Sounds obvious but it can really get frustrating if you don't take a step back at that point.

[ewanlaing]

do the killer exercise, joe morellos, i think its at the drumclinic section on drummerworld, it really helps i try to in crease my speed a little bit each week doing that each night continuously for at least 15 min, take a break and start up again.
killer exercise is, two measure of singles(4/4 time, 16th notes) followed by two measures of doubles, rr ll rr ll, followed by two measures of paradiddles rlrr lrll rlrr lrll, then back to singles. your speed will increase dramaticall y in no time
Another good morello one (also called the "killer" weirdly enough) is in his book Master Studies.
It's 4 sixteenths in the right hand, followed by 4 in the left and repeated 50 times. This is immediately followed (without a pause) by 8 in each hand 50 times, then 12 and finally 16. You do this along to a metronome. This first time you do it it may take a while (took me about 10-15 mins), but this just gives you incentive to improve.
The idea is to do this everyday and to work at tempos that DON'T cause tension. As soon as you feel tension STOP. Take the tempo down and work at a lower tempo. I've noticed a huge improvement in my timing, accuracy and endurance as a result and my singles are getting cleaner everyday.

[jazzin']

I know this is all considered opinion, but I truly think that one thing you should never tell an up and coming player is not to use a metronome. I'm not trying to be offensive here Crazyhands but that is bad advice. If you find it hard and think it's a waste of time that's cool, but one thing you should always do in your practice (of course you don't have to if you find it annoying) is use a metronome and if you're too lazy to get it happening, for gods sake don't tell other people not to use it because you think it's a waste of time. You should absolutely use one when starting out, not the other way around.

That';s like saying to someone "Don't worry about developing bad time because you can just go back later and use a metronome to fix it.". No. Why not just use a metronome and get used to it from the start and you'll never have that problem in the first place. If you find it difficult and tedious to use a metronome that just means that you need to use it more and get better at it because it shows straight away that your time is not good. That is the whole point of the metronome, to bring obvious timing matters to the front and help you fix them.

During practice everything should be done with a metronome. That is really one of the only few necessities for a drummer. As Elvin said "Time is non-negotiable" and the best way to get good time is to use a metronome for everything you do and that includes running single stroke exercises. If you can't even keep good time to a metronome with something so simple as doing single strokes, all that means is that you absolutely have bad time and it will really show up during your actual playing. Please, don't tell people that they shouldn't use a metronome when doing single strokes unless it is for a particular exercise that does not use it or can't use it.

There is differing opinions for advice obviously but one opinion that is consensual among all proper teachers is that you must use a metronome. Telling people not to because you yourself find it tedious and annoying is bad advice.

[jazzin']

do the killer exercise, joe morellos, i think its at the drumclinic section on drummerworld, it really helps i try to in crease my speed a little bit each week doing that each night continuously for at least 15 min, take a break and start up again.
killer exercise is, two measure of singles(4/4 time, 16th notes) followed by two measures of doubles, rr ll rr ll, followed by two measures of paradiddles rlrr lrll rlrr lrll, then back to singles. your speed will increase dramaticall y in no time

I think you might mean the 'Control Studies'. The 'Stone Killer' exercise is, as someone pointed out already, a series of single handed strokes increasing in number.

Both are great exercises though and used in combination is a brilliant way to increase speed.

Oh yeah, Crazy-hands, I'm quite positive that if you actually asked Derek Roddy he would say that you should actually do both. You need to play slow to get the control and understanding of the technique and gradually build it up but once that is all done and your technique is good then like everyone here has already said, you have to play fast. Some people would stress that you should do everything slow and by having that perfect technique you will be able to play fast straight away. No one though, and I'm quite sure this would include Roddy, would say forget the gradual thing, just go for it and go nuts. You will get to a certain speed and everything will just stop and you'll never get faster.

The gradual speed way means you're doing both. You're developing good form and then moving up and then playing very fast. Just going all out from the start and trying to play as fast as you can from the get go will not work for very many people at all. Maybe it worked for you, but it is not sound advice for everyone.