Hello Pat
As many already have done in this thread, I want to congratulate you for “Hands grooves and fills”. I’ve been working with it for a couple of months and I feel it brings a lot to my playing. I spend most of my time in the “Hands” section so far. I must confess that I was a bit skeptical about the Rudiment Tab System at the beginning. It took me a while to try these combos, but once I did, I was hooked right away. I have done a lot of hands work with Stick Control and Master Studies, but I never really practiced rudiments per se. Your various combos are now a big part of my routine. Your super-clean demos of these on the CD constitute a good learning utility and… a stimulating target.
I also like your warm-ups. Simple and efficient. I have a question about the opening text of that section where you mention that every exercise should be maxxed to the fastest tempo possible, until “we feel the burn” … This somehow comes in contradiction with the idea of “always stay relaxed”, “always remain at a comfortable tempo”, etc. that we see in many other textbooks. Do you feel that pushing the limit like you suggest in the warm-ups applies also to the other sections of the book? Was this approach suggested to you by a teacher, or does it come from your personal learning and teaching experiences?
Or, in other words... Do you feel that speed comes from.... pushing the tempo like that ? ... Gaining control at slower tempos ? ... Both ?
Thanks for your time, and thanks as well for that great package.
Shuffle
Thanks SO much, and I'm glad you're getting alot out of "H,G&F"! It's very rewarding to hear so many success stories and satisfied drummers!
The "feel the burn" is the forearm muscles at work when you push up the tempos on exercises like "5,5,3", where you are constantly pushing the rebound and forearms to perpetuate the rebound and get a workout. This is natural, and it means your endurance is developing. It's like getting a good burn when doing light weight lifting with alot of repetitions. You will feel that muscle group fatiguing..and that's what is required to build the chops and endurance. After a while, it will take a longer time to "feel the burn", because the muscle group is conditioned and toned, so it will take a little longer to get going. THIS IS A GOOD THING! That means you are getting in shape!
SO, by using the rebound technique, you are working those muscle groups in the forearm, and getting them toned up...I DO stay relaxed, but sooner or later, you gotta crank up the tempos and hold it there to really develop the technique and endurance..
This way of building chops is an old drum corp method of repetition, increasing speed, holding it, increase speed, hold it...So, it works, and I did it alot over the years. This is how I developed the endurance. When I started playing alot of shows on tours with various artists, this came in handy. When I work out with students in lessons, I push them to their limit of fatigue, and I tell them, if you don't feel this every time you practice, you're not really working out.
This applies to the hands more than the grooves, however, you can apply it to th fills if you want more speed and accuracy
Thanks again, and keep in touch!
All the Best