do you guys have any exercises which would be good for practicing switching between singles and doubles (around the kit) when playing fills in songs? i've got kinda stuck in a rut playing the same covers with my band week-in-week-out and none of the songs have any fills that incorporate double strokes (i basically just play single 16th note type fills or basic triplets, sometimes incorporate the feet, but nothing too fancy)
i'm the first to admit that i'm not an overly technical/speed drummer like half of you guys, and i don't really want links to 100's of books and dvd's to study technique, i'm just curious if you guys have any decent suggestions for exercises or just wanna chat about ideas if you're in a similar rut!
thanks
I second the Stick Control suggestion, but here's what I'd do with it.
1. Choose a sticking pattern (e.g. RRLL)
2. Choose a number of strokes to be played per surface (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4....8...)
3. Choose 2, 3, 4 or more surfaces and move the sticking around between them. (e.g. 4 surfaces like SD + 3 Toms) Once you've played the chosen number of strokes on a surface, you move to the next surface. Don't pass GO, don't collect $200.
4. Make patterns/shapes.
E.g. for four surfaces:
i. A square or circle clockwise beginning from any drum.
ii. A square or circle counterclockwise beginning from any drum.
iii. An "N" (Start on either end of the "N")
iv. An "L" (SD-T1-SD-FT or T1-SD-FT-SD) or a backwards "L" (MT/FT/SD/FT)
v. A "Z"
Once you've done just drums, incorporate the hihat and other cymbals, etc. That should get you sufficiently comfortable using any particular sticking around the drum kit. Some shapes are going to be difficult with certain stickings (especially LH lead or alternating patterns like the paradiddle inversions) but that'll force you to be fast moving between drums and learn to get your opposite hand out of the way, etc. But, once you've figured out what really works to get you from one place to another without too much fuss, practice those movements even more.
Strive for evenness of rhythm and tone. Aim for the center of each drum at first and try to move as efficiently and deftly as possible. No excess tension, looping paths between surfaces, etc.