| Are there certain hand exercises that will improve my playing? Can you give me any tips to increase my hand speed? |
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Over the years I've had patterns that I thought were ‘break-through exercises’ that were taking me to the next level. I don't know if I believe that anymore. For instance: If you want to play cleaner/faster singles (I think) you need to work on dozens of different exercises to bring your hands to the next level - not just playing one or two patterns over and over. There are plenty of books out there that contain numerous sticking patterns which are difficult to play - no matter what your playing level. One thing I think is important with hand technique is to work on isolation exercises for your wrists, fingers, and arms. For instance: for the fingers there's an exercise where you start with the stick balanced in your fulcrum (the stick between your thumb and first crease of the index finger). Now to create the stroke, push the stick upward with the tip of your index finger. Continue playing this way bouncing the stick off the drumhead using only your index finger. Next step, keep the fulcrum but drop the tip of your index finger and use only your middle finger to create the stroke. Continue bouncing the stick off the drumhead. Then move to your ring finger, then the pinky. There are numerous stroke groupings that you can employ within this finger exercise. Here are a few examples: If we label the fingers 1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=pinky. We can start with 4 strokes per finger using these groupings: fingers 1234 1234... or 123432 123432... or 1324 1324. Next, try these finger groupings while playing 2 strokes per finger. To make sure you are using ONLY your fingers I like to do this little test. Place a quarter on the top of your hand. If your wrist moves any more than a little twitching, then the quarter will fall. Note: These types of exercises are great chops builders but it's important that they are done correctly and in a step-by-step process. Therefore, you should seek out a qualified teacher to guide you in the right direction before delving into these specialized technical exercises. For the feet, go to the "double bass" section of this FAQ. |
