Looking for some exercises that any of you can suggest for building doubles speed? Thanks in advance for any input!
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">RRLL RRLL RRLL RRLL ...Originally posted by Lorenzini:
Looking for some exercises that any of you can suggest for building doubles speed? Thanks in advance for any input!
Seriously, I think the following is even better for right-handed drummers: LRRL LRRL LRRL LRRL
Read it as sixteenths; try accenting the quarters (second "L" of each double with the left) or eighths (second stroke of each double).
There's always debate about whether it's "good" or not, but I used to work out on pillows in college for sound control reasons, but it really builds up your finger control of doubles and everything else. If you can play a reasonably smooth double stroke roll on a pillow, you'll be in good shape on a real drum!
what would say is the tempo where you get stuck?
A good thing to build up doubles is to accent the second beat of the double.
r R l L r R l L
Doing that for a while at all tempos should help keep it constant and smooth. Always think of doing it like this when playing fast. It will sound much smoother.
Practice RRLL RRLL on pillows. Slow to Fast.
I like the exercise Steve Smith displays on his DVD. It goes like this:
RRLL RRLL RRLL RRLL
RLLR RLLR RLLR RLLR
LLRR LLRR LLRR LLRR
LRRL LRRL LRRL LRRL
repeat
Play the whole exercise as continuous sixteenths. You can even accent the second stroke of the double as others have mentioned. Try and make the transitions between stickings as smooth as possible.
As an a variation, try adding alternating singles after every line above.
Ex.:
RRLL RRLL RRLL RRLL
RLRL RLRL RLRL RLRL
RLLR RLLR RLLR RLLR
LRLR LRLR LRLR LRLR
LLRR LLRR LLRR LLRR
LRLR LRLR LRLR LRLR
LRRL LRRL LRRL LRRL
RLRL RLRL RLRL RLRL
repeat
RR-LL-RR-LL etc. and accenting
the second stroke. Work this,
starting with both hands
On pillows, this is great. I
love pillows for practice.
On the set, accent, also, with
the kick, one hand on the cymbal.
This will get your doubles going,
on your feet too, killing two
birds, with one stone.
Make sure you give your left foot
a chance too, if you have double-
kicks. You will surprise yourself.
[img]cool.gif[/img]
The Steve Smith exercise is great - though I think he got if from drum corps. I know Virgil Donati was doing that pattern with his feet many years before the SS DVD.
Try playing them with a firmer grip than you probably are. This will force you to wrist them more and work harder - the trick is to remain as relaxed as possible when doing this. The pillow thing is great for this. Don't play tight, just firm enough to prevent the stick from moving in your hand - no dangling pinkies! Use a mirror to check yourself. Maintain control, start slow and gradually increase your speed as your muscles get conditioned over a period of weeks.
Bouncing comes later....
Try splitting the doubles between two surfaces ie:
R (tom1) R (snare) L (tom2) L (snare)
also try playing this utilizing 'Idle Hand High'
RRRLLLRRRLLL etc
RRRRLLLLRRRRLLLL etc
if you don't know about idle hand high ask and I'm sure someone will explain...(basically hand that is not playing should point up vertically)
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