Once you have the passion for playing drums and the dedication to develop your technique, the hardest part is done. All you’re missing are the lessons you need to take your playing to the next level. So what do these lessons look like?
The intermediate stage of developing your drum set technique is the toughest one to work through. You may find yourself going back through the beginner lessons and realizing that you will never move on from the basics – it’s cumulative, and it’s normal. That’s why the following drum lesson include fundamental breakdowns for techniques, rudiments, and grooves.
The following lessons combine the rebound stroke from the beginner lessons article and a controlled stroke, which some call staccato stroke. The combinations of these two strokes blow open the doors for drummers in terms of stick control and application of rudiments around the drum set.
The second lesson below, for example, teaches you how to define your accented and unaccented strokes on the hi hat. This definition of strokes applies to the paradiddles you’ll practice in lesson three of this list, as well as the slurps in lesson four and the flams rudiments in lesson five.
As always, practice with a metronome, at different tempos, and do so consistently – daily, weekly, etc. The key to becoming a good drummer is making good sounds, so listen closely to the music you are making. If it doesn’t sound good, try to isolate the reason so you can improve. This is not always easy, which is why most drummers need a teacher, book, or more in-depth study materials.
🔽 Are you practicing to maximize results? FREE download. 🔽
1. Controlled Stroke
If you are more familiar with referring to rebound strokes as “legato” strokes, then you should think of controlled strokes as “staccato.” Controlled strokes are played by stopping (or controlling) the rebound. Instead of letting the rebound prepare the stick for the next stroke, you are stopping the stick.
When the stick is stopped lower to the head, you are ready to play lower dynamic strokes, like a grace note of a flam, for example. Accents, however, are probably the most common reason you would play controlled strokes. It’s the only way to form combinations of louder and softer strokes in fluent, musical ways.
See this article with 5 free drum lessons for beginners if you are looking for more explanation on rebound strokes.
The following exercises are designed to help you develop your controlled stroke. The first one is simple but necessary. It focuses on playing slow controlled strokes to practice stopping the stick without tightening your grip too much. Focus on relaxation while maintaining stick control.
Once you feel relaxed in your controlled stroke, play the other exercises to incorporate rebound strokes. The controlled strokes in these exercises will be used to play the accented notes in the exercises. The unaccented notes are rebound strokes at a lower stick height than the accents. For example, if your stick height for the accents is about nine inches from the head of the drum (or practice pad), the rebound strokes should be about three to four inches from the drum.
Use the Moeller technique to play accents and taps. This technique combines three different movements to maximize efficient transitions from accented to unaccented strokes. The following images detail the Moeller technique.
2. Hi-Hat Accents and Taps
Rebound is a different issue on cymbals, so we are going to focus on the area of the stick you use to play each area of the cymbal. These are guidelines, not rules.
Play accents on the hi hat with the shoulder of the stick on the edge of the cymbals. Play taps with the tip of the stick on the top (or bow) of the cymbal. As you raise your forearm up to prepare for the next accent, use your wrist to play a tap with the tip on the top, as explained in the Moeller technique above.
Incorporating your arm is related to development of the Moeller stroke, which uses the weight of your arm to be more efficient at achieving louder volumes. Jim Chapin and Joe Morello, among other great drummers, use similar logic in their methods. Like always, don’t forget to stay relaxed. Tension is a major roadblock to your technique development.
By using this hi hat technique, you can develop faster chops through more efficient means of arm, wrist, and finger movement in relation to playing areas of the stick and cymbals. Even if you play all accents for a hi hat pattern, this technique will prepare you for the relaxation of your muscles at faster tempos.
For more approaches to playing hi-hats, check out this article on 8 Hi-Hat Techniques for Getting Great Sounds.
3. Paradiddles
The paradiddle is probably the most useful sticking combination rudiment for making grooves, fills, and improvisation interesting. When you play one hand on a cymbal and the other on the snare, the funky groove possibilities jump out from everywhere. Just add the kick, and you’re on your way playing like David Garibaldi.
It’s important to be able to play paradiddle with accents on any of the stickings. Practice on a pad or single drum to ensure your strokes are well defined. As Ed Soph says, good drum set players are good snare drummers. Any problem you have on a snare drum will be amplified once you apply it to the rest of the drum set.
All of the exercises should be played at slow, medium, and fast tempos without losing control. Play the hi hat accent with the shoulder of the stick on the edge of the cymbals, as explained in lesson two of this list. Play the snare accent as a rim shot. All unaccented strokes are to be played at least a third of the stick height (or less) of the accent and with the tip of the stick.
The second exercise moves the kick drum over one sixteenth note every measure. This allows you to develop consistency with your paradiddles, accents, and the kick drum sound. Kick drums are played all over the place by sophomoric drummers. Exercises like this one have the potential to train your brain to be random with your kick. It also exercises placement of the kick anywhere in the measure.
The second exercise is about moving the accents. The kick drum is on all four downbeats. I recommend playing it with your heel down – a good opportunity to develop those muscles.
Check out this article about paradiddles on drum set for a more in-depth lesson.
It’s important to play these exercises at tempos that allow you to define the accented and unaccented notes. This is also a good exercise to practice on your practice pad before applying it to the drum set. Remember to use the Moeller technique to play the accents.
4. Hi-Hat Slurps
Slurps are potentially one of the most musical ways to play the hi hats. They add a balance of long and short sounds with a sizzle timbre that’s easy to control. This leaves you with so many options to shape the hi hat voice of your groves, fills, and accents.
To play a slurps, open the hi hat immediately after striking it and close the cymbals when the desired sound is produced. Although there are few “rules” about how to do this, the following exercises treat the slurps as hi hat accents and follow the technique explained in lesson two of this list.
Try playing slurps on both the downbeats. If you’re playing eighth notes on the hi hats, open the hats on the downbeats. Many drummers play slurps on the upbeats and miss out on half of the opportunities to apply slurps to their grooves. Likewise, experience the with slurps on the downbeats, but not every downbeat. Do the same for upbeats.
The following exercises suggest moving the slurp over one eighth note as you progress to the next variation. It also shows how this can be done with sixteenth-note hi hat patterns.
Don’t stop with these exercise. Continue to come up with new ways to practice slurps and accents anywhere in the grid.
5. Applying Flam Rudiments to Drum Set
Flams make drum fills thick and funky. They add dynamics tightly layered among the strokes. It’s important to be proficient on a single surface before applying flam rudiments to the drum set.
A flam is comprised of a primary stroke and a grace note. The grace note is played just before the primary stroke and at a lower stick height. Flams can be played openly or tightly, depending on how close the strokes are played to one another.
The following exercises are only an introduction to flam rudiments. It’s important play them well on a pad or snare drum before you move on to the drum set. If the individual strokes of your flams lack definition, practice the second controlled stroke exercise in the first lesson on this list. Messy flams often stem from a lack of control in the transition from a primary stroke to a grace note or another rebound stroke.
The second flam rudiment (next to the single flams) is flam accents. This rudiment is particularly fun to use for fills that blend drums and cymbals. The exercise also plays with sticking combinations to explore more interesting fills around the drums and cymbals. It’s a bit beyond flam accents, but these are guidelines, not rules.
Final Thoughts
Taking your playing to the next level is important to maintain your passion for the instrument. I remember feeling bored with drum set at times and benefitted from some ideas and lessons that challenged me. Sometimes it was from a teacher, a book, or observation of a favorite drummer.
These days, with YouTube and so many lessons online, drummers have all of the resources they need to level their drumming today!
Thanks for reading, and comment below with any questions about these lessons or thoughts about how you approach these techniques.